tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62961941833132229952024-02-21T00:13:17.244-06:00Who Wants to Work 40 Hours a Week?Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-54802015342150068902012-10-06T22:56:00.001-05:002012-10-06T22:56:14.522-05:00President Obama... and those disappointing HuskersWell, I want to get my disappointment for the Huskers performance out of the way before I tell you about Obama.<br />
<br />
I still enjoy (enjoy is being used as a loose term due to the Huskers performance) keeping up with the games at home but this last Ohio State game was murder for me. I just wanted to cry. 38-63 OSU was the final score with me walking up and down my house cursing the Huskers and a few curious onlookers peeking in my door.<br />
<br />
This week was pretty good for me, I began school which I learned is code for 'we will begin when the school director shows up okay?' You would think I'd be used to this sort of thing by now but I still dragged my coteacher with me to introduce ourselves and gauge where the classes were in regards to their English level.<br />
<br />
That was well and good for Monday through Wednesday but since Thursday I've only been in school for about an hour due to the tropical storm that is currently making the road outside my house into a river.<br />
<br />
Finally, and sorry this is such a short one, President Obama will be coming to Cambodia in November after the election and the Peace Corps Volunteers have a chance to meet him. We made this video so hopefully he accepts our invitation.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWAn4X2xmAo&feature=player_embedded">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWAn4X2xmAo&feature=player_embedded</a>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-75539711295041142072012-09-26T21:47:00.004-05:002012-09-26T21:47:56.780-05:00Puppies, cows, babies, and bombs<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t be alarmed by the title, I just thought I had to add
something dangerous to make it a little more interesting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the neighbors that I have shared a small housing complex
with for the last year left today and to be honest I couldn’t have asked for a
better first year with them. They were
so hospitable and sympathetic to me and would cook food and feed me whenever I
happened to be home. They have been a
huge part of my experience so far.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They worked for the Cambodian Mine Action Committee (CMAC),
but don’t worry there aren’t any land mines around my site anymore. Most of the work they did was up near Chum
Kiri where another volunteer is stationed, but they are withdrawing from Kampot
(my province) now because there isn't a real need for them here
anymore, which is a good thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To explain why they were here in the first place is pretty
easy. When the Vietnamese invaded to
liberate Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Rouge would lay random mines
all over the country to try and stop the advance. Now since recordkeeping and mapping of the
fields was practically impossible due to the fragmentation of the government,
many of these mine fields went unmarked leaving it to the local population to
happen upon a shiny object and BOOM!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I digress, now that they are leaving and moving to a
different province I’m really sad to see them go. Yes, even though they are the ones who cooked
the road kill snake for me, among many other strange dishes. But that’s a
story for another time and place. I want
to say that they were a cornerstone of my social support and I will miss
them and their families dearly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The long wait is over for my new host nephew! He was a whopping 4 kg (8.8 lbs) (large
when you consider my host sister who gave birth to him weighs 100 lbs) and he is really
cute. And a litter of 7 puppies was born
while I was away visiting America and they are beginning to put on some
weight and look healthy. I hope my sister lets me keep
one this time because they sold the last litter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Uncle has finally sold his two cows for a cool $1,800. This last year I have watched as he fed,
watered, and cleaned the cows every day, and now he seems a little lost and doesn’t know
what to do with himself all day. I’m
sure at some point he’ll noticed that I’ve been living in a house near his barn
and start fattening me up to sell at the market.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, I took a trip to the mountains in a province called
Mondulkiri the last weekend before school starts up again and I had a blast. We had a group of ten people and we stayed in
these nice cabins and absorbed the flora and fauna of the area. We had the opportunity to go to some
waterfalls, go swimming, and went to a promontory were we could see for miles. I feel like the cool mountain air did all of us some good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s all I’ve got for now, it’s back to school next week
and I’m happy to finally have something to fill the hours again.</div>
Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-63199380344394619802012-09-10T19:50:00.002-05:002012-09-10T19:50:33.702-05:00The camera adds 10 lbs... So does America<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I would like to thank everyone who made my trip to America
memorable. That was the most fun I have
ever crammed into two weeks. Throughout
my trip I was able to see almost all my extended family and all of my immediate
family during my visit, along with many good friends.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two and
a half weeks is by no measure a long time to visit all your friends and family
that you have not seen for over a year, but I feel like I did a decent job of
seeing everyone barring a few people. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Not only was my vacation filled
with visiting people but it was also something reminiscent of a Roman buffet
when everyone eats until they vomit (sorry for the picture but there were many
times I ate until I could barely move).
I would also like to thank my mom for all the baked goods I didn’t have
much time to indulge in because I was eating unhealthy amounts of other foods.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
total count of my weight gain while in America was 10 lbs, but it practically
melted away once I returned to Cambodia and I am back to my lean self. Just goes to show how desperate some of us
volunteers can be for a burrito.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want
to thank my Brother and Sister-in-law and their wonderful daughter, Clara, for
giving me one excellent weekend at Worlds and Oceans of Fun. I had a blast, and I can’t believe how big
Clara has gotten in my one year absence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I would
also like to thank my Mom and Grandma because without you two this trip would
have never been possible. They arranged
everything and cooked until there wasn’t a food in the house that was wanting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally,
welcome to all the newly minted Peace Corps volunteers in Cambodia (I even have
one living in my town) they have 2 years of experiences that will last a
lifetime.</div>
Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-4118024970980978942012-07-22T23:04:00.001-05:002012-07-22T23:04:17.254-05:00One Year Mark<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was just about this point in time last year that I was
saying goodbye to my family and friends for two years in the Peace Corps. Well I’ve made it to the one year mark, the
new group has arrived, and I’m preparing to come home (just for a visit) to see
everyone before my final year of service.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s definitely been a year of firsts.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">First time on a different continent</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Seen my first wonder of the world (depending on
which list you consult)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">First time living below the poverty line</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">First time I’ve ate numerous animals and insects
I had no clue were edible</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">First time hand washing my clothes</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">First time anyone in my life has ever referred
to me as ‘Teacher’</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sure there have been more, but these are what
immediately jump to mind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other end of the spectrum there are several things I
have done without that I didn’t think I would miss so much, but have been a
huge contributing factor to my overall homesickness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">AC, this one is obvious but it still makes me
think of America everyday</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ice cream, in a country that’s like the surface
of the sun there is an alarming lack of ice cream</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Any type of cake, they have bread but if you are
looking for a cake (not in Phnom Penh) you’re SOL</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">My car has been something I sorely miss,
farthest I’ve biked in one day is 110k</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Cheese</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Anything that’s open after 8PM</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Dogs you can pet</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Unlimited texting</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I could go on but you get the point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t involve all the friends, family and pets in here
but I think that goes without saying. I
miss you all!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I arrived in Cambodia most of my expertise has
centered on keeping kids thinking and learning during class but I have improved
in other areas also.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">I consider myself an expert in mosquito, food,
water, and fecal borne illnesses</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">I have read nearly 40 books in the last 10 months</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Become fairly proficient in a language that
shares almost no cognates with English</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Improved my meager guitar skills</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Shaving with no mirror</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Overall knowledge of English grammar</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
When looking at my experience and how it has changed me, I
need look no further than the new group that just arrived. I wasn’t exactly like them in every aspect
but as far as not knowing what I got myself into when I accepted the invitation
to serve in Peace Corps, I was right where they are now. It was by no means easy for me to accept that
Cambodia would be my life for two full years, and there were plenty of days I
thought one more bowl of rice would do me in, but it’s interesting to see how
far you can push yourself when faced with major lifestyle changes or
unemployment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I promised myself to make it to the year mark and then I
would decide what my next move would be.
So I’ve reached that point and although it hasn’t always been the most
pleasant experience at all times, I will never have an opportunity like this
again anytime soon, so in all likelihood I will be spending one more year here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looks like it’s gonna be another
hot one today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Mom and Dad, please send money.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-39819597065582665822012-06-07T06:08:00.000-05:002012-06-07T06:08:00.846-05:00May May What can I do?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well I can’t
say everything went right last month but toward the end of May things really
started to brighten up for me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the very beginning of May I was organizing an event at my
school to teach about reading and how it can be used as a way to pass those
hours when most Khmer people just gape into the distance. I had contacted a university professor in
Phnom Penh who happened to be running a program with volunteer students and was
more than happy to put on the event at my school. I traveled to Phnom Penh to meet him and was
having some difficulties finding the University when a moto driver snatched my
bag from the tuk tuk I was riding in.
Well this didn’t sit too well with me so I leapt from the tuk tuk in
what I will describe as a ‘Superman dive’ only to feel his shirt slip out of my
hand and watch him speed away. Ipod,
sunglasses, camera, favorite kroma.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Went to the meeting anyway looking helpless, homeless,
dirty, pissed. Proceeded to get advice
from all the students and the professor on how to protect my belongings, no
shit you’re careful with your things, no tell me how you carry your bag
again. Giving mindless advice to a
person who is usually vigilant of things like this but had a lackadaisical moment
in a city of opportunity, but I politely listened anyway getting madder the
more I thought about it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The meeting went well other than that and we planned for the
event to fall on the 10<sup>th</sup>.
