Vietnam

After 41 hrs of trains, 21 hrs of busses, and a 2 hr. flight, I am happy to report that I am back in Cambodia safe and sound. Vietnam was an incredible trip, but I really missed the smiling Cambodians and being able to speak the language!

I traveled to Vietnam with my friend Kealan, who is a volunteer living in Battambang province, close to the Thai border. She and I met up in Phnom Penh on April 1st and left the next morning for Saigon (now officially Ho Chi Minh City). Although my site is only 3 hours from Saigon, I figured it’d be easier to take the bus together rather than trying to meet up in a country where our cell phones wouldn’t work and we didn’t speak a word of Vietnamese. So we got in during the afternoon and we couldn’t believe how developed Saigon was. After living a life of simplicity for 9 months, it’s funny that things like vending machines, European cars, trash cans and fast food could be so shocking, but they definitely were! We stayed at a guesthouse in the Pham Lao area, which is the backpackers’ area and is across the street from a beautiful park. Our room was on the 5th floor, which was a pain to walk up and down, but the price was right and breakfast was included. We did a little sightseeing and wandered over to Ben Thanh market for a little shopping. I was shocked to see how clean and organized the market was compared to markets in Cambodia. Not only was it orderly, but it had EVERYTHING you could imagine and for very cheap! I even found dried mangoes, which anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with! We also couldn’t help but talk with anyone who would listen to us. Peace Corps encourages us to try to build as many relationships with people in our community as possible, which we call IRB’ing, which is basically schmoozing. Apparently, we don’t know how to stop because we were sitting at the market telling salespeople, tourists and everyone else that we lived in Cambodia and we were Peace Corps volunteers. The Vietnamese people didn’t seem to care, but we met some people from Hong Kong who thought it was pretty cool.

Saigon

Inside Ben Thanh Market

The next day was a very busy day, full of many sights! We started with Reunification Hall, which was Ngo Dinh Diem’s Presidential Palace in the 1960’s. In 1962, planes attacked this building in an assassination attempt on President Diem, but were unsuccessful. But they did manage to destroy the building, which was rebuilt and is now Reunification Hall. We walked around with a tour guide and saw many rooms, which had a strange assortment of décor, ranging from traditional Chinese furniture to artwork you’d find in Andy Warhol’s personal collection. It was something else. The creepiest part was the basement, which was filled with operations rooms, military maps, old telephones/radios and other war paraphernalia. After grabbing lunch at some street stall, we went to the War Remnants Museum, which was very interesting and depressing all at the same time. The outside courtyard had old tanks, helicopters and bombs, while the inside was filled with atrocities depicted through graphic photographs. One of the most horrifying parts of the museum was the exhibit describing the effects of napalm and phosphorous, and the after-effects of Agent Orange defoliation. Men, women and children were deformed in ways that a human cannot even fathom, and it was physically nauseating to walk through the exhibit, as was the rest of the museum.

Kealan and I in front of Reunification Hall

So 60's!

It was interesting to walk through the museum being an American. This was in Vietnam, so clearly the museum was from a Vietnamese perspective. It is so different to learn about various wars and conflicts in the classroom than actually going there and visiting a museum or place where something momentous happened. I’ve learned about the Vietnam War repeatedly throughout high school and particularly in my political science courses in college, but setting foot in that museum was an entirely different experience, one that left a greater impression. An unmistakable parallel unfortunately exists with the current war in Iraq- we go in fighting “terrorism,” just as we were fighting “communism” in the 60’s and 70’s. In the process, too many innocent people die brutal deaths and troops are fighting an impossible war that they’re not really sure why they’re fighting. I guess history really does repeat itself.

Street vendors in Hanoi


My overall impressions of Saigon were mixed- I felt like it was a pretty city in certain parts, but at the end of the day, it reminded me of a bigger, more developed Phnom Penh with not nearly as friendly people. Moto traffic is absolutely RIDICULOUS and I felt like I was risking my life every time I crossed the street. Although I enjoyed my visit, it’s not a place I fell in love with nor is it a city I’d want to visit again.

streets of Hanoi

delicious Vietnamese soup

After Saigon, we took a 31-hr. train ride to Hanoi. I’m not really sure what we were thinking, but I guess I got to see how many Vietnamese people travel and a little bit of the countryside. It definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be and I was lucky that I was able to sleep for a good portion of it. One of the most interesting things I noticed was how developed the countryside is compared to Cambodia. The houses seemed a bit nicer and I noticed electricity and satellites popping out from virtually every house, even in teeny tiny houses. Electricity is a luxury in Cambodia, and it is not common to find 24 hr. electricity or running water out in the rural areas, so I was so surprised to see many more homes with electricity. After finally arriving in Hanoi, I took a much needed shower, grabbed a quick dinner and hit the hay.

