Phone

I was going to be funny. Seriously, after all the introspection over the past few posts, I was really going to try and provide everyone with a good laugh. Perhaps I will, though it will have to be at my expense.

I want to install the internet at my house. I haven’t done it yet, because I knew it would be a bit of a hassle, and wanted to keep my costs down for the month of August. So I’ve been slowly tackling the issue this month. First, I have to get a dedicated phone line for the DSL service. I tried to call Camintel, the recommended provider. I called for a half hour one day and could not get through. I kept trying. Finally I reached someone who was supposed to call back. He never did.

Last Friday, I got a hold of them again, and the woman took my info, and never called. On Tuesday, I called again and was told to come to the office. Today I went to the office. I met the woman I talked to on Friday (who told me she had tried to call twice). I drew a map for them to locate my apartment. The woman I talked to on Tuesday drew another map (it looked exactly the same as mine). Then the woman I met on Friday drew another map (again, exactly the same) before walking off to find a technician, and then coming back to tell me they couldn’t provide service. I’m still not sure why.

I went to Telecom Cambodia next (on the recommendation of Camintel). I found the single English-speaking representative who assured me they could provide service if only I could bring my passport, lease, and a photo of myself before signing the contract. I left, thinking it would be another day. Upon my return to the office, I realized that in order to have my 6 month visa renewal processed before my return to the states, I had to start the process… you guessed it… tomorrow. Which means handing my passport over to “the Ministry” for a few days. Gathering up all the documents I needed, I headed back to Telecom Cambodia to sign my contract.

If you’re still reading this tale, you’re thinking… okay, she’s going to wrap it up, or she’s got even more problems. Settle in, there’s more (but not a lot more, thank goodness).

All was going well, except for a missing manager (so my payment couldn’t be processed) and a brief window wherein they misplaced my photo (it ended up on the floor; no, I did not have another copy). I have an invoice that claims I paid the installation fee, and a promise to have them call me about installation (probably tomorrow, but really, who knows?). All this before I headed back outside to realize that it had started raining. Not hard, but enough that it would be a wet trip back across town.

The only sentence that’s appropriate here is this one: when it rains, it pours. I truly mean that. I had made it ¾ of the way back to the office, when, of course, the monsoon that had been threatening all day decided to begin. The main road through the district where I live (and where the office is) has a set of railroad tracks. Crossing the railroad tracks means that you have officially entered Toul Kork (our district). I have never, ever seen a real train traveling on these tracks. Until today (are you shaking your head? I was…). I waited for the train, sped back to the office, and am now sitting here, soaking wet. My colleagues are worried that I will catch a cold (outside temp: roughly 60 degrees).

So, to sum it up, I still have: no phone, no internet, and wet clothes. At several points, I kept trying to decide if I should laugh or cry. Right now, I choose laugh. Feel free to join me.