Next duty was to tell my school director and go about getting some
supplies and seats for the audience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Telling the school director went very well and he gave me
his blessing to hold the event, and even offered seats and a tent that his
friend had. Supplies, everyone is on
board, I got this thing locked and ready to go.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I went to Kampot the 8<sup>th</sup> planning to return the 9<sup>th</sup>
and do one last run over of the schedule.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the morning of the 9<sup>th</sup> I received a call from
my school director telling me the District office of Education was not going to
allow me to do my workshop. ‘What’? ‘Yes the elections are on June 3<sup>rd</sup>
and you can’t do your workshop’. ‘But that’s
3 weeks away’ I countered. ‘The DOE will
not let the school do the event’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By this moment I’m seeing red, couldn’t figure out what the
election had to do with anything, and one day before? So I call my counterpart
and ask what the hell is going on and he says the government is scared of large
gatherings of people. So what? There are
thousands of kids who come to school every day and they haven’t canceled
school.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I had to call the professor and inform him he couldn’t do
the workshop at my high school, something I really wasn’t looking forward to
but he surprisingly understood after I described the circumstances. ‘Is this normal in Cambodia?’ I asked. ‘Yes’ he replied ‘just wait another week or
so and you will see why.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sure enough in another week there were mass imprisonments,
peaceful protests were violently broken up and the participants were treated to
trial in a kangaroo court, and a 14 year old girl was killed in what the news
said was ‘indiscriminate machine gun fire’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Onward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also had two other projects coming to their final events
and funding was being received for them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first was an art competition in which my school and four
other schools in the vicinity were participating, the three winners will be
sent to Phnom Penh to see a real exhibit and meet a real artist. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a Tuesday I invited all my students into participate and
it soon got out of hand with kids drawing on each other more than they drew on
the paper, but I had some students take things very seriously and submit some
very good art. The art show is still on
progress so we don’t know the winners yet but we should have the results
tallied by the 14<sup>th</sup> of June.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My other project was a workshop for the boys in my grade and
I got to take 8 of them to Sihanoukville for a conference called B.R.E.W. (Boys
Respecting and Empowering Women). It may
seem a foreign concept, but most of the women still cook, clean, and care for
the children, and do not get to go out with their friends often in Cambodia. So our goal was to promote gender equality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The boys were very receptive and enjoyed the conference, so
I think I can chalk this up as a victory in my Peace Corps service.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last but certainly not least I was visited by a very good
friend I met when I studied in Costa Rica.
We were able to see almost everything I wanted to show her, only missing
Mondulkiri by a few days. It was a gauntlet
of traveling by bus and early morning rises to see everything we wanted to in
the short time she was here, and by the end of her visit I had been wearing the
same giddup for 3 days because we never spent enough time in one place to get
our laundry done. Wasn’t a boring moment
and I had a blast.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I apologize to my mom and grandma also because I have been
trying to make birthday shoutouts part of my blog but have fell down on several
of them. Happy belated Birthday, love
and miss you tons and will see you in August.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-80360364740810246772012-04-30T04:14:00.000-05:002012-04-30T04:14:00.612-05:00Vietnam Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWRqpfV4f0GbA49S2UEvsc2uJ5-xTIxvniSStfHeNDc0CwVCypKXetnz5ORjHKYky2IrP5legdXQt3Li0LNY_3P7JmZlJjLlwppA4ZnobbgCrvujnsSlB-u655CeD-4Zt3CQGEEotJuqq/s1600/292263_3056617220480_1414830089_32251570_778866712_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWRqpfV4f0GbA49S2UEvsc2uJ5-xTIxvniSStfHeNDc0CwVCypKXetnz5ORjHKYky2IrP5legdXQt3Li0LNY_3P7JmZlJjLlwppA4ZnobbgCrvujnsSlB-u655CeD-4Zt3CQGEEotJuqq/s320/292263_3056617220480_1414830089_32251570_778866712_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Crazy House</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXU2vH3GwQiPoG8dAg7RfrU_x5KokAU0FculKeqaN-5YyOkwLQcFuQL-5Sc0LiutsyuBzlUvFhOItQgKRfOCwwprEISR7s0mRtHDAjseobv_Lb35iNHrsr_ERpx2nHXeKqMRWELN4G0dg/s1600/563686_10100684323716710_12903679_50892916_460262131_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXU2vH3GwQiPoG8dAg7RfrU_x5KokAU0FculKeqaN-5YyOkwLQcFuQL-5Sc0LiutsyuBzlUvFhOItQgKRfOCwwprEISR7s0mRtHDAjseobv_Lb35iNHrsr_ERpx2nHXeKqMRWELN4G0dg/s320/563686_10100684323716710_12903679_50892916_460262131_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dalat</div>
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Island Tour in Nha Trang (good snorkeling here)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJR5I4LBr3gb_WUiAfVlmnHlNVL9uMJdtBN3-gKZlhkK5xOLvJRHeQTPq8xcjtIorFcS_uigtT6qoaQJNvwi98rrM32oyV4uSm9nsr7fogECpF8P1pCKJ7G4iRrKh1irQY_ISkfViwJnB/s1600/Vietnam+Khmer+New+Year+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJR5I4LBr3gb_WUiAfVlmnHlNVL9uMJdtBN3-gKZlhkK5xOLvJRHeQTPq8xcjtIorFcS_uigtT6qoaQJNvwi98rrM32oyV4uSm9nsr7fogECpF8P1pCKJ7G4iRrKh1irQY_ISkfViwJnB/s320/Vietnam+Khmer+New+Year+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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War Remnants Museum (obviously)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OtlMSdaZwcFUxvfiZzcHdCp9ys5zHzG5SPczHXc8nb0FDC_Hrpc4EG0LdjpnZyaxjry3S4haWNhLSLTI1YbAztJCNifMqiJmo8Gz-Q0Br_Bi1GV1w2foO2vBRxbn926Du_lZV30IjqD7/s1600/Vietnam+Khmer+New+Year+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OtlMSdaZwcFUxvfiZzcHdCp9ys5zHzG5SPczHXc8nb0FDC_Hrpc4EG0LdjpnZyaxjry3S4haWNhLSLTI1YbAztJCNifMqiJmo8Gz-Q0Br_Bi1GV1w2foO2vBRxbn926Du_lZV30IjqD7/s320/Vietnam+Khmer+New+Year+051.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Night shot from our guesthouse balcony in Dalat</div>
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Dalat Central Market</div>
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Giant Buddha</div>
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Ms. Jill Luckett and Myself in Nha Trang in an all western restaurant and bar</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-5019049761628474982012-04-30T03:59:00.001-05:002012-04-30T03:59:09.042-05:00'Nam<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I departed from my
site for about 2 ½ weeks on the 6<sup>th</sup> of April for a trip to Vietnam
while the rest of Cambodia went crazy celebrating Khmer New Year (although they
technically observe the Gregorian calendar as their official system of keeping
dates, they still celebrate events for the Buddhist calendar) which is 3 days
but in most rural regions is celebrated for almost a month. This of course means that I get a fairly
large chunk of vacation time, and a few friends and myself decided to take a
trip to Vietnam for about 10 days.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Almost immediately after arriving in Ho Chi Minh City we
were scammed by some cab drivers who ended up taking us to a money exchange
that gave us 4/5 of what we should have received and then proceeded to charge
us each $10 for a ride around the block.
So Ho Chi Minh started off pretty well.
