Back in the Bode

So I have been back in Cambodia for about 3 weeks, and it has definitely been an adventure. Although going back to the States was under awful circumstances, it was SO nice to see family and friends. So thanks again to everyone for their love and support- it has really helped me through a very difficult time.

So I got into Cambodia on the 24th of November and was surprised at the airport by my 3 girlfirends Kealan, Keiko and Jessica. They were standing outside the airport with signs like "Cambodia loves Jacqueline" and "Have you eaten rice yet?" with a cartoon of me! It was sooooo cute and such a nice surprise to come back to! I wasn't expecting to see any of them until lockdown was over, so it was amazing that they were able to get permission from our country director to come surprise me in Phnom Penh. That night, we all shared stories and sat around and ate this cake that was shaped like a pig that they bought for me (good idea at the time, but our stomachs hated us later!). The next day, we did a little shopping at the Russian market (one of many amazing markets in Phnom Penh that has everything you could possibly want for very cheap!). It was the best surprise I could have asked for to be able to spend time with my friends, so I was very happy! Everything was very rushed when I got back, as I had to go to IST language training in Prey Veng, the neighboring province. Peace Corps split us up in groups of different provinces to work with our language tutors from training so that we could ask questions, see each other, etc. No big surprise that Prey Veng and Svay Rieng were placed together since we are isolated from everyone else since we are close to Vietnam and on the other side of the Mekong. Chrissy, who is in Prey Veng town, knows a Canadian volunteer with a sweet house that has a fridge, toaster oven, cable tv, a flushing toilet and he was out of town, so we got to use his house for the weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun! We substituted spaghetti for turkey, and made homemade mashed potatoes, green beans and even used the toaster oven to make apple and pumpkin pies! It was nice to see everyone again and hear about anything I missed while I was in the states for 3 weeks (which wasn't much, maybe just a lot of rice :)

I went back to my site on the 30th, and was greeted by lots of hugs from my host family. My host sisters made a sign that they put on my door that said "Welcome to Bong Nisa," which is as close as they could get to "Welcome Back." Nisa is my Khmai name that my family calls me, since Jacqueline is apparently too difficult for them, and 'Bong'just means big sister, so the sign was totally cute and I always can appreciate the incorrect grammar that the Cambodians speak. One of the volunteers who lives 30k away, Kellee, decided to stay at my house that night because it was getting late and she couldn't get back to her site before sundown. So my host father, a rice wine afficionado, decided to have a drinking fiesta and kept shoving beer and rice wine at Kellee and I. Not wanting to be rude, we agreed to drink. Well, that was not a very good idea as Kellee and I both threw up from the excessive consumption- hey, all in the name of cultural integration, right? It was hilarious though, because Kellee came back from the bathroom and whispered that she had just thrown up in the bathroom and continued drinking. I laughed, but at around 2 am, I woke up and threw up for an hour. I felt so awful the next day, I had to miss school. Needless to say, I am working on saying 'no' to my family and am getting quite good at it.

So the first week back at site was REALLY tough. I had a mixture of emotions- missing my dad and thinking about everything a lot, anger at the fact that I was back at my site which doesn't have so many things I love (whether that be good food or other basic amenities), isolation, or confusion as to what the heck I'm doing here! I kept thinking about how life is so unpredictable and is this place where I really want to be for 2 years? One negative thought fueled another one, and then I started to question my effectiveness as a volunteer- none of these kids are learning anything, the teachers don't care, this country is corrupt and so forth.

But luckily my funk didn't last long. I spent a lot of time with the New Zealand volunteers in town and that definitely improved my outlook a lot. This past week was probably one of the best weeks I've had since being in Cambodia for a number of reasons:

(1) I started teaching 3 more classes at the PTTC, so I am now teaching every morning and afternoon except for Friday afternoons. I feel a lot busier, which is great to keep my mind off of stuff and makes me feel like I'm actually doing something constructive with my time. I enjoy teaching at the PTTC so much more for a number of reasons- I have an awesome co-teacher, the classes are much smaller (25 students max usually), the students want to learn English (as they are going to be English teachers), and they are more mature. I also decided to give out "American" names to the students at the PTTC. I wrote down boys and girls names on the board and let the students choose their own name. But the names I put up are all names of friends and family. It's hilarious because every single student now has a name of someone I know- there's a Stephanie, Julie, Bill, Deanna, Brenda, Briana, Kim, Jennifer, Amanda, Jamie, Kelly, Jessica, Christine, David, Daniel, Patrick, Richard, Colin, John, among many others (Brooke and Liz- your names were too difficult for them to pronounce!! haha). The students had so much fun picking their names and it also helped a lot to work on pronounciation. It honestly was such a fun few days, I had a blast!

(2) I am starting an advanced English club at the h.s., which I gave out a test for. 62 students showed up to take the test, but I will only take about 10 students- those who do the best on the test. The test had a few different sections, such as reading comprehension, essay and grammar. I haven't finished grading them, but not one student correctly answered a majority of the grammar questions, so it looks like I may have to alter the level of English I had planned on teaching. But this whole journey is about being flexible, so that's what I'm going to do!

(3) I met a Korean volunteer named Chi Ho, who is 26, works at the PTTC and has been here for a year and a half. He speaks perfect English and is such a nice guy. On Monday after class, we went and got smoothies and talked for an hour and exchanged life stories. He's going to be here for about another 8 months, so I am very excited to have found another friend who can speak English and is really cool!

(4) Kristin, Kellee and Susannah (she went to USC and lives in nearby Prey Veng) came into Svay Rieng town this weekend to catch up on their internet and see eachother. I always have such a great time when they come into town, and this week was no exception! There was a concert this weekend, so there was this whole carnival-like atmosphere set up, with kettle corn, the darts that you throw at balloons to win prizes, and lots of people- almost like America! Except the kettle corn comes from a rickety truck that is battery powered to provide electricity, the prizes you can win are big bowls to handwash your laundry in, and the people that are everywhere are crowded onto a moto screaming HELLLOOOOO, WHERE YOU GOOOOOO? every second. So, yea, not like America at all, but I can dream :) Kellee and I also did the unthinkable yesterday- we got our hair chemically straigtened for a whopping 20 dollars! After 5 hours of sitting in a dilapidated Khmai beauty shop trying to understand what the women were saying to us, I was thrilled to have stick straight hair. It is supposed to last about 6 months, and I am VERY happy with my decision, since my curly hair is impossible in this disgusting humidity. The only catch is that I can't wash my hair for 4 days and I smell like a wet dog (maybe the awful stench will keep the bugs away?) I also have to wear it down for a week, which means no running for 1 week- whatever will I do?! But just feeling how much lighter my head feels makes me think it was money well spent!

All in all, things are going well. Lockdown is over in less than two weeks, and I couldn't be happier! I am going to Phnom Penh on Christmas and am going to meet up with all the other volunteers, so I CANNOT WAIT!!! It should be a lot of fun and I am counting down the days. For New Years, I will be going to Kampot province, to a little island off the coast that has beautiful beaches, and should be a great place to ring in the New Year (New Years is not celebrated in Cambodia, they have Khmai New Year in April, when I will have 3 weeks off from school!). On the 18th of this month, the New Zealanders are having a big party, and all the Prey Veng and Svay Rieng volunteers will be coming in to Svay Rieng, along with some Cambodians and Chi Ho. So I have something to look forward to every weekend for the next month, which definitely makes life easier.

I am trying to take pics around town this week so I can upload them to my blog. After all, a picture is worth 1,000 words. So stay tuned! Hope everyone is doing well- LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

Peace!