Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone. As it is my favorite holiday, I was a little bummed that I missed it, but I was able to celebrate, so it was a good day.
First, I didn’t really have class last week for a few reasons. I went to Phnom Penh last week to pick up my friend from the airport. Sadly, her dad died and she had to go home. I was able to go with two other friends (we got special permission from Peace Corps because we aren’t allowed to leave our provinces for another month) but they thought that it was a good idea. All four of us live in different provinces, so it was really great that we could all be there for our friend. She had no idea that we were coming and we made signs and I bought silly string. When she came out of the airport, we weren’t really paying attention because she was the first person to come out, so we held up our sings and yelled her name and she was so surprised. We looked like typical obnoxious Americans, but we were so happy to see her that it didn’t matter. We spent the night in the guest house, doing what we always do when we are in Phnom Penh, eating all the western food we can get our hands on. We bought a fudge cake in the shape of a pig (pretty perfect) and nearly finished it, as well as eating two huge bags of Cheetos and Ruffles. I woke up at 6 am and got sick because my stomach just is not used to eating that much anymore, especially eating that much western food. We really went over the top and I was happy to get back to my diet of rice and vegetables.
When I got back to Battambang, I napped at my house, showered and headed out to the guest house Peace Corps arranged for us. The reason was for language training, but it was also a great chance for all of us to be together on Thanksgiving. We didn’t do anything special on Thursday, but we had a feast at a restaurant in town. We were able to get a turkey (not easy in Cambodia) and pies. We watched football (reruns that Darlene had of UTexas games), ate a lot and hung out. A bunch of K2s came and we had a really respectable crowd. We also invited the Khmer staff to come- all four had never eaten turkey before and loved the food (mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole were also served). They were really happy to be there and it was really nice to share it with them. They were really confused by football and we tried our best to explain it, but all sports sound really weird when you try to explain them. We also learned the word for turkey, which is “moan barang”. Barang literally means French, but Khmer people use barang to describe any western and moan is chicken. So the word “moan barang” means western chicken, pretty funny. Thanksgiving was overall a really great day. It really made me miss home, but since it is a day to reflect on all you are thankful for, I realized that I am most thankful for this opportunity. I mean, not many people can say that Thanksgiving was spent studying Khmer with a great group of people in an amazing country, working with some of the most motivated students in the world. I miss American definitely, but being here and loving what I am doing trumps that. Plus, America, my family and friends will always be there, but this chance won’t.
Language classes were really a lot of fun. The group was all of the volunteers (K3) from Battambang, Pursat, Beantay Meanchay and Kampong Chnang. We sat around together, asked the LCFs for translations of things we heard all the time but didn’t know what it meant, but it was really great to be able to learn from each other. One volunteer, Lisa, has really excelled at site with Khmer. She was so helpful explaining when to use many things, not just how to say them. We also learned a few things to use in class, which will be fun. It was really useful overall. Language during training was more along the lines of learning what they thought was useful, but now we have a much larger interest and impact on the lessons because we have personal experience with the language.
For the next month, I will continue teaching, trying to make connections and maybe starting some other projects. Christmas Eve marks the end of what we call “lock down”. Lock down is essentially the restriction all Peace Corps volunteers face of not being able to travel freely outside of their province. So, on Christmas Eve, exactly 3 months after swear in, I will be traveling to PP to celebrate Christmas with my friends. The truth is that it really won’t feel like Christmas. It is still really hot here (I have my fan on right now) and it doesn’t feel like the holiday season. I think that these two years are really going to feel more like a really long summer break, which is ok. Teaching is really great, although my 11C class is not really behaving. The other three classes are amazing. I am trying to stray a little from the book and do more student centered activities. With my 10Q class, we are going to do a little project on planning a trip to another country instead of doing the lesson that’s in the book entitled “A trip to England.” It’s pretty awful and is so restricting. I would rather have the students do something more productive than listen to a stupid dialogue about Mr Kim Neak’s trip to England. They aren’t used to thinking outside of the book, but they are really liking it. The students show up fairly regularly and I can see that they are getting braver. Their comprehension has already improved and they are having fun. They LOVED when I taught them “what’s up?” I compared it to what they say in Cambodia and they were laughing at my Khmer, which is ok, because I want them to see that I don’t get embarrassed when I sound stupid speaking Khmer. I try to do one activity per class that requires them to think outside the box, but sometimes it’s like pulling teeth. They still cheat a lot and some students come to class and just sit there and don’t do anything, but I think that will change. I have already noticed some students who NEVER said anything before are loving participating. There is one boy in 11C who was always really shy and just sat there, now he is always the spokesperson for his group and is always trying to speak in class. I don’t know what the reason is and his English needs to improve a lot, but I am really happy to see this kid work so hard and actually enjoy the class now. I can’t wait until I get visitors and they see class, it’s just so different. Every aspect of class is just so different. The kids are so much fun though. One girl drew this little picture at the bottom of her homework that had some flowers and mice and it said “Teacher (heart) me”. In America this would be very strange, but Cambodians are so affectionate that it isn’t. I am going to use that as my bookmark.