After we got our heads about ourselves we figured approximately how much
we had lost and for some it was worse than others. I had an idea about the exchange rate so I
only changed $10 and ended up coming out okay, but a few members of my group exchanged
quite a bit more. That night we met up
with a few other volunteers also vacationing in Vietnam and tried to forget the
whole ordeal had happened.</div>
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The next day Stewart and I set out to find the War Remnants
Museum and get a feel for the city. Ho
Chi Minh is much larger than Phnom Penh so our map that we thought had a
reasonable scale turned out to be much larger than we calculated and things
were quite a bit farther than the map indicated. However we made it to the Museum and got to
go see the war from a little bit different standpoint than we were used to
seeing it in our history books. </div>
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When I say it was a little bit different I mean there were 4
floors, and 3 ½ of them were dedicated to the atrocities of American soldiers
and armed forces during the war. The
first floor was all about propaganda against American Imperialism and even
compares the war to the expansionist approach of Nazi Germany. So Stewart and I looked at each other and
immediately decided we would claim to be from Canada.</div>
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Second floor was some of the major battles of the war with
the French and American armies and the carpet bombing of the Air Force during
the later parts of the war.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Third floor was about the massacring of entire villages and
had some literature about Bob Kerry and his team. The second part of the third floor was both
my favorite and probably the saddest section of the entire museum, and it dealt
with Agent Orange. There were many
pictures of children with deformities of both Vietnamese and American parents
who had been exposed to the chemicals during the war. Many of the pictures had captions and
personal stories about the victims and some were very explicit in their descriptions
of the effects it had on the population.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The fourth floor had some of the weapons the infantry used
and had a final section with a little bit about the policies and history of
Vietnam during the period. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I tried to write this to make it as objective as possible
but the museum was very anti American and it was hard to write in a favorable
or objective tone toward America for the way some of the displays were
presented. I am aware that the
Vietnamese were not the most Geneva Convention minded during the war and many
of the American soldiers were badly mistreated also.</div>
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The last night we were in Ho Chi Minh we stayed the night at
a friend’s apartment and got a little more insight into the general attitude of
the Vietnamese towards Americans because although the host was American also
and has lived in Vietnam for about a year and a half, I had the opportunity to
talk to a few of his Vietnamese friends.</div>
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I learned that at the end of April there was a big
celebration and expressed my disappointment that I would already be back in
Cambodia and wouldn’t get to join in the festivities. Then a little later to add to my humiliation
I learned this celebration was an annual event to commemorate the day America
left Siagon.</div>
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After a few hours of sleep and one too many cups of coffee
we all hopped on a 7 ½ bus ride to a mountain town called Dalat where we were
told the air was crisp and cool, a nice change considering I have been living
on the surface of the sun for around 8 months.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Dalat was everything it was promised to be and we had a
chance to break out the fleeces and sweaters that we brought, and this small
town had the charm of a village in the foothills of the Alps at an altitude of
around 4,800ft. We spent 3 days in Dalat
enjoying the air and some of the attractions it had to offer including one ‘Crazy
House’ literally something out of Alice in Wonderland. I knew that Dalat would be an easy favorite
for me because I enjoy mountains a great deal and the fact that I wasn’t constantly
sweating because of the heat and humidity was a definite plus. Nha Trang was our next stop, a tourist beach town
about 500km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.</div>
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Nha Trang was a very touristy town and had a lot to offer in
terms of beach activities and some sightseeing, but I’ll be damned if it was
110 degrees in the heat of the day. We
had a great time though, and managed to score an island hopping tour for about
$6 a person so we came out alright.
Overall Nha Trang was just an oasis with about 4 miles of beautiful
beach.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Then it was back to reality and that’s about where we stand
right now, heat, sweat, teaching, Peace Corps.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-40449115474829203752012-03-27T03:41:00.000-05:002012-03-27T03:41:34.161-05:00Kampot River Cleanup<div class="MsoNormal">Next I would like to tell everyone about a very successful week I had in March.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I had my official site visit by my country director and program director on March 12. They got to come and see my site and talk to my counterparts and school directors and things went pretty well. Then they discovered that Jen and Jake, a married couple in Kampot (provincial town), had helped plan a river clean up with some of the expats and the governor. Well my program manager (PM) caught wind of this and offered to give me a ride. On the way down we spoke a little about the scope of the project and at the time I didn’t know how involved of a process it had been but thank god for Jen because she coordinated so much of the whole operation.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day, March 13, I woke up around 545 got to the river front to help set up all the tents and table and get everything ready for the 200 volunteers we were expecting.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Organizing 200 people is a pretty daunting task, however after the Governor discovered the operation we had a little over 400 people show up and offer their volunteer services. This of course put a bit of a stretch on our supplies seeming as we had enough plastic gloves for 300 and the kids kept playing grab ass and breaking them, then of course they wanted new ones.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Despite the turnout doubling our expectations we managed to field a pretty successful day, Jen and a few other volunteers were in charge of the groups that would stay on the land and clean up the riverside, and myself and Katy Strong took to the high seas of the mighty Kampot River. The Cambodian Journal, an English newspaper in Phnom Penh even sent a representative and photographer down for the event.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, the cleanup was a wild success and everyone got to enjoy some free lunch afterward and, not to toot our horns too much, the river did look a lot cleaner after we had finished picking up the garbage. There was something peculiar that did happen during the cleanup however. When we climbed out of our boat onto a grassy shoreline some of the children I was in charge of began to clean up the biodegradable material, and I had to basically give them a lesson right there on what went inside the garbage bags and what we could leave behind.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After this experience I decided to do some research within one of my classes to discover exactly what they thought was garbage and what they thought was otherwise. It made more sense to me after one of my students described that the dead leafs and coconut shells were brown and ugly, and the plastic bags were colorful and beautiful. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well that’s all for me for now, on April 6<sup>th</sup> I will be heading to Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon for all you AMERICANS) to spend a few days in city and surrounding mountains finally making my way to the beach around the 15<sup>th</sup> for some R&R. I also have about a month and a half off from school because of Khmer New Year and the Kampot Sports Tournament. Thank you for reading and I appreciate the patience in between the recent posts.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-81440763793017288222012-03-27T03:39:00.002-05:002012-03-27T03:39:49.659-05:00Wedding Season<div class="MsoNormal">Wedding Season in Cambodia is a very special and hectic time for a volunteer. Along with the usual workload you must budget your time between keeping up relations by attending weddings that can last up to 20 hours. Okay so as a foreigner unless you have some relative in the wedding you can usually get by showing up for the reception, but it still can be quite exhausting.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ll walk you through the second week of February and that will give you an idea of the wedding season here. So first of all I had two weddings that I had formally been invited to, with an invitation with my name on it and everything and neither of them were in the town I worked in. Boom right there we already have 3 days off of school. Next you are never really sure when you will get a spontaneous invitation by a Khmer person you haven’t seen in a few weeks to attend a wedding, this week I happened to receive two of these more informal invitations. So I am already looking at 6 days (4 for actual weddings and 2 for travel) and thankfully my school director was understanding “yes because you are a foreigner you will get invited to many things and will miss some school” he says.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, now you are probably wondering ‘What exactly happens at a Khmer wedding?’ Well for the all day one I had to find transportation to a fairly remote village where I arrived at around 2PM. Many volunteers have the opportunity to ‘walk the fruit’ in the morning at 7AM, however I have enough problems waking up for my 7AM class let alone arranging transportation to a remote village. So I get to the village around 2 and everyone is intermittently eating and gossiping about me and I get to see many of the teachers from my school. Well I soon discover that the reception or the next part in the wedding won’t start until around 7 so I have a good 5 hours of eating and drinking with Khmer people ahead of me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I learned a valuable lesson at this wedding because although I had been to a few before this was the first one I actually had some understanding of the ceremonies and time lapses when there was simply nothing to do, because I had a friendly lady from Houston describing what was happening. I also want to express that Khmer weddings are a really big deal, not just for the parties involved, but for anyone within a solid 5 kilometer radius. They blare the music, dance for hours, drink like fish, eat, and then do it all again. So by around 10PM I feel pretty tired (I know 10PM, cut me some slack I didn’t have my afternoon nap) but being a foreigner here is like having the Golden Ticket from Willie Wonka and everyone wants a piece of you. You get pulled every direction, everyone wants to talk to you, and many times you just want to sit and cry (cough) I mean sit and relax.