Hanoi is a really beautiful city, especially compared to Saigon. I thought the French colonial architecture was charming and the narrow streets reminded me of Europe, except when you look around and there are motos EVERYWHERE and little baby-sized tables and chairs to sit at for grown-ups. We tried to visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum multiple times, but it’s only open in the morning and every time we tried to go, something got in the way. Guess it just wasn’t meant to be. But we did get to see many other sights during our 4 days in Hanoi, including the One-Pillar Pagoda and Ba Dinh Square, Ho Chi Minh’s house and the Presidential Palace, the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton, where POW’s, including John McCain, were held), and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. We had a very friendly tour guide at the Presidential Palace who told us a lot about Uncle Ho, as many Vietnamese refer to him. I found it very interesting that Ho Chi Minh chose to live in a very small and simple house- he had no family, so I guess there was no need for excessive extravagances. Besides, when you’ve got a picture of Lenin and Marx hanging above your desk in your office, to live a life of luxury would be completely contradictory. The Temple of Literature was really beautiful and was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle outside its walls. It is the largest temple complex in Hanoi and was founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Tanh Tong, dedicated to Confucius. In the Courtyard of the Stelae, the names of the 1306 successful examination scholars are written in Chinese on stelae arranged in rows. The complex was very serene and had beautiful architecture and gardens.

Temple of Literature

Kealan and I in front of Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

Hoa Lo Prison


The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology was on the other side of town, but was well worth the trip. Vietnam has 54 different ethnic minorities that live scattered in communities across the country. It is quite the contrast from Cambodia, where 90% of its people are ethnic Khmer, the other 5% Vietnamese, and the rest a mixture of minorities, such as Chinese and Chams. The museum had never-ending artifacts, documentaries and photographs and was extremely interesting. One of the sections was about the Khmer people living in Vietnam, which we of course snapped a picture in front of. On our last day in Hanoi, Kealan and I walked around Hoan Kiem Lake a bit and caught a water-puppet show, which was so cool! Water puppets are a traditional art form in village celebrations throughout Vietnam. Puppeteers control the figures while standing hidden behind a bamboo screen in a shallow pond. The figures are controlled from below by strings threaded through hollow bamboo poles that run beneath the water. The surface of the pond serves as the stage.

Posing in front of the Khmer section at the Museum of Ethnology

water puppet show



From Hanoi, we took a 10-hr train to Lao Cai, then a 1 hr. minibus to Sapa, a mountain town in northwest Vietnam, close to the Laos and China border. Sapa was my favorite place in Vietnam because of its beauty and the ethnic minorities that are colorfully dressed and surprisingly entrepreneurial. The town is nestled between beautiful mountains and uniquely terraced valleys, and the fog that pervades gives it a very cozy feel. Much of the architecture is French colonial and the pitched roofs, window shutters and chimneys all contribute to the alpine feel of the town. This was more of a place to take in scenery and unwind, while also scouring for the perfect jewelry or clothing, made by the region’s ethnic Hmong people, who were very friendly and entertaining. They would surround us and try to get us to buy anything and everything, from bracelets to purses to blankets- “You pay me, I pay youuuuuuu!” or “You help me, I help you.” We enjoyed just wandering around this town and stayed at a lovely hotel, with a great restaurant and super-friendly staff!

Sapa: Our awesome hotel is on the left

Around Sapa

Hmong people of Sapa

Nothing but business with these Hmong children

We had a bit of a scare coming back because we had to be in Hanoi to catch a flight Monday morning, and when we tried to leave Sunday morning to catch the train, the train was all booked. But we managed to find a bus back, which was about an hour shorter, but super windy and bumpy. We made our flight the next morning and got to Saigon in the afternoon. While waiting for the bus, we grabbed lunch at a small Vietnamese restaurant. While we were sitting there, we heard a man sitting next to us say “Nam bai” which means “eat” or can mean “eat rice” in Kmai. Kealan and I, ready to get back to Cambodia and missing speaking the language, struck up a conversation with this man and turns out, he was from PP, but doing business in Saigon. He was amazed that we could speak Kmai, and could not stop thanking us for helping his country. At the end of our meal, he insisted on paying for our lunch and would not take no for an answer. He was so kind and it just made us that much more excited to get back to Cambodia. I did not feel the sense of warmth and kindness from Vietnamese people as I constantly do from Cambodians, and it made me realize how lucky I am to be living in a country with people that are so warmhearted and ready to lend a hand. Kealan and I could not stop gushing about how delighted we were to get back to Cambodia, although we had an amazing time all throughout Vietnam. When I got home, my family was super excited to see me, as was I to see them! My host sister had drawn a poster of the traditional Cambodian Apsara dancers and wrapped it as a welcome-back gift. It is complete with the Cambodian and American flags and says “I love you forever.” And this is why I love my Cambodian family. Absolutely amazing.

The awesome poster my host sister made for me :)


All in all, Kealan and I had a wonderful trip. We learned a lot, saw a lot, and laughed harder than I have in a long time. But coming back to Cambodia was great and I am really happy to be back. Sometimes you just need a little perspective to see how lucky you really are!

Going native

Inside the market in Svay Rieng.

Back by popular demand, I’m going to enlighten you all with more of my amusements, frustrations and general observations I’ve gathered during my 8 months in Cambodia. I don’t really know where to start, since I am starting to think of myself as a local, and the distinction between what’s weird and what’s normal have become distorted, but I’ll do my best.

My mom lent me her tradtional Kmai wedding shirt, which was a huge hit at the wedding!