I had a break through with Chun Lai, my host nephew. I knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, but I am very happy that it is happening, finally. His sister, Chun Liap (confusing, I know) has downs syndrome and is afraid of men, but is always laughing at my when I am really silly. She is really afraid of Huck, my host brother. I know that Chun Lai sees that Chun Liap likes me when I do silly stuff to her, but it wasn’t enough. When I was gone, Chun Lai asked Huck where I was and then last night the break through finally happened. I was outside writing in my journal when Chun Lai was playing with his mom and sister by throwing his toys in a box. I clapped when he made one and he loved the attention. So his mom went inside and every time we have been alone together, he literally runs for the hills, but not this time. He kept throwing his toys and I kept clapping and we would laugh, then he handed me a toy to play. We played for probably 5 minutes until we were called inside to “nyum bye”, eat rice. I went inside and Chun Lai started crying. I haven’t really seen him that much today, but maybe tonight we will play again. It makes me so happy that when I stopped trying to be his friend I actually became his friend. I have been buying him cakes and stuff, but it never worked. I tried to color with him, he wasn’t interested. Even when I gave him peanut butter, he thought that he was going to choke and was scared he was going to die. But I think the break through finally happened. It is a pretty huge weight lifted off of my shoulders knowing that he isn’t petrified of me anymore. It seems really minor, probably, but being viewed as this tall, scary, weird girl who can’t really speak living in your house isn’t fun for anyone involved, specially for me and Chun Lai, but I think we conquered that issue.
I hope that everyone is doing well and I miss you all!! Have a great holiday season and think of me sweating my butt off in front of 70 Khmer students when you complain about the cold! If it is below 70 here, people wear winter coats and I think I am starting to get that way too…..
This blog represents my opinions and thoughts only. This blog does not represent the opinions or thoughts of the Peace Corps or the US government.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Hello Cher!
I think that the hardest part of Peace Corps is simply the emotional rollercoaster. Last week was rather dull, and that is entirely my fault. But this week was absolutely. I feel like I didn’t do anything as all last week and this week I feel like I haven’t had a second to relax. I don’t mind being busy, it means that I am doing something and hopefully making a difference. I didn’t really go out and do much. Because being at site is simply discovering everything for yourself, by yourself, its tough to know where to start or what to do. On Sunday, I looked back on my week and was pretty bummed to see that I hadn’t really done much. While I was sick for a few days, I really didn’t do anything to help myself. I swore to myself that I would make weekly goals within the school and community to avoid that happening. It’s just pretty crazy when you get into a rut how quickly things can become stagnant. I started the week off my getting sick and that just threw me for a loop. Lesson learned and I moved on. Overall is was probably the worst week I have had here (which shouldn’t even classify as bad, but it’s all relative, I suppose.) My ipod died, which really stinks because it is such a great escape. Those you who are looking to send things over, CDs would be awesome! I still have my laptop (knock on wood) and I will be able to listen to music on that.
Having said that, this has been a crazy week! I taught my first class last week and it has been a whirlwind since then. I can honestly say that I am obsessed with teaching. I am exhausted by the end of the day, but it’s so worth it. I taught my first class as a Net Yong teacher last Wednesday. It was 10Q and I was so nervous. But, it went really well, considering they can’t really understand me. Teachers in Cambodia don’t lesson plan (whether they are too busy because they all have more than one job or whatever the reason) so the students aren’t used to playing games and doing activities that we take for granted in America. It’s really tough because there are very few resources. In America, you can print off an article in the office and hand it out to the students and have an exercise out of that. Well, in Cambodia, if you want to do something like that, you need to go to a copy shop and either pay for the copies yourself (4 classes with 70 students in each can be expensive) or charge the students for their copies. So, I have to think of activities that we did in America that we fun and useful, but I also need to make sure that I can do it for free. It can be tricky, but so far so good.
