So I moved. I refrained from writing about it until the issue had resolved itself. Now, after two months, it finally has. As you all know, I really enjoyed the family I was placed with at my permanent site. There was just one big problem. My bedroom did not have real walls. Two of them were plastic siding that you couldnt even lean on and didn't even block out light, least of all noise. One of them was actually a curtain which separated my room from a drop off into the living room below. This also was not so great for sound proofing. While I loved the family it became more and more difficult to continue living with them with no means to get away and have a retreat from the constant noise of living with a large family. When I began realizing how much it was effecting my sleep and health, I realized a change would be necessary. This is something I felt a large amount of anxiety and guilt about. Not only did I want to avoid offending the family and be able to maintain relationships with them but I was also battling feelings of failure and selfishness that I just could not maintain my sanity, health, and happiness in that living situation. Slowly but surely I have come to make peace with the fact that I do have needs and that is okay. I don't need lush accomodation. I do not need running water or toilet paper. I can do without TV and internet. Etc...and so forth. But, I need to have space to think. I need a quiet space to get away to. That is not something I will ever be able to compromise and stay healthy. And that is okay.
I moved a few days before Christmas into a home with two yays (grandmothers) and a 2 year old boy. I live next door to one of my health center nurses and 4 darling girls (8-12). The space I have been provided to live in is large, clean, and lovely, and most importantly, peaceful. My new family has made me feel welcomed into their home. They even had a surprise "welcome to the family" dinner party for me my first night there. I feel so fortunate to finally have this issue resolved in such a positive way and feel ready to really dig in after the holidays.
My first Christmas away from home was spent with Jayne, one of my closest friends from the states. We spent Christmas eve with another volunteer at my site then headed into Phnom Penh on Christmas afternoon. We spent some quality time eating cheese and crackers watching really bad Christmas TV movies then proceded to meet up with some other PCVs for dinner and drinks. I can honesly say it was my first Christmas at a night club experience. As much as I missed my home and my family during the holiday it was a huge blessing to have Jayne here and it was great to finally have "lock down" over so that we could meet up with other volunteers for a few days of R&R.
Now back to the real world. Well until New Years :)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
“New information buy two give one”
I this week I decided to try something new. I gave an actual creative assignment to one of my classes. After they got over their shock and rage however, they turned in some great work. The assignment was to make their own advertisment. It has to include a title for the product, a picture of the product, price, and one persuasive "if...must" statement. The folowing is a list of some of my favorite quotes from the assignment:
1)" WElcome! Welcome! every body who is the customer that always want light teeth and beauty; dont forget number 1 special toothpaste for every body's tooths and mouth called "toothpaste herbal natural" it made frome nature really! really!...if you have bad smell in your mouth nobody want to near you, so you must buy toothpaste and that toothpaste is "herbal natural" that make you life to be happy, don't worry about problem of mouth and teeth.”
2)“If you have wedding or join the party you always need jewelry to make more your beauty.”
3)“...if you want your teeth have healthy teeth you must use toothpaste to recive what good in your life and future. It has polite cost for you. Moreover when you used toothpaste produce SARAHA you must get what good to others. And when you say with someone makes them like you because you have smell good teeth nice and they are interesting with you so much.”
4)“Wellcomes! Wellcomes! All of customers that have an attention to buy clothing...if you want to make your body so good and you want a modern or ancient clothing. You must buy them in our shop...”
5)“It have a good smell for you if you used it your hair must will smooth all time. Harry up hary up will not hopeless.”
and my personal favorite,
6) “New information buy two give one” (somehow not quite what I think this student meant to say)
While the english in these may be in need of a little help, I vastly appreciated the critical thought my students put into advertising their products :)
And here are a fwe assignment quotes from students of a fellow volunteer:
"If I met the president of the US, I would say “love.”
"If I was a bird I would fly to see your face every day and all night…”
"I wont take a bath unless you near me…."
1)" WElcome! Welcome! every body who is the customer that always want light teeth and beauty; dont forget number 1 special toothpaste for every body's tooths and mouth called "toothpaste herbal natural" it made frome nature really! really!...if you have bad smell in your mouth nobody want to near you, so you must buy toothpaste and that toothpaste is "herbal natural" that make you life to be happy, don't worry about problem of mouth and teeth.”
2)“If you have wedding or join the party you always need jewelry to make more your beauty.”
3)“...if you want your teeth have healthy teeth you must use toothpaste to recive what good in your life and future. It has polite cost for you. Moreover when you used toothpaste produce SARAHA you must get what good to others. And when you say with someone makes them like you because you have smell good teeth nice and they are interesting with you so much.”
4)“Wellcomes! Wellcomes! All of customers that have an attention to buy clothing...if you want to make your body so good and you want a modern or ancient clothing. You must buy them in our shop...”
5)“It have a good smell for you if you used it your hair must will smooth all time. Harry up hary up will not hopeless.”
and my personal favorite,
6) “New information buy two give one” (somehow not quite what I think this student meant to say)
While the english in these may be in need of a little help, I vastly appreciated the critical thought my students put into advertising their products :)
And here are a fwe assignment quotes from students of a fellow volunteer:
"If I met the president of the US, I would say “love.”
"If I was a bird I would fly to see your face every day and all night…”
"I wont take a bath unless you near me…."
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Things Cambodia Does Better...
So most of my blogs to date have been either random stories or updates on the daily occurrences of my life, or sarcastic musings about the ridiculous things I have encountered in this country. Thus, I think it is time that I provide a little insight into those things which Cambodia does better.
1)Fruit: Not only does Cambodia have a wealth of fruit variety unheard of in America, but the fruits we have in common are better here (with the exception of apples). Oranges are sweeter here. Bananas come in like 800 varieties and all of them are better than anything you can buy in America. Most significant, to me, is watermelon. I do not like watermelon in America. I think it is a nasty gritty substance that tastes like water trying to be something else. In Cambodia watermelons are about a 3rd of the size of watermelons in America and it is as though you took all of the flavor in a big American watermelon, multiplied it by 2, and jammed it into the tiny watermelon. When they go out of season I will be very sad (my host family has had a bowl of watermelon with lunch and dinner every day for a good two weeks now).
2)Naptime: In my experience, and it varies from family to family I am sure, Cambodians nap (in hammocks generally) every afternoon, usually during the heat of the day. It is really nice to come home from work and have a couple hours of relaxation before going back to work.
3)Rice: While eating it 3 times a day every day is maybe not better, the rice itself tastes better.
4)Bathroom floors: Ok so I would most definitely prefer to have running water, and no mosquitos, and a variety of other bathroom features. However, the bathroom floor design in Cambodia (and many other countries) is in my opinion, better. All of the floors are tile or concrete with a drain. This is convenient for many purposes (not just the obvious one of needing somewhere for the water from you bucket showers to go) that are as follows: 1) When ill you can vomit on the floor with easy cleanup, this is my most appreciated advantage to the floor drain 2) If you spill anything on the floor in general, no prob. 3) When you brush your teeth you can spit on the floor. I know this is not necessary if you have a sink, but it is still kind of satisfying in a weird way. 4) You no longer need things like floor mats to keep your floor dry. It’s not supposed to be dry. It’s a bathroom. A room for bathing.
5)Wedding clothes: Not only are they way better for making one feel like an 80’s rock star, but you also get to wear like 8 different dresses for your wedding. That is the feature I like best. When you get married (a 2 or 3 day affair here) you don’t have to pick that one perfect dress, you get to pick like 8 perfect dresses and play makeover for 3 days. Sweet.
6)Text messages: They are just better. As a whole, way more entertaining and they make far less sense. For that matter, use of english is better here in many ways. Or more comical at least. Like when my co-teacher asks me if he can say "rub it out" in place of "erase the chalk board" or when one of the female teachers at my school tells me that my hair looks "especially" today. And on that note the text of the week goes to either:
1) In response to a text I sent about rats in my bed.... "Just your Cambodian snuggle buddies... You know, compliments of the Peace Corps."
2) OR "I want to ask you some questions. The sentence 'this is the color yellow,' and this is the yellow color. Which one is correct or both are correct?" This is only funny because I got it from my co-teacher at about 10:00 at night and then again from another co-teacher the following morning around 5:45am.
1)Fruit: Not only does Cambodia have a wealth of fruit variety unheard of in America, but the fruits we have in common are better here (with the exception of apples). Oranges are sweeter here. Bananas come in like 800 varieties and all of them are better than anything you can buy in America. Most significant, to me, is watermelon. I do not like watermelon in America. I think it is a nasty gritty substance that tastes like water trying to be something else. In Cambodia watermelons are about a 3rd of the size of watermelons in America and it is as though you took all of the flavor in a big American watermelon, multiplied it by 2, and jammed it into the tiny watermelon. When they go out of season I will be very sad (my host family has had a bowl of watermelon with lunch and dinner every day for a good two weeks now).
2)Naptime: In my experience, and it varies from family to family I am sure, Cambodians nap (in hammocks generally) every afternoon, usually during the heat of the day. It is really nice to come home from work and have a couple hours of relaxation before going back to work.
3)Rice: While eating it 3 times a day every day is maybe not better, the rice itself tastes better.
4)Bathroom floors: Ok so I would most definitely prefer to have running water, and no mosquitos, and a variety of other bathroom features. However, the bathroom floor design in Cambodia (and many other countries) is in my opinion, better. All of the floors are tile or concrete with a drain. This is convenient for many purposes (not just the obvious one of needing somewhere for the water from you bucket showers to go) that are as follows: 1) When ill you can vomit on the floor with easy cleanup, this is my most appreciated advantage to the floor drain 2) If you spill anything on the floor in general, no prob. 3) When you brush your teeth you can spit on the floor. I know this is not necessary if you have a sink, but it is still kind of satisfying in a weird way. 4) You no longer need things like floor mats to keep your floor dry. It’s not supposed to be dry. It’s a bathroom. A room for bathing.
5)Wedding clothes: Not only are they way better for making one feel like an 80’s rock star, but you also get to wear like 8 different dresses for your wedding. That is the feature I like best. When you get married (a 2 or 3 day affair here) you don’t have to pick that one perfect dress, you get to pick like 8 perfect dresses and play makeover for 3 days. Sweet.
