In which I introduce pop culture to Cambodia

7/29/13

Day 1 of week 3 and the dogs still have the traffic around here figured out better than I have. I mentioned earlier that I have been eating a lot of food that I couldn't possibly identify, some of which include rambutan, lychee, turnips, morning glory, lychee, and this one yellow fruit that is not to be eaten, but only to be smelled. 

There are 3 young girls who live next door to me. There's Sok Naa, the eldest at 11, very responsible and intelligent, Sit Lim, the middle child, shy but artistic, and the youngest, Julie, who is 5 years old, and the loudest girl on the street. There really isn't an ounce of shyness in her, and lately she's been walking around wearing only pants or a skirt. At this point, I take it as a complement that she feels comfortable enough to not feel the need to be fully clothed around me. The four of us spent several hours last Sunday coloring with the multi-colored pens that I brought from the States. At first they didn't want to draw more than fruit, because they were embarrassed that they couldn't draw as well as me, (except Julie, she drew whatever her heart desired) but they soon saw that my drawing skills are nothing to be intimidated by. I even showed them how to draw Perry the Platypus. Unfortunately, I don't yet know the Khmer word for platypus. 

This here is a picture of my p'dayah. As you can see, there is a net tied from the roof, over me, and to the tree behind me. I'll let you know why it's there when my level of Khmer is adequate enough to ask those kinds of questions. 

My bedroom is up the stairs and in the window on the left. The bathroom is downstairs in the back, behind the cows. Apparently, my dad's favorite story to tell people about my house is that I usually have to step over a sleeping cow or two in order to get to the bathroom. I guess that does portray the situation here pretty accurately. 

And finally, a warm welcome to the newest addict of Candy Crush, my sister Dany. She only started playing yesterday, and is already on level 12. Yeah. 

In which I survive my first week in Cambodia

Sewah S'day! 

I'm writing this a few days in advance so I have more time to write, well, everything. Today is the first day of the rainy season. There was a special ceremony at the temple this morning, where all the families brought food to the monks. During the rainy season, every family brings food in a special ceremonial food-bringer, (which my ba is holding below) because Buddha does not allow the monks to go out in the rain. 

In other news, the Cambodian election is being held this Sunday, and saying that tensions are running high would be an understatement. Parades of vans and trucks overflowing with people waving flags and banners are constant throughout the day, (which makes riding one's bike while trying to avoid traffic an art form.) and there are loudspeakers in every village blaring from dawn till dusk. 

Staying true to the season, it hasn't stopped raining for a couple days now, and luckily I haven't yet been caught biking in a monsoon. Only a matter of time. 

I have school usually from 8am to 12pm, when I go home to eat lunch with my family, and then return to school at 1:30, and come back for dinner at 5 or 6. After n'yam bai, I bust out my Khmer homework for my family to help me with, and sometimes I teach them some English in return. During school, 4 hours are for learning Khmer, and the other 4 for technical training, which ranges from history and culture in Cambodia, to how to teach Khmer people English. The village that I'm living in now is called Samrong, (in case anyone wanted to look me up in Google Earth) located in the province of Takeo. 

My mosquito net, aka my safe haven at night time. 

While I am amazed with how much Khmer we have learns in little over a week, it is even more impressive how practiced my sisters and I have become at charades. It's only a matter of time until we will only need our gestures to communicate with one another. I am extremely grateful to my older sister, Tiri, for bringing me clothes shopping. For, not only is my Khmer not quite up to par in that I could both buy fabrics and have them tailored, but I am also the worst at bartering, which will result in me over paying for nearly everything whilst I shop in Cambodia. As a result, I bought 3 button-up blouses, 3 sampot skirts, and 1 sarong, and had them all tailored to me, all for under $30. Thank you, borng s'rai. 

Dining table

Backyard

In which I finally find some Internet

So, Cambodia. So much to tell everyone, so little time. Where to start? 

Here is my older brother and sister, tiri and nayim.  My family spoils me, feeding me hot chocolate for breakfast, and constantly helping me with my Khmer. 

This is my little sister Dany, she is also very nice, and likes to laugh at my Khmer attempts.  Here she is working on the loom to make a sampot skirt to sell in Phnom Penh.  

Cambodia is beautiful, my house is beautiful, the farm is beautiful.  I live near the primary school, where we have our language lessons in the morning.  In the afternoons we bike over to the high school for our technical training, which ranges from the history of Cambodia to peer teaching. We eat rice for nearly every meal, with various meats and vegetables that I usually have a hard time identifying, but are nevertheless delicious. The best part of biking to school is passing by villages and having all the little children drop what they're doing to shout "hello!" (In English) to the foreigners biking by with their big backpack, wearing their helmets. I also really enjoy just spending time with my family, Khmer dictionary in hand.  My family doesn't speak any English, but at this point we have all become very practiced at charades. There are many small kids that live near me that have started coming over in the evening to help me with my Khmer, while I teach them some English in return. They're all very good at counting to 10, but the interesting thing is that they can't identify individual numbers without counting.  This shows me some of the techniques that the Cambodian teachers use.  

Here is my mosquito net, which has become something like a safe haven for all volunteers.  Normally you tuck it under the mattress pad during the night, and then tie it up during the day to prevent any crawlers from getting stuck. 

This is the view from my bedroom. 

My sisters tiri and Dany with some neighboring kids.

The neighbor grandma and her grandbaby.  She always makes sure I eat enough of my rice, to make me nice and strong for bike riding. (At least I'm pretty sure that's what she's saying to me)

Rice fields 

Ding, the family dog, whom I have never petted nor talked to as was instructed to me, yet now he has started sleeping on my feet during dinner. 

And finally, the primary school near my house. During the summer, many of the students take private lessons, which are much less controlled by the curriculum and usually a lot more fun for the students, and more flexible and thus effective for the teachers. 

I shall try to update this every week when we visit Takeo.  My home is in Samrong, and I have yet to find Internet. I miss you all (especially my puppy) and hope everyone is doing well!