So, Wednesday was my first day and I have been teaching everyday since then. I have been finishing up interviews for the 11th graders and while it has been a total headache and pain in the butt at times, I am so happy that I did it. I feel like I know the students better and I hope that they feel more comfortable around me. On Wednesday night, I got a text from this girl in my 10Q class. Her name is Sray Ban and she is probably one of my favorites at the school. She sometimes texts me to ask me what I am doing and how I am doing. Well, her text that night was something along the lines of how much she loves learning with me and wants to study English forever with me. It’s really hard to tell if the students understand or took anything from the lesson, so it made me happy that she sent me that text. The 11th grade class is the one where I am testing out some new things (ie American names, groups, interviews, etc.) But with my 10Q class, I decided against all the complication and dove in head first to try to get them to understand what the hell I am even saying before I get all fancy with them. They took their first test with me as a teacher and it is just painful to watch. The cheating is outrageous. I have to admit that I am impressed with some of their strategies, but I hate that they do it. I decided to turn a blind eye in that class because I am not sure that the students will be able to complete the tests on their own. It’s really defeatist, but maybe we will work up to that later. I couldn’t help myself when I saw the two smartest girls in the class opening their books when we said that we they weren’t allowed. They found other ways to cheat, but it just pained me to see the two girls who are always volunteering and talking and essentially lead the class cheat. They were really embarrassed and I wanted to talk to them about how I took their books because I know that they are smart and they don’t need the books. Maybe the other students do, but I wanted to show them that I expect more out of them. I will have to pull them aside next week to talk to them about it. Hopefully they understand what I am saying. But regardless, we are having a lot of fun in class and they are getting used to doing things that they aren’t used to, such as getting out of their seats and talking to each other. We usually end class with a game and although getting someone to come up to answer a question is like pulling teeth, they always freak out when someone gets it right. They clap when someone gets it right, even on the other team. I feel so exhausted by the end of the lesson, but it’s totally worth it. Plus, everyone in Cambodia naps anyway, so I have started taking a siesta.
My 11th grade classes have been pretty crazy. I divided them up into groups based on their level of English from the interviews. There are 8 groups with 7 students each. It is really cool to see the kids thrive sitting next to kids who are their same ability. The first grade 11 class I taught was 11C and it was somewhat of a disaster. I overloaded them with changes and it really backfired. But I was happy to see that the students in the highest group were with the kids in the lowest group and they were helping them with the exercises. It sort of naturally happened. I also gave that class Western names. Some students weren’t crazy about it, but that’s ok because some are so happy. I came up with a bunch names and wrote descriptions of each to give them a better idea of who they are. You should have seen the look on Bill Gates’ face, this kid was ecstatic. There are a few kids in the class that I really like and I am really happy that they now have a name I can remember. For instance, Walt Disney is really attentive in class and Andy Roddick is really smart but really shy. I totally overloaded the class with new stuff and it went a little haywire, so I adjusted the lesson for 11D, which I taught on Thursday. If 11C was a bomb, 11D was a text book lesson. The students were all about it. We went over the groups and when we broke into the groups, they naturally formed circles and when the assignment was to come up with 5 classroom rules, they all took is really serious and came up with some really awesome lists. One good thing about the groups is that I told the highest level to go to the back of the room and had the weaker students come to the front, so they have to pay attention since they are front and center. We played a game at the end of the class, boys vs. girls. We would have one volunteer come to the front of the room and when that brave soul would walk up, the ENTIRE class would cheer that student on. The ones that came up and got it right were applauded and some students become braver as class went on. The boys won, but they all had a great time. One student was even banging on the desk, which is really unlike the students in Cambodia to let down their guard and have a good time like that. It’s really fun to watch them open up. I don’t really do much when we play games, I just read the word or definition or whatever. The students are the best part. They love slap stick comedy over here, so over-the-top silliness is really well received. I am thankful for that because making the kids laugh is easier since I can’t really speak their language and they may not understand what I say. So fake tripping in class will bust the kids out laughing when a pun won’t. It makes lesson planning easier because silliness is their favorite.