6)Text messages: They are just better. As a whole, way more entertaining and they make far less sense. For that matter, use of english is better here in many ways. Or more comical at least. Like when my co-teacher asks me if he can say "rub it out" in place of "erase the chalk board" or when one of the female teachers at my school tells me that my hair looks "especially" today. And on that note the text of the week goes to either:
1) In response to a text I sent about rats in my bed.... "Just your Cambodian snuggle buddies... You know, compliments of the Peace Corps."
2) OR "I want to ask you some questions. The sentence 'this is the color yellow,' and this is the yellow color. Which one is correct or both are correct?" This is only funny because I got it from my co-teacher at about 10:00 at night and then again from another co-teacher the following morning around 5:45am.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Cambodia is breaking me.
Not really. But there were a few significant events this past week that were just ridiculous, maddenning, hillarious, or some other extreme emotion.
#1) This week I was told I am fat for the first time in my life. I don't think I have actually gained weight here, and if I have, not much. But the other day I was sitting minding my own business eating breakfast when my host brother walked over pointed at my stomach and informed me that I had gotten fat after only 2 months here and would behuge by the end of two years. Thanks Cambodia.
#2) Yesterday I was walking down to take a shower when I get hit in the face with a bat. The animal not the sporting equipment. Thanks Cambodia.
#3) While in class earlier this week I got a phone call from an unknown number. I answered it. It was a strange man. I said "who is this." He said "I am the monk." I do not know how a monk got my phone number, but now he has it and is texting me often. I might go hang with him at a pagoda this weekend. We shall see. This brings me to the text of the week (just for you dad, since you requested that this blog feature continue):
"Hi ! Nice 2 meet u again ! Hope 2 see you anyday. ok? Because, I 1 2 make friendship with u. Because u a good person. The old wood is the best 2 burn, the old book is the best 2 read, The old wine is the best 2 drink, The old friend is the best 2 keep 4ever... G.Luck 4 U....OK....And successfully in ur life."
Seems like the kind of text one should get from a monk they have never met right? Right. Thanks Cambodia.
#1) This week I was told I am fat for the first time in my life. I don't think I have actually gained weight here, and if I have, not much. But the other day I was sitting minding my own business eating breakfast when my host brother walked over pointed at my stomach and informed me that I had gotten fat after only 2 months here and would behuge by the end of two years. Thanks Cambodia.
#2) Yesterday I was walking down to take a shower when I get hit in the face with a bat. The animal not the sporting equipment. Thanks Cambodia.
#3) While in class earlier this week I got a phone call from an unknown number. I answered it. It was a strange man. I said "who is this." He said "I am the monk." I do not know how a monk got my phone number, but now he has it and is texting me often. I might go hang with him at a pagoda this weekend. We shall see. This brings me to the text of the week (just for you dad, since you requested that this blog feature continue):
"Hi ! Nice 2 meet u again ! Hope 2 see you anyday. ok? Because, I 1 2 make friendship with u. Because u a good person. The old wood is the best 2 burn, the old book is the best 2 read, The old wine is the best 2 drink, The old friend is the best 2 keep 4ever... G.Luck 4 U....OK....And successfully in ur life."
Seems like the kind of text one should get from a monk they have never met right? Right. Thanks Cambodia.
Friday, November 20, 2009
"Cher, cher, cher...!" and sweet potatos
As much as I may have previously been disinclined towards the teaching profession I find it is growing on me in Cambodia. There is something oddly endearing about hearing "hello cher!" wherever you go, whether you know the individual in question or not. I am finding that I am getting increasingly attached to my students and enjoying time in the classroom more and more. The following are some good "cher"statements from this week: "Cher, you are not normal." This was a statement in regaurds to my appearance. "Cher, you read good, I have made you a friend in my heart." And "cher, thank you from my heart you praise me." This occured on a visit I paid to the former host family of the previous PC volunteer. After sitting there a while a congregation of 12th grade girls formed around me and this was the response one of them gave me when I told her she spoke english very clearly.
This week I started teaching english at the health center as well. Already I feel vastly more "in" with the staff. I have also found that I very much like teaching adult learners. They are far less timid than my high school students...not to mention I don't have to follow a specific curriculum. They do, however, all call me "cher" now as well.
Other interesting occurances since I last wrote:
1) Rats LOVE butterscotch. My aunt Diane sent me a lovely (and much appreciated) care package with all kinds of goodies in it. Among these was a bag of dumdums. Earlier this week I went to retrieve one of the dum dums and found that a rat had gotten into the bag. What was interesting was that it had attacked ALL of the butterscotch suckers and NONE of the others. So there you have it. Rats seem to really enjoy butterscotch dum dums.
2) While in town a couple of weeks ago we paid a visit to one of the tailors whome we had made friends with on a previous occasion. We were having her finish the ends of several Kromas (plaid multipurpose peice of fabric people use as a headcovering among other things). She had a large bag of fabric scraps and, as I love to sew random little things, I asked her what she did with the scraps, and whether or not she would sell them. She ended up giving me a large bag of various peices of beutiful fabric, silks and satins in many colors (and refused to let me pay her). I was beyond excited by the possibility of all the fun things I could make! One of my first projects was a fun silk hair flower to repay her for her kindness.
3) I got prank called by a police officer, I think he may even be my commune police cheif. Theother day I am sitting on a bench outside the teachers lounge at school, enjoying the slightly cooler weather and watching some students play soccer, when my phone rings. I answer it and no one is there...I say "Hello, hello...." then here resounding laughter and turn around to find several teachers and the officer laughing and holding up his phone. Would this happen in America...prob not.
4) The other day at school one of the female teachers started petting my arm and asked me if my arm hair was natural. Huh?
5) I went to my first funeral this past week. My co-teacher's father-in-law passed away so I went to the funeral with two other teachers. This was not only culturally facinating but also an amusing event in several ways. For starters the co-teachers I went with rode bikes since I cannot ride a moto (this was actually a really kind gesture since people tend to avoid physical exertion when possible). The funny part was this: we met at the private primary school near my house and they just randomly took some little kids bikes. So, not only were they riding bikes, but one teacher wrode a bike with tires literally a foot in diameter, and the other rode a pink "turbo fairy" bike. Following them barreling down dirt rodes (with mud pits deeper than the small bike itself!)on bikes stolen from children, was beyond funny. Now, I had expected to be going to the family home and paying my respects, then leaving. But I had in fact been invited to the procession portion of the funeral in which the family and all guests walk the body to the family's wat. Had I know this I would not have sported never before worn closed toed mary-jane shoes from the states (it was finally cold enough to wear closed toed shoes). After walking about 3 miles I had bleeding blisters on both my feet. My co-teachers FLIPPED. I believe the exact statement made was "OH Meghan, I am soooo sorry I have made this happen to you!" While I certainly appreciated their concern, I was also exceedinly amused by the level of concern shown for an occurance all too commonplace to any high-heel loving woman in America.
6) Favorite text of the past couple weeks: "I loath wedding season. And whoever brought stereo systems to Cambodia- whatn an ass-hole." I could not agree more.
This weekend we were fortunate enough to have our language IST in which about 18 of us (mostly K3s and a few K2s) all gathered in Battambang town. In a thoughtful gesture, Peace Corps planned this to coincide nicely with Thanksgiving. Thanks to the efforts of our two provintial town volunteers, we were all able to celebrate the holiday together at a local restaurant complete with American football, smoked turkey, mashed potatos and gravy, sweet potatos, string beans, pie and ice cream. It was a phenomenal mean by all accounts. What was most surprising to me however, was how entirely content I felt. I certainly miss my family and would have loved to be with them for the holidays but felt no lament or regret to be exactly where I was. There was something great about being able to celebrate an American holiday in a traditional way here with so many people sharing this common (yet varying) experience. I also find it amusing that my first experience with sweet potatos was in Cambodia.
This week I started teaching english at the health center as well. Already I feel vastly more "in" with the staff. I have also found that I very much like teaching adult learners. They are far less timid than my high school students...not to mention I don't have to follow a specific curriculum. They do, however, all call me "cher" now as well.
Other interesting occurances since I last wrote:
1) Rats LOVE butterscotch. My aunt Diane sent me a lovely (and much appreciated) care package with all kinds of goodies in it. Among these was a bag of dumdums. Earlier this week I went to retrieve one of the dum dums and found that a rat had gotten into the bag. What was interesting was that it had attacked ALL of the butterscotch suckers and NONE of the others. So there you have it. Rats seem to really enjoy butterscotch dum dums.
2) While in town a couple of weeks ago we paid a visit to one of the tailors whome we had made friends with on a previous occasion. We were having her finish the ends of several Kromas (plaid multipurpose peice of fabric people use as a headcovering among other things). She had a large bag of fabric scraps and, as I love to sew random little things, I asked her what she did with the scraps, and whether or not she would sell them. She ended up giving me a large bag of various peices of beutiful fabric, silks and satins in many colors (and refused to let me pay her). I was beyond excited by the possibility of all the fun things I could make! One of my first projects was a fun silk hair flower to repay her for her kindness.
3) I got prank called by a police officer, I think he may even be my commune police cheif. Theother day I am sitting on a bench outside the teachers lounge at school, enjoying the slightly cooler weather and watching some students play soccer, when my phone rings. I answer it and no one is there...I say "Hello, hello...." then here resounding laughter and turn around to find several teachers and the officer laughing and holding up his phone. Would this happen in America...prob not.
4) The other day at school one of the female teachers started petting my arm and asked me if my arm hair was natural. Huh?