Me and my host siblings.

One of my favorite parts about living out in Svay Rieng is the general calmness of life. It’s a different kind of tranquility than what you may think. Sure, there are moments of absolute madness- the terribly loud wedding music at 2 am, the neighborhood dog scuffles, the non-stop HELLOOOOOOOO’s from everyone, the never-ending construction, and the dangerous maneuvers of moto drivers. But at the end of the day, I’ll take lying in my hammock, suspended between 2 mango trees, reading a good book any day over the constant stress and pressures that people in the “developed” world endure. Life is so simple here- I am not bombarded with things to do or choices to make. That may sound boring, but I’ve come to really appreciate it. When I’m not teaching (which has been a more frequent occurrence lately due to the upcoming Kmai New Year vacation), I have very simple activities to choose from. I can: (a) sit in front of the fan or in a hammock and read a book (b) visit the internet “café” (one of the few places with air con), (c) go to the market and buy some fruit and chat with some of the sellers, or (d) grab an iced coffee at a shack somewhere and bring a book or watch some kind of sporting event on tv (usually WWE wrestling or soccer). Maybe I’ve come to appreciate these activities more lately since I haven’t had much free time between teaching at the high school and the teacher training center. Whatever the reason, I am loving my slow-paced Cambodian life. And I completely understand it- with temperatures scorching hot right now, I can pretty much rule out anything involving much physical activity if it takes place after 7 am or before 7 pm. The simplicity is remarkably satisfying- it puts any consumerist lifestyle to shame.

My sassy host mom, Navy.

But of course, everything has a flipside. An unfortunate companion to the simple life is a total lack of critical thinking. I have noticed this is the common frustrating pattern in all my classes. Students here are not taught to think critically- they are answer-driven and not process-driven. I had never even thought twice about the way I learned to think through a question in school until I began teaching here and realized it was an important skill that most of my students, if not all, are lacking. Let me give you an example. One of the vocabulary words in my eleventh grade class was “risk.” My co-teacher helped to translate the word into Kmai so that all of the students understood what it meant. I gave the students a scenario that I thought would properly illustrate the way the word “risk” might be used: “Say you want to start a restaurant in Svay Rieng and have found a location that you think will attract a lot of customers. You quit your job, put all of your money and energy into starting this restaurant. What is the risk?” Blank stares. Chan tah translates what I said into Kmai. More blank stares. What seems like a simple answer (the risk is that they won’t make money) completely eludes the students.

Host fam making Vietnamese spring rolls for Chinese New Year.

Another example. I’ve been stressing geography in all of my classes, as I think it’s very important to know about the world outside of your own. So anytime we study something that mentions another country, I make sure to bring in the map from the library and point it out to the students. They know the names of the seven continents, and I’ve pointed those out on the map as well. One day in my 12th grade class, I decided to write different countries on the board and told the students to write the names of the people who lived there. For example, a person from France is French, a person from Vietnam is Vietnamese, and so forth. First, I asked the students to group the countries into continents. The first group of countries was Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa. I asked the students what continent these 3 countries are on. Blank stares. One student shouts Europe, and everyone else says, “Yea, Europe.” I tell them that is incorrect and to look for the clue in one of the countries’ names. Silence. Another student says South America. “No class, that is incorrect.” I get so frustrated that they cannot even tell me that these countries are in Africa when Africa is in the name of South AFRICA. I mean, really?!? I proceed to lecture them, but then realize that it’s pointless. How do you teach students who are about to finish high school how to think critically? How? This is something that needs to be taught early on in life, and is something I believe has to be implemented if the state of education in this country is to be improved. So this is one of the challenges I am struggling with, and is proving to be a constant test of my patience.

Just to switch the tone to a more positive note, I’m definitely feeling more integrated at site. I think it’s funny that the very music I abhorred a few months ago is something I can’t get enough of nowadays. During lunch, I tell my family to turn it up- “ooooooh, I like this song. And this one. And that one too. Hmmm, I think I like them all” (I have conveniently translated this into English for you). I had this realization when I asked my host sis to play one of the really whiny Kmai love songs 3 times. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Yessss, I’m going native.

I also am starting to get some of the good gossip out of my host mom. I really adore her. She is just so happy all of the time. Her life involves hand-washing all of the laundry for a family of 5 every morning, taking care of the house and cleaning it, cooking for 6 with basic amenities and of course getting the latest gossip, which she then tells me. Although this may be simple and monotonous, she is happier than any independent working woman I know. Now I’m not advocating for every woman to do the same- obviously it is an entirely different culture. But what I can take from seeing her everyday interactions with her family is that she is completely content with the simple life, and it is a lesson I think all of us could learn. This is going to be terribly cliché, but I have to say it- we take SO much for granted, and once we get a taste of something, we just want more. I think it’s necessary to just take a step back and appreciate the simple things- health, family, friends and a good book.

