1 month in!

I've been in Cambodia about a month now! It really feels like I've been here much longer. It's the weirdest thing- the days go by so slowly, yet training is flying by at the same time. I can't explain it! I've been super busy, so I will try and update everyone with some of the most interesting things that are going on/have happened.

So I went on Kampuchea Adventure 1 week ago. I went to the Prey Veng province with 2 of my friends, Terry and Ben. Ben was in my language cluster (they have now changed a little bit) and Terry lives in the other training village, but is still one of my good friends. We went to visit Michael, a K2 who lives in Prey Veng (very close to Vietnam) and actually went to high school with me in Colorado! He graduated in '03, but we still had some common friends, so it was really nice to reminisce about the good old days at G.W., and hear about some of the news from people that graduated with him. His site was pretty cool- he lives near the main road, has electricity, has a great older host mom (I think she was 70? super cute and tiny!). His town was definitely bigger than my rural Traing, so it was a nice change of pace. It wasn't the prettiest of towns, but it was still interesting to see. We went to 2 of Michael's classes that he is teaching this summer, and some of his students were able to speak English (which doesn't sound like much, but is a HUGE deal here). We met his co-teacher, school director and sub-directors. It was really great to see Michael teach and hear about some of the techniques he uses in the classroom. At night, we all kicked back, had a few beers and just talked about life- the food we miss, the craziness that is Cambodia, future plans, etc. It was a REALLY fun trip. On our way back to our sites, we stopped in Phnom Penh for the day, which was AWESOME. We got an American breakfast at this place called Freebird, where a lot of PCV's go when they're in Phnom Penh. At an expensive $5 (seriously, this is expensive on our budget), I had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, coffee and orange juice. After eating rice 3 times a day, nothing tasted so good! We then went and got Thai massages. Only $8 for 1 hour and it was SO worth it! It was the most relaxing, best thing ever! And then we made our way back to Takeo in a van that was less than fun.

Vans in Cambodia are a common means of travel. But they are PACKED and sometimes have people on the roof. Our van had probably 20+ people in it, no AC, and got stuck in traffic. Then a Khmai woman was puking in the front. Then we stopped to pick up a monk. Then we stopped to change drivers. Then we got a flat tire. So yeaaaaaaa, it wasn't too fun, but it was an experience. I finally made it back to my host family, 3 hours later than I intended to be home.

This past week was Practicum, where we all taught Khmai students. We each taught for 1 hour. I taught along with Kenny and Susannah. I would teach first for 45mins, then the students would have a 15 min break, come back and listen to Kenny teach, 15 min break, then listen to Susannah. It was a great experience and gave me some great ideas about what to expect when I actually teach at my permanent site. Some of the K2's came and sat in on our classes to give us feedback, which was very useful. Sadly, we were told the level of English at our school was way higher than what was typical throughout Cambodia. So I will have some DEFINITE challenges in terms of communicating. But during practicum, we taught 3 days by ourselves, and 3 days with a Khmai co-teacher (not the the co-teachers we will actually work with). Our co-teacher was ok. She didn't speak English too well and was not confident about speaking English in front of foreigners. But she became more comfortable with us as the days progressed. I am definitely nervous about working with a co-teacher at my site. I've heard some awesome stories from the K2's, but I've also heard many horror stories about lazy co-teachers who really aren't all too interested in working with PCV's. So I am keeping my fingers crossed for a co-teacher that rocks!

And that brings me to today and the upcoming week. I have a HUGE week coming up. I will go to Takeo on Tuesday afternoon for another overnight Seminar. I love seminar days because I get to see everyone from Tramkok, so it's always nice to be reunited! On Tuesday, we will find out our sites! I am so excited/nervous! There have been so many rumors going around about who's going where and so forth, so it will be nice to find out where we're all going. During my interview, I said electricity, proximity to NGO's and a larger site were the most important factors to me. So we'll see if that happens! On Wednesday, we have a half seminar day in Takeo, then head to Phnom Penh that afternoon for 2 nights! We are all looking forward to this- I feel like a country person going into the city...from Traing to Phnom Penh is VERY different. I'm guessing the majority of us will want to go out in the city at night (a part of life that seems so far removed from my usual 8 p.m. bedtime now). We will meet our co-teachers that we will be working with for the next 2 years, so I am extremely excited about that! Then on Friday, we will have site visits!

Site visit should be very interesting, as I will stay there Friday and Saturday night with my host family. Sunday night I will stay in the provincial capital at a guesthouse with the other K3 volunteers that are placed in the same province as me. This is also something that I and other K3's are very nervous about- who is going to be placed in our province?!!! The first three months after swear-in are "lockdown" and we are only allowed to travel within our province, which means the only people I will see for those 3 months are people who are in my province. That means 2-4 K3's and a few K2's. Obviously, we all have formed various friendships over training and are all hoping we are placed near our friends. But life doesn't usually happen like that, and I'm prepared to be placed near anyone. So the anticipation is building...

On Monday, we will go back to Phnom Penh for two more nights. I am really excited because there are Tribunals going on in Phnom Penh right now. Some of the officers who were responsible for the mass killings during the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's are being tried now and we get to go to the trial for one day! So that should be pretty interesting...Then we will all head back to our sites on Wednesday night. So I have over a week away from site, which should be pretty fun. I am SO nervous about my site and am hoping it's awesome...only 2 days until I know. Obviously I will update everyone when I get a chance.

I will finish this post with a quick story. Every day, we have language class for a few hours. I have a new LCF named Linda, and she is great. She is really patient and listens to our awful Khmai. So sometimes, we have language class at her host family's home and there are a LOT of animals at her house (which is the case at most Khmai homes). As we are trying to get through the lesson, a giant turkey tries to come up to Linda and attack her. She screams and her host dad comes up and grabs the turkey with one hand from behind while it makes an awful, turkey screech/gobble sound. He carries it to the cage and locks it in there and we all are just dying of laughter. Then Linda chases the huge cluster of geese away and we resume our language class. Imagine learning in this environment. That's my life every day. If only you all could see it. It's the most hilarious thing ever. When I get a chance, I will post pics, because that will explain things much better than I can!

I miss everyone and love hearing from you all!

Peace and love,

Jacqueline