My first time to Asia, my first time to Cambodia
More than 16 hours after I said goodbye to “my little every
things” and to my beloved Tuli, I was touching Asian soil. It looked far, but
the true is that I have never been in a foreign country more similar than mine
before. I came here as a Dutch citizen,
but who am I kidding? I’m 100% Colombian and 150% proud of being Colombian.
We started our journey in the Asian continent with the most
beautiful sunset in less than 30 minutes, we stepped over in Honk Kong the time
enough to learn that all airports look the same and are the same ridicules
expensive for basic drinks as water.
Our Cambodian experience is full with ginger thee, long
working days, manful discussions, and delicious food. We were assigned to facilitate training for
the staff in Cambodia, but also for some colleagues from Vietnam and
Afghanistan, so the group was really international, as my colleague is real
Dutch. This is what I enjoy more of my work, the international environment.
Being surrounded by Cambodian people didn’t feel strange at
all, to the contrary, I have never felt so close to my roots in a different
country than my own of course. When I was facilitating the training I felt like
being at my home town. People here look so much alike to us, that this has given
me great confidence. The training went good enough to satisfy us and the
participants, so we score high and we are very happy about it. It was not
perfect of course, but “Perfect is good, good is beter!”
We live and enjoy new
things. The tuk tuk ride every morning and evening was a tour through the city
center and through the cultures, their lives, their challenges. I did not see a
single bus, but I did see thousands of motors, hundred bicycles and many “many”
Lexus and Toyota’s. Being my first time
in Asia I had to endure the hectic traffic, the pollution, I had to witness a
full family in one motor, the kids without protection, babies in the arms of
the mother behind daddies in the motors,
old woman and men riding bicycles, people in sleepers and T-shirts under
heavy rain. Thanks good the plastic was invented! It is a whole life on the
motor, and it is a way of living and surviving. If you want to get somewhere,
you really need to have the Dutch cyclist Philosophy: You can go anywhere on
your bike, in this case, on your motor. I saw some traffic lights, but they
look more like decoration than with a real purpose. Traffic in Colombia is also
horrible, but this is above all my experiences. We were told today how easily
one can spend one hour per kilometer in times of heavy rain, just stocked in
the traffic. But what was really familiar to me was how in cases of traffic stocks,
then someone would take the lead to organize the best the alternative
routes.
We had our private Tuk Tuk driver, his name is Pom. I don’t
remember ever seen a driver so smiling and so willing to do his job. He was
amazing on his motor, he would fit where no other Tuk Tuk was and he would take
care to avoid the more holes on the streets as possible.
Last day on our way to the office we saw a big tent in the
middle of the street, and a big celebration going on. Then we learnt that the
weddings feasts are celebrated that way. I read in a book that the Cambodians
say that a wedding is the union of two paths, that’s why they have to block
one. J
In general, my experience was great, I had a great companion
during the trip, during the training and during our free time. We could enjoy
visiting the Royal Palace when the sun was not burning your head yet (I’ve never
felt so heated by the sun anywhere in the world!!), and we learnt how the two
main Asian religions live together in Cambodia, Hinduism and Buddhism mixed together in the traditions, in the
architecture, in the art, in the way people dress.. I learnt the story of
Rashana, and even had time to watch one of the movies about it.
I cannot find something negative about the trip, not even
the eye infection that I had the first 5 days or the coughing that I had the
other 5 days of the trip. I used those experiences to learn that I have to be
more careful when touching my eyes in long flights, and also to do not use air
conditioning at night and use a kind of mask when riding a tuk tuk one hour a
day for almost 10 days. So, even that was something positive as well.
I hope that my next time in Asia and/ or in Cambodia I can
take my family so they can also enjoy the beauty of the country, the food (including frog)and
most of all, the people.
Thank you OXFAM for this amazing opportunity!