| The last day before I leave is always a hectic day and this departure day was no exception. I had planned to spend the afternoon at the Deaf Development Programme but I ended up being there less than five minutes in two trips to the office. The morning was spent at a meetiing of all the Phnom Penh priests, and then the afternoon was a bunch of quick stops before I really started packing. I finally got into a tuk-tuk at 5:40 PM, about 20 minutes behind my schedule. |
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| Every two months, Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler (right) invites all the priests of Phnom Penh to a morning of reflection, prayer, and meetings. Today one presentation was about the diocesan commission on workers. There is little protection for the poor and uneducated workers in Cambodia's factories. |
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| At lunch time, all the members of the Cambodian Maryknoll Lay Missioners met at a local bank to set up a series of bank accounts so that Maryknoll, New York can transfer money to us and then it can be distributed to each of us by direct deposit. |
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| Then I went to the Russian Market where I bought 50 Cambodian khramas, the simple cotton scarves that are a big part of the culture here. I give them away when I go to the U.S. and meet various groups of people. This is one of the entrances to the Russian Market, through a section selling motorcycle parts. |
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| At the Bangkok airport, I was lucky to get a place in one of these little settings that have padded seats that make reasonably comfortable places to sleep. The benches are not quite long enough to stretch out, but if I stand my suitcase at the end, I can rest my feet on that. This woman and her husband took two of the other benches in the corner where I slept. |
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