Hey Hills.

I am back at site after a weekend trip to Phnom Penh.  My initial plan was to go to Siem Reap for Halloween (I guess it’s a big deal there?) but the plans changed, as they often do.  It all started about two weeks ago when we (the volunteers) caught wind of three important people coming from Washington, D.C.  My friend Keiko and I got really carried away and were talking about how we were going to teach our students the national anthem to impress Hillary Clinton.  Or when Michelle Obama came to our sites, we would coincidentally be running a girls’ empowerment camp.  It got out of hand really quickly, but it was fun to joke about it.  We found out that the visitors were three people from Peace Corps Washington, not Hillary or Michelle and that they weren’t even coming to my site, so I let it go.  The very next day, I went to English Club at the university and the leader of the club, Vutha, made an announcement that the Embassy called him and he was in charge of making a group of 20 students to take to Phnom Penh for a town hall meeting with the Secretary of State.  I dropped the book I was holding.  The rest of the story consists of Darlene and I taking to the Embassy and the Peace Corps staff and the result was 20 volunteers being invited to Phnom Penh to see Hillary Clinton on Monday, November 1^st.  Keiko and I couldn’t believe that we had made all of those jokes and then Hillary actually came to Cambodia! We started to text things that we really wanted to happen because maybe it would work again, but so far, none of our wishes have come true.  I traveled to PP on Saturday because going to Siem Reap then PP then back to Battambang is about a 24 hour trip, so I decided on just PP.  It was pretty relaxing and whereas before, when we came to PP, we would eat everything in sight then go out at night, I stayed pretty low key and just relaxed.  The day of the event, we all made our way to the Embassy and got checked in.  It was essentially the Embassy staff, their families and Peace Corps Volunteers.  We had no idea what to expect, but we were hoping at the very least for a Peace Corps picture with Hil (as we continued to call her, like we knew her on a personal level).  The main reason that I wanted this picture was for the Peace Corps Times, the Peace Corps newspaper.  We get it once very few months and it is basically a report from Peace Corps worldwide, including news about new groups swearing in, major projects, new sectors opening, etc.  But in every issue, there are some countries that always appear, namely Guatemala.  Keiko and I were texting about how we need a picture for the Peace Corps Times to stick it to Peace Corps Guatemala, but we came up empty.  She made a speech about the importance of the workers on the ground and she mentioned Peace Corps twice.  It was a nice speech, then she shook some hands and left to board a plane to Malaysia.  It was pretty cool to be a part of it. 

With Keiko and Jacqueline at the Embassy

All of us

Ambassador Rodley and the Secretary of State

The closest picture I have

Now I am back at site, teaching.  Classes are going well.  I’m working with a wide range of students and still really liking it.  We are getting to the point in the school year where there are a lot of holidays- Friday was Coronation Day, Monday was King Sihanouk’s Birthday, November 9^th is Independence Day, then Water Festival and so on and so forth.  It’s difficult to get into the flow of school when it gets canceled about once a week, but I have a year of experience now, so I think that I will be ok and try to use those days to my advantage. 

The students that won scholarships to America are in America.  My mom was able to go to the welcome luncheon at Northern Illinois University to see them.  Sounds like they had a blast.  They are struggling with the cold and the food, but I think that they are still shocked by America and will be ok once they get settled in. I had a tough time the first week, and I have spent a lot of time traveling.  This is their first time out of Cambodia and it’s difficult for them.  I can’t wait to hear about all of it, though.

I have a daily planner that I keep track of what I do everyday and in the corner, I keep track of the days that I have been in Cambodia and days that I have left in Cambodia.  Many volunteers have differing perspectives on this, but I keep track of the days for two reasons.  First, the days in Cambodia is a nice pat on the back.  I also learn best by writing out steps (I make a lot of lists) so it helps me to organize my time here, which is why I keep track of the days to go.  Contrary to popular belief, I do this not as something to look forward to, but rather to remind me that my time is dwindling and I need to take advantage of the days that I have left.  It always surprises me to see how many days I have left, which is good, because my worst fear is that I won’t do enough with my time and realize that it is too late.  The numbers, as of today, November 4, 2010 are as follows:

·        Days since I left Chicago: 471

·        Days until close of service: 280

My goal is to be home August 1^st.  That means that I have less than ten months.  Actually even less than that because during April, there is no school and I will be traveling with my friends visiting from America.  Also, June and July, there won’t be school, so it’s a lot less than ten months.  Scary!!!

As for the weather, rainy season is coming to an end and I know that because we had the boat races in Battambang two weeks ago.  On November 20^th, the national boat races will take place in Phnom Penh and that marks the end of rainy season.  It’s called the Water and Moon Festival because it is when the most water is in the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap Lake and the river reverses flow and the Tonle Sap floods.  It is when the river and the lake are at their highest points.  So each province and many companies send representative to compete in the boat races.  I watch on TV but will not go to PP.  There are so many people, it’s just too much at times.  With the end of rainy season, cold season is just beginning.  You can always tell because little kids start wearing winter jackets.  I think it’s light sweater weather, but I am the only one in my family.  Oh, the temperature is in the mid to high 70s. Fall is my favorite season, but this hardly counts even as fall, let alone cold season.  Cold season lasts from November to the end of Christmas and January warms up again.  Last year February, March and April were all equally hot, around high 90s and into the 100s fairly consistently.  So, I suppose in relative terms, yes, this is cold season.  I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t slightly chilly, but I am welcoming the change in weather with open arms, even if that means a stuffy nose and sore throat.  It also really scares me that 70 degrees gives me a sore throat, because Chicago winter may be the end of me.  Until then, long sleeved shirts for me it is!