Working on Jet Lag

We arrived late last night. It was 11pm in Phnom Penh but of course this was 11 am EST.  Time becomes a concept, not a reality when you are on the other side of the world. Most of the week 2 volunteers were arriving this evening too. Between the time change and the socialization we loitered around the outdoor lobby, sharing travel stories and rekindling old friendship. 

It's exciting having Zach with us. Like they say, there's nothing like sharing your experiences with people you care about to make them more special. And happily at 22 years old he's willing to listen to my observations on Cambodia and, in a broader sense, life. 

We awoke this morning very early and waited for breakfast to open. One by one our friends came in. Purobi and Bob who run the organization, Martin and Kevin from Australia, Kiori from Japan, Ey from Hawaii and more and more. 

Knowing that our meetings were not till the afternoon, we set off to the genocide museum to help the first time visitors understand this country's history. Zach asked me what he needs to know about Cambodia. I told him that the history starts with oppression and ends with oppression. The Genocide museum confirmed this. 

Our next stop was the market. It is a huge complex in downtown Phnom Penh that sells everything from cooking utensils to clothing, flowers and all sorts of produce. Each time I visit I am drawn to the raw fish and meat. I challenge myself to make it down the aisle, holding my breath and being sure not to touch anything. Zach tripped over a chicken. The restaurants must buy their produce from refrigerated stores??

Surprisingly, the skinned frogs, eels and organ meats did little to stem our appetites and we left the market to visit a favorite lunch spot. The bill for 5 of us, including appetizer, entre and fruit smoothies was $46. An expensive meal by Cambodian standards. 

We now find ourselves back at the hotel awaiting our 3 pm doctors meeting and fighting the onset of jet lag. Tomorrow the real fun begins. We'll be setting up our clinic in a small town about an hour's drive from the city.  Until then we'll keep working on the time change and adjusting to the delicious, but very spicey food.