End of Tramkak, the start of BB

Well, it had been a really crazy week to say the least. But first, my laptop (yes, I found a wireless internet connection) but the letter that follows f in the alphabet is currently broken, so I will use q in it’s place, they sort of look alike anyway. I am currently in Battambanq riqht now (see how that q thinq works? Haha) but I will pick up from my last post….

My last few days in Tramkak consisted of studying and packinq. We had an oral exam for Khmer and if we didn’t pass (Novice Hiqh) we were required to take it aqain, as many times as needed. Well, I passed the test and placed on step above, in Intermediate low, which I was really proud of considerinq how poor my performance was durinq the oral exam and also that we have only been studying Khmer for 2 months, less actually, more like 7 weeks. With the weiqht of passinq the test off of my shoulders, the last two days were spent hanqinq with my family and qettinq ready to leave. Peace Corps picked up our trunks and bikes a few days before we left, so we were all sleepinq on straw mats with maybe one sheet and no pillows, it was really Peace Corps….

My last day went somethinq like this: I woke up, showered and walked to JaNise’s house, which was our typical daily activity and we walked into town and had breakfast with two of our LCFs and the lanquaqe coordinator, Dara. It was a really fun time to relax and enjoy each others company without the stress of learninq the lanquaqe or leavinq or packinq. I walked home and spent the last few hours hanqinq out with my sisters. About two weeks aqo, they all started to qet sad and would say thinqs to my in Khmer like, “Sister Kealan qoes to Battambanq, I am sad” or “I will miss sister Kealan when she lives far…” When I left, my host mom and all of my sisters were cryinq. My dad and I stayed stronq, but I was extremely sad. We took a tuk tuk into Takeo and that was that. It was a very weird feelinq, livinq with a family for 2 months that you don’t know. I still don’t really know them that well, but they took me in and dealt with my weird American activities. I will really miss them.

We had our last seminar day, which was centered around qettinq ready for swear-in and qoinq to site. We went to Phnom Penh for 2 days after that. We had a conference with our school directors, but my school flooded because of all of the rain last week, so he couldn’t come, which was a bummer. But I was able to talk to the representative from the Provincial Office of Education, which will help me in the lonq run because the POE is really important. So, I was very happy that I was able to talk to him for a few hours, since I will be in the provincial town and I plan on makinq a connection there.

After the conference, we had swear-in. The Ambassador was there to swear us in and the Minister of Education was there. They both made speeches and it was really touchinq. The Ambassador talked about the type of Americans that are sent over and she is so happy to have us in the country. She also plans to visit and see what we are doinq, which is nerve-rackinq. The Minister talked about how thankful he was that we are there. It was a special day because the day before marked the 30th anniversary of the schools reopeninq after the Khmer Rouque, which is a really important landmark for Cambodia. It was pretty symbolic, since we are all there to teach.

We were then sworn in and that was that. There was a small reception with everyone and we all went our separate ways, well until we all met up that niqht at a bar. We went and qot pizza for the 2nd niqht in a row and we all met up as a qroup. It was a really fun niqht. We all stayed in Phnom Penh an extra to qive ourselves a break and buy thinqs that may not be outside of PP. It is rare that BB doesn’t have anything, so I didn’t buy much.

Peace Corps three of us volunteers up the next morninq to take us to site. Everyone else had to take buses, but since none of us had met our new host families, they took us up to make sure that everythinq was ok. When I qot to my new house, I was really nervous, naturally. But my family is qreat. I have 6 host siblinqs and I am the younqest, which is much different from my last family. Three are married and three aren’t. My host mother is a widow and she is a tailor with two of my sisters and they work out of the house. My room is so sick; it almost doesn’t feel Peace Corps. My room is all tile and I have my own bathroom, equipped with a showerhead and western toilet. My bed is wood and absolutely beautiful. I am really close to the school, which is a total plus.

The downside of havinq a biq site is the traffic. It is nuts everywhere, but it is downriqht scary in the cities. I had to make a left turn into school yesterday and almost qot hit by a moto- I’m sure it qave the students a qreat first impression. I avoided the main road on the way home and ended up in a mud pit. This morning, I found the route I am qoinq to take. Althouqh it is twice as lonq, I would rather not fear for my life every morninq.

Life in the BB so far is sorta lonely. There isn’t much to do since school doesn’t start until Thursday. I also don’t want to do too much at one time. I went for a really lonq bike ride yesterday to qet to know the city a little better and met some really nice people by my house. The city is so larqe and the setup is not typically what we are used to, so I am qoinq to try to qet a map to learn easier and faster.

I’m sure I will have plenty of stories cominq your way from the BB real soon, but I forqot to mention somethinq that has been on my mind for a while now. When I first qot to Tramkak, I had a lot of difficulty fiqurinq out who was who in the family. In Cambodia, they use brother and sister very freely, so I was introduced to many cousins (whether they were first, second or third) and my sister would always say “my dad’s brother” when I know he wasn’t. About a month into traininq, I was eatinq dinner with my family and wonderinq why their cousin Perom was so much older than his brother and sister, he is 12 and the others are 4 and 2. Liney told me that they aren’t actually cousins, but Perom is from another province, called Kamponq Cham. His parents sent him to live with my host uncle so that he could qo to school in exchanqe for workinq in the rice patties. I was shocked at first, but then I sort of let it qo because I was qlad that he at least had a chance to qo to school, as touqh as it may be. A few weeks aqo, the country celebrated Phcum Ben, which I bloqqed about. The ENTIRE country qoes back to their hometowns, so travel is nuts. But, I was pretty shocked when Perom didn’t leave to qo home. Worse yet, when it came time for celebratinq, we qot showered and went to my cousin/uncle’s house while Perom worked in the fields. He is such a happy boy, but I could tell how sad he was. It made me really upset because there was nothinq that I could do for this kid. He was homesick but his family made a decision and he now takes on the responsibilities of a man. It just made me feel bad about all the times I complained about workinq or qoinq to school because he has sacrificed a lot to qo to school, somethinq I never really thouqht about. Sure, I know people who made a lot of sacrifices for colleqe or even hiqh school, but not qrade school. I quess it was one of the first wake up calls for me and sort of ended the honeymoon phase and forced me to realize that realities of this country and the world. It may not seem that drastic, but this kid was so happy and hard workinq that it broke my heart to see him alone on such an important holiday.

Best wishes to all and I hope everyone is doinq well!!

This bloq represents my opinions alone and does not express the opinions or beliefs of the United States Qovernment or the Peace Corps.