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is a nightmare for me because it’s like all the avoiding of all the shady characters in my school won’t fly anymore, I’m there and they know I speak Khmer, and I can’t pretend I don’t. So soon my co-teacher comes to bail me out and I am put to bed, it feels funny writing that because it’s like I’m an overgrown child, but whatever, if I didn’t get out of there I was going to throw a tantrum that would make a toddler losing their favorite toy seem mild.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So cram the above experience 4 times over into one week and you have a volunteer who needs a vacation. Lucky for me I have found a polite way to turn down invitations now, and now I almost whole heartedly refuse to attend a party unless another volunteer will be present.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-17645002115905173442012-01-19T20:06:00.000-06:002012-01-19T20:06:18.701-06:00Koh Rong and Angkor Wat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eXhBRoiSFKXCBWkZOVdbyLqLIcZkVslSwxnHcmnfeUA0vYIOoUoVWoM_ekYYFPtgq3YvViuSUaE8mwpBbBk1rUgYdi4z1PqSYt5XpQi5L3GMTjSI7R0IUu9xwuO6cYG8i01Sd5xVA5IC/s1600/Siem+Reap+marathon+and+Koh+Rong+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eXhBRoiSFKXCBWkZOVdbyLqLIcZkVslSwxnHcmnfeUA0vYIOoUoVWoM_ekYYFPtgq3YvViuSUaE8mwpBbBk1rUgYdi4z1PqSYt5XpQi5L3GMTjSI7R0IUu9xwuO6cYG8i01Sd5xVA5IC/s320/Siem+Reap+marathon+and+Koh+Rong+018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Angkor Wat, will visit again but this is when I did the marathon and didn't get to go during the daytime.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZv1SveBQ2oN-mdKHtmpvsgUZOfJdF-WrnnLrtwSddRlnH03fSP9bzUKuD1HvDgVocWm_MF3Lkd2zvYQkLWHwlqNqQpUnLrkQF2YM2SpjTn4F_SBXFUkys6ouoicp1Cx8cGX3QRA3-Eg-/s1600/Siem+Reap+marathon+and+Koh+Rong+111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZv1SveBQ2oN-mdKHtmpvsgUZOfJdF-WrnnLrtwSddRlnH03fSP9bzUKuD1HvDgVocWm_MF3Lkd2zvYQkLWHwlqNqQpUnLrkQF2YM2SpjTn4F_SBXFUkys6ouoicp1Cx8cGX3QRA3-Eg-/s320/Siem+Reap+marathon+and+Koh+Rong+111.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Koh Rong, the island where everyone got sick.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_vorGNguVjBzcJeiVUfGSMAOf_afcywU6gW57OyTgikosTZOBrWguswsTlxTOx0ke0uIg1iZ2TpR83C7vzgj57ASNzSjNy3-dz08oRC-7Uyttpt7ZT9Ia1Xxs0wQMbbSPxSldB2AHUy3/s1600/Siem+Reap+marathon+and+Koh+Rong+120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_vorGNguVjBzcJeiVUfGSMAOf_afcywU6gW57OyTgikosTZOBrWguswsTlxTOx0ke0uIg1iZ2TpR83C7vzgj57ASNzSjNy3-dz08oRC-7Uyttpt7ZT9Ia1Xxs0wQMbbSPxSldB2AHUy3/s320/Siem+Reap+marathon+and+Koh+Rong+120.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Koh Rong, me on my bungalow</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com2Kampot province, Cambodia10.841399015369175 104.4442765273437310.465027515369176 104.02811202734374 11.217770515369175 104.86044102734373tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-33789250741174402772012-01-19T07:03:00.000-06:002012-01-19T07:03:53.936-06:00Hitting my strideSo I'll come out and say it, December sucked. <br />
<br />
Capped by a bacteria in my intestines that had me in the bathroom for a few days, I was also missing Christmas, New Years, and my birthday with all my friends and family. All this buildup didn't make it any easier that EVERYONE stares at me no matter what I am doing. Could be reading a book for example and suddenly I've got an audience.<br />
<br />
January has been a better month and I feel like I'm beginning to hit my stride. I already have 2 clubs up and running and am looking to expand into a third next week. The kids seem to be enjoying the classes more as I am in a better mood and able to communicate directions and act out things in front of the classes. I still get laughed at for my accent on frequent occasions but people seem to enjoy me and routine is becoming more natural.<br />
<br />
I am also looking to start a garden my school director has been asking about for the better part of two months. What do I know about gardening in a tropical monsoon like environment? Nada. Should be interesting though as I'm sure she has a mental image of flowers and shrubbery, and mine will be vegetables and overgrown weeds.<br />
<br />
Christmas and New Years were a lot of fun and I got to spend Christmas on a tropical beach with beautiful women, and spend New Years in Phnom Penh on a boat. The island was very nice but I'm certain that the improper disposal on garbage and other less pleasant human leavings were a major contributing factor to my illness.<br />
<br />
(Maybe leave that last part out when you tell the Grandmas)<br />
<br />
Last week I was in Phnom Penh for some friends' Birthdays and we all had a blast. I think about 5 volunteers had birthdays within a week of each other so we all came into Phnom Penh and went out how you're supposed to on your birthday.<br />
<br />
Next up I've got a few weddings I've been asked to attend and then an all 80's party at the roller disco in the provincial capital city of Pousat.<br />
<br />
I would also like to wish my Dad a happy birthday, 57's a good number (at least H.J. Hienz thought so). Love ya and miss ya pops.<br />
<br />
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years 2012 here we come!Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-40256545269063548922011-12-17T02:36:00.002-06:002011-12-17T02:36:54.325-06:00A long December<div class="MsoNormal">So far December has been a pretty dull month in terms of traveling about and visiting places in Cambodia. At the beginning of the month I did get to go to Angkor Wat (some of you may have heard of them) for the annual half marathon, but other than that most of my days have been spent lulling around my site and getting to know my community better.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have met some interesting folks though. One of the teachers at my school has a beautiful farm in the countryside where she grows (what else?) rice. I planned to visit her farm for a short afternoon and ended up spending the whole day there. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have discovered that in Cambodia it is often very rewarding to go off the beaten path and see how the rural people live because Chhouk is by no means a large town, but it varies vastly from the rural countryside of Cambodia.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On a different note I started my club and am now teaching a writing class at the school. It’s going well and the students seem to enjoy it but I am having problems getting them to stretch their imaginations. One exercise I have found works well is to write a list of adjectives on the board and have students write a question using an adjective from the list. Then I redistribute the questions and have different students answer the questions. It usually turns into a pretty lively activity.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have also started planning for my garden at school. This has been a big project that my school director wants me to get underway so naturally, I have been putting it off. However I now have a list of supplies that I need and will begin fundraising next week. Wish me luck.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thanksgiving was a success and our lovely K4s in Kampot cooked us a killer Thanksgiving feast, but it was bittersweet because one of the volunteers I have gotten close to was sent to Bangkok for an angiogram (heart) and missed the holiday. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Up next is a vacation to Monkey Island off the coast of Sihanoukville for Christmas and for my Birthday I do not believe I will be doing anything special which is fine by me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One disclaimer I would like to make about my blog is that now I have been in Cambodia for almost 5 months I am beginning to see a lot of things here that no longer surprise me. I realize that to the outside viewer many of the things I walk by on a daily basis and used everyday would require a detailed explanation of why? and how? but as I progress towards integration (I use the word ‘progress’ because no matter what I do I will never look like a Cambodian) I begin to see things as normal or tradition when I know they are not (at least to some of the target audience of this blog). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So please if there are any questions about what I post do not hesitate to prod deeper as I’m sure I have overlooked many chances to explain various concepts or events</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-26889699168492686252011-12-04T01:06:00.000-06:002011-12-04T01:06:02.902-06:00More Pics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uOLcC2f3VWYZvesHqMwsfiwC6wR0J1wm7tiSO8W5s3Yay0OgZuSn05y18KtJDLG1tMdfUqAd53niyKr16p34IXj_uWy0g637_9EA_rIFgpChO2tIAMO18entlVF8u_1rPzDBt8mcDHs-/s1600/Chhouk+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uOLcC2f3VWYZvesHqMwsfiwC6wR0J1wm7tiSO8W5s3Yay0OgZuSn05y18KtJDLG1tMdfUqAd53niyKr16p34IXj_uWy0g637_9EA_rIFgpChO2tIAMO18entlVF8u_1rPzDBt8mcDHs-/s320/Chhouk+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My house</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTIaNDxahGZi_hqkXWkD1CmQXNbRepaJwN1MDIZaheuKUt-x1p18lPG8L2W2GccS2RIZbn8EoNCcsfHxSbp_jqaIaTDpg_oOKtAkNbkmwWeZg-ZQe2hbl2gvtXJf_zSnl2K7v8aaEckzB/s1600/Chhouk+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTIaNDxahGZi_hqkXWkD1CmQXNbRepaJwN1MDIZaheuKUt-x1p18lPG8L2W2GccS2RIZbn8EoNCcsfHxSbp_jqaIaTDpg_oOKtAkNbkmwWeZg-ZQe2hbl2gvtXJf_zSnl2K7v8aaEckzB/s320/Chhouk+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My kitchen</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORFJAkf6SB_oZJar4MiYTxHNVcK54tAc_ISjwNv4u5QDu4GR13M3JanOPFlMG14_QLIUSSskHBk941Vlckn_p_XeDEdXiYCml_iha0njGo9851r5PFL4Xlbp6scnQKMbRxrcSdeIcy2So/s1600/Chhouk+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORFJAkf6SB_oZJar4MiYTxHNVcK54tAc_ISjwNv4u5QDu4GR13M3JanOPFlMG14_QLIUSSskHBk941Vlckn_p_XeDEdXiYCml_iha0njGo9851r5PFL4Xlbp6scnQKMbRxrcSdeIcy2So/s320/Chhouk+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jelly (she got ran over)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8RLLYUg47x09_N8YeiFRdM3huBArM2eDbnMcoIMgCReLgORGIR9fsmhI3blf7W4HjpH2VtfBYTZBgUjd6wlkvMS5WZXxXS4obzJcTDVu_qunfo44a-KZgXf_aGIEi0PCjNDCstCUbpt6/s1600/Chhouk+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8RLLYUg47x09_N8YeiFRdM3huBArM2eDbnMcoIMgCReLgORGIR9fsmhI3blf7W4HjpH2VtfBYTZBgUjd6wlkvMS5WZXxXS4obzJcTDVu_qunfo44a-KZgXf_aGIEi0PCjNDCstCUbpt6/s320/Chhouk+026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is an interesting picture because the apparatus you see before you is a dud B52 bomb that was dropped on Cambodia during the Vietnam war to try and stem the supply route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Today it is used as a bell to signal the beginning and end of class.