5) I went to my first funeral this past week. My co-teacher's father-in-law passed away so I went to the funeral with two other teachers. This was not only culturally facinating but also an amusing event in several ways. For starters the co-teachers I went with rode bikes since I cannot ride a moto (this was actually a really kind gesture since people tend to avoid physical exertion when possible). The funny part was this: we met at the private primary school near my house and they just randomly took some little kids bikes. So, not only were they riding bikes, but one teacher wrode a bike with tires literally a foot in diameter, and the other rode a pink "turbo fairy" bike. Following them barreling down dirt rodes (with mud pits deeper than the small bike itself!)on bikes stolen from children, was beyond funny. Now, I had expected to be going to the family home and paying my respects, then leaving. But I had in fact been invited to the procession portion of the funeral in which the family and all guests walk the body to the family's wat. Had I know this I would not have sported never before worn closed toed mary-jane shoes from the states (it was finally cold enough to wear closed toed shoes). After walking about 3 miles I had bleeding blisters on both my feet. My co-teachers FLIPPED. I believe the exact statement made was "OH Meghan, I am soooo sorry I have made this happen to you!" While I certainly appreciated their concern, I was also exceedinly amused by the level of concern shown for an occurance all too commonplace to any high-heel loving woman in America.
6) Favorite text of the past couple weeks: "I loath wedding season. And whoever brought stereo systems to Cambodia- whatn an ass-hole." I could not agree more.
This weekend we were fortunate enough to have our language IST in which about 18 of us (mostly K3s and a few K2s) all gathered in Battambang town. In a thoughtful gesture, Peace Corps planned this to coincide nicely with Thanksgiving. Thanks to the efforts of our two provintial town volunteers, we were all able to celebrate the holiday together at a local restaurant complete with American football, smoked turkey, mashed potatos and gravy, sweet potatos, string beans, pie and ice cream. It was a phenomenal mean by all accounts. What was most surprising to me however, was how entirely content I felt. I certainly miss my family and would have loved to be with them for the holidays but felt no lament or regret to be exactly where I was. There was something great about being able to celebrate an American holiday in a traditional way here with so many people sharing this common (yet varying) experience. I also find it amusing that my first experience with sweet potatos was in Cambodia.
Friday, November 13, 2009
So health makes a big difference...
So it turns out that being healthy makes a big difference in how everything in life works out. Since getting back to site (after my long absence due to various illnesses) things have begun to pick up a lot. I am finally legitimately teaching (not just observing) and have actually been enjoying it quite a lot. I am still such a novelty that it is not difficult to get my students to pay attention, and fresh rediculousness abounds daily. My favorite was probably when, on my first or second day of teaching, the school's "crazy lady" came into the room and started yelling (I presume about politics) at the class while I was going over pronounciation of new vocab.
There have been several occasions of note in the last couple of weeks:
1) I discovered recently that I am turning into my mother. I have always mocked the woman for her obsession with holiday decorations, and the other day I found myself sitting in a hamock outside making individual thanksgiving table name cards for all of the volunteers I will be sharing the holiday with. The next day I made a trip to the market where I managed to purchase red and green fabric with the intention of sewing stockings for Christmas (since Jayne is coming to see me for the holiday!). I had a great time trying to explain to the group that gathered around my why I wanted to purchase this fabric. I ended up exaplaining that there was an important American holiday next month and that I wanted to make stockings (which I drew a picture of with a little present and an arrow going into the stocking). The tailor proceeded to measure from my heel to my knee. It would seem that the concept of stocking was relayed, but the concept of a stocking for decoration was lost in translation.
2) I found a tutor. She is the younger sister of one of my co-teachers and also tutored the K1 that was at my site before me. I am very excited about this. My Khmer needs help.
3)The other day we did not have school because it was Cambodia's independence day. One of my co-teachers invited me over to his house to meet his family and eat lunch. This turned out to be a big holiday lunch celebration complete with tons of food, lots of other teachers, and beer. My favorite part of this event was probably watching my co-teacher's wife killing a bag full of recently caught fish. She literally had to chase their wriggling bodies through the yard while wacking them with the back side of a large knife. It was an experience.
4) Random observation. The other day I was on the way to school on my bike, and was faced with an all too common brush with almost certain catastrophe. I had a huge semi rushing by me on one side and a team of slow going bikes on my other side. Then out of no-where I got cut off by a horse drawn cart. This is just a beautiful example of the odd contrast between modern and old-school so prevalent here.
5) I will begin teaching english at the health center next week. I have no idea how I am going to go about doing this but am sure I will figure it out before Wed. On that note. While at the health center last week one of my students showed up with his friend to install a tv so that patients could watch Khmer music videos (always epic) while waiting. They proceded to sit down and try and translate the songs for me. IT was hillarious. By the end of this session this boy stood up and said "Cher, I like you a lot. Do you like me?" I could not help giggling a little. BTW "Cher" is what comes out when Khmer students say teacher, in case that was not clear. Things like that remind me why I am here.
6) Awkward class moment. My co-teacher comes in and says to the class "you all look very nice and ready to learn today since you are wearing your name tags" not sure why they all had name tags but they did. He followed this up by saying "And students, look at sister Meghan, she looks very pretty today doesnt she?" There was resounding confirmation and I have rarely felt so uncomfortable. This was probably because I was looking especially Khmer that day. Complete with a collared shirt with large fake diamond buttons.
7) Best text message I have recieved to date: "Hi. MEG GEN. How a u to day, about your fell this time? U eat rice yet? What food? I can eat with you te? U remember i te? I'm _____. I hope u well health na but i not well te. Please u pray for i. GOD in u 4ever na. Bye"
I am sure I will have pleanty more updates soon!
There have been several occasions of note in the last couple of weeks:
1) I discovered recently that I am turning into my mother. I have always mocked the woman for her obsession with holiday decorations, and the other day I found myself sitting in a hamock outside making individual thanksgiving table name cards for all of the volunteers I will be sharing the holiday with. The next day I made a trip to the market where I managed to purchase red and green fabric with the intention of sewing stockings for Christmas (since Jayne is coming to see me for the holiday!). I had a great time trying to explain to the group that gathered around my why I wanted to purchase this fabric. I ended up exaplaining that there was an important American holiday next month and that I wanted to make stockings (which I drew a picture of with a little present and an arrow going into the stocking). The tailor proceeded to measure from my heel to my knee. It would seem that the concept of stocking was relayed, but the concept of a stocking for decoration was lost in translation.
2) I found a tutor. She is the younger sister of one of my co-teachers and also tutored the K1 that was at my site before me. I am very excited about this. My Khmer needs help.
3)The other day we did not have school because it was Cambodia's independence day. One of my co-teachers invited me over to his house to meet his family and eat lunch. This turned out to be a big holiday lunch celebration complete with tons of food, lots of other teachers, and beer. My favorite part of this event was probably watching my co-teacher's wife killing a bag full of recently caught fish. She literally had to chase their wriggling bodies through the yard while wacking them with the back side of a large knife. It was an experience.
4) Random observation. The other day I was on the way to school on my bike, and was faced with an all too common brush with almost certain catastrophe. I had a huge semi rushing by me on one side and a team of slow going bikes on my other side. Then out of no-where I got cut off by a horse drawn cart. This is just a beautiful example of the odd contrast between modern and old-school so prevalent here.
5) I will begin teaching english at the health center next week. I have no idea how I am going to go about doing this but am sure I will figure it out before Wed. On that note. While at the health center last week one of my students showed up with his friend to install a tv so that patients could watch Khmer music videos (always epic) while waiting. They proceded to sit down and try and translate the songs for me. IT was hillarious. By the end of this session this boy stood up and said "Cher, I like you a lot. Do you like me?" I could not help giggling a little. BTW "Cher" is what comes out when Khmer students say teacher, in case that was not clear. Things like that remind me why I am here.
6) Awkward class moment. My co-teacher comes in and says to the class "you all look very nice and ready to learn today since you are wearing your name tags" not sure why they all had name tags but they did. He followed this up by saying "And students, look at sister Meghan, she looks very pretty today doesnt she?" There was resounding confirmation and I have rarely felt so uncomfortable. This was probably because I was looking especially Khmer that day. Complete with a collared shirt with large fake diamond buttons.
7) Best text message I have recieved to date: "Hi. MEG GEN. How a u to day, about your fell this time? U eat rice yet? What food? I can eat with you te? U remember i te? I'm _____. I hope u well health na but i not well te. Please u pray for i. GOD in u 4ever na. Bye"
I am sure I will have pleanty more updates soon!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Cambodia Massage Update...
OK so a couple of the other volunteers happened upon a massage place on a random side street in Battambang called "Seeing Hands Massage" or something like that and had a positive experience so I decided it was worth another go. Mind you, last time I took other people's word for a "good massage" I got kicked repeatedly in the V. So anyhow I went with another volunteer to this place run by blind individuals (hence the "seeing hands" title) and have to say it may have been one of the best massages I have ever had. So, SUCCESS. I have found a massage place in my provintial town and I feel like a whole new woman.
PS: Do not attempt to get a bikini wax in Battambang town (advice from an anonymous source)
PS: Do not attempt to get a bikini wax in Battambang town (advice from an anonymous source)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Mystery Illness and 2 gallons of rice porridge
So I have been sick. It's super lame. With what? Who knows. This is Cambodia. Could be all sorts of fun things. I am better now so it is inconsequential, though my mother is convinced it was swine flu. I guess we will never know. As lame as it has been to have zero energy and feel like crap-it has also had its upsides. For example, I have learned about lots of things that Cambodian people do when they are sick. One of these is coining, which is where they take tiger balm and a coin and rub it super hard along your back and neck, and sometimes chest (depending on the ailment) until you have nice linnear bruises. There is actually supposed to be some truth to the symtom releif that accompanies it, perhaps it activates your immune system...who knows. It was suggested that I undergo this process but I chickened out. Maybe next time. My two personal LEAST favorite things people do here when they are sick are as follows:
1) staying active, for some reason the concept of resting to let your body repair itself so non-existent.
2) Rice porridge. My host mom made me a HUGE amount of rice porrige (huge for someone with no appetite unaccostomed to eating such things), which is pretty much just smashed up rice in hot water. This was a kind gesture but I still couldn't eat it and when Peace Corps staff came through that evening to take me to a hotel in town to rest/recover my host mom looked at them and said "well, I gave her rice porridge but SHE didn't eat it." As if to say that I would be fine and not need to go into town if I had just eaten the gallon of rice porridge.
On the upside. I have been in an airconditioned hotel room for 3 nights and am feeling much more alive.