Now, to give you an idea of the basic dialogue I have with every new Kmai person I meet. I can impeccably regurgitate my answers, which gives many people the impression that my Kmai is WAY better than it actually is. But hey, I’m ok with that. So here it goes:

Stranger: Where are you from?
Me: America.
Stranger: Oh, very good. How long have you been in Cambodia?
Me: 8 months.
Stranger: 8 months? Oh, you (now here it can be continued two ways:
1. know Cambodia very well
2. speak Cambodian very well.
Me: Aww, thanks. I know a little bit.
Stranger: How old are you?
Me: 22
Stranger: Are you married?
Me: No.
Stranger: Do you want a Kmai husband?
Me: No, we have different cultures. And I can’t cook Cambodian food. It would never work.
Stranger: Yes, yes. Can you teach me/my daughter/son/niece/nephew/cousin/grandmother/grandfather/friend English?
Me: Maybe. I am very busy. We will see.
Stranger: Can I have your phone number?
Me: Sure (I have no choice but to say yes).
Stranger: Ok, I call you and you have free time you teach me.
Me: Greaaaaaaaaat.

After this dialogue is complete and we part ways, within a few hours I will receive a text or a phone call from that person, usually from a different number than the one they gave me. The text and the phone call pretty much are the same: “You eat rice yet? For me, already. I wish you good luck and happy dream.”

Ahhh, the Bode. Gotta love it.

Pram- bai kai!

The Ferry I take to get across the Mekong to and from PP

Bread seller at the ferry crossing- Nek Leung

In my 8th month! Time has absolutely flown by, and I am incredibly busy at site, which is great! Some people like to relax, but I prefer keeping my schedule full. Too much idle time sitting around and I start to panic. So I will start with updating everyone on recent events…

Before I went to IST in Phnom Penh, I visited my good friend Jessica’s site and also visited my host family from training in Traing. Jessica lives in Don Loap, which is in Takeo province, about 30 km away from Traing. It was really great to see her site, visit her school, meet her family and just spend time together! Her site is absolutely beautiful and has lush mountains and little lakes around it, which contrasts to the completely flat and unattractive landscape of Svay Rieng. The next day, we went to Traing and I had lunch with my host family. I was kind of bummed that my two host sisters weren’t there (they are now both studying in Phnom Penh), but it was still really nice to hang out with my host mom, dad, brother and cousin. We sat around and caught up about everything that’s been going on since I left Traing in September. We just kept chatting and chatting, and before I knew it, I had an entire conversation in Kmai for 2 hours straight! Until that conversation, I never really thought about my language abilities here. But it was really cool to be able to come back five months later and talk about all the stuff I never had the vocabulary to convey during training. My family was really proud of me and kept saying, “ohhhhhhhh, che kmai jeran jeran!” (ohhhhhh, you know a lot of kmai!). However, anything would be an improvement compared to the 3 sentences I repeatedly used with them during training- “This is delicious,” “I am very full,” and “I want to take a shower.”

Kealan, Keiko, Jessica and I bowling in PP!

On the 22nd, our sessions for training began in Phnom Penh. The purpose of the training was to gather all the K3’s together and share our experiences, and also give us some information and ideas for our secondary projects. Some of the sessions were useful and some weren’t, but it was definitely cool to see all of the other volunteers again (and also a little overwhelming). We also split up into different groups and went on a variety of field trips. I went to the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC) and learned a little about the various birth control methods available to Cambodians and some of the services available at different clinics that RHAC has throughout Cambodia. RHAC subsidizes many birth control costs for poor patients, and birth control for one month is as low as 500 riel (which is about 12 cents!). Family planning is a huge challenge here and lack of education about available birth control methods is common in many rural areas throughout Cambodia. So I thought RHAC was a great organization and enjoyed learning about what they were doing. On the 27th, we went to the CamTESOL conference, which was a big conference for people teaching English in Cambodia. There were Cambodian teachers, expats, and presenters from all over the world. There were a ton of workshops to choose from, with each one lasting about 45 minutes. I attended 5 different workshops, but was not very impressed. The conference is a great idea, but as this was only the 6th year, it is still relatively new and there are many kinks that need to be worked out, especially with offering relevant teaching methodologies that teachers in Cambodia can actually use.

Kealan and I with Kara on her birthday!

After a week in the capital, I was completely Phnom Penh’d out. PP is a great place to eat western food and meet up with other volunteers and let my hair down a bit, but I can only take so much at once. 1 or 2 days is perfectly adequate, so 8 was absolutely exhausting. Not to mention the fact that eating Kmai food all the time has left me completely lactose intolerant, so I had an interesting week digestively as I just couldn’t resist the allure of delicious cheese or other milk products. I was ready to get back to site and happy to be back in sleepy Svay Rieng.

I came back feeling very motivated, with a different outlook on things. At certain points here, it was hard to see myself finishing my service. Thoughts of quitting entered my mind, as I’m sure they’ve entered almost every other Peace Corps volunteer’s. But now I feel the complete opposite- I feel like I hardly have enough time to accomplish everything I want to do! For my secondary project, I am planning on doing a community theatre project this summer that will address the topic of human trafficking in Cambodia, which is particularly pertinent in my province, as we are very close to the Vietnamese border. My idea is to first go out in the community and interview several people who have any connection to trafficking- victims, family members, counselors, friends. After I finish my interviews, I want to write a series of monologues, and then have them translated into Kmai, which will then be performed by community members. This is definitely a huge project that is going to take a lot of dedication and time commitment, but I think it will be really great for both the community, who will learn more about human trafficking through theatre, and the actors, who will gain a bit more confidence in public speaking. I also want to work on some other projects with volunteers this summer- perhaps workshops for teachers or other workshops related to health issues here. So I have plenty on my plate!