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0YZ3yF3bST42SsM38w5XN0yQ4gVzRFd5UgpTMdZcApjO22lXYT5OCa4OSWgRh0CXIH2ctGXRVduw0qS_8o7Ovzmaqr4U_oougWAnPEwsBu6i9qhPF4Am_kWusOzhx5GJM7lChFlGBs2W/s1600/Chhouk+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0YZ3yF3bST42SsM38w5XN0yQ4gVzRFd5UgpTMdZcApjO22lXYT5OCa4OSWgRh0CXIH2ctGXRVduw0qS_8o7Ovzmaqr4U_oougWAnPEwsBu6i9qhPF4Am_kWusOzhx5GJM7lChFlGBs2W/s320/Chhouk+028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My school and students preparing to clean the school.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2hM0tlY_pHDAwgWxZo-hYQpfWeVEIForIZzdNc7FgEh6dn4b-FoL4LeZJ4vlMnCw8iX0h3cno4MRMajDugfoeD85xXSj-DvGuseFwRwndwQ2fjjmuCrDPerBLxc_YYyHlrNDI7dNkwLi/s1600/Chhouk+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2hM0tlY_pHDAwgWxZo-hYQpfWeVEIForIZzdNc7FgEh6dn4b-FoL4LeZJ4vlMnCw8iX0h3cno4MRMajDugfoeD85xXSj-DvGuseFwRwndwQ2fjjmuCrDPerBLxc_YYyHlrNDI7dNkwLi/s320/Chhouk+029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">different angle of my students</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQ9-4E4_GrnhM4Pgr6PNag0SswMOHjzGbQCRr8xZiEH8ngHwineWxQQWVqqdZVURru2DtvwEfq9c2e7yXtG-M4MAILdVBDanVj4VtDhgKrZKDReWZGtCh2spjptXtaUmHBr3SUzs4n3Lv/s1600/Chhouk+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQ9-4E4_GrnhM4Pgr6PNag0SswMOHjzGbQCRr8xZiEH8ngHwineWxQQWVqqdZVURru2DtvwEfq9c2e7yXtG-M4MAILdVBDanVj4VtDhgKrZKDReWZGtCh2spjptXtaUmHBr3SUzs4n3Lv/s320/Chhouk+031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Avg. Cambodian classroom.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkz5u3TI1ICrkKUbcX-oBhcMNlhkapnJmCKquRmuL63-_pzfDDmSSQHCiZyqSUdHd4H1cwsyo57WJFsmIorZKV9b7kuJlwSRhFRkSvKkkqr0m4AGoQsAUcdh2XcIo0VMx_6XQlM-c-PEpn/s1600/Chhouk+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkz5u3TI1ICrkKUbcX-oBhcMNlhkapnJmCKquRmuL63-_pzfDDmSSQHCiZyqSUdHd4H1cwsyo57WJFsmIorZKV9b7kuJlwSRhFRkSvKkkqr0m4AGoQsAUcdh2XcIo0VMx_6XQlM-c-PEpn/s320/Chhouk+033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq3LjErPt9CMIdNnrucKtBeK5ZcqhNMhiLlDCP69WAf3OQT7UJ-RlNUTtQXVwjqBDMKs54eFKmOt9l_3MInB6Tq2snoLnPd_9ux_k5-EMKacmAH1xYrzQeUkkmuoyzlH7dUwutnzhLnI5/s1600/Chhouk+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq3LjErPt9CMIdNnrucKtBeK5ZcqhNMhiLlDCP69WAf3OQT7UJ-RlNUTtQXVwjqBDMKs54eFKmOt9l_3MInB6Tq2snoLnPd_9ux_k5-EMKacmAH1xYrzQeUkkmuoyzlH7dUwutnzhLnI5/s320/Chhouk+034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Principals office, library and a few more classrooms. Taken facing the opposite direction of the picture with the students seen earlier.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-7365782358050246232011-11-15T05:59:00.000-06:002011-11-15T05:59:10.194-06:00You can't make this stuff up<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">I know, 2 blog posts in 2 days lucky your right? Well this one is worth a mention in and of itself.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I observed my co-teacher give the first real test today in the Cambodian classroom and I should have seen what was coming. There is a certain sense of community here that you don’t get anywhere else in the world and it is interesting how accepted a thing like cheating on an exam can be.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As soon as he had handed out the tests the students went to work completing the few test items they knew before looking to the stronger kids in class. That’s when the fun started.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Everyone was up out of their seats watching the stronger students in class and copying their answers, one kid literally hand his test out the window and it was handed back five minutes later with all answers completed. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> Now I will give them credit because although the way in which they cheated was blatantly obvious and the subtly of their answers actually made me laugh out loud in front of the class.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here is one of the sample questions:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Q: Tell one thing you will do tomorrow.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Kid 1 A: I will go to Chhuk market and buy food.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Kid 2 A: I will go to Chhuk market and buy clothes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After I had seen that I had what could only be called a cheating riot I felt really small, not literally but in a figurative sense because it was obvious to me that this was just what the kids were accustomed to and to try and change something like this would be confusing to the kids.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But damnit I’m going to give it one hell of a try.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-40108195973159087752011-11-14T06:53:00.000-06:002011-11-14T06:53:44.897-06:00skinny me<div class="MsoNormal">Hello again! Missed me did you? Well I have been quite the busy little volunteer over here and finally have some down time to blog again and catch everyone up.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Some things about me and my current state; my weight, my Khmer has improved exponentially, miss my family and friends more than ever, and my school seems to have a lot of days off.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First thing, my weight. I have lost about 20 pounds and am down to around 160lbs. I arrived at a jolly ole weight of 180 in Cambodia and since eating rice and vegetables everyday have significantly altered my diet, and I had a horrible case of food poisoning during a TELF workshop in Phnom Penh, the weight has simply melted away. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Actually, that brings me to a funny little anecdote about how sick I was.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So I arrived in Phnom Penh on a Friday and spent most of the next few days glued to my bed and toilet, missing a large portion of the workshop, but around Tuesday I began to feel better and thought I might venture out and try to eat something (I hadn’t eaten a real meal in about 3 days). So I hopped in a tuk tuk and went to a glorious burger hole named “Mikes”. I walked in and was immediately taken by the aroma of beef and french fries. I was so excited and all smiles when walking up to the counter and proceeded to order a burger called ‘The Explosion’ a mix of hot chili pepper sauce on a double decker burger with four slices of cheese, and I got some fries.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now what I have failed to mention up until this point is the fact that earlier that same day I had requested an audience with my medical officer to make sure this was not anything more serious than food poisoning because I had never had an episode of food poisoning that lasted four days before and was becoming concerned. Joanne (medical officer) told me to stay away from fried foods and spicy food and described how my intestines were still probably recovering from the food poisoning.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well as you read above this is exactly the advice I did not heed. And paid a price. Would I do it again? They say everyone makes mistakes and a fool is one who is doomed to repeat his mistakes, call me a fool.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Aside from this one episode of unpleasant sickness I have been a fortress against all comers, and diseases are repelled like they are drops of rain hitting stone.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Second, my Khmer language skills have improved tenfold and I am beginning to be able to express more abstract ideas and understand much better.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You see it is a common teaching practice when schooling in a new language to begin with very formal speech and work towards some of the more informal circumstances and slang terms. So when I first arrived at site a lot of slang and synonyms I had not learned yet escaped me. Now I am becoming better at assembling context and extrapolating terms’ meanings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next, as the holidays roll around I am beginning to miss my family and friends (and cold weather) more and more. It is becoming difficult because I wish I was there to see everyone and not to mention spend my birthday with my family. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But I have a job to do here and I won’t go completely without. Most of the volunteers have holiday plans as well and there is a good chance I will spend Thanksgiving eating turkey, and Christmas and my birthday on a beach somewhere. The K4s (volunteers who arrived a year earlier) tell me that around the holidays it does get especially tough because you think about the time you are missing away from the ones you love.</div><div class="MsoNormal">All in all I am being treated very well and the people here insist on feeding me every chance they get because since I lost some weight (see above) they have been practically shoving food in my mouth.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now onto the frustrating Cambodian school system.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The classrooms are very multi level meaning that some students are very advanced and some don’t know the alphabet so it can get especially difficult when making lesson plans and most of the time you must repeat many pronunciations and rules (which I understand is a part of learning any language).</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">However, there are kids in my class who come to class simply to goof and have no interest in what I am teaching. I make them leave and do not allow them back into the class around (I would ballpark estimate I have kicked 15 kids total out of my class). This works for the time being but I know that the next time I have the same kids it will be the same old story and that is what bothers me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another frustration comes from one of the teachers who simply want me to teach about every English class in the school and always conflicts with what he wanted before. And of course, he is my technical team coordinator meaning he sets the schedule. On the bright side I do have the choice to start my own club and not adhere to his schedule but in the past with volunteers he has created some problems so I am trying to stay on his good side for now. