Grateful

On another note, if I don't have a chance to post anything more about the village this week, I just was to say that I am GRATEFUL for plumbing-and not only running water, but water that is both clean and potable, electricity, beds, communication, screened doors and windows that keep lizards, rats, and five-inch spiders out of the house, even having a home

and the PRIVILEGE of being born into such circumstances that living means MORE than simply surviving...

Welcome to the Kingdom of WONDER!

I find it so appropriate that Cambodia refers to itself as "The Kingdom of Wonder," as I am left in complete and utter AWE at least once a day here.

Words cannot begin to do justice in recounting my experiences in the past 36 hours and if I was to even attempt, it would fill a novel of epic proportions. However, I will start by trying to describe just the journey alone in getting to the village yesterday...

Tigor and I began by hailing a tuk tuk to the "bus terminal" in order to then find a taxi to take us from Phnom Penh to the village in Kampong Speu. Before you start envisioning a yellow cab like the ones you see buzzing around US cities, replace that image with a rusty, dilapidated van that you wouldn't trust to go more than five miles without losing a tire or having the door fall off. Now multiply that vehicle by about 40, all pointing in different directions, but packed so tightly you have to hold your breath as you shimmy between them---there's the so called bus terminal for you.

(I'm hesitant to even include pictures because they far from capture the scene, but perhaps it will provide just a glimpse)

The drivers weren't quite sure what to make of me, but as soon as they saw us, they swarmed over to accost Tigor on where we were going and to try to persuade us on why we should take their "taxi." Tigor made an offer and we piled in, joining six others in the van. Even with the windows open, it was stifling hot and I was reluctant to inhale out of fear of lung poisoning from dozens of idling vans seeping exhaust. Despite being assured that we were going to leave right away, we ended up sitting there for at least a half hour while the driver dashed around desperately trying to recruit even more passengers. When he finally was satisfied with 15 (mind you, back home this van would legally hold no more than 10. But this is Cambodia---no rules!) we began the process of maneuvering OUT of the parking lot. Basically this consisted of a lot of horn honking and impatient yelling as at 6-7 drivers frantically raced back to move their perpendicular/parallel/diagonally parked taxis.

And then we were off! I wish I could say it was all smooth sailing from there, but the driver seemed to get a thrill from weaving between traffic at top speed and incessantly laying on his horn. Just as I started to get accustomed to this style of travel and began to contemplate sleeping, we came to a screeching halt and the driver jumped out to beckon in another passenger. Lo and behold, over the course of the hour trek, this scene was repeated multiple times: driver slams on the brakes, pries open the half corroded door, shoves everyone farther back, and squeezes in the new arrivals. By the time we reached our destination, we had a total of TWENTY-FIVE people (including a fully robed monk who received VIP treatment by being ushered to the front seat...to join the four others already sitting there). All I could do was hold my belongings tight to my chest while trying to take up as little room as possible and LAUGH.

(I felt awkward taking pictures inside the van itself, but snuck one on the way out. Note the monk in front)

Foreigners seldom take this mode of transportation and so I received more than a few strange looks. At least I provided some amusement for the other passengers as they kept smiling and asking Tigor about what I was doing as we were obviously together. Though he is Indonesian, he can pass for Khmer a whole lot better than a gigantic, pasty white girl with green eyes and dirty blond hair, decked out in jeans, Keens, a backpack, and a Nalgene...

(And we took a "taxi" back today, but this one had more furniture than it did passengers...)

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Tomorrow we're embarking on another adventure, but I'm bracing myself for whatever may come. We're making a SIX hour jaunt to Siem Reap to see the legendary ancient temples at Angkor Wat. Considering I can't even stand short CAR rides in the US without going stir-crazy or becoming ill, I'm not looking forward to the drive (which I believe is by bus, yet at this point I use the term loosely). But I am excited for the destination! I just wish I had brought along some Dramamine...

Teaching English

I really love teaching English here! It'e been so interesting though to try to come up with lessons and activities to suit different levels as some cannot yet pronounce the alphabet and others have a strong grasp of the English language and are just looking to refine conversation skills. I am particularly enjoying being with the Khmer teachers. I am with them 4-5 times a week and, especially since their English is advanced, I am getting to know them well. They are so much fun to talk with and we are learning from each other as we share about language, holidays, history, stories, and our own lives.

Yesterday I share American fables with them and once they recognized the form of the story, were able to explain some Khmer ones to me. As we went over some idioms earlier in the week, I learned that Khmer has its own expression for "That's a piece of cake" which roughly translates: "It's as easy as peeling a banana." To which, if you don't agree, you respond, "Ya-- a GREEN banana!" We had some varying opinions on whether speaking Khmer was a ripe banana or a green banana. :)

So often we just talk and I think we all enjoy and benefit from this. A few days ago I completely scrapped the lesson after starting class by asking them to share something they had learned over the weekend. I had planned on just saying something simple such as I learned that the Cambodian royal court wears a different color depending on the day of the week. However, the woman who started the discussion shared that she's been learning about fear and how how she needs to trust God in the midst of it because fear is not from Him. She shared her anxieties about moving to the US (she will be marrying an American in September) but also how she is learning to surrender these to God. As a class we were able to look at a few passages of scripture that address fear and discuss them in both English and Khmer. The next to share about what she learned responded on an equal level as she talked about how she has been disappointed and depressed recently, especially with regards to her relationship with her boyfriend, but also shared ways she's been encouraged and how she's learning to take it before God. So many of the conversations I've had with them is just like talking with friends back home. I really enjoy spending time with them and am excited to continue to build these relationships.