School and family life are going great. Everything seems to be falling into place, and I am LOVING teaching. I am starting to be more silly with my students, and I’ve realized they respond really well to silly Cher Jacqueline (cher is short for teacher, which all my students call me) and they are way more comfortable around me. My co-teachers also seem to be improving and gaining a bit of confidence in their own teaching abilities, which is exactly why I’m here! My host family is awesome and I have come to adore them. Each one of them adds their own dynamic to the family, and I can appreciate each of their quirks. They are nothing but caring and loveable, and it really adds to my experience here. I’ve been trying to remind myself that each moment here is unique and fleeting and that instead of thinking of what’s at the end of the road, I need to stay focused on the present.

We are currently in one of the two hottest months in Cambodia- April is around the corner and is supposed to be even hotter! I can’t even describe the heat- I feel like I am inside an oven every moment of the day, and I really wish that was an exaggeration. The heat right now is excruciating, but I am trying to keep as stationary as possible to prevent a disgusting sweat army from attacking.

In other exciting news, my aunt Deanna, Uncle Kevin and cousin Jennifer will be visiting me May 15th-22nd! I am so so so excited to have them visit- right in time for my birthday! In April, I will be going to Vietnam for 9 or 10 days with my friend Kealan and her brother Pat, who will be visiting from the States. I am looking forward to seeing Vietnam and getting up north to Hanoi and escaping some of this heat!

Getting our hair and makeup done the traditional style...

Oh yea, this past Thursday, I went to Jeremy’s co teacher Sopheap’s wedding. Jeremy lives in Svay Chrum, which is about 10 k from me. I probably see him the most, and I see Sopheap all over my town, as he lives not too far from me. Kristin and Kellee also came in for the wedding, and our two new Kiwi VSA volunteers, Tess and Sophy, came as well. Some of the Peace Corps staff were in town doing health visits at our sites, and encouraged us to get our hair and makeup done the traditional Kmai way. So we did, and the pics should be enough to elicit a hearty chuckle. Let’s just say I had two sets of eyebrows- my real ones, which were covered with white powder, and fake, dark brown ones which were drawn on above my actual brows. We were a site to see, but the Kmai guests loved our effort to don the local attire! I also had promised Sopheap I would sing a Kmai song at his wedding, so I had been practicing a Kmai love song with my host sister for weeks! I get to the wedding, and there is no cd player- just a live band. So I attempt to sing the song that I had practiced for hours with my sister every night, but it was a complete failure. So instead, I decided to try to emcee and shout out whatever Kmai that came to my head. It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned, but the Kmai people loved it nonetheless. Our night was filled with Kmai dancing and telling every Kmai woman she looked “sa-aaaaht na” (very pretty) in her wedding outfit. It was great fun!

Jeremy with the bride and groom

Tess, Sophy, Kellee, Kristin and I at the wedding (notice the eyebrows?)

Well, that’s about it! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the cool weather wherever you are :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

During our first two months of training in Cambodia, we had to sit through painfully long and repetitive training seminars about every topic you can possibly think of. Needless to say, there was lots of sweating, yawning, and boredom. One of the topics addressed was mental health and the roller coaster of emotions we were going to feel during our 2-year service. Our staff pulled out the dreaded flip-chart paper and began drawing a squiggly line with peaks and troughs that they called the "U." Then we had to say where on the "U" our feelings currently were- at the peak meant we were feeling great, and the trough meant we felt like crap and were basically in the cultural rejection phase. At that point, I was feeling great, despite my simple living conditions. I kind of rolled my eyes and figured I'd never really experience the troughs, and if so, only for a day or two. Well I was wrong.

Living here is a constant roller coaster of peaks and valleys. Sometimes, I'm having a great week- my lessons are working, my co-teachers all show up, my host mom is making delicious food, volunteers are coming in to visit, I'm integrating into the culture. Then two seconds later, everything sucks. My students stare at me and have no idea what I'm saying, my co-teachers have better things to do than teach, my host mom makes morning glory and pork soaked in grease 5 times in one week, and the heat makes me want to cry. So I've learned that I'm not crazy, it's just the life of a Peace Corps volunteer. Luckily enough, this week seems to be a peak week, so I decided to write about some of my favorite things in Cambodia.

HAPPY CAMBODIANS

Although it may be a bit cliche, the locals here truly make this experience interesting and worthwhile! My favorite thing about Cambodians is that they are ALWAYS smiling. Even when I pass a mean looking Kmai person, I smile and they always smile back. It's actually become a little game I play- see how many people I can count that don't smile back. I'm still at less than 5. They are SO friendly and despite what they lack in possessions, they more than make up for with their positive demeanor. So when I'm having a bad day, I try to think, smile like a Cambodian, because you'd never know that they're having a tough day.

