Change of Plans

As suspected, plans changed and apparently there was a staff meeting here in Phnom Penh for all of the teachers in the provinces so we did not go out to Kampong Speu.

However, instead we joined the teachers in the afternoon and in the morning two of us spent a couple hours chatting with the Indonesian ambassador's daughter. How often does that happen..? At first I thought we were asked to get together with her in order to practice conversational English, but upon meeting her, it was evident that was not the case. (Having lived in D.C. for 3 years while her father was stationed there, her English is impeccable!) Perhaps it was just for company that we were asked because she's only been here a little over a week and so really doesn't know anyone.

She'll be entering 12th grade in Phnom Penh in the fall and it was so interesting talking with her and hearing her contrast her experiences living in Indonesia, France, D.C., and now Phnom Penh. When we asked about what she has found different between Phnom Penh and Indonesia, the first thing she said was "It's so much cleaner and calmer here." I, on the otherhand, have been thinking these past few days how any of my qualms about whether or not I'm cut out to live in the city have been completely alleviated because Boston's going to feel like a lush suburb after this city. I can't even imagine living in Jakarta!

Between talking with the ambassador's daughter and living with three Indonesians, I feel like I'm learning almost as much about Indonesia as I am about Cambodia. It's been so interesting! Yesterday we were invited to crash angklung practice at the Indonesian embassy as they prepared for their Independence Day celebration that will happen in August. If you know what an angklung is, you definitely have one up on me!

For those of you clueless like me, basically it's a traditional Indonesian instrument made out of bamboo and shaped into two tubes that resonate when shaken back and forth. It doesn't make much of a sound on its own, but each angklung has a different length tube so that when particular ones are played together, a chord is struck. It was fascinating to hear it all come together even in spite of the fact that our unskilled hands probably tainted the sound...

See if you can figure out what song we're playing!

And tomorrow I will go to the village!