Yesterday was the first day I felt up to doing anything more than laying in my hotel room watching CNN. I ventured out on the town a bit more and discovered two interesting things:
1) Massages are never a sure thing here. I tried the "oil massage" option thinking there was no way it could be anything but what I was looking for - that being a back and neck massage to help with the headache and the stiffness from being in bed for a few days - turns out it was a massage of just about everything but your neck and back. Mostly legs actually. It was pleasant enough but the best part was at the end when the massage lady absolutely refused to let me put my bra back on by myself. I was confused...but have learned not to ask questions. I didn't really get what I was looking for out of the massage, my neck is still in pain and I am out some cash, but hey...I made a new friend.
2) I am no longer good at telling when western men are hitting on me. I found myself in a situation yesterday where I was confused as to whether or not I had just had a legitimate conversation or been fed a very bad line. This would not have occured in America. I was pretty good at spotting these things at home. Here I have grown used to the obvious; "you look beautiful today, do you want a khmer husband?...do you enjoy looking after children...?"
That's the latest.
1) staying active, for some reason the concept of resting to let your body repair itself so non-existent.
2) Rice porridge. My host mom made me a HUGE amount of rice porrige (huge for someone with no appetite unaccostomed to eating such things), which is pretty much just smashed up rice in hot water. This was a kind gesture but I still couldn't eat it and when Peace Corps staff came through that evening to take me to a hotel in town to rest/recover my host mom looked at them and said "well, I gave her rice porridge but SHE didn't eat it." As if to say that I would be fine and not need to go into town if I had just eaten the gallon of rice porridge.
On the upside. I have been in an airconditioned hotel room for 3 nights and am feeling much more alive.
Yesterday was the first day I felt up to doing anything more than laying in my hotel room watching CNN. I ventured out on the town a bit more and discovered two interesting things:
1) Massages are never a sure thing here. I tried the "oil massage" option thinking there was no way it could be anything but what I was looking for - that being a back and neck massage to help with the headache and the stiffness from being in bed for a few days - turns out it was a massage of just about everything but your neck and back. Mostly legs actually. It was pleasant enough but the best part was at the end when the massage lady absolutely refused to let me put my bra back on by myself. I was confused...but have learned not to ask questions. I didn't really get what I was looking for out of the massage, my neck is still in pain and I am out some cash, but hey...I made a new friend.
2) I am no longer good at telling when western men are hitting on me. I found myself in a situation yesterday where I was confused as to whether or not I had just had a legitimate conversation or been fed a very bad line. This would not have occured in America. I was pretty good at spotting these things at home. Here I have grown used to the obvious; "you look beautiful today, do you want a khmer husband?...do you enjoy looking after children...?"
That's the latest.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Signs of adaptation:
This past Sunday I set off from the family restaurant close to 8:00am with the hope of figuring out how the parking system worked at the market and crossing my fingers that in making the trip I would figure out what time the church across the street started. It proved to be one of the better mornings I have had since arrival at permanent site. I wandered the market for a while chatting with some of the sellers and purchased a rather fantastic hair clip. It was in the shape of butterflies and flowers, but did not have glitter, and I felt that was an accomplishment. Eventually I wandered over to the church and. It was an interesting experience in general, all religious affiliations aside, but for me it was amazing how something still so foreign could feel so much like home. I was greeted very warmly and found myself at one point with a microphone at the front of the room talking about myself in Khmer. A little unnerving given how much I tend to detest such things! It was in a small one room building and began with worship songs sung from what looked like old hymnals led by the pastor followed by songs by different singing groups. One of these consisted of all the school aged children. The sermon followed and then various announcements and readings from other members of the congregation. Mom and Dad, I am sure if you are reading this you will note the uncanny resemblance this format has to 6th and Gibbs. I had the strangest feeling of being transplanted back in time 12-14 years except all of the people were Khmer and I couldn’t really understand anything! When it came right down to it this church reminded me uncannily of the church I attended with my family as a child (minus the gossiping old biddies…I think).
The fact that you can be a 22 year old female and legitimately be single is a confusing concept I am finding. Last week’s episode with my students indicated this, and this week a conversation with two primary school teachers confirmed it. In yet another discussion about my marital status with two unmarried women around my age I had a heck of a time explaining that I do not have a boyfriend in Cambodia OR in America. I explained that I used to have a boyfriend in America (or perhaps I have even had more than one in my life…) but do not have one now. To this they responded “so how old is your boyfriend in America?” When I finally got it across that I do not currently have a boyfriend anywhere in the world they proceeded to inquire: “so what will you do when a Khmer man falls in love with you? Will you love him back…?” I told them that no one is in love with me so it doesn’t matter. This answer was insufficient as supposedly “that is because you have only been here for 3 weeks, you will be here for 2 years and you are pretty so someone will love you.” I explained that it was important to me to have a husband who understands my beliefs and culture so most likely I would not love him back. To this I was told that I should wait until it happens, because maybe he will be very handsome and then I might love him. I am not used to having hypothetic conversations about my love life or to people being quite so interested in it.
So this last week I had a cough/sore throat; an ailment that seemed to be going around town. Unfortunately my 3 year old host niece caught it as well. I took a lot of airborn and many cough drops and it pretty much cleared up on its own. My host sister took her daughter to the doctor and came home with her hooked up to an IV. WHAT!? No my limited Khmer may not have been adequate to understanding the severity of the situation (however I am inclined to think it was not serious as yesterday she was on an IV and today she is breaking through my headphones with her high pitched little girl laughter) but I am pretty sure it was a cold. It seems like half the time people avoid seeking medical help and resort to things like coining and then when they do seek medical help it is over the top. Not sure though, purely speculation.
Some observations from the last several weeks...
You know are you are being desensitized when:
1) You see a hot monk. No lie, it happened this week and it was weird.
2) Tiny red ants invading your cereal do not deter you from eating it. In fact the chore of picking out the tiny red ants just makes the cereal last longer.
3) The knowledge of how many people will stare at you if you leave the house is no longer enough to keep you from leaving.
4) A rooster sticking its head in your window (on the second floor) in the morning is no longer alarming… it is simply time to get up.
5) Rats are only bothersome if they take your stuff or chew the crotch out of your underwear (shout out to Keiko).
You know you have not been completely desensitized if:
1) You still become irate when obnoxious music is blared from some non-descript location for hours on end (A problem perpetuated by the TV in your own home being turned up to an unearthly volume to compete with the music). Even though it happens every other day at least.
2) You have not yet learned to tune out chickens. I hate chickens now.
3) You are still grossed out by the smacking and slurping of food as well as relatively constant belching and spitting.
4) You still feel the impulse to yell “I AM NOT FRENCH I AM AMERICAN” every time someone yells “Barang” on the street (it is a term used for foreigners but actually means French).
5) You are still annoyed if you arrive when school starts and no one is there!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Dollface Liar?
I am going to attempt this whole blog pre-write thing again. We shall see. Currently I am laying in bed attempting to write while being pelted every 20 seconds or so by the various bugs that are small enough to penetrate my pretty pink mosquito net. This is a minor nuisance except when one of the bugs goes for my eye, but this only happens every few minutes. I am also trying really hard to cough up a lung at the moment.
Last weekend was spent in Battambang town with all of the other volunteers in my province, in turns. I am learning rapidly that I will need to keep those trips to a minimum as I spend roughly 10-15X more money in a given day in town than I do at site (I usually spend about a $1.25 a day on food and that’s about it). It is however worth it for the occasional ice cream Sunday, plate of hashbrowns and toast, or pizza. While most of this weekend was spent eating (quite literally) it did have a purpose. On Monday afternoon all of the K3 volunteers in Battambang met with the POE (Provintial Office of Education) director. To my surprise all of our school directors were there as well. I had only met my school director once, briefly, and he had not been present for the Peace Corps meeting attended by other school directors. Thus, I was quite curious about what he might have to say. After the POE director gave us some information on the current situation with education in our province, he gave each of us and our school directors a chance to say something. All of the other school directors discussed issues they would like to see their volunteers address at their schools in the next two years, as well as mentioning bits about work don’t by previous volunteers. My school director however informed everyone that he would like to work closely with Peace Corps to change the moto policy (we aren’t allowed to ride them) because it makes transportation difficult for me. I could not help laughing at this as the moto policy is a source of irritation (necessary as it may be) for many people in more remote sites and has nothing to do with my role at the school.
The fun did not end at the meeting though, because this is Cambodia. I left the meeting with Katie (another K3) and headed to the taxi stand that heads to our sites. My site is north of Battambang town and Katie’s is west of me down a nasty dirt road. As it turned out, in the 2 days since we had left our sites, the road to Katie’s site had become conveniently under water. It was passable by large vehicle, but those weren’t running at 5:00pm. So we got to have a nice sleepover at my house. My host family generously put her up for the night, but I paid for it (figuratively speaking). You see, Cambodians (I have observed) LOVE to compare. The following day, after Katie had made it home, I got to hear all about the differences between us: “Katie knows more Khmer than you, she can listen to Khmer better and say more than you, but she has short hair and your hair is long. Why don’t you know as much Khmer as Katie?” and just in case it was not enough to compare me to Katie, they decided to dive into the comparisons with the K1 who was here before me. “Meghan, Teacher Liz knew a lot more khmer than you, you are smaller than her though. She knew how to eat more Khmer food than you. When she went back to America she cried because she did not want to leave. She will not forget us, but you maybe will forget. She ate fish and cuitio….” And so on and so on. It is just unfathomable to my family that I prefer other foods to cuitio (Chinese noodles with meat and veggies) for breakfast. Such is the lot of the first round of volunteers to fill replacement sites in Cambodia! I suppose I just need to remind myself that the previous volunteer is likely their only frame of reference to Americans, they want me to speak more Khmer because they care about communicating with me, and my choice to not eat cuitio for breakfast would be something like someone choosing to eat plain toast instead of waffles.
