Breaking the Silence

It has been a while since I last wrote. All the problems we experienced with our move have had me more than a little discouraged. Incompetent forwarding agents who failed to inform us which documents were needed to ensure that our household goods would clear customs in a timely fashion, lazy or inept employees in the UNAKRT admin who were slow to get us the necessary documents once we knew what was required, and whom it took almost FIVE months to get Fred on the payroll (!!), coupled with an employer who has been completely insensitive to our dilemma made me think of setting sail for other less hostile shores on more than one occasion.
We had been promised that our household goods would clear mid-June, but didn’t get them until August. In the mean time, we were paying double rent, and at the same time were getting no salary! It goes without saying that this was an unsustainable situation, and our reserves were dwindling fast. Luckily, one of Fred’s co-workers took pity on us and offered to put us up until we could move into our house. We stayed with her for three weeks, and for one of those weeks we went to the Cambodian seaside village and port of Sihanoukville. We stayed in a fabulous resort - the Sokha. Only problem was that it was raining and overcast for the greater part of our stay. It was still nice to escape the heat, filth and permanent stench of Phnom Penh. It was actually quite pleasant to be outside, and as long as there was no thunder, we could still play on the beach and swim in the Gulf of Thailand. The water was beautiful. There was not much to do outside the resort, but we didn’t really need to go anywhere.

We moved into our house on the last weekend of July. It was exciting to finally be able to settle, but our troubles weren’t over yet. We had power outages three days in a row, followed by a sequence of electrical and plumbing problems that were repaired in such a way that they reoccur three days later.

So, it's been a tough adjustment, still is. All of this has cast a shadow on the initial charm of Phnom Penh. One thing about living abroad that is nice in the short term is that your mind and senses are constantly stimulated by new places, people, cultures, foods and a wide range of experiences. But for the long haul, what is mentally (and physically) difficult is that you have to start over all the time. New house, new school, new friends. And even when you do get it all right, it's a revolving door of expats-- people just passing through and do not stay in your life for long. The absence of the friendly face that knows and understands and who shares a common past is draining.

I have decided to try my best to not to let this get me down, and continue my blogging, if for no other reason, then to have it as a reminder of all the things we experienced during our stay here.