Some Progress..

Jack, Angus and Evelyn will be travelling to Phomm Phem tomorrow morning to check the water quality for a canal near the Tai border which people are currently drinking without any sort of purification, and we will also test the water for the safe haven site. It will be a long trip, 5 hours by taxi (as we need to get there quickly) but probably a long 8 hour bus drive on the way back.

During the day we stopped by a temple area to work on a letter to a NGO. We stopped by a shade area in front of a huge beautiful temple. An older man came to join us for a "chat" and invited us to come to the "gathering area". He introduced someone else who used to be an english translator 20 years ago. He one of the first things he asked was if we were married... when he said no, he looked pretty disappoint and curious. We tried to explain that we were, in out culture, too young for that...he didn`t buy it. The funny thing was that he said hi and introduced himself to the guys and excluded me...he then asked Angus if I was Khmer, when he said that I was from Brazil he then became very friendly towards me and started talking to me too. I do feel some type of gender difference once we go to temples around here. He also showed us an english Buddhist book with "good answers for good questions..."very interesting religion, if I was religious I think I would be Buddhist. We got one of the monks number, a religion teacher, who wants us to help him with his english so he can go to university in Bangkok. And our friend tried to tell us how good chewing tobacco is for your teeth..

We watched the first part of the religious daily class, there were about 20 boys of about 10-15 years old, who in perfect synchrony which echoed in the building in a vibrant way.

It´s extremely hot today and it just pored down with rain while the bright sun was out!!

Poipet is a beautiful city in it´s own way....

Evelyn