On a lighter note, it is always fun to compare stories of the ridiculous or amusing things that people say to us on a given day. Katie had some good ones this week. One of the male teachers at her school asked her “do you feel like a flower today,” the other morning. As we both found this puzzling I asked one of my male co-teachers what this meant. He informed me that a flower was a girl that boys liked to be around (boys are the birds and bees, hmmmm). So basically the teacher asked her if she felt like attracting men that day. Weird. She also got passed a note from a female teacher during a staff meeting which read “I want to sleep with you.” It took a fair bit to explain exactly what that would mean in America, and to decipher what the teacher had actually attempted to communicate. Language barriers, though annoying can certainly be cause for amusement as well.
This brings me to some of the more ridiculous things I experienced at school this week (though I do not think I can compare to having a teacher say they want to sleep with me). I have made the observation recently that every time I divulge my age to a class of students, they laugh. I was very confused as to why this would be the case. I have heard two possible explanations. The first, and most likely, is that some of my students are only slightly younger than I am, if not the same age. Due to failed senior exams, late starts in school, and a wealth of other reasons, I actually have some 11th grade students in their 20’s. The laughter is thus that I have finished “university” and am a teacher at the same age that some of them are finishing high school. I cannot imagine what it would have felt like to have a teacher the same age as me when I was in the 11th grade. The other possible reason I heard from one of my co-teachers was; “The students say you have a face like a doll.” So apparently they laugh at my age because I have a doll face. WHAT!?
So the other day I am in a new class and giving an introduction. I do the usual shpeal about myself and then start answering questions. One of the girls asked if I had a boyfriend. A question I have grown accustomed to getting from them (always followed by resounding laughter). So I said “no, I do not have a boyfriend.” At which point they of course laughed…but then…my co-teacher stood up and said “So, do you believe her?” and they all said “NO!” simultaneously. If I thought I could count on my co-teacher for some backup, I was sorely mistaken. He just said “I do not believe her either.” So basically I am a doll-faced lying little American.
Part way through this week I made a trip to the health center. It is only the second time I have gone as the first visit was slightly discouraging. The director had no idea who I was or that I was supposed to be working there one day a week for the next 2 years. It is tough for me to get over myself and go alone with my limited language ability and no set role. It really was quite fascinating though. They still had no idea what I was doing there but I was able to stay and observe for several hours. I watched baby checkups, various consultations, vaccinations, a malaria test…etc… all in the open waiting area of the health center. The whole confidentiality thing isn’t so much an issue here I think. The nurses seemed interested in having me teach English there in the afternoons, and while this is not how I pictured things going, it may turn out to be an excellent in. Some of the other health volunteers have had an easier go of things in terms of jumping into hands on work at their health centers, and I cannot help being a bit envious. I have to continuously remind myself that every site is different and it will take time to build relationships, to learn language, and to gain the trust of people in my community. I am reminded lately of something that my college pastor said once (shout out to M-Smith); that you can actually do more harm than good for the things you are most passionate about if you are ignorant about them (not a direct quote, but the sentiment is there). Basically, I cannot address the needs of this community if I do not take the time to learn what they are. Jumping in with my ideas of what should be done and how it should be done won’t really benefit anyone if the ideas are not generated from a genuine understanding of the needs of these people. So patience, patience, patience…not my strong suit, but I think if anything can teach it…
Last weekend was spent in Battambang town with all of the other volunteers in my province, in turns. I am learning rapidly that I will need to keep those trips to a minimum as I spend roughly 10-15X more money in a given day in town than I do at site (I usually spend about a $1.25 a day on food and that’s about it). It is however worth it for the occasional ice cream Sunday, plate of hashbrowns and toast, or pizza. While most of this weekend was spent eating (quite literally) it did have a purpose. On Monday afternoon all of the K3 volunteers in Battambang met with the POE (Provintial Office of Education) director. To my surprise all of our school directors were there as well. I had only met my school director once, briefly, and he had not been present for the Peace Corps meeting attended by other school directors. Thus, I was quite curious about what he might have to say. After the POE director gave us some information on the current situation with education in our province, he gave each of us and our school directors a chance to say something. All of the other school directors discussed issues they would like to see their volunteers address at their schools in the next two years, as well as mentioning bits about work don’t by previous volunteers. My school director however informed everyone that he would like to work closely with Peace Corps to change the moto policy (we aren’t allowed to ride them) because it makes transportation difficult for me. I could not help laughing at this as the moto policy is a source of irritation (necessary as it may be) for many people in more remote sites and has nothing to do with my role at the school.
The fun did not end at the meeting though, because this is Cambodia. I left the meeting with Katie (another K3) and headed to the taxi stand that heads to our sites. My site is north of Battambang town and Katie’s is west of me down a nasty dirt road. As it turned out, in the 2 days since we had left our sites, the road to Katie’s site had become conveniently under water. It was passable by large vehicle, but those weren’t running at 5:00pm. So we got to have a nice sleepover at my house. My host family generously put her up for the night, but I paid for it (figuratively speaking). You see, Cambodians (I have observed) LOVE to compare. The following day, after Katie had made it home, I got to hear all about the differences between us: “Katie knows more Khmer than you, she can listen to Khmer better and say more than you, but she has short hair and your hair is long. Why don’t you know as much Khmer as Katie?” and just in case it was not enough to compare me to Katie, they decided to dive into the comparisons with the K1 who was here before me. “Meghan, Teacher Liz knew a lot more khmer than you, you are smaller than her though. She knew how to eat more Khmer food than you. When she went back to America she cried because she did not want to leave. She will not forget us, but you maybe will forget. She ate fish and cuitio….” And so on and so on. It is just unfathomable to my family that I prefer other foods to cuitio (Chinese noodles with meat and veggies) for breakfast. Such is the lot of the first round of volunteers to fill replacement sites in Cambodia! I suppose I just need to remind myself that the previous volunteer is likely their only frame of reference to Americans, they want me to speak more Khmer because they care about communicating with me, and my choice to not eat cuitio for breakfast would be something like someone choosing to eat plain toast instead of waffles.
On a lighter note, it is always fun to compare stories of the ridiculous or amusing things that people say to us on a given day. Katie had some good ones this week. One of the male teachers at her school asked her “do you feel like a flower today,” the other morning. As we both found this puzzling I asked one of my male co-teachers what this meant. He informed me that a flower was a girl that boys liked to be around (boys are the birds and bees, hmmmm). So basically the teacher asked her if she felt like attracting men that day. Weird. She also got passed a note from a female teacher during a staff meeting which read “I want to sleep with you.” It took a fair bit to explain exactly what that would mean in America, and to decipher what the teacher had actually attempted to communicate. Language barriers, though annoying can certainly be cause for amusement as well.
This brings me to some of the more ridiculous things I experienced at school this week (though I do not think I can compare to having a teacher say they want to sleep with me). I have made the observation recently that every time I divulge my age to a class of students, they laugh. I was very confused as to why this would be the case. I have heard two possible explanations. The first, and most likely, is that some of my students are only slightly younger than I am, if not the same age. Due to failed senior exams, late starts in school, and a wealth of other reasons, I actually have some 11th grade students in their 20’s. The laughter is thus that I have finished “university” and am a teacher at the same age that some of them are finishing high school. I cannot imagine what it would have felt like to have a teacher the same age as me when I was in the 11th grade. The other possible reason I heard from one of my co-teachers was; “The students say you have a face like a doll.” So apparently they laugh at my age because I have a doll face. WHAT!?
So the other day I am in a new class and giving an introduction. I do the usual shpeal about myself and then start answering questions. One of the girls asked if I had a boyfriend. A question I have grown accustomed to getting from them (always followed by resounding laughter). So I said “no, I do not have a boyfriend.” At which point they of course laughed…but then…my co-teacher stood up and said “So, do you believe her?” and they all said “NO!” simultaneously. If I thought I could count on my co-teacher for some backup, I was sorely mistaken. He just said “I do not believe her either.” So basically I am a doll-faced lying little American.
Part way through this week I made a trip to the health center. It is only the second time I have gone as the first visit was slightly discouraging. The director had no idea who I was or that I was supposed to be working there one day a week for the next 2 years. It is tough for me to get over myself and go alone with my limited language ability and no set role. It really was quite fascinating though. They still had no idea what I was doing there but I was able to stay and observe for several hours. I watched baby checkups, various consultations, vaccinations, a malaria test…etc… all in the open waiting area of the health center. The whole confidentiality thing isn’t so much an issue here I think. The nurses seemed interested in having me teach English there in the afternoons, and while this is not how I pictured things going, it may turn out to be an excellent in. Some of the other health volunteers have had an easier go of things in terms of jumping into hands on work at their health centers, and I cannot help being a bit envious. I have to continuously remind myself that every site is different and it will take time to build relationships, to learn language, and to gain the trust of people in my community. I am reminded lately of something that my college pastor said once (shout out to M-Smith); that you can actually do more harm than good for the things you are most passionate about if you are ignorant about them (not a direct quote, but the sentiment is there). Basically, I cannot address the needs of this community if I do not take the time to learn what they are. Jumping in with my ideas of what should be done and how it should be done won’t really benefit anyone if the ideas are not generated from a genuine understanding of the needs of these people. So patience, patience, patience…not my strong suit, but I think if anything can teach it…
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A little look at my life...
Some photos for your viewing pleasure.
A meal with the host fam
The children that frequent my house (host neice and nephew in the middle)
My host sister and neighbors making some sort of yummy treat
A meal with the host fam
The children that frequent my house (host neice and nephew in the middle)
My host sister and neighbors making some sort of yummy treat
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Living the dream: Week 1
So I wrote out a huge long blog entry and forgot to save it in a format compatible to the computer I am now using. Genius. Anyhow the last two weeks have been a trip for sure. After a big western food party in our training village we all set off for Phnom Penh and swear in then it was time to really begin the journey. I have been in my permanent site for just over a week now and it seems like ages since I got here (in a good way). It is strange to think how quickly you can settle into a place.
I am writing right now from a computer in a primary school near my house. The director happens to also be an english teacher at my high school and has generously offered me the use of the schools internet. There has been no shortage to the generosity of people in welcoming me to this town though my host family has certainly gone above and beyond. It has taken no time at all for me to feel quite at home with them, perhaps because of the resemblance they bare to my own family in America. My host dad is a very quiet man who laughs alot, especially when I do something dumb. My host mom is seemingly a bit abbrasive and a bit nutty but is in actuallity every inch of the over attentive overly concerned mother hen (much like my real mom :)) I have had numerous knocks on my door at night because she suddenly became concerned that I had a fever or that the large mirror in my room needed to be properly secured so it didn't fall on my in the night. My host sisters are wonderful, as are their husbands, and their favorite passtime seems to be mocking me (much like my own caring siblings). There are a ton of kids around all the time and well I have to say kidsa re the same everywhere.
