It's been a busy 2 weeks at ABC's and Rice. I've turned into nurse Bess -a handful or more injuries, often with blood, every day. Some just try to get a 'brave' sticker for cuts which scabbed over days and days before haha; they make me laugh! We've been learning 'You are my sunshine' in assembly and I've taken a few keyboard lessons; they are picking it up fast! I've also dealt with 'pushy parents' (they exist here too although the difference is you actually sympathise with them here). A woman and her son entered the school to ask why her son couldn't attend ABC's; this was in Khmer so I had to get Phearin to translate for me. There is now a waiting list, and those most needy have a place at school so we had to tell her that she will be called when a place becomes available. Imagine if we had all the non qualifying intakes through the gate; it just shows me how sought-after ABC's and Rice education is! During the time I've been standing in for Tammy and running the school i've had my mini panics, such as losing the key to the office which I managed to find placed elsewhere in the office-that's the last time I leave it lying next to my bag. I have had mini scares from Teacher Phearin such as 'I don't think the driver has turned up to pick the kids up from the Government school'.5 minutes later he turned up, phewwww! I had to fix the Well and filter; they were just rusty after not being used through April. The new timetables have been implemented and the teachers are following them really well and there are now four new volunteers, all female, from California and they are all college students (18-19). They've shadowed me taking a lesson to give them ideas which helped me to explain the importance of certain methods that I've picked up at ABC's. I've decorated my bike 'pimped it out' which I'm going to give to ABC's when I leave at the end of the month. It's been a busy time but amazing as ever. I can't believe I've only got 2 weeks left (sob sob, I don't want to think about leaving! I've also said my goodbyes to 'Jasmine Lodge' for this month and am staying with an Aussie called Julia in a place called 'Ribo guesthouse' located the other side of the river on Wat Bo Road. Yes, I officially have a roomie and we're both nutters, both teachers and are both competing for the best tan! We've enjoyed our fair share of pot noodles, pizzas and Beyoncé concerts on TV but now the diet/detox begins to prepare myself for the next two months of travelling. So cous cous, fruit and limited booze (obviously not on my 'goodbye' weekend though). We've had a few 'holiday' days too; Cambodia has A LOT! The two days off this week were for King Nordodom Sihamoni's Birthday. For this Sierra and I decided to take a bike ride to the unknown. We cycled around 40km, towards the temples, through villages and out near the airport. We stopped for a local coconut break to recover from the sweat and heat that was upon us. We then, in full spirit, had a Khmer bbq-snake, crocodile and frog-the lot! Well, the crocodile was quite tasty, it tasted like chicken; the snake however was chewy and had a rather weird taste (glad I tried it but probably best left in the wild), the frogs' legs on the other hand were surprisingly tasty but not too attractive to eat! More to tick off of the list of weird foods! As it's snowing in the UK (strange) the rainy season has officially began here. It starts to rain around 5pm and lasts pretty much all of the evening. Yesterday was so bad that I had to leave my bike in town and get a tuk tuk home….but at least it's still hot hot hot in the daytime; my raincoat will come in handy at last! Planning has started for the Indonesia trip; surfing, diving, volcano hiking and chillaxing are all on the agenda! I also received some great news too! Jordan's booked her flight to come over to see me. We'll do some of Laos together before going to Krabi and the Phi Phi islands and then to the Full Moon party and I can't wait! x