Today I head back to the village. It will definitely be different here as I am pretty much thrown into a classroom of onlooking eyes and told to teach English, not knowing any idea of where they are at. It will be challenging but I'm looking forward to it!

ACTS Project

On Friday I was at the ACTS school again working with the teachers on English and helping with various administrative tasks to free them up to do other things. ACTS stands for Assisting Children To School and has the goal of supporting 500+ previously unschooled children from Phnom Penh and several surrounding villages (including the one I am also teaching in) to make it into schools and remain there at least through grade nine. Though it is all completely locally run and so employs people from the community, equipping them to become teachers, promoters, drivers, cooks, and fill HR and administrative positions, its funding comes from two outside cooperations.

kids playing a form of jump rope with rubber-bands while they wait for school to start

The education system in Cambodia is pretty corrupt. In talking with some of my older students who attend university here, they explained that you can essentially buy your way into the next year and the lower you score on your final exams, the more you are expected to pay for tuition the following semester. At the elementary and high school level, teachers seldom have adequate, if any, qualifications and are notorious for being unmotivated. The other day I was talking with a girl who I knew was supposed to be at school twenty minutes prior and asked "Aren't you going to be late?" She replied that it was OK if she was late because she always makes it there long before the teacher.

Yet I can see where the lack of teacher motivation stems from. We complain about teachers' salaries in the US, but here experienced teachers in government funded schools typically make $50 per month---even by Cambodia standards, that is far from sufficient to live on! As a result, they typically look for other ways to make money and so it is quite common for teachers to withhold information and not teach everything during the regular school hours (which, to begin with, are only 3 hours/day!) and so charge those who want to learn more to come for extra hours. Consequently, most students cannot afford to pay for these extended hours, especially not after paying for their materials, and so are incredibly shortchanged in their education.

Also, many students drop out of even the government funded hours as education does not seem to be highly valued here. Part of this I think comes from the lasting effects of the Khmer Rouge as the government is still trying to reconstruct the education system after all schools were destroyed and educators murdered during this horrible regime that reigned in the seventies. In addition, the grim reality is that families need their children to work in order to add to the family income. Also, in the provinces and some of the slums, transportation to and from school becomes an issue as it can be expensive and unsafe-- if it is even available.

Alex teaching a simple drawing lesson

ACTS focuses specifically on children who are living below the poverty line, neglected by parents, or who have undergone trauma in order to supplement their government schooling and provide them with a strong education, life skills, extracurricular recreation, school supplies, and nutritious meals. I've loved getting to know some of the teachers and having the chance to play with the kids. It's exciting to see the way these schools are growing and also the way in which parents and the community are getting involved and beginning to value their children's education.

eating lunch with the teachers

Sorry to bog you down with so much information but I can't help share some of what I've been learning. It does makes me question though why I am vying for a teaching position in Boston when there is such a need for teachers here... I've actually already been asked to consider returning and teaching here long term. Don't worry Mom, I'll be back in August, but it does make me think

It's a good thing that I'm so adept at being flexible, patient, and just going with flow; that changes in plans don't phase me, I excitedly relinquish control, and am perfectly content not knowing every detail. It's truly allowing me to THRIVE in this country! ;)

Kampong Speu

We left Phnom Penh in the midst of prime traffic and made our way along the bumpy gravel road to the province---not that I would really know much about the ride since I was thankfully passed out for the majority of it... However, when we turned on to the narrow roads of the village, there was no hope left for sleep as we had to brace ourselves so as not to be jolted against the roof with every ditch and divot. Palm trees taller than any I've seen in the states, emaciated cattle traipsing across the street, and, in every direction, people knee-high in water harvesting rice, all indicated that we were clearly no longer in the city.

The homes here look quite different from those in the city as they are sided with dried palm leaves and placed upon stilts to prepare for flooding. The flies too will be something to get used to as they just SWARM everywhere; though, by the end of the day, I had grown pretty accustomed to just having them perch their nasty little bodies all over my arms and legs.
These pictures aren't great but they're all I took becuase first of all I felt a little weird and secondly, my battery died...

I will be coming out and spending the night here every Wednesday as I'll be teaching English at several schools. It actually worked out really well that this week ended up being just one day in the village as it became more of an orientation and I now know better what to expect. I was able to meet some of the teachers and students as well as the school cook and see where I'll be staying. I only gave one English lesson today---teaching ABCs to a fifty-year-old woman who teaches in the single room school. Though I wasn't fully prepared, it went surprisingly well; I just can't imagine how difficult it must be to go from Khmer script to the alphabet-- especially to a language as idiosyncratic as English!


It's been interesting though to get creative and discover so many ways that we can and do communicate without language. The language barrier is gong to be particularly difficult and exhausting here, but at least I'll be with Tigor who is nearly fluent in Khmer. Despite the barrier, everyone was so gracious and hospitable. We gathered at the cook's house for lunch and all sat upon a low bamboo table-like structure. They kept offering more food and so I was able to add the phrase "I'm full" to my limited repertoire. Kinyum Ch-I-it. After eating, the dishes were quickly taken away and, in Cambodian style, mats and pillows were laid out on the same table in order for us to rest.

Tigor sitting on the table after lunch

Kampong Speu is definitely going to be different from being in the city, but I'm looking forward to it. Also, I know it's going to make things in Phnom Penh that took some getting used to--like our makeshift bathroom and sleeping on mats on the floor, seem like a complete luxury. It's crazy how much we take for granted...

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!