Since arriving here my family has taken care of everything from my meals to calling buses for me when I needed to go into town to procuring furniture i casually mentioned wanting.
Today was my 3rd day observing at the high school and I have been surprised by how much I have enjoyed it. While the lack of organized scheduling has been ocassionally frustrating I have found all of my coteachers thus far to be kind and eager to work with me, and I LOVE the students. I have had to do introductions at the beginning of each of the 11 classes I have sat in on so far and without fail I get qeustions from timid students about my family and whether I have a boyfriend or why I don't have a husband yet. I have been susrprised by how comfortable I have felt in front of them as someone who despises standing in front of people. The longer I am here the more I am seeing how much learning english can benefit these kids and afford them more opportunities for their futures and my excitement to be involved in education here is growing. On a more amusing note, one of the older teachers at the school in formed me the other day that he was puzzled by me because Americans are supposed to be big and strong, but I am little like a Khmer girl. Thus I have been here a week and have already been dubbed "the little American."
I have had no shortage of interesting experiences here. My favorite was a few nights ago. My neighbor informed me in the afternoon that that night would be a full moon, she said "tonight there is a full moon so we will meet together and eat nome (friend breads...dessert sorta.)" I was like...why yes of course, there is a full moon so naturally we would meet together and eat nome. WHAT!? That night after dinner I went to my sister's house where neighbors and friends were gathered. There were tables out in front of all the houses with candles, insense, and bowls of fruit and nome. There will children running around with paper lanterns and the whole thing was quite beautiful in an odd way. I am still not entirely sure what was going on but I think they were offering food to their passed relatives (this is a common practive here) and then after several hours they brought the food in and had a nice feast of it.
Needless to say I am learning leaps and bounds every day about language and culture and myself.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
It is official
Our K3 group swore in yesterday making us all official Peace Corps Volunteers. Tomorrow we all leave for permanent site to begin our 2 year service. I will write more when I am able to collect my thoughts!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I don't think I have mentioned yet...
People here chew with their mouths open, smack their lips on purpose, and are capable of slurping solid foods (which I did not previously know was possible). For those of you who have always told me I needed some sort of desensitization therapy for my issue, I am here to say you are wrong. Two months in and I am still occasionally tempted to rupture my own ear drums during meal times.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Some days are tougher than others...
I try and keep this thing upbeat for anyone who is reading it, but every once in a while I think it is important to write about some of the harsher realities of this place I am living. Today we spent the day visiting organizations working with people living with HIV in Battambang. The morning got off to an amusing start as we sat in on an education session for married couples on preventing HIV transmission. The educator showed cartoon drawings of different scenarios which may or may not lead to the transmission of HIV. People here don't really discuss anything sexual, so it was somewhat amusing to watch how awkward they got, and how hard they laughed at some of the pictures. This is also disconcerting as Cambodia, among other Southeast Asian countries, has a high rate of HIV and other STI's. We tend to take for granted the knowledge that is made available to us in our culture about the risks associated with sexual activity and how to protect ourselves.
The second stop we made was to visit a rural support group for people who are living with HIV. The aim was to provide a safe environment for people to discuss their health and any challenges they are facing. We were greeted warmly by a group who eagerly answered our questions.
Later in the day we met with two NGOs who work as advocates for individuals with HIV to ensure that they are being treated fairly by health care providers and receiving the resources they need to get through day to day life. At the end of the visit they took us on what we thought would be a tour of the Battambang referral hospital. What it ended up being was a visit to the hospital wing where HIV+ patients essentially go to die. I don't think I can really describe what we saw except to say the way they were described to us; "she is 19, her parents are dead, she has HIV and a brain tumor"..."she took the medicine but had an allergic reaction"..."he was taking the medication, but then he gave up." What they all had in common was HIV and not a lot of time left. At hospitals here the family is responsible for caring for the patient making it blatantly obvious who either hasn't got family or has been abandoned by their family. There was such a huge disparity between the people we had seen earlier in the day, people who were living and fighting, and these people who we witnessed in abject suffering. It was a difficult reality to face and I am still sorting out my own thoughts about it. The only thing I can say for sure now is that in a lot of ways it was a grounding reminder of why I am here. There is need everywhere and if at the end of two years all I can say is that I built relationships with and participated in the lives of some of those people...maybe that is enough.
The second stop we made was to visit a rural support group for people who are living with HIV. The aim was to provide a safe environment for people to discuss their health and any challenges they are facing. We were greeted warmly by a group who eagerly answered our questions.
Later in the day we met with two NGOs who work as advocates for individuals with HIV to ensure that they are being treated fairly by health care providers and receiving the resources they need to get through day to day life. At the end of the visit they took us on what we thought would be a tour of the Battambang referral hospital. What it ended up being was a visit to the hospital wing where HIV+ patients essentially go to die. I don't think I can really describe what we saw except to say the way they were described to us; "she is 19, her parents are dead, she has HIV and a brain tumor"..."she took the medicine but had an allergic reaction"..."he was taking the medication, but then he gave up." What they all had in common was HIV and not a lot of time left. At hospitals here the family is responsible for caring for the patient making it blatantly obvious who either hasn't got family or has been abandoned by their family. There was such a huge disparity between the people we had seen earlier in the day, people who were living and fighting, and these people who we witnessed in abject suffering. It was a difficult reality to face and I am still sorting out my own thoughts about it. The only thing I can say for sure now is that in a lot of ways it was a grounding reminder of why I am here. There is need everywhere and if at the end of two years all I can say is that I built relationships with and participated in the lives of some of those people...maybe that is enough.
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Magical Mystery Tour Part 1
The last several days have been spent on what we are now referrring to as the Magical Mystery tour. Myself and the 10 other health volunteers along with several members of Peace Corps staff are on an 8 day trip around Cambodia to see the what's what and who's who of Cambodian healthcare. We have been incredibly busy but the trip has been a lot of fun, a lot of information, and a lot of unexpected. I would like to focus this entry on Cambodian transportation. We began the trip on Tuesday the 8th of September on a 24 seater bus. Our first day was spent in and around Phnom Penh visting various organizations working with water sanitation and hygeine. Wednesday night we left Phnom Penh for Kampong Chnang (I think...) where we spent the night. Thursday was an epic day. We got up early thursday morning and borded our trusted form of Cambodian transportation, the bus. The bus took us to a random restaurant/shack in the middle of "East Jesus Nowhere" as one of my fellow volunteers would say. The group waited there in the pouring rain for a "train" to take us to our final destination; a village even further into "East Jesus Nowhere." There was a small bit of shock when we realized, after about 20 minutes, that we were not waiting for the "train" to arrive, we were in fact waiting for the "train" to be put together. This form of transportation,known as "the bamboo train" is little more than a peice of plywood and a tarp with a motor. All 22 or so of us piled on the train in our ponchos (still in the pouring rain) and it took off along the barely visible tracks (they were largely underwater and covered in various forms of vegetation). We were all having a pretty jolly time of it, going over bridges, dodging water buffalo and the sort, when our "driver" brought the whole thing to a rather abrupt stop. Naturally inquiries were made is to why we would stop the "train" in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain about halfway to our destination. As it turns out a TRAIN was coming. Like a real one. A real big one. So, we had afew minutes to get 20+ people off the "train," take it apart, and move the "train" and people through a small creek to a location that would permit us to not "eat the big train for breakfast." When we finally arrived at our destination we packed 22 people into a pickup truck (a small one) and set off for our days activities. The Bamboo train is my new favorite method of transportation. We spent the afternoon sitting on on sessions aimed to provide mothers of malnourished infants with the information and tools necessary to care for their children and prevent avoidable illnesses. My favorite part of this was actually making sand drawings with a group of children in the back of one of the education sessions. We then took the bamboo train back, a far less eventful trip. As we boarded the bus there was a sense of release as we all crashed after a long day looking forward to nothing more than an easy ride to our next hotel. But, alas this is not how things go in Cambodia. Our trusty bus made it about 45 minutes before it decided it didn't want to work anymore. At this point we were about an hour and a half from our final destination and it was already getting dark. So what did we do? We had a technical session with our LCFs on the side of the road about Cambodian Holidays. I mean why waist time? Eventually we abandoned our bus on the side of the road and hopped one that passed us in route to Pursat. Needless to say, we all slept really well that night.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Khmer Dance Aerobics
I set off shortly after my last entry to meet my new host family in Battambang. After a 6 hour bus ride full of Khmer Dance videos and stand up comedy (ie: pure torture) I arrived in the small district town where I will live for my 2 year service. At first glance the town is nothing special. It consists of one main road with various restaurants, shops, homes, a market, hospital, and school. Pretty standard. The real selling point was once I met my host family.
They are fantastic. Most host parents are in their late 50's-early 60's and have 4 children all of whom are married with their own children. The youngest daughter and her husband and 3 year old live with us, but all of the kids hang out there in the evenings. The family owns a restaurant (a rather nice one) that the kids run. There were a few things that really sold me on them:
1) In the evenings my host mother, sisters, and neighbors get together and do Khmer dance aerobics in the front yard. To truly understand how great this is you have to know two things, first Khmer people do not really exercise and second khmer dance generally involves nothing by flashy hand movements. Put this combination together with sweet glorified pajamas and a boom box blasting Hotel California and you have MAGIC.
2) I was sitting under the covered area next to the house with my host brother-in-law on my first night when out of the blue he reached over and slapped my ankle. This was weird since it was out of the blue slapping, since we didn't really know each other, and because men here do not touch women that are not their wives or family. I was confused until I looked down and realized that he had slapped a mosquito that was biting my ankle. It's nice to see that they very literally have my back.
3) In the morning I went to the family restaurant and they brought out my favorite breakfast without me even having to order.