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Onto a recent vacation I took.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So a few volunteers went to Koh Kong for the weekend and I figured; what the hell? It’s only a 5 hour lan touris ride (basically the equivalent of an astro van packed with thirty people). Although I consider myself a fairly large person (not fat… anymore but large considering the circumstances) I am allotted almost no extra room and children and stuff consistently come flying into my lap as people readjust. I arrived with almost every extremity aching and fast asleep and proceed to almost fall flat onto the ground as I step out. This is very funny in Khmer culture especially when it is a big foreigner.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But I manage to arrive safely and ended up having a very good couple of days seeing the beach and hiking a small waterfall. And wow the food was amazing. A volunteer actually lives in the district town which surprised me because if I lived there I would be blowing so much money on western style food I would constantly be broke.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lucky for me I have few temptations at my site. Yay! (Sarcasm)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well that is about it for now, hope you have enjoyed this entry, and to those of you back home; never complain about cold weather.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-57859330618803442302011-10-18T09:46:00.000-05:002011-10-18T09:46:05.200-05:00Work and Play... a lot of playLast week I began teaching and I have to say that I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Although the kids have almost no clue what I am saying I know just enough to Khmer and we can meet in the middle most of the time. The rest of the time ends up being a class laugh session.<br />
<br />
I usually begin with some simple vocab that I can easily describe or draw pictures on the board. Occasionally we come across a word like 'responsibility'. Easy enough right? Well it begins with me slowly (and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y) pronouncing the word a few times with the class repeating. "Responsibility" I say "responserbity" is what I get back. Okay so I need to break up the words into phonetics, so I write on the board 'ree-spons-eh-bill-it-tee' and am able to get them to pronounce it correctly after about 4 times. Next I have to try and explain the word.<br />
<br />
This is where things get difficult. I am going through every possible explanation I can think of in Khmer without just giving them the word (because I have no idea how to translate responsibility) and even trying to explain it in basic English. The kids just don't get it and about 5 minutes after trying to explain I think I am beginning to frighten them because I am over enthusiastic at even the most feeble try. I finally go and ask my co-teacher who has taken a phone call and left the room. He gives me the word and I go tell the kids. By this time they are all laughing hysterically at my awful pronunciation of the Khmer word and I am laughing at their pronunciation of the English word. All in all the teaching has been okay, and although its very slow moving every class I feel like my pronunciation is really helping them hear and speak clearly.<br />
<br />
Onto my funny story of the week. So everyday out back of my house there is a group of gentlemen who play soccer and on Wednesdays and Thursdays I go to join them. There was a small carnival last week and it had a few rides and some small games kids could play, and it happened to be right next to the field where we play soccer. The carnival usually plays American music (Beyonce, J-lo, Pit Bull, etc.), but no one can really understand anything being said and the lyrics are mostly harmless.<br />
<br />
Except for one song.<br />
<br />
Now picture me, 23 year old male with a sixth graders immature sense of humor and only fluent English speaker for miles, playing soccer with all these Khmer people who brought their kids to a fun day at the carnival when this song comes on <a href="http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/g/gillette/dont_want_no_short_dick_man.html">http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/g/gillette/dont_want_no_short_dick_man.html</a>.<br />
<br />
No joke, I am in the middle of the field and gasping for air, laughing so hard my face is turning purple. It had to be the funniest thing that has happened to me since I arrived and my only regret is not having anyone who understands what is going on. Most of the town already thinks I'm nuts because I walk everywhere, and don't know how to hand wash my laundry, and now they are witnessing a first hand total mental breakdown of this new stupid American who just arrived last week.<br />
<br />
Needless to say I was a bit embarrassed and my family kept asking what is so funny but I didn't have the heart to tell them and still don't, but I am now officially known as 'that crazy Barang' but its okay because it was well worth what I got out of it, even if it made me look nuts.Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-39398976142775151282011-10-12T04:30:00.000-05:002011-10-12T04:30:03.688-05:00a few more pics<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhoyc7KI7rnWafU1P3nTfrwkw5til2xR7tnOXtMGd6sbr4TMPgb4b_0oUcO2FR8pF2XxcYwXPS4Nu76OdtdZDqAQl4YSX98tY6uhtltGVdQy8j6RPkKuaPzHea0FRyxN8QnZXrRG6T_lj/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhoyc7KI7rnWafU1P3nTfrwkw5til2xR7tnOXtMGd6sbr4TMPgb4b_0oUcO2FR8pF2XxcYwXPS4Nu76OdtdZDqAQl4YSX98tY6uhtltGVdQy8j6RPkKuaPzHea0FRyxN8QnZXrRG6T_lj/s320/033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A baby named "David"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3e7BV_cUme4JLwBp6oOwL0Wj0tyLHYTkG-dvkhPlsWGeffyjzcgJRB8Ghte0goV2qvy9TUFPTSdSOWztwNurCzuRTHBWSL6zTSp8zMCDS0KGpDwCyREZK3EIXKU0I3dhoEZmdygkwwy1/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3e7BV_cUme4JLwBp6oOwL0Wj0tyLHYTkG-dvkhPlsWGeffyjzcgJRB8Ghte0goV2qvy9TUFPTSdSOWztwNurCzuRTHBWSL6zTSp8zMCDS0KGpDwCyREZK3EIXKU0I3dhoEZmdygkwwy1/s320/041.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, they have pugs in Cambodia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOyXVhaynCsc8iqVYeRywztb_T0yuAjpsKASlGM2eZDazFYFAihyphenhyphen3xk-BlxvQ29Z-415tU5BveBmVlJO7RYS6KrOU9qwIwhauBSUa1PwVc35DnQ4NMnF6CtEyencsRw6AEhzVtP0coHhl/s1600/083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOyXVhaynCsc8iqVYeRywztb_T0yuAjpsKASlGM2eZDazFYFAihyphenhyphen3xk-BlxvQ29Z-415tU5BveBmVlJO7RYS6KrOU9qwIwhauBSUa1PwVc35DnQ4NMnF6CtEyencsRw6AEhzVtP0coHhl/s320/083.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfePIdngVqxrPLNvcUqMELb_mRFK5A_BWHRn7WPmGObkaeQCd3RFSzSmTvjVKYq0XLF5ybA-PsNXdeqihAK-en7JZF6coZwe0m4Sn9mqqijZ4vudx-TNNTU28TWydqwF52Zmqo0L5f2DLa/s1600/112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfePIdngVqxrPLNvcUqMELb_mRFK5A_BWHRn7WPmGObkaeQCd3RFSzSmTvjVKYq0XLF5ybA-PsNXdeqihAK-en7JZF6coZwe0m4Sn9mqqijZ4vudx-TNNTU28TWydqwF52Zmqo0L5f2DLa/s320/112.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swear In</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x3jZoUsf7ylYKCNlx_2424aV4zfjmrJED84dhEI6TniA8VrcvAWhZGoEATyA1CbPXPLLjCMJOiCtyVA8wYCUyVoMfLEXvYXp-zy63n4xxs-cs1I3xUuXZt2CYw5BmFLzHhiN_l6TGA1K/s1600/117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x3jZoUsf7ylYKCNlx_2424aV4zfjmrJED84dhEI6TniA8VrcvAWhZGoEATyA1CbPXPLLjCMJOiCtyVA8wYCUyVoMfLEXvYXp-zy63n4xxs-cs1I3xUuXZt2CYw5BmFLzHhiN_l6TGA1K/s320/117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Language Group</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-75626518979932378722011-10-06T08:59:00.000-05:002011-10-06T08:59:13.490-05:00These people don't mess around...Let me say it was nice to be in Phnom Penh for a few days before swear in to unwind and buy some stuff that I need (instead of getting a stove I bought a guitar, sorry mom). However the unwind session soon turned into everyone fitting their goodbyes into a few nights and some early mornings. One thing they don't tell you about Peace Corps is that training is not walk in the park. Even on your days off it seems there is an insurmountable amount of work to do to either wash your clothes or study the new language. Now it is all over and I can finally settle into site and have some free time.<br />
<br />
Today was my second day of observing classrooms and one of the girls at my school came running up to me very excitedly. She told me that she was sad because the fortune teller told her she could not marry me but was excited to study English with me. Never met the girl before in my life but she apparently saw me yesterday (who didn't? I'm the only white person around 6' in this country) and ran to her local fortune teller to ask about her future. I told her I was making an English club and she was welcome to come anytime, and walked away nearly crying I was laughing so hard.<br />
<br />
That was not the strangest thing that has happened to me this week though. The most uncomfortable I have been since I arrived in Cambodia was not due to heat or bugs, but surprisingly with a close encounter with a man who got a little too friendly.<br />
<br />
I was sitting on a bench in Phnom Penh outside a bar waiting for one of my newly minted PCVs when one friendly Cambodian man came and sat next to me. <br />
<br />
Now the culture and friendship of men here is different and they like to touch each other and really get up in each others business. I am not a fan. That being said you can tell where this is going. He moves closer to me speaking broken English and I am trying my best to speak Khmer to him and telling him he speaks good English. Well after I complement him on his English his hand goes straight to my upper thigh and I wince a little because I don't allow other guys to touch me too often (even for hugs). So I remind myself of where I am and the customs here and slowly lift his hand and put it back in his lap.<br />
<br />
His hand goes right back to my crotch. I take it off and put it back in his lap and stand up. Now he slaps me in the butt and stands next to me hand remaining on my butt. Just walk away Bret. So I start away and he kind of lingers on my path for awhile and finally goes his separate way.<br />
<br />
Other than some bugs, heat and gross misunderstandings everything has gone pretty smooth so far. I moved to my site, finally am able to settle in. Pretty much have my own tile floor apartment, and looks like I have a pretty supportive staff at my school. I miss the other PCVs that I went through training with but seem to have no problem finding awkward situations to occupy myself.<br />
<br />
My market is very big and I have met a lot of nice people who are always interested in the foreigner. I walk through the market and time seems to stop for everyone. Its actually kind of amusing but I'm sure it will get old when I have been here for six months and still get gawked at on every corner.<br />
