Uh Oh... It's Election Time

I thought my first day would be focused on planning the details of my time here in Cambodia. I was right, but there's a wrinkle... It's Election Time.

Every 5 years the people come out to vote for their favorite political party. However, there are some logistics of it that cause disruption:

• I can't teach classes at the school because they will close to be a polling place, and the teachers will be the administrators of the election. I hear they get a whopping 2 days notice before they have to show up at currently undetermined location for training.
• Several of my contacts need to travel back to their hometown to vote. That can be an 8 hour car ride each way for some folks
• The parades can be disruptive and close streets

There's no perfect time to do the work we do, but this is an extra thing to handle. I'm a bit concerned about my trip to Phnom Penh to have a meeting at the US Embassy, so planning that will be an urgent item.

As for my regular activities, here's what I've found so far:

• Kessararam Primary School: Computers work well, only minor issue with the printer likely due to using refilled toner instead of genuine new
• Khnar Tmei: Both PCs down again. I'm concerned about the conditions there. I know the kids maintain them well, but there could be a downstream electrical fault to contend with.
• Baskralein Village: I haven't been out there in a few years, but this Dell Optiplex (below) I installed in 2007 is still going! It wasn't new when we put it in, so I'm going to replace it because it has simply outlived it's useful life.