More later.
They are fantastic. Most host parents are in their late 50's-early 60's and have 4 children all of whom are married with their own children. The youngest daughter and her husband and 3 year old live with us, but all of the kids hang out there in the evenings. The family owns a restaurant (a rather nice one) that the kids run. There were a few things that really sold me on them:
1) In the evenings my host mother, sisters, and neighbors get together and do Khmer dance aerobics in the front yard. To truly understand how great this is you have to know two things, first Khmer people do not really exercise and second khmer dance generally involves nothing by flashy hand movements. Put this combination together with sweet glorified pajamas and a boom box blasting Hotel California and you have MAGIC.
2) I was sitting under the covered area next to the house with my host brother-in-law on my first night when out of the blue he reached over and slapped my ankle. This was weird since it was out of the blue slapping, since we didn't really know each other, and because men here do not touch women that are not their wives or family. I was confused until I looked down and realized that he had slapped a mosquito that was biting my ankle. It's nice to see that they very literally have my back.
3) In the morning I went to the family restaurant and they brought out my favorite breakfast without me even having to order.
More later.
Friday, August 28, 2009
I got you behind
This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind. On tuesday afternoon all of the K3 trainees met in Takeo for a "seminar day" during which we learned our final site assignments. The Peace Corps staff made a huge outline of Cambodia with chalk and little rocks and placed flags all throughout. We were each given an envelope, one by one, with out permanent placement and asked to stand by our flag. It was really kind of cool to see everyone scattered through our miniature version of Cambodia. I will be heading to a district town in the north of Battambang province.
Wednesay we headed to Phnom Penh (where I am currently) for our "counterpart conference" where we met the Cambodian counterpart we will likely be working with for the next two years. My counterpart is an easily amused man in his late 30s who worked with the K1 volunteer I will be reaplacing. I made up my ming that I will like working with him when he informed me, during a session on building fruitfull counterpart relationships, that if I was angry or sad I could tell him...but if I cried he would laugh at me. I promptly informed him that that was fine, but I would also laugh at him if he cried. At this point one of the other Khmer teachers from my province informed me that "men do not cry. they go to the restaurant and drink two beers." So guys, if you are ever feeling down, that's the cure. Two beers in a restaurant. Later on that same day my counterpart asked me if I was going to stand up and present to the group what we had been discussing. I said no, as I will rarely speak in front of a large group voluntarily. He laughed and replied with "It's ok, I got you behind." It is my new favorite Khmer translation of American slang, but at any rate; I am glad my co-teacher "has my back."
Random story purely for the readers enjoyment:
During language class this week one of the other trainees decided to teach the word "bullshit"to one of our LCFs (language instructors). He asked how to spell it and wrote it down on a peice of paper. The next day he walked into seminar day with an official peace corps folder that had "BULLSHIT" written across the bottom in large black sharpied letters. I laughed...it's the little things.
Wednesay we headed to Phnom Penh (where I am currently) for our "counterpart conference" where we met the Cambodian counterpart we will likely be working with for the next two years. My counterpart is an easily amused man in his late 30s who worked with the K1 volunteer I will be reaplacing. I made up my ming that I will like working with him when he informed me, during a session on building fruitfull counterpart relationships, that if I was angry or sad I could tell him...but if I cried he would laugh at me. I promptly informed him that that was fine, but I would also laugh at him if he cried. At this point one of the other Khmer teachers from my province informed me that "men do not cry. they go to the restaurant and drink two beers." So guys, if you are ever feeling down, that's the cure. Two beers in a restaurant. Later on that same day my counterpart asked me if I was going to stand up and present to the group what we had been discussing. I said no, as I will rarely speak in front of a large group voluntarily. He laughed and replied with "It's ok, I got you behind." It is my new favorite Khmer translation of American slang, but at any rate; I am glad my co-teacher "has my back."
Random story purely for the readers enjoyment:
During language class this week one of the other trainees decided to teach the word "bullshit"to one of our LCFs (language instructors). He asked how to spell it and wrote it down on a peice of paper. The next day he walked into seminar day with an official peace corps folder that had "BULLSHIT" written across the bottom in large black sharpied letters. I laughed...it's the little things.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
This last week was practicum. An experience I dreaded, hated, and am glad I was forced to have. As many of you may know, I am not particularly excited about any activity which requires that I stand in front of large groups of people. Practicum required that I stand in front of and teach English to a group of 40 Cambodian students who probably understood little if any of what I said.
The first morning I couldn’t eat. The second morning I couldn’t eat and I may have called my dad crying, saying something to the effect of “I hate this and I don’t want to do it...” I got a pep talk which consisted of the sentiment “suck it up it’s good for you…” more or less (put a little more delicately of course). I am glad to report that I did in fact suck it up, and it was good for me. By the fourth day I was eating breakfast, and by the last day I was actually enjoying myself a little.
We had all heard from k2 volunteers that we would more than likely start getting text messages from our students who would someone get our phone numbers. I didn't think this would happen to me, but alas, it did. The other night I recieved my first; it went a little something like this "Hi teacher! How r u? This night good dream. Thank for teach me for one week. I want to study with you for along time. Good night. Sweet dream!" Had this been from a male student I might have been a bit sketched out, but it was from one of my female students who also lives with one of the married k3 couples. They had inadvertantly supplied her with my phone number but I thought it was funny. (some of the other volunteers were less amused...)
I suppose I will leave you with a list I have been compiling of things that would be "deal breakers" in the States but have a certain "I feel you brother" quality in Cambodia:
1) Excessive backsweat not associated with exercise
2) Accidentally leaving an unemptied chamber pot in your room for multiple days
3) Discussing your relative ability, inability, or regularity of certain bodily functions
4) Not using toilet paper
5) using various recepticles for bathroom purposes that were never intended for bathroom purposes
There are certainly more but I will save those for another day. This coming week we will be in Phnom Penh, finding out our permanent placements, and visiting our permanent placement, so I am sure I will have pleantly of things to report this time next week.
The first morning I couldn’t eat. The second morning I couldn’t eat and I may have called my dad crying, saying something to the effect of “I hate this and I don’t want to do it...” I got a pep talk which consisted of the sentiment “suck it up it’s good for you…” more or less (put a little more delicately of course). I am glad to report that I did in fact suck it up, and it was good for me. By the fourth day I was eating breakfast, and by the last day I was actually enjoying myself a little.
We had all heard from k2 volunteers that we would more than likely start getting text messages from our students who would someone get our phone numbers. I didn't think this would happen to me, but alas, it did. The other night I recieved my first; it went a little something like this "Hi teacher! How r u? This night good dream. Thank for teach me for one week. I want to study with you for along time. Good night. Sweet dream!" Had this been from a male student I might have been a bit sketched out, but it was from one of my female students who also lives with one of the married k3 couples. They had inadvertantly supplied her with my phone number but I thought it was funny. (some of the other volunteers were less amused...)
I suppose I will leave you with a list I have been compiling of things that would be "deal breakers" in the States but have a certain "I feel you brother" quality in Cambodia:
1) Excessive backsweat not associated with exercise
2) Accidentally leaving an unemptied chamber pot in your room for multiple days
3) Discussing your relative ability, inability, or regularity of certain bodily functions
4) Not using toilet paper
5) using various recepticles for bathroom purposes that were never intended for bathroom purposes
There are certainly more but I will save those for another day. This coming week we will be in Phnom Penh, finding out our permanent placements, and visiting our permanent placement, so I am sure I will have pleantly of things to report this time next week.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Kampuchea Adventure
This past week we went on what they call "Kampuchea Adventure" where 2-3 of the PCTs (peace corps trainees)go to visit a K2 volunteer at their site. I went with two girls, Kellee (from Olympia also!) and Lisa, to visit a volunteer named Lauren in Dangtung villiage in Kampot province. It was great to not only get to spend a couple of days with someone who has already gone through what we are experiencing now, but also to see what kinds of things are being done at permanent sites. Lauren is really well integrated in her community, everyone knows her, and she speaks Khmer fluently. She is currently working an a womens leadership project and it was great to see how she has networked to make that happen. I had a few favorite parts of the weekend.
1) We had 3 bikes for 4 people and as the smallest person I got to ride on the back of Lisa's bike side saddle. It was not that strange of a sight for people around here who will often ride two or 3 to a bike...but for us it was hilarious.
2) The used clothing section at local markets. The women here more often than not, when not working, wear what I like to call glorified pajamas. They are crop pants generally with a button down shirt in a matching ridiculous print. I found a pair of said pants with smiling happy French vegetables. And I bought them. I intend to wear them often.
3) We were able to go into Kampot provintial town with our K2 and took a 12 seater van there. BY the time we arrived in Kampot there were 34 people in the van, 28 inside and 6 on top. It was horribly uncomfortable but it was hard not to laugh at the situation is we are being smashed by Cambodian grandmas falling asleep on us.
It was just nice to spend a few days visiting a real site so I could start getting an idea of how life will be and the kinds of projects I might be able to pursue.
1) We had 3 bikes for 4 people and as the smallest person I got to ride on the back of Lisa's bike side saddle. It was not that strange of a sight for people around here who will often ride two or 3 to a bike...but for us it was hilarious.
2) The used clothing section at local markets. The women here more often than not, when not working, wear what I like to call glorified pajamas. They are crop pants generally with a button down shirt in a matching ridiculous print. I found a pair of said pants with smiling happy French vegetables. And I bought them. I intend to wear them often.
3) We were able to go into Kampot provintial town with our K2 and took a 12 seater van there. BY the time we arrived in Kampot there were 34 people in the van, 28 inside and 6 on top. It was horribly uncomfortable but it was hard not to laugh at the situation is we are being smashed by Cambodian grandmas falling asleep on us.
It was just nice to spend a few days visiting a real site so I could start getting an idea of how life will be and the kinds of projects I might be able to pursue.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Never Lie to a Khmer Woman!