CAMBODIAN KIDS

Pretty much all kids are adorable and elicit an "awww, how cute" comment. But Cambodian kids take the cake. They are unbelievably cute and entertaining. After a weekend away, every Cambodian kid in my neighborhood runs outside to greet me, which is more of a yelling fest, with all kinds of interesting gestures. I can't get enough of it. Almost every single Cambodian kid I see SCREAMS hello to me, which can be annoying at times, but I've mostly come to love it. I get all kinds of greetings: "hello, what yo name?, "hello barong" (kmai for french person, which they use to describe any white person), "bonjour madame," "HELLOOOOOOO" with some weird sound effect, and many others. I've befriended a group of four 9-yr old girls in my neighborhood, and they try to have a little more complicated conversations with me in Kmai. They are sooooo precious and I really could just sit around and hang out with them all day. The only exception to cute Cambodian kids is my host-cousin, who is about 7 months old. He is deathly afraid of me and has a tantrum every time he even catches a glimpse of me. It could be the red hair, white skin or the fact that I tower over everyone in the family, but that baby just doesn't like me. And I don't like him. It's a mutual dislike.

FRUIT

I can't get enough of the fruit here. I wish my host mother served more of it, but I just go to the market and buy whatever my heart desires. Currently, I'm on a pineapple kick. Everyday, I find my pineapple lady in the market and she has it all sliced and ready for me. I also really like the clementines and various types that are everywhere just waiting for me. The watermelon is SO good, but definitely a bit of a splurge on my meager volunteer salary. Then there are all the other fruits that I have never even seen or heard of that I am constantly trying. I feel like even at the end of my service, a new fruit will pop up and surprise me. Ahhh, I think I will go buy some fruit after writing about it.

HAMMOCKS

Every Cambodian home has at least one hammock and mine has 5. It's too hot to do anything in the middle of the day here, including breathing, so Cambodians just sway back and forth in their hammocks. It has become my favorite spot to sit, read, take a nap, and then usually finish the rest of whatever book I'm reading. I would sleep in one if it didn't mean getting bitten to death by mosquitoes.

K POP

No, I am not referring to Kmai pop, but rather Korean pop music. I guess this doesn't really count as something Cambodian, but I still love it. Cambodians are obsessed with Korean pop and as I have 3 teenage host siblings, I get to hear all the hits. My current fave is Shinee's "Ring Ding Dong." I'm not really sure if I've been here too long and this music sucks, or if it is legitimately good. Well here's a link and you can decide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roughtzsCDI&feature=fvst

As it turns out, Shinee will be performing in concert in Phnom Penh at the same time that I am there for my Intermediate Service Training (IST) (Feb 23rd), so Kealan JaNise and I are gonna turn into crazy Kmai fans for the night! Can't wait!

GECKOS

These little lizards are everywhere and I love them. They crawl all over the walls, the floor and my mosquito net. They make this really weird noise at night, which has become a comforting background noise to fall asleep to. With every gecko that crawls around my room, I know there is one less mosquito waiting to attack me. I've even come to have certain geckos as kind of pets. I have a shower gecko named Gigi who only hangs out in my bathroom and is a little baby. Then there is a bigger one named Rooster that hangs out on my mosquito net and am sure that is responsible for 90% of the gecko noises I hear on a daily basis. These guys really are great.

MISMATCHING

Kmai people look like they got dressed with the lights out in pitch black. Every pattern and color you've ever seen is combined and I LOVE it because I can fully take advantage of this. I literally put on the first top and bottom I grab, and since I don't have a mirror, I don't really have to think about it. And no one thinks I'm weird for wearing stripes on top of polka dots on top of neon green, pastel pink and whatever else I decide to put on to add to the clashing. I love it! However, this rule is the opposite for female teachers at my school(s). They match their sampots (teaching skirts) exactly to their shirts and are very put together. I still prefer to adhere to the randomness of dressing and show up kind of disheveled. But they're used to my mismatching by now.

I'm sure there are many other things that are great, but I'll leave that for future posts. I'll be visiting my training host family next weekend in Traing, my training village, and then I'll be in Phnom Penh from the 20th-28th for IST with all my fellow Peace Corps volunteers. So I'm definitely looking forward to seeing many people I haven't even seen since September, and also getting together with my fav girls :)

Much love!

Cultural Differences...

Everything is going pretty well at site. Nothing of interest to report. I wake up and make my oatmeal, go running, go to school and teach, meet with my English club, return home for lunch, go to the teacher training center in the afternoon, come home and grade papers, eat dinner, watch a movie or read, then go to bed. Then repeat. So instead of boring you with the monotonous details of my life, I thought I'd share some of the most interesting observations I have made in my 6 months here.

MUSIC

I wish I could say that I liked Cambodian music, but that would be a lie. Ok, I must admit, there are a few catchy Kmai pop songs that I mumble along to, but other than that, it's just annoying. Unfortunately enough, music is on ALL THE TIME and is played everywhere. And not at a normal level, but LOUD. Usually, I am awoken at 4 or 5 in the morning to screeching singing that is being blasted obnoxiously loud. And then there is wedding music, and that is a whole other issue, which I will get to in a moment.

