Day 5: New Hope Community Centre, Siem Reap

Well, it appears that the mud is beginning to dry out and we discovered that the slush that we were plucking through did in fact include used condoms, stripped corn cobs and whatever else … 

The recent floods have produced an abundance of frogs of which many have ended up skewered and deep fried, selling road side, five per stick.  Tiny roasted snails too.  Danni, a volunteer from Perth, is waiting for the deep fried tarantulas to come into season, she’s determined to try this local delicacy.  The thought of their being tarantulas any where near Siem Reap sends me into a frenzy but then this is a town when snakes and frogs sit comfortably alongside chicken and fish on everyday menus. 

Today was ‘fun’ day at New Hope reserved for art, craft and sometimes sport.  An previous volunteer is organizing a big fundraising charity ball in his home town in America and requested that we get all the kids to paint pictures of their home life which can be auctioned off to raise money for New Hope.   A great idea but give me the task of organizing a charity ball for 500 people over organizing four hours of painting in 40 degree heat any day!

Actually, it was a brilliant day that produced some really good results and big smiles.