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This weekend I have a trip to Kampot (the beach town, woot!) to get my bike, why Peace Corps could not send it to my site I will never know. But any excuse to go relax for a day is okay with me. Next week I have a little more observing to do and then I begin teaching. Wish me luck and now that I have some free time I will be able to start blogging more often,Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-88573655202818670292011-09-18T02:23:00.000-05:002011-09-18T02:23:09.436-05:00My Mother will be horrified<div class="MsoNormal">So I feel like two months into the Cambodian Peace Corps experience I have finally begun to adapt to the culture and the little bit of the language that I know and understand is beginning to serve me better every day.<span> </span>However, this has come at a price (Mom if you’re reading this skip to paragraph 7).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I will apologize to those of you in advance for some of the things I will share but hey, it just might be the most entertaining thing you read today.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Fried spider legs and roasted crickets aren’t as bad as they seem, I will start out with a creampuff here.<span> </span>I had them once in Phnom Penh and the texture was the thing that got me and not so much the taste.<span> </span>I think it is just knowing that what you are eating is (was?) an insect and that really grosses a lot of people out, but it is such a different diet here and many people live to cook and others cook to live.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dogs are the worst here.<span> </span>I have had more flea bites than kernels of rice I have eaten, (oh and they are so satisfying to scratch) but it’s a part of the job and have found effective ways to cope.<span> </span>The little fuckers (fleas) jump off of the dogs when they scratch and because of powerful hind legs are able to spring themselves onto shoes innocently sitting around.<span> </span>About 2% of the dogs here are vaccinated and about all of them are mangy and have fleas.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m gonna leave the bathroom scene out of this because it can become pretty hair-raising for those of you not familiar with the living situation in rural Cambodia.<span> </span>I will say that I have actually come to enjoy the bucket showers that end and begin each day (bucket showers consist of you taking a bucket full of water from a trough in your bathroom and dumping it on yourself).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Moto drivers are some of the craziest people I have met and are even worse when you put them behind the wheel of a moto.<span> </span>Swerving in and out of traffic and the few near misses I have seen would make most people back home need quadruple bypass open heart surgery.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The amount of wildlife and nature enables me to become acquainted with many different types of insects.<span> </span>It’s not the kind of fly you see at a family picnic but perhaps compare these to this size of a small rodent (ok maybe I’m exaggerating but I gotta keep you hooked).<span> </span>Mosquitoes are the ones you really have to watch out for; most of the other ones just kind of creep you out for a second then you realize are harmless.<span> </span>Khmer people think it is absolutely hysterical that the Americans are scared of spiders.<span> </span>The neighbor girl throws spiders on one of the volunteers living with her on almost a daily basis and the family just laughs.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The weather, oh god it is hot.<span> </span>Hot beyond words with no escape, and your only relief is the end of the day with the before mentioned bucket bath.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now for the good stuff, I am finally adapting to sweating a couple liters every day, and even have begun to use a blanket at night because it seems to be getting cooler.<span> </span>Albeit we are heading into the Khmer winter (usually lows around 75-80 Fahrenheit) I feel as though my body is adapting.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The language seems to be coming to me easier and I am able to speak and listen to a fairly intermediate level of vocabulary, although I often have to ask them to speak slower.<span> </span>This has been a huge hurdle for me because coming into the scenario I didn’t think I could ever master the language, but once you begin to break it down it can be simple and you begin to see that English is a lot more difficult to learn than people think.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Upcoming events for me are a much needed vacation to a remote island in the gulf of Thailand, and a few days in Phnom Penh before I move to permanent site.<span> </span>I am excited because I get to see all the volunteers and how their sites are, and get to spend a few days in the presence of western food before I move to my site.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-42239425076372384252011-09-15T19:51:00.000-05:002011-09-15T19:51:23.224-05:00My siteLet me apologize for the lack of posts lately. Sorry. On to business.<br />
<br />
So the last week and a half or so has been stressful because we did our teacher training sessions and our community activities which went awesome. For the teacher training I taught about reflective teaching which is when... you guessed it, brainstorm ways to reflect on your teaching failures and successes. The class was not very receptive because education in this part of the world is different from in America. For example the structure and hierarchy of the class is very important and it is generally assumed that the teacher knows everything, it is also considered embarrassing for students to answer incorrectly so it can be a little difficult to stimulate participation.<br />
<br />
But these guys are teachers, I mean they have been teaching for years and here I come in and try and tell them how to run their classes. Although I tried not to be too preachy and tell them how to run their classes age is a big part of the respect system here and I was teaching some gentlemen and women who were upwards of ten to fifteen years older than me. I went in and simply asked them some common problems in their classes and suggested some ways to remedy the problems. One big problem that you don't think about too much is that the European population is a little more prominent than the American, so many times the children are taught English from people from England. This not only becomes a problem with pronunciation, but vocabulary as well.<br />
<br />
So I finished the teacher training workshop and began to work on my community project which my group had decided would be based on gender roles within their community. There is a proverb in Cambodia that says "men are like gold, as when they are dropped they can be polished and cleaned again. Women are like cloth because once they are stained the stains are there forever". We were by no means trying to reinvent the wheel here but we figured that we could start very small and maybe ask the kids at the school a few questions to get them thinking about why people are treated the way they are and so forth.<br />
<br />
We divided the kids in boy and girls groups to get more participation and tried to get them to think of the common roles that men and women have in their society. We pointed out housework, workplace differences, childcare, education, etc. and listed them on the board. We told them some of the roles in the different categories in America and then asked them about how things were in Cambodia. We were surprised to find that the class thought women should be payed more in the workplace and most of the boys had some progressive thinking towards their gender counterparts.<br />
<br />
In conclusion I think that the gender workshop went very well and although there is still a lot of progress to be made, this can be one of my projects for my time here.<br />
<br />
Onto site visit. So I live now with my training family in a small village outside of the provincial capital in Takeo (I know that doesn't mean a lot to everyone but stay with me). Last Saturday all of the trainees met in Takeo to get our site placements and new host families. This was an exciting moment because until now we have been kept in the dark on what to expect for our site and the Peace Corps was very secretive about our placements. <br />
<br />
I found that I will be placed in Kampot province about an hour drive from the beach and I will have my own apartment. I was really excited when I heard I would be in Kampot because I will be within close vicinity of many other volunteers and the school I will teach at is rather large (2700 students). So I had originally asked for a place far out in the sticks where I could be in a more rural site and really get to know my community. Unfortunately I am placed in a site that is the second largest city in the province and has a national highway running right through the middle of it.<br />
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Although I did not get everything I asked for, my house is very nice and I can see myself being happy and effective in the site they placed me. It will be more difficult to integrate simply because the town is so large and the population is fairly transient, but if I am able to get to know the community and they are able to know me I feel like that will be a large accomplishment. Many other volunteers have exciting sites around me and I will be able to visit them often also.<br />
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I will apologize for the lack of pictures also, but when I run the internet here I have to pay by the amount of data I use so it can be expensive if I download or upload a lot of pictures and videos.<br />
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Thank you for reading and I hope to post again soon.Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-76160165006284336502011-09-02T08:48:00.000-05:002011-09-02T08:48:20.569-05:00Frustrating daySo when learning a language sometimes things are not always clear between your counterpart and you. Thus begins my frustrating day with the host family. I wake up in the morning and do the morning routine of breakfast and shower, then head to class. When I return there are people everywhere at my house, I say hello to a few familiar faces and head to my room. Out of the blue comes this feeling that this would be a great time to practice Khmer.<br />
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I go back downstairs and try to have some simple conversation with a few of the people and they are bombarding me with questions; Where are you from? Are you married? How many people in your family? I answer the first couple easily enough and begin to feel pretty confident so I begin to ask them the same questions. Blank stares.<br />