As you can tell, I am really happy teaching. I spend my free periods in the library. I told the school director that I want to clean up the library and when I went in there, it was cleaned up, which was great. I have to organize the English books, but there aren’t many, so it won’t take too long. I want the students to come in for help during my free periods. There have been a lot more students who ask me to practice English around the school, which makes me feel like I have found my place here and that the students aren’t as scared. I helped a French teacher today. He is learning English and didn’t understand some words, so I tried to explain them to him. I’m not sure where he got the sheet of paper he was reading off of, but I was trying to explain to a man who speaks as much English as I speak Khmer what “looking down on someone” was. He just laughed when I did my impression of a rich person looking down on a poor person. He is close to retiring but was really excited to understand this story that he had about a woman, her stove and her daughter entering high school.
As for community goes, I plan on seeing an orphanage this weekend and visiting an Ngo. Language IST will be from Friday to Sunday of next week. The K3s from Pursat, Banteay Meanchay and Kampong Chnang are all coming to Battambang. We will all be staying at a hotel and during the day we will be working on Khmer. Not coincidentally, Thanksgiving is on Friday, so we will all be celebrating together at a restaurant in town. We tracked down a turkey and I asked my baker friend to make apple and pumpkin pies, so we will be having as close to a regular Thanksgiving as possible. It’s my favorite holiday (actually tied with Easter), so it will be great to be able to celebrate with friends.
Those curious about the weather, it has been cold by Cambodian standards. I won’t admit it to my students or my family, but it’s pretty cold. I am used to sweating through every shirt I put on, so this change in temperature is very nice. I don’t even need to use my fan at night. The morning showers have been rather chilly and I have made my coffee hot, instead of diluting it with warm water. Sometimes it is just too hot to drink hot coffee in the morning. I may have to go out and buy myself a sweater of some sort if this keeps up. By American standards, this is nothing. My body must be adapting to the hot weather though because I think that I am right there with the Khmer people who think it’s cold.
I have also been trying to figure out how to describe the fashion for the boys at my school and I finally figured it out- it’s Jersey. I feel like I am back at Seton Hall when I see boys with pierced ears, rocking bling. Battambang is really progressive compared to the rest of Cambodia, so it’s common to see boys with their ears pierced and more girls with multiple piercings. The boys also have started gelling their hear and many have faux-hawks. Some even shave little designs into their hair. They also wear tight little pants real low and everyone has a belt. Many have Gucci belts and backpacks. Most wear gold jewelery and necklaces. For those people from Jersey reading this- don’t be offended, it makes me really happy to see. It makes me feel at home when I look at these Cambodian boys who could very well fit in at Seton Hall.
This blog represents my thoughts and opinions alone and do not represent the US government or the Peace Corps.
Having said that, this has been a crazy week! I taught my first class last week and it has been a whirlwind since then. I can honestly say that I am obsessed with teaching. I am exhausted by the end of the day, but it’s so worth it. I taught my first class as a Net Yong teacher last Wednesday. It was 10Q and I was so nervous. But, it went really well, considering they can’t really understand me. Teachers in Cambodia don’t lesson plan (whether they are too busy because they all have more than one job or whatever the reason) so the students aren’t used to playing games and doing activities that we take for granted in America. It’s really tough because there are very few resources. In America, you can print off an article in the office and hand it out to the students and have an exercise out of that. Well, in Cambodia, if you want to do something like that, you need to go to a copy shop and either pay for the copies yourself (4 classes with 70 students in each can be expensive) or charge the students for their copies. So, I have to think of activities that we did in America that we fun and useful, but I also need to make sure that I can do it for free. It can be tricky, but so far so good.