The most amusing thing about Cambodian music is that they take American songs, use the music and replace it with Kmai lyrics (I'm guessing without the permission of the artists). The current favorite here is Pitbull's "Calle Ocho." What once reminded me of my crazy spring break in Cabo '09, will now forever be synonymous with good ol' Kampuchea. The best part is that when Pitbull normally sings, "uno, dos, tres, quatro," it is now "muy, bee, bai, bu-ahn" (1,2,3,4 in Kmai), sung by a Kmai man obviously trying to lower his normally squeeky voice to the lowest octave possible. I can't even tell you how many songs from America have been dubbed over- it is the most hilarious thing ever. That, and the fact that Akon, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift are huge hits here. Weird.

TAXIS



Taking taxis to go to Phnom Penh is always an interesting experience. I have two options-

(1)I can pay 15,000 riel (about $3.75) and cram into a broken down, dilapidated van with about 22 other Kmai people (there are only seats for 8 people). The van will stop every 5 minutes to pick up as many people as it can possibly cram in, which can make a trip that should take 2.5 hrs turn into 5.

(2) I can pay a steep 20,000 riel (about $5) and get a small taxi with air conditioning that picks me up from my house. Now although a taxi should fit 5 people, they cram in 7-8 people. The best part is that the driver will sit on someone's lap and then drive the car, so there are 2 people sitting in the driver's seat! I kid you not- that cannot be safe, but that's normal here (see above picture). This is my preferred method of transportation since it doesn't take FOREVER to get to Phnom Penh. Cuts the crammed elbow to elbow time in half.



PAJAMAS

Although this has become a normal site nowadays, it still just baffles me why this trend caught on here. Cambodian women of all ages wear the most ridiculous pajamas as everyday-wear. They were full pajama sets, usually with mistranslated English phrases splattered all over, like "fist date" and "pricness." Never fails to amuse me. The great thing is that I can wear pj's out and totally blend in at site- awesome!

AFFECTION

Relations between men and women are quite different here than what they are in the states. At my high school, the boys hang out with the boys and the girls hang out with the girls. For the most part, there is no dating, and if there is, you can safely assume there is no hanky panky going on. Even married couples are rarely affectionate towards each other, and I hardly ever notice men and women touching each other (holding hands, hugging...nothing!). As a result, (this is my theory), it has caused the need for that affection to come from members of the same sex. So boys and men of all ages are very VERY affectionate towards each other- they hold hands, rub each other's backs, sit in each other's laps, as do the girls. It's definitely weird to see coming from a country that unfortunately has quite a bit of homophobia, but I've gotten used to it now. They've got to get their lovin' from somewhere!

WEDDINGS

Ahhh, weddings. Wedding season is fully in swing right now, as it is the dry season. Everywhere you walk or bike, there is a wedding. I actually had the chance to go to my first wedding on Sunday with Kellee. The wedding was right near my house, so it was a quick walk. Weddings here are soooooo different from Western weddings, I don't really even know where to begin.





They put up these big tents and have lots of tables and chairs decorated in traditional Kmai decor. There is BLING everywhere- sparkles, fake diamonds, shiny wedding clothes. And makeup...so much makeup that the guests and the bride look like a completely different person than they do normally. The bride and groom also change like 8 times throughout the day/night, obviously perfectly matching! The guests all pay money, anywhere from $5-20, depending on whether the wedding is in a provincial town, and how well you know the bride/groom. Fortunately for me, I'm in a provincial town so there is plenty of beer and I am not stuck drinking disgusting rice wine (yuck), which is cheaper and more common at rural weddings. People were shoving beer at me every second, which I would drink half, then sneakily toss the rest on the ground. Weddings here are...tacky...for lack of a better word, but SOOOOOOO fun. I danced with little 9-yr old Kmai girls and they taught me how to dance Cambodian, which is pretty much walking around the wedding table and moving your hands in a way that kind of reminds me of an exercise for arthritic hands.

I had a blast...until I tried to go to sleep. Weddings here have 10-20 speakers blasting music until all hours of the night. Even worse is when drunk Cambodians get up and think they can sing great karaoke, which is blasted on 20 speakers into my bedroom. I honestly felt like I never left the wedding since my bed was shaking to the bass and I could hear everything. The bad thing about living so close to the market is that there are weddings EVERYWHERE around my house. I'd say about 4 out of 7 night a week, I can't sleep because there is music blasting at night, or I am awoken to the traditional wedding chanting at 4 am. Needless to say, I won't be sad to see the end of wedding season.

So yea, that sums up some of the more entertaining things I've noticed. All in all, things are going really well. I'm very happy at site and am enjoying teaching and forming closer relationships with my students. This coming week, my 12th grade students will be learning about Life in New Zealand, as that is the next chapter in the book. My co-teacher had a great idea to ask my two New Zealand friends, Bill and Nicky, to come to school and share some info about life in Kiwi world. I asked them, and am very excited that both will be coming this week to talk to the students. I think it'll be a great opportunity for them to hear a different English accent, and actually make the often boring book a bit more exciting. So that's all on my end of the world- hope all is well!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's a new decade! Everyone always tells you, "the older you get, the faster time flies," and they certainly weren't kidding. I can totally remember the Y2K meltdown, when everyone was freaking out and loading up on toilet paper and water. That certainly does not seem like 10 years ago. Time flies when you're having fun I guess.