<br />
After pronouncing the words in different ways I decide that its just not working and want to head back upstairs to do some work. So I'm on my way to my room when I am stopped by my host mom and what I believe is her sister. They ask if I have already eaten and I tell them yes and thank them but they proceed to feed me what I can only be describe as a banana tamale. <br />
<br />
I begin to eat it and quickly realize I don't like it, but there is such hope in their faces I decide to take a few more bites and tell them I'm full. While I'm trying to eat this thing my mom is asking me question using words and phrases that I am hopeless to translate. She politely looks at me after every question and waits for my answer which is "ot yool" (I don't understand). <br />
<br />
Most people would quickly figure out that I am not a native speaker and vocabulary is limited, but my well to do mother repeats the question using the same words and phrases. "ot yool". Same question asked in the same way. "ot yool". Same question. "ot yool". At this point I am laughing because I don't understand what she is trying to say and in my head I picture someone trying to describe the color red to a person who is colorblind.<br />
<br />
Before she can ask a fifth time I manage to navigate through and get to my room to call my LCF. My LCF comes over and translates what she was trying to ask into "do you know how to walk a cow?"<br />
<br />
Just a little bit of frustration and a lot of communication problems but that is the life I come to know. Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-45978960979465678062011-08-29T07:09:00.000-05:002011-08-29T07:09:57.929-05:00Practicum WeekPracticum is a week of supervised teaching, we are basically given the names and ages of the kids we will be teaching and make lesson plans based on what we believe their level will be. My group was told we would have 11th graders so we thought that most of their English levels would be medium low to medium high. We were surprised to walk into a class of ages from 12-16 and differing levels of English to boot.<br />
<br />
So we revised our plans to fit the group and ended up having a very successful practicum (in my eyes) and I feel like the kids really enjoyed it also. We taught for 3 hours each day from Monday to Saturday and showed the kids everything from hello and goodbye to where they want to travel. The kids were great and by the end of the week I almost wish I could have this class for my two years of service. The staff knew that we had been given kind of a raw deal also, but I think that we impressed them with our ability to adapt to the situation and make the best of things.<br />
<br />
Onto this Sundays activities (things get kind of sad from here)<br />
<br />
Our group decided that we would like to go and see a killing field, and these were places where Khmer Rouge would execute people and torture them until they confessed.<br />
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The first thing that I noticed was how long it took us to ride our bikes to the site. Many times the Khmer Rouge would make people walk for days on end from sun up to sun down to get to where they would be living and working. To give a general idea of about how far it was the ride took us about an hour to arrive and we are about a hour and a half drive south of Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh was evacuated when the Khmer Rouge took control) so in addition to 80 kilometers we probably rode our bikes 15k to get there. Thats a total of 95k walking!<br />
<br />
Anyway, when we arrive we saw the compound and a few buildings inside. Immediately once you walk in there is a giant hole to your left. From this hole they exhumed about 35,000 people. To put it in perspective it was about the size of a three car garage. They had some of the clothes that were unearthed during the excavation sitting next to the hole. Next we walked over to where they had dug a 3x3x3 meter hole. This hole was a prison cell. The Khmer Rouge would put people in the hole at night and torture them during the day.<br />
<br />
Next we walked up to a building that looked like a small obelisk with steps leading up to it (I know obelisks are Egyptian but its the closest thing I can relate it to). Inside the structure were skulls and bones of the victims that were exhumed from the site. The guide around the compound also told us about another pit that had not been exhumed yet because fund were no available but in total they estimated around 60- 80,000 people were murdered in this one location.<br />
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Underneath a large tree in the middle of the compound was a sign that said the Khmer Rouge would play loud music or messages from speakers in the tree so the victims cries could not be heard. The Khmer Rouge had a rule that no one could be killed until they confessed to their crimes, much like medieval torture you hear about on the history channel, however this occurred only 35 years ago.<br />
<br />
This was a very somber experience and for me, the most humbling part of the trip was the willingness of the monks at the wat (temple) to show us around the site and describe the horrors that had taken place there.<br />
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So a lot of people ask me if I think I am doing the right thing, or if this is what I really want. I can honestly say that at this point I am still looking but what better place to look than somewhere I can do some good, and learn as much as I can about a world that many people will never know. Only problem so far is that the more I learn, the more I realize I don't have any idea whatsoever.<br />
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Deep huh?Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-35005919710141555932011-08-22T19:26:00.000-05:002011-08-22T19:26:18.382-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dwCB2BfW-JyQfhDFlZJUmZtQ3001bkf1IY5W0XZYGwVvDayIEqv-fUzNUPsCVOmNjT7XUSsOUpoEfF0bOwqdBWnfxYZXVxZd0rRdHli_Wvbb37S0ZUVZeA74XRL5jnLV8VajGfT8wYpm/s1600/Cultural+Roundtap+%2526+Phnom+Da+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dwCB2BfW-JyQfhDFlZJUmZtQ3001bkf1IY5W0XZYGwVvDayIEqv-fUzNUPsCVOmNjT7XUSsOUpoEfF0bOwqdBWnfxYZXVxZd0rRdHli_Wvbb37S0ZUVZeA74XRL5jnLV8VajGfT8wYpm/s320/Cultural+Roundtap+%2526+Phnom+Da+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Kw7eJUGf7aKDvhNHU52j633h0Of5ZewirJ_UK974z0eosIiY-1c-fX4Q46IJPFstHxq-6e3Lobmb1zGm17shfFRmwswMQ4nqbrSX1FXyPWsX9kLNFTl3nhiVug1clgx8AxFQAq06-sM2/s1600/Cambodia+begins+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Kw7eJUGf7aKDvhNHU52j633h0Of5ZewirJ_UK974z0eosIiY-1c-fX4Q46IJPFstHxq-6e3Lobmb1zGm17shfFRmwswMQ4nqbrSX1FXyPWsX9kLNFTl3nhiVug1clgx8AxFQAq06-sM2/s200/Cambodia+begins+-+Copy.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-77930651584287321362011-08-22T19:12:00.000-05:002011-08-22T19:12:09.965-05:00Some PicsHere are some pics that I hope everyone will enjoy.<br />
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So the first few are of my fellow trainees and I and our host families, we had a cultural roundtable where we were able to ask them questions about farming. The one you see with me and a bunch flooded rice paddies in the background is Phnom Da, a temple built in the 11th century by the Funans, it is also about 3K from Vietnam. Some pictures I didn't post are ones of the mountain in Kirivon that I climbed to see another ancient temple, and I took a few of my room and living situation but my house and room are really pretty simple.<br />
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On to the events of this week. So week three was pretty basic more washing clothes by hand and bucket showers. Rode my bike to Takeo town (provincial city) and bought some stuff, but overall pretty uneventful week. My host family still laughs at me quite a bit because my Khmer accent seems funny to them but they can understand me most of the time.<br />
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Right now I am just kicking off week 4 and my second day of practicum. Which means that I am in front of a class now teaching about 3 hours a day. When they told me I would be teaching tenth grade I was a little intimidated because I was actually scared they might know more English than I did (I had to have someone explain the third conditional and modals to me). However, it turns out the school director accidentally told some of the kids the wrong days and so I spent my Monday teaching a rag tag group of kids we had to go and pull off the street. Cambodia right?<br />
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It went pretty well and we all had a chance to introduce ourselves and I proceeded to do an activity about the cultural differences between Cambodia and America by doing a little true or false. I discovered that all my students believe Americans are rich, white and speak English (and Justin Bieber is the most prominent American celebrity here). Anyway, I managed to survive the day and came home to my wonderful mosquito net and another bucket shower.<br />
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Hope everyone has been enjoying the blog so far!Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6296194183313222995.post-2758274062819233942011-08-11T07:35:00.000-05:002011-08-11T07:35:10.563-05:00Training Week 2So I managed to find a small burger joint here (No McDonalds is not readily available in rural Cambodia) and may have eaten one of the most questionable hamburgers in the eastern hemisphere. This was all a culmination of me searching for days on end and asking everyone in broken Khmer where I could find a hamburger. A solid 75% didnt know what a hamburger was and the rest gave me blank stares, but I get the feeling they don't have a lot of Americans in these parts so it may have been surprising to them that I actually spoke some of their language.<div><br />
</div><div>The place was called Golden Fried Chicken and it had everything from pizza to... fried chicken. I ordered the burger and could not have been more excited at the time. When it came out I was quickly questioning my decision but realized how far I rode my bike to get to this restaurant, and even if the Apocalypse was raining down I was going to eat the damn thing. If you have ever had the mystery meat they serve in some high school cafeterias then this would be two or three steps below that, but I have felt great all of today and will probably go back soon.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Also my care package arrived today and I got the treat of Starburst! Thanks mom and dad, you guys are the greatest. I would also like to give a shoutout to my niece who is apparently being potty trained, give 'em hell and dont let them put the big girl pants on you too early, because there is only a small window of time you can poop yourself and have it be socially acceptable.</div>Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06890860325850787203noreply@blogger.com0