We’re halfway through our third week, am I’m amazed at how quickly it has gone. Being part of the well testing and scouting has taken up most of our mornings. The work we’ve done has been really interesting – always varied, and I feel we’ve accomplished a lot. By now we have tested 11 wells, in several different villages. On Sundays we have gone with the scholar Vorng, to scout new sites for wells. Both these tasks have been really fun, allowing us to get out of Siem Reap town and into the countryside, where you can meet “real” Cambodians going about their daily business. It helps that they’re always happy to see you!

Going to the villages has definitely been a highlight of my time here – the scenery is beautiful and all the people helpful. The icing on the cake is that you are doing something to benefit their lives.

Another of our tasks is slightly more mundane but just as important: inputting all the new well locations onto Google Earth. The goal is ultimately to create a more systematic approach to well building, testing and checking.

Our afternoons teaching at Wat Thmei have also been rewarding – getting to know the students and seeing them progress in both computing and English. We were invited by one teacher to go to another village and teach in an orphanage. The experience was great: new set of students, new set of challenges. It was fun to break our daily routine.

Our visit to temples of Angkor tomorrow will definitely break our daily routine. Can’t wait!!

– Ruaridh