So, Wednesday was my first day and I have been teaching everyday since then. I have been finishing up interviews for the 11th graders and while it has been a total headache and pain in the butt at times, I am so happy that I did it. I feel like I know the students better and I hope that they feel more comfortable around me. On Wednesday night, I got a text from this girl in my 10Q class. Her name is Sray Ban and she is probably one of my favorites at the school. She sometimes texts me to ask me what I am doing and how I am doing. Well, her text that night was something along the lines of how much she loves learning with me and wants to study English forever with me. It’s really hard to tell if the students understand or took anything from the lesson, so it made me happy that she sent me that text. The 11th grade class is the one where I am testing out some new things (ie American names, groups, interviews, etc.) But with my 10Q class, I decided against all the complication and dove in head first to try to get them to understand what the hell I am even saying before I get all fancy with them. They took their first test with me as a teacher and it is just painful to watch. The cheating is outrageous. I have to admit that I am impressed with some of their strategies, but I hate that they do it. I decided to turn a blind eye in that class because I am not sure that the students will be able to complete the tests on their own. It’s really defeatist, but maybe we will work up to that later. I couldn’t help myself when I saw the two smartest girls in the class opening their books when we said that we they weren’t allowed. They found other ways to cheat, but it just pained me to see the two girls who are always volunteering and talking and essentially lead the class cheat. They were really embarrassed and I wanted to talk to them about how I took their books because I know that they are smart and they don’t need the books. Maybe the other students do, but I wanted to show them that I expect more out of them. I will have to pull them aside next week to talk to them about it. Hopefully they understand what I am saying. But regardless, we are having a lot of fun in class and they are getting used to doing things that they aren’t used to, such as getting out of their seats and talking to each other. We usually end class with a game and although getting someone to come up to answer a question is like pulling teeth, they always freak out when someone gets it right. They clap when someone gets it right, even on the other team. I feel so exhausted by the end of the lesson, but it’s totally worth it. Plus, everyone in Cambodia naps anyway, so I have started taking a siesta.
My 11th grade classes have been pretty crazy. I divided them up into groups based on their level of English from the interviews. There are 8 groups with 7 students each. It is really cool to see the kids thrive sitting next to kids who are their same ability. The first grade 11 class I taught was 11C and it was somewhat of a disaster. I overloaded them with changes and it really backfired. But I was happy to see that the students in the highest group were with the kids in the lowest group and they were helping them with the exercises. It sort of naturally happened. I also gave that class Western names. Some students weren’t crazy about it, but that’s ok because some are so happy. I came up with a bunch names and wrote descriptions of each to give them a better idea of who they are. You should have seen the look on Bill Gates’ face, this kid was ecstatic. There are a few kids in the class that I really like and I am really happy that they now have a name I can remember. For instance, Walt Disney is really attentive in class and Andy Roddick is really smart but really shy. I totally overloaded the class with new stuff and it went a little haywire, so I adjusted the lesson for 11D, which I taught on Thursday. If 11C was a bomb, 11D was a text book lesson. The students were all about it. We went over the groups and when we broke into the groups, they naturally formed circles and when the assignment was to come up with 5 classroom rules, they all took is really serious and came up with some really awesome lists. One good thing about the groups is that I told the highest level to go to the back of the room and had the weaker students come to the front, so they have to pay attention since they are front and center. We played a game at the end of the class, boys vs. girls. We would have one volunteer come to the front of the room and when that brave soul would walk up, the ENTIRE class would cheer that student on. The ones that came up and got it right were applauded and some students become braver as class went on. The boys won, but they all had a great time. One student was even banging on the desk, which is really unlike the students in Cambodia to let down their guard and have a good time like that. It’s really fun to watch them open up. I don’t really do much when we play games, I just read the word or definition or whatever. The students are the best part. They love slap stick comedy over here, so over-the-top silliness is really well received. I am thankful for that because making the kids laugh is easier since I can’t really speak their language and they may not understand what I say. So fake tripping in class will bust the kids out laughing when a pun won’t. It makes lesson planning easier because silliness is their favorite.
As you can tell, I am really happy teaching. I spend my free periods in the library. I told the school director that I want to clean up the library and when I went in there, it was cleaned up, which was great. I have to organize the English books, but there aren’t many, so it won’t take too long. I want the students to come in for help during my free periods. There have been a lot more students who ask me to practice English around the school, which makes me feel like I have found my place here and that the students aren’t as scared. I helped a French teacher today. He is learning English and didn’t understand some words, so I tried to explain them to him. I’m not sure where he got the sheet of paper he was reading off of, but I was trying to explain to a man who speaks as much English as I speak Khmer what “looking down on someone” was. He just laughed when I did my impression of a rich person looking down on a poor person. He is close to retiring but was really excited to understand this story that he had about a woman, her stove and her daughter entering high school.