So before I talk about my amazing New Year's weekend, I must fill everyone in on Christmas in Phnom Penh. I stayed at a cheap guesthouse, totally infested with backpackers, with Jessica and Keiko. It was soooooo nice to see them again and catch up about life at site and exchange other funny/weird Cambodian stories. On Christmas, we met up with a bunch of the other volunteers who were also in Phnom Penh and got some drinks. It was kind of weird to see people I haven't seen in 3 months, but definitely nice! After getting drinks at Equinox, we headed to this random dance place that was on top of a gym. It was totally strange but fun- kind of posh, kind of not. It was pretty empty when we got there, but we took the place over and hit the dance floor, bought some drinks, and had a really good time! The rest of the weekend was spent eating lots of Western food, going to the pool and relaxing. Keiko's friend from Seattle, Leroy, was visiting with some of her buddies from Vietnam. They are teaching English in Ho Chi Minh and absolutely loved Cambodia. They said that Phnom Penh was tranquil compared to Ho Chi Minh, which is so hard for me to imagine since PP is the "big city" compared to my site! So it will definitely be interesting to see the difference when I visit Vietnam.

New Years was absolutely amaaaaaazing. We spent New Years in Kampot town for 1 day/night, which was really fun! Kampot is an amazing province that is in the southern part of Cambodia. The landscape is totally different from flat Svay Rieng- it has a lot of mountains and kind of jungley terrain. It also has delicious Western food, a bit of French architecture remaining from colonization, and lots of tourists. A lot of the volunteers came to Kampot for New Years, so we had a little Peace Corps party in Kampot. The next day, we headed out to Kep to go to Rabbit Island (or Koh Tonsei in Khmai). Rabbit Island is a 25-minute boat ride off the coast of Kep province (which is another really beautiful province with awesome abandoned villas from the Khmai Rouge era). I went with Kristin, Kealan, Keiko, Tyler (a K2), Jessica and her boyfriend Ryan, who was visiting from the States. The island was absolutely beautiful! It had a very rustic feel- we literally stayed in huts that only had electricity from 6-9 pm and had squat toilets. It was very simple, but extremely beautiful. There weren't very many tourists there- probably about 50-75 people during the day, and maybe about 30 that actually stayed overnight. We relaxed on the beach, ate delicious seafood, read, and just chilled. It was a really great way to start off the New Year!

And that brings me up to now, as I'm back at site. Life at site is going pretty well. I'm super busy with teaching- between both of my schools, I teach about 24 hours a week (including my private class 3 days a week). Then factor in lesson planning and grading papers, and my weeks go by pretty quickly! I really love teaching at the PTTC, and am really happy with my co-teacher there. He is really flexible and lets me totally go off on fun tangents with the students. For example, the other day we were teaching a chapter about ghost stories, so I decided to teach them about Halloween. I never thought twice about how weird Halloween is, but when you try to explain all of the traditions to a class full of Khmai students who have NO idea what you're talking about, it seems pretty crazy. I mean, it is weird- kids and adults dress up in costumes, decorate their houses with weird looking things, carve pumpkins and go to complete strangers' houses to get free candy. Yea, definitely weird. But they got a kick out of it. They especially loved the "Trick o Treat" song-

Trick o Treat
smell my feet
give me something good to eat
if you don't, I don't care
I'll pull down your underwear!

Here is a video of my 2nd year students singing it- so cute!



Life with my host family is going pretty well also. When I got back from Phnom Penh, the best surprise ever was waiting for me- a 3-month old puppy! His name is Lucky (my host dad named him) and he is SO adorable. Dogs in this country are absolutely disgusting- they are malnourished, mangey, disease-ridden, and unfriendly. But Lucky is a totally different story! He is so loveable and clean! I told my host fam that I would help clean and take care of him- there is no way I will let him turn into the other gross dogs that roam the streets and try to attack me on my daily run. I think my fam is totally confused because I play with him everyday and give him so much attention, which is NOT what Cambodians do. They don't really have animals as pets- dogs are usually kicked around and are used more for protection. But Lucky is just too precious not to love! We're getting another puppy in a month, so I am really excited about that! Here is a pic of Lucky:



Other than that, I am approaching my 6-month of service! That is 1/4 of the way through! It's so strange that I've already been here this long. I feel like after the 1-yr mark, things are really going to fly by. In July, the next group of volunteers will arrive (word on the street is that 55 new PCV's are expected) and we will all be busy welcoming them. I will also probably be busy with secondary projects. I am thinking about starting a community theatre project during the summer, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it all comes together.

Life is a day to day process, and I definitely miss my family and friends. But I am really enjoying my time here and am looking forward to what lies ahead. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and I appreciate all the letters and packages :)

Paz y amor!

Photos!

So here are some photos that I put on facebook, and it's much easier to just post them through my blog than reloading them on here and waiting forever!!! I will try to write a detailed blog entry in the next few days, but here are some pics from October-New Years in Cambodia in the meantime. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2453015&id=3421110&l=943e753d1a