March Madness

Although this term usually refers to the time when basketball fans get to entertain their absurdity for a prolonged period, it has taken on a whole new meaning for my last March of Peace Corps service. Typically underwhelmed by all my free time, I've found myself completely devoid of reading time, laundry time or studying time (EEEK). "When it rains, it pours" has never felt more applicable.

First up on the agenda is the poster contest I am organizing at my school for International Women's Day (March 8th). What I thought would be a fairly low-key event has turned into absolute insanity. The contest and event are open to all girls at my school (grades 7-12) and the theme is "What does International Women's Day mean to you?" The event will begin Tuesday morning, when students and teachers will have the opportunity to walk around the school to see the posters (of which will require my co-teachers and me to arrive at school at 5 am, pre-sunrise, to tape them up around the school). I will then give a speech in Kmai about Women's Day (rife with inspirational words, given I don't botch the translation too badly), a speaker from the Department of Women's Affairs in Svay Rieng, an awards ceremony for the top 3 posters, and games and activities. There will be fruit, water and traditional Kmai cake available for everyone. What began as a small project turned into a HUGE project, and despite feeling very overwhelmed and stressed, I know it's a great opportunity for students to actually think about the role of women in Cambodian society and just have a day of fun. These girls deserve at least a little of that before they really begin to feel the many challenges that accompany being a woman in a male-dominated society.

I began to see the fruits of my labor this morning, when swarms of girls started showing up to the library to drop off their posters. Each and every girl had a huge smile on their face as they delivered their poster to my co-teacher and me. I sneaked a glance at Pilot, my co-teacher, and saw how genuinely thrilled he was to see the huge numbers of girls filing in to the library. Teachers started dropping in, incredulously surveying the goings-ons. By the time all the girls had delivered their posters, we counted 55! More are expected to submit posters tomorrow, before some of the female teachers and I get together to decide 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Needless to say, I am so excited for this event to happen. Although there is still much preparation left to do, it is all coming together and I couldn't be happier. I'm just trying to mentally prepare for all the slip-ups that are inevitable in an event with 300+ people.

So once I recover from International Women's Day (my sleep is seriously in need of some beauty), I will shift focus to Camp GLOW (girls leading our world). This is a project I am working on with 4 other Peace Corps volunteers in my province. We are inviting 25 girls (5 from each of our schools) to attend a 3-day workshop in the provincial town (March 25th-27th). They will stay at a guesthouse and for many of them, it's their first time away from home, let alone away from their district. We have all kinds of workshops planned, including public speaking, leadership skills, AIDS/HIV awareness, nutrition and a workshop discussing self-image and body awareness. We each are inviting a woman counterpart from our school to help us lead the workshops and chaperon the girls. Everything will be conducted in Kmai and the idea is that girls will share the knowledge learned at the camp with friends and family once they return. We have been planning this since September and applied for a grant from USAID, which was approved, so all our blood, sweat and tears will soon become reality! Like the poster contest, it's a pain to put together, but I am guessing it will be one of the highlights of my time here.

So yea, there you have it. That's what I am working on, while simultaneously trying to find the time/energy to study LSAT. Who knew I had such a strong feminist side? I doubt I'm the next Gloria Steinem, but hey, nothing wrong with a little girl power!