As for community goes, I plan on seeing an orphanage this weekend and visiting an Ngo. Language IST will be from Friday to Sunday of next week. The K3s from Pursat, Banteay Meanchay and Kampong Chnang are all coming to Battambang. We will all be staying at a hotel and during the day we will be working on Khmer. Not coincidentally, Thanksgiving is on Friday, so we will all be celebrating together at a restaurant in town. We tracked down a turkey and I asked my baker friend to make apple and pumpkin pies, so we will be having as close to a regular Thanksgiving as possible. It’s my favorite holiday (actually tied with Easter), so it will be great to be able to celebrate with friends.
Those curious about the weather, it has been cold by Cambodian standards. I won’t admit it to my students or my family, but it’s pretty cold. I am used to sweating through every shirt I put on, so this change in temperature is very nice. I don’t even need to use my fan at night. The morning showers have been rather chilly and I have made my coffee hot, instead of diluting it with warm water. Sometimes it is just too hot to drink hot coffee in the morning. I may have to go out and buy myself a sweater of some sort if this keeps up. By American standards, this is nothing. My body must be adapting to the hot weather though because I think that I am right there with the Khmer people who think it’s cold.
I have also been trying to figure out how to describe the fashion for the boys at my school and I finally figured it out- it’s Jersey. I feel like I am back at Seton Hall when I see boys with pierced ears, rocking bling. Battambang is really progressive compared to the rest of Cambodia, so it’s common to see boys with their ears pierced and more girls with multiple piercings. The boys also have started gelling their hear and many have faux-hawks. Some even shave little designs into their hair. They also wear tight little pants real low and everyone has a belt. Many have Gucci belts and backpacks. Most wear gold jewelery and necklaces. For those people from Jersey reading this- don’t be offended, it makes me really happy to see. It makes me feel at home when I look at these Cambodian boys who could very well fit in at Seton Hall.
This blog represents my thoughts and opinions alone and do not represent the US government or the Peace Corps.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
It's already November?!
Hi everyone!
Sorry it has been a week since my last post, but nothing has really changed since my last post.
At school, I have been conducting the interviews and I am just so happy that I am. It’s rather frustrating when the students can’t answer either because they are too nervous or they just aren’t as good at English as some of the other kids. But I have learned a lot about the students. A few kids are really motivated and have established goals. For instance, one student told me that he wants to be a director and move to Hollywood and direct movies. I was impressed that he could actually say that in English (I don’t know how to say that in Khmer!) and that he has his goals in place. Many responses include “I want to be a doctor because I want to help poor people and support my parents when they get older and sick.” The questions are really straight forward- what is your name? how old are you? How many brothers and sisters do you have? What did you eat for breakfast today? (the response is ALWAYS rice, I don’t know why I even ask it anymore) Do you want to study at university? Where do you want to study? What do you want to be in the future? Why? So, I am able to learn about them as people and more importantly, I am figuring out how I can help these kids mold their future. How do you become a doctor here? I have no idea, but I need to find out, because half of the students want to be doctors.
At home, I think I am growing on my family. I still am really bad at Khmer, but my host brother Huck, who is 23, is probably my best friend. He is getting a lot better at English and we talk and hang out. We watched game 6 of the World Series when the Yankees won it all (Sorry Winn!) and I have never seen someone so confused. When it was over, Huck asked me what was happening. How do you explain baseball and the World Series to a person who has only seen one inning? Well, I tried but after my explanation, he said, “I am confused. I do not understand.” I chalked it up as a loss, but I will try to explain in later, when his English improves. The other night we were sitting outside, like we do every night before dinner and he told me that I need to be really careful about gangsters here because they are almost always drunk and love to cause problems around Battambang. He said this because the last night of water festival, my host family took me to the wat to watch the festivities. It basically is a lot of people, fireworks, food stalls and performers. It was really cool, but it took a long time to actually get into the wat. From the second we left the car, I felt really self-conscious because people always say hi to me. It’s really embarrassing at times because I feel like a celebrity. Sometimes people make fun of me, I don’t really care, but I know my family feels protective. Well, as we were leaving, someonbe said hello to me, and it’s kind of a double edge sword because if I ignore the people who say hello, am I being a jerk? But if I say hello, I feel like a celebrity or something. So, this person said hello and I said hello back, and I realized right after I said hello that he was drunk. He said something to me in Khmer and the only thing I caught was “how many people” and the way the his friends reacted, I could tell that he made a gross comment. I was mortified because he said it, and for those who know me well, I would have said something back to him if I wasn’t horrible at the language. So, my host sister turned and said something to him and it shut him up. I was really embarrassed, but I was so glad that my sister stood up for me when I simply couldn’t. So, Huck brought this up because he was a “gangster” and I need to steer clear of those people.
