Back in Phnom Penh for Placement Week

Last week I had to leave most of my new pals and sleepy peaceful Kampong Cham to return to the noise and chaos of Phnom Penh (PP) for my placement week on arrival the bus was mobbed by hundred's of tuk tuk drivers clamouring for our business and they had to be kept back by a security guy from the bus station who resorted to using a big stick somewhat alarming! and when I say bus station I use the term advisedly as it is just the corner of a very busy st. Public transport in Cambodia is not a high priority eventually I arrived somewhat dishevelled but unscathed at VSO's programme office where I stayed for the week.
The overall purpose of the week was to be introduced to my new work colleagues and for me I had a handover from Susan a volunteer who has been caretaking my post at the Cambodian Midwives Association (CMA) for the last few months and to find somewhere to live more of that later!
Looking smart for work was my first challenge how does one achieve this in 35+o heat and 80% + humidity? answers on a postcard please
I did my best to make a good first impression on my first day I went to see the President of CMA at her workplace which is a hospital for women and children built by the Japanese known locally as the Japanese hospital. It was very clean and clinical in the bits that I saw although there was no time to look around on this occasion. On first meeting I was very impressed with my new boss she was very welcoming and very committed to strengthening the CMA and the role of midwives
I will be sharing an office with the fledgling organisation CMC which is The Cambodian Midwives Council recently formed to bring in statutory regulation and registration of midwives so it is a time of great change for the profession but I hope that the two organisations can find common areas where we can work togetherEvery one I met last week including two very important people 
from The United Nations NGO UNFPA who are the main/only external source of funding for CMA  were extremely helpful so I am feeling very positive about things.
They say timing is every thing and less than two weeks from my start date CMA has organised a 3 day conference for 70 members to review how the organisation works and how it can be strengthened my job is to facilitate this and train at least 7 people to lead group work so if any one out there has any simple techniques that I could use let me know!!!!
My other big task last week was to find accommodation in PP simple you might think not so more of that tomorrow...............................................