Expect the unexpected

If there is one thing I have learned as I enter my 11th month in Cambodia, it is to expect that nothing will ever go the way I anticipate. Don't expect to have school every day. Don't expect rain to come during rainy season. Don't expect your co-teachers to implement anti-cheating policies when you aren't there. Don't expect to ever truly become accustomed to anything. Although this may sound a bit defeatist, it's the attitude I've realized is necessary to maintain in order to elude constant frustration.

I didn't realize how relaxed I've become about my schedule until this past week when I showed up to school to find all of my 12th graders leaving school. "Cher, no school today," they told me, as I stood there profusely sweating after my 4.5 km bike ride. "Why is there no school?" I asked them. "No cher for first hour, so we go home." So I went to the office and asked my school director what was going on. He told me there was a 3-day conference for 10th, 11th, and 12th grade teachers. But he told me that I should come to school tomorrow and Friday just in case the conference ended abruptly and the teachers miraculously showed up for school. Instead of anger at the fact that I just biked for nothing to school (as has been the case more times than I care to count- both the anger and the biking to school for nothing), I just accepted the constant mystery of when I will have class as an inevitable characteristic of teaching in Cambodia.

The same can be said about when school ends at the high school. I have absolutely no clue. Could be tomorrow. Could be next week. When it comes to a lot of things in Cambodia, everything is a big song and dance. Cambodians never call it like it is. So even though they are 99.99% sure that there will be no class the following day, they tell me I should come anyway. So now when I come to school and no one is there, I've decided to just chat it up with the teachers and eat a snack, which recently has been ramen noodles.

It is over my bowls of noodles that I have some of the most interesting conversations with my co-teachers. The other day, after another canceled class, I sat with my co-teacher Chantah and listened to his lamentations about only having one child. He is in his early 50's and his wife is in her mid 40's. Despite many attempts, they have only been able to have one daughter, which is EXTREMELY rare in Cambodia. He always complains about being desperately poor, so I couldn't help thinking that having one child was a good thing for him- less mouths to feed. But then he asked me, "What will my wife and I do when we get old? We will only have one child to take care of us!" He brought up a very valid point. There is no such thing as "retirement" here, as there are no taxes (there is a muddled system of corrupt taxes on large businesses, but no kind of income or sales tax). There are no such things as retirement homes because children and family members take care of the elderly here. Can you imagine if there were no such thing as Social Security or pensions in the United States? Would American children take their aging parents under their wing? I can't imagine the majority of Americans doing so. Cambodians having huge families is one of the only strategies of planning ahead that I have noticed here. It's their own version of a retirement plan.

Job Updates

I started teaching an English class at the Svay Rieng Health Department last week. I teach Mon-Thurs for 1-2 hours per day. The students are all employees at the Health Dept and range from their mid 30's to mid 50's. There are varying levels of English, but a common fervor to learn is shared by all, which makes my time there very satisfying. And there is AC! Easily the best hour of my day.

I will continue teaching at the PTTC through August, but I already discussed how unreliable (or non-existent) a school schedule is, so we will see what actually ends up happening. I have taken on a huge materials development project, which I have been slowly working on. I am basically adapting lesson plans for all of Book 2 of the EFC (English for Cambodia)book, which is one of the horrible books the Ministry of Education requires all English teachers to teach from. I am also making ready-made tests for each chapter of Book 2, as this has proved to be a HUGE challenge for Kmai teachers. Many teachers' idea of a test is asking a random essay question that has nothing to do with the material covered. Students have also never had any kind of practice writing essays, so you can imagine the kinds of responses I have been grading throughout the semester(s).

I am also collaborating with other volunteers in my province to put on a 3-day workshop for English teachers in Svay Rieng in August. We will have different workshops that are aimed to improve various teaching strategies of Kmai teachers. Possible workshops include pronunciation tips, common mistakes Kmai people make when speaking English (like not pronouncing s's EVER or adding an 's' when it's unnecessary), increasing student motivation/attendance, and encouraging writing in the classroom. It's all a work in progress, but I am definitely looking forward to it!

Vegas in the Bode

Today I went to Bavet (the border crossing to Vietnam) with another volunteer, Michael (who I actually went to h.s. with in Denver- small world!). Bavet is known for its casinos and huge duty-free supermarket, which I am pretty sure is technically on the Vietnamese side. The Cambodian guards initially did not want to let us cross, but we struck up a conversation with them in Kmai. After many incredulous stares, they realized we really were volunteers in Cambodia and turned the other way while we crossed the check point, telling us to come back by their gate on the way back to avoid any problems. We went to this HUGE supermarket that might as well have been Costco, except all in Vietnamese. They even had Kirkland-brand raisin bran! Michael and I were freaking out; we might as well have been kids at Disneyland. That's what Peace Corps does to you- food is the most exciting thing in our lives. We perused, made our selections, then set out to a casino to eat some pizza. The casinos are...um...interesting. Kmai people aren't technically allowed to gamble- it's illegal. So there were a lot of Vietnamese people at the blackjack and baccarat tables. But I couldn't help but notice the Range Rovers and Lexus's with Phnom Penh license plates parked outside, so I'm assuming there were some Kmai high rollers partaking in the gambling festivities inside. All in all, a really fun day! It's nice to know that I can get any western product my heart desires only 50 km from my site- basically half the distance and half the fuss of PP.

So as I'm approaching the 1-yr mark, I'm happy, healthy and really enjoying Cambodia and all of its idiosyncrasies. Couldn't ask for anything more.