Getting things done?

Day something? Once again it’s been nonstop with things changing at every turn and I have all ready lost track of what day it is. As I say “no worries we’ll just roll with the punches” but then we get kicked it the ---well you know “whats”, and we start from scratch with new lesson plans. The big issue is that we at a new training facility a little over an hour from Phnom Penh out on the edge of nowhere. We learned the night before class the NGOs and the police EMS classes would be separate. The biggest issue is at the training grounds there are no medical training supplies, on the fire side, day one we arrived and “no” did I say “NO” fire equipment, so ok we’ll get trucks out here (an hour and a half drive each way). So next where’s the water supply for fire training? After some exploring we found a “pond” that could be drafted out of (complete with snakes and who knows what else). When we did finely get trucks the first one could not draft, so three hours later fire was in business and day two was complete. The Australian guys had much more success teaching Urban Search and Rescue, putting students into culverts and moving debris. Oh did I mention the issue with electricity? We have none in the mornings until they can find someone to get a generator running. This slows down the PowerPoint projector from our computer. Ok so now I have vented! The good news is we are adapting and the students are great! They are happy to be here and are very motivated. Oh did I mention the Ladder truck died on the side of the road on the way back to Phnom Penh last night? The good news is that it was gone this morning and we hear it will be back tomorrow. Also we arrived at Hope Hospital and the had forgot we were coming. After a few phone calls we had a class of 20+

Personally: sad news from home with the death of Rebecca’s grandfather. It is incredibly difficult to be here and not at home to help support her and the family. Harlan is someone I will really miss, he was someone I really looked up to and enjoyed spending time with listening to his stories of flying the B-24 during WWII. I’m so sorry I will not be able to attend his services and be with family. He will be missed by all of us.

The weather here has been around 100F HOT!!!! And they say it’s the cool season. I feel sorry for the fire students out in the sun, although we still see people wearing winter coats in the morning when it’s a fidget 85F.

I have been trying to get pictures up, but the Internet has been giving me difficulty. I will keep working on it as time permits. We are making plans for some R and R this weekend.

Thank for reading and drop me an email at kayakmedic@hotmail.com

Andy