Last sunday, I had one of my most amazing experiences yet. I returned from Takeo in the late afternoon and had plans to do a little reading in a hamock under my house. These plans were quickly interrupted by my host sister asking me to go with her to meet my host grandmother. Truthfully I didn't want to go, I wanted to relax on my day off, but I went anyway and I am glad I did. I followed my host mother and sister on a little path through wooded areas and rice paddies and eventually arrived at the house of my new Cambodian grandmother. She immediately signaled for me to come and sit by her and I couldn't help but think that I had never seen someone so old. She put her arms around me and began talking to me and very rapid fire Khmer while patting my shoulder. She then began force feeding me that rice my host mother had brought for her. It was some kind of dessert with sugar and coconut in it. Anyway...as we sat there my host sister began trying to translate what she could: she told me that she wanted me to go back to America at the end of my service and tell my family that I have a Cambodian grandmother who is 100 years old. It is hard for me to imagine the things that have been experienced by anyone that old but it is particularly astounding in a country like this where the population of people over 75 is nearly obsolete. She proceded to tell me that she hopes I live to be 100 and have a very happy life because I am family now. I feel so undeserving of her well wishes and warm welcoming but simultaneously blessed by having met her.
We have had no shortage of amusing experiences and funny stories about what we have all done to cope with new living conditions. My favorite comes from a girl in my language group who can't use the bathroom (like many of us) at night...the other morning she had to go before her host family was up to unlock the bathroom so she peed in a plastic bag and dumped it over her balcony. There are so many t hings that are acceptable here that would never be acceptable at home. I learned an important lesson the other night. My host aunt asked me why I am slim and she is not...and I said exercise because I didn't know how to say "I have a fast metabolism" in Khmer. Most of you know that this was a lie, I do no exercise. In fact I hate exercising, particularly the kind of exercise possible here. But my host aunt took me at my word and wanted to leave right then and there to go running. I had to pull all kinds of excuses out as to why I couldn't. So the lesson, never lie to a Khmer woman.
Today we all divided into small groups and went on a field trip. My group went on a boat trip to Phnom Da, the site of some old temple ruins. It was a great afternoon/morning. I love boats and when we got there we were swarmed by local children who gave me flowers and pretty much just provided us with ample entertainment.
My khmer is far from where it needs to be but I am learning...slowly. Unfortunately my host sister, who is one of the only people who could understand my khmer, left for Phnom Penh to look for work. I will miss her a lot! On another note, if anyone has a hankering to send me something in the mail...I want nailpolish. I didn't bring any because I thought it would be too diva-ish...but now I want it!!!!
We have had no shortage of amusing experiences and funny stories about what we have all done to cope with new living conditions. My favorite comes from a girl in my language group who can't use the bathroom (like many of us) at night...the other morning she had to go before her host family was up to unlock the bathroom so she peed in a plastic bag and dumped it over her balcony. There are so many t hings that are acceptable here that would never be acceptable at home. I learned an important lesson the other night. My host aunt asked me why I am slim and she is not...and I said exercise because I didn't know how to say "I have a fast metabolism" in Khmer. Most of you know that this was a lie, I do no exercise. In fact I hate exercising, particularly the kind of exercise possible here. But my host aunt took me at my word and wanted to leave right then and there to go running. I had to pull all kinds of excuses out as to why I couldn't. So the lesson, never lie to a Khmer woman.
Today we all divided into small groups and went on a field trip. My group went on a boat trip to Phnom Da, the site of some old temple ruins. It was a great afternoon/morning. I love boats and when we got there we were swarmed by local children who gave me flowers and pretty much just provided us with ample entertainment.
My khmer is far from where it needs to be but I am learning...slowly. Unfortunately my host sister, who is one of the only people who could understand my khmer, left for Phnom Penh to look for work. I will miss her a lot! On another note, if anyone has a hankering to send me something in the mail...I want nailpolish. I didn't bring any because I thought it would be too diva-ish...but now I want it!!!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Introduction to Traing
After being showered with flowers and water amidst the indecipherable chants of monks (during the welcome ceremony) I met my host sister Tida (Da for short), in what may have been the single most awkward experience of my life. I might be exaggerating a little about that, but still...pretty awkward.
Most of the other volunteers had host parents to pick them up, eager to mother them as mothers do, but not me. I was greeted by my 21 year old host sister who was almost as uncomfortable as I was! The "what on earth am I doing here" thoughts definitely dominated for a little while. Now, however, I am finding daily reminders of why I am here and how blessed I am to have this experience.
I live with my sister Da and host mother (65) but extended family lives behind us and visit often. I have host neices and nephews as well as a host brother, all of whome speak a little english. This has certainly helped me with my Khmer. We live in a traditional wooden Kmer house one stilts with slat floors and an outdoor bathroom. THe bathroom has been the most difficult but I am getting used to it. It is true what they say...they really don't use toilet paper....and its been....fun... haha.
The food is awesome. Lots of rice and noodles and meat :) Veggies too but I can get away with eating fairly few. My host mom feeds me way too much. At dinner and lunch each day she repeatedly says "niam tran tran!" Eat MORE MORE! She tells me that I am slim (skome) and I need to eat more so I will be fat (taut) like my sister Da. Who isn't fat, for the record. Yesterday I ate frog for lunch which was about as adventurous as I have gotten. I have tried many new things, many of which I love. My favorite thing right now is to lay in the hamock after lunch drinking a coconut (that my mom chopped off a tree with a machette) and eating mangos. Not a bad life :)
Our days are spent in language class, meal times with family, and trainings at the school. They keep us very busy and I am already excited for when training is over and I can make my own routine.
Those of you who know me well will be surprised to know that I have been up by 6am or earlier and I am loving it. WHAT!? I am sure the months to come will have some lows and there will be times where I again question by dcision to be here, but I am confident that I am where I am supposed to be and have been, thus far, reminded daily.
Most of the other volunteers had host parents to pick them up, eager to mother them as mothers do, but not me. I was greeted by my 21 year old host sister who was almost as uncomfortable as I was! The "what on earth am I doing here" thoughts definitely dominated for a little while. Now, however, I am finding daily reminders of why I am here and how blessed I am to have this experience.
I live with my sister Da and host mother (65) but extended family lives behind us and visit often. I have host neices and nephews as well as a host brother, all of whome speak a little english. This has certainly helped me with my Khmer. We live in a traditional wooden Kmer house one stilts with slat floors and an outdoor bathroom. THe bathroom has been the most difficult but I am getting used to it. It is true what they say...they really don't use toilet paper....and its been....fun... haha.
The food is awesome. Lots of rice and noodles and meat :) Veggies too but I can get away with eating fairly few. My host mom feeds me way too much. At dinner and lunch each day she repeatedly says "niam tran tran!" Eat MORE MORE! She tells me that I am slim (skome) and I need to eat more so I will be fat (taut) like my sister Da. Who isn't fat, for the record. Yesterday I ate frog for lunch which was about as adventurous as I have gotten. I have tried many new things, many of which I love. My favorite thing right now is to lay in the hamock after lunch drinking a coconut (that my mom chopped off a tree with a machette) and eating mangos. Not a bad life :)
Our days are spent in language class, meal times with family, and trainings at the school. They keep us very busy and I am already excited for when training is over and I can make my own routine.
Those of you who know me well will be surprised to know that I have been up by 6am or earlier and I am loving it. WHAT!? I am sure the months to come will have some lows and there will be times where I again question by dcision to be here, but I am confident that I am where I am supposed to be and have been, thus far, reminded daily.
Monday, July 27, 2009
A Few First Thoughts
After many hours of travel I arrived, alongside 45ish other volunteers, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Our first day here we spent a lot of time doing touristy type things; we went to lunch, visited the national museum, and took a cruise on a river boat for dinner with all of the peace corps training staff. The following morning we left Phnom Penh for Takeo, our training hub villiage. The night after we arrived a group of us went with some of the current K2 volunteers and some of our Khmer teachers to a concert. Apparantly some of the most famous musicians in Cambodia were performing. In the course of the evening a good chunk of our group turned back because the crowds were too overwhelming. They were a bit intense, but I was struck by how much I loved that atmosphere. As someone who hates crowds in the states, it seems a bit contradictory, but I suppose I'm in the right place.
Our days have been consumed by information sessions on everything from gender norms, peace corps policy, langauge, and health. I was probably the only person who was excited when we started talking about parasites and mosquito born illnesses. Our evenings have mostly been spent hanging out in the courtyard outside our guest house getting to know eachother and getting ready to separate into our own host families. That change will happen tomorrow and I am beyond nervous.
On a happy note, I learned how to use chopsticks to eat noodles for breakfast and I can now tell you my name, where I am from, and how I am feeling in Khmer. It's not much but it's a start.
Our days have been consumed by information sessions on everything from gender norms, peace corps policy, langauge, and health. I was probably the only person who was excited when we started talking about parasites and mosquito born illnesses. Our evenings have mostly been spent hanging out in the courtyard outside our guest house getting to know eachother and getting ready to separate into our own host families. That change will happen tomorrow and I am beyond nervous.
On a happy note, I learned how to use chopsticks to eat noodles for breakfast and I can now tell you my name, where I am from, and how I am feeling in Khmer. It's not much but it's a start.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Staging
Today started off a little rocky. This will come as no shock to those who know me well, but I started off the morning ( at 5:00AM) not feeling so hot. I hopped on my rather delayed flight to San Francisco as a ball of nerves. Upon arrival I soon discovered that myflight included not only Kellee (the other PC volunteer from Olympia) but also 4 other volunteers from the Seattle area. This helped to ease my anxiety a bit.
The remainder of the day, after checking into my room, involved paperwork and general orientation until around 7:00pm. After the initial ice breaker and policy stuff I joined 3 other volunteers for our last dinner in the US of A at a nice little Italian place several blocks from our hotel. We enjoyed some pasta and wine and the entertainment of the very friendly owner of the restaurant. He seemed to find our upcoming adventures exciting and rewarded us accordinly with extra food and drink. What more could you ask for on your last night!? We then joined another group of volunteers and did our best to take full advantage of our last night in our home country.
I feel fortunate to be here with a group of people that I have connected with quickly and am excited for the adventure to come (though I will no doubt be sick over it again at some point in the near future!)
Not a bad way to end a day with a less than promising beginning :)
Tomorrow we begin the journey to Cambodia.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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