For those who keep asking what I need, I have something that I need, desperately. My ipod broke last week and I had to restore it, but I lost all 4,500 songs that I had been collecting after the past 2 years. I was pretty upset about it, but those of you who can and want to, I have my laptop, so, I can take CDs and put them on my laptop and then on my ipod. I would greatly appreciate it, because I am lost without my ipod. I never realized how depended I am on it.
I decided that I will start teaching a pronunciation class at the university soon just because I feel like I will never start teaching at Net Yong. I decided that I have to finish the interviews before I start teaching (because grouping the students is really the only way to get anything accomplished in a class of 60-70 students...) But when class gets canceled all the time, it's really hard to get anywhere with the interviews. I only had one class last week because of the water festival during the week and then my class on Friday morning was canceled because the students had to participate in a funeral. Class is canceled again tomorrow because it is Independence day. There are so many holidays here. I think by teaching at the University, I will have a little more control over my schedule. The inconsistency is the killer. It's strange to think that I am a teacher, but teaching at a university? Crazy. Just call me professor from now on, thanks....
Hope all is well with everyone from home! Miss you all!
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the Peace Corps or the US government.
Sorry it has been a week since my last post, but nothing has really changed since my last post.
At school, I have been conducting the interviews and I am just so happy that I am. It’s rather frustrating when the students can’t answer either because they are too nervous or they just aren’t as good at English as some of the other kids. But I have learned a lot about the students. A few kids are really motivated and have established goals. For instance, one student told me that he wants to be a director and move to Hollywood and direct movies. I was impressed that he could actually say that in English (I don’t know how to say that in Khmer!) and that he has his goals in place. Many responses include “I want to be a doctor because I want to help poor people and support my parents when they get older and sick.” The questions are really straight forward- what is your name? how old are you? How many brothers and sisters do you have? What did you eat for breakfast today? (the response is ALWAYS rice, I don’t know why I even ask it anymore) Do you want to study at university? Where do you want to study? What do you want to be in the future? Why? So, I am able to learn about them as people and more importantly, I am figuring out how I can help these kids mold their future. How do you become a doctor here? I have no idea, but I need to find out, because half of the students want to be doctors.
At home, I think I am growing on my family. I still am really bad at Khmer, but my host brother Huck, who is 23, is probably my best friend. He is getting a lot better at English and we talk and hang out. We watched game 6 of the World Series when the Yankees won it all (Sorry Winn!) and I have never seen someone so confused. When it was over, Huck asked me what was happening. How do you explain baseball and the World Series to a person who has only seen one inning? Well, I tried but after my explanation, he said, “I am confused. I do not understand.” I chalked it up as a loss, but I will try to explain in later, when his English improves. The other night we were sitting outside, like we do every night before dinner and he told me that I need to be really careful about gangsters here because they are almost always drunk and love to cause problems around Battambang. He said this because the last night of water festival, my host family took me to the wat to watch the festivities. It basically is a lot of people, fireworks, food stalls and performers. It was really cool, but it took a long time to actually get into the wat. From the second we left the car, I felt really self-conscious because people always say hi to me. It’s really embarrassing at times because I feel like a celebrity. Sometimes people make fun of me, I don’t really care, but I know my family feels protective. Well, as we were leaving, someonbe said hello to me, and it’s kind of a double edge sword because if I ignore the people who say hello, am I being a jerk? But if I say hello, I feel like a celebrity or something. So, this person said hello and I said hello back, and I realized right after I said hello that he was drunk. He said something to me in Khmer and the only thing I caught was “how many people” and the way the his friends reacted, I could tell that he made a gross comment. I was mortified because he said it, and for those who know me well, I would have said something back to him if I wasn’t horrible at the language. So, my host sister turned and said something to him and it shut him up. I was really embarrassed, but I was so glad that my sister stood up for me when I simply couldn’t. So, Huck brought this up because he was a “gangster” and I need to steer clear of those people.
