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.
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