For those who keep asking what I need, I have something that I need, desperately. My ipod broke last week and I had to restore it, but I lost all 4,500 songs that I had been collecting after the past 2 years. I was pretty upset about it, but those of you who can and want to, I have my laptop, so, I can take CDs and put them on my laptop and then on my ipod. I would greatly appreciate it, because I am lost without my ipod. I never realized how depended I am on it.
I decided that I will start teaching a pronunciation class at the university soon just because I feel like I will never start teaching at Net Yong. I decided that I have to finish the interviews before I start teaching (because grouping the students is really the only way to get anything accomplished in a class of 60-70 students...) But when class gets canceled all the time, it's really hard to get anywhere with the interviews. I only had one class last week because of the water festival during the week and then my class on Friday morning was canceled because the students had to participate in a funeral. Class is canceled again tomorrow because it is Independence day. There are so many holidays here. I think by teaching at the University, I will have a little more control over my schedule. The inconsistency is the killer. It's strange to think that I am a teacher, but teaching at a university? Crazy. Just call me professor from now on, thanks....
Hope all is well with everyone from home! Miss you all!
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the Peace Corps or the US government.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A long-winded post!
Hello family and friends!
I have officially been in Battambang for one month and Thursday marks the 100th day since I left the U.S. The time is really flying here!
This is going to be a long one because I haven’t really updated everyone in a while, so just bear with me. The first part will be all about school and then my family/community. So for those of you that think I am “long winded” (Jenna Best), feel free to skip any part of this that gets boring. I know that some enjoy the details, so I will go into detail.
School- I have been observing for about 4 weeks now. I came up with my schedule last week and I decided to teach three 11th grade classes (B,C and D) and one 10th grade class (Q). The way that it works here is students are placed into classes of about 60-70 students A-S based on their test scores from the previous year. So, the 11th grade classes would be our idea of “honors” class and my 10th grade class would be remedial level. I wanted to work with the older, more accelerated students so that we can do more advanced projects and assignments. The 10th grade class is going to be tough because they don’t have that great of a foundation, but it will be a challenge and they deserve the chance. There are three periods a day, 7:00-9:00, 9:00-11:00 and then 2:00-4:00. They will have English twice a week. My classes have upwards of 65 students, and the largest class has 70 students. Here is my schedule:
Monday- 9:00-11:00 with 11C
Tuesday- 7:00-9:00 with 10Q, 9:00-11:00 with 11D, 2:00-4:00 with 11C
Wednesday- 9:00-11:00 with 10Q, 2:00-4:00 with 11B
Thursday- 9:00-11:00 with 11D
Friday- 7:00-9:00 with 11B
I tried to avoid the classes starting at 7:00 because the flag ceremony starts every morning at 7:00 and lasts for about 30 minutes. I didn’t want that to cut into my classes, so I only have two 7:00 classes. We also get 3 hours for lunch, which is too long. I usually just nap.
I will be coteaching with two Khmer teachers. My 11th grade classes will be taught with a man called Sem Sopheap (Sopheap being our idea of a first name, since they put the surname first.) So, Sopheap was delegated by the school director to look out for me and show me the ropes. He is pretty good at English as is super stoked about teaching with me. The other teacher is called Prajenda for 10Q. She is in her 30’s and has three children, one goes to the high school and the youngest is 3 years old. She is very strict and will be great to teach with.
I began interviewing each student individually this week. The interview will be very important for a few reasons. First, I want to meet each student that I will be teaching individually and have a chance to get to know them better. There are a few students that I have been able to talk to previously, but I’m really glad that I have the chance to meet them personally. The students come out with some really personal stuff and it really helps me get a feel for what I am up against. For instance, I was able to find out that a few of my students live at the Buddhist temple with the monks while their parents live in different provinces. It’s really heartbreaking to hear, but they are very determined to continue their studies and to change the course of their lives and help their families out. There was another student, who speaks very, very well, who told me that he wants to be a doctor but his family is so poor that he won’t be able to become a doctor. This is where I will come in soon enough because there are a lot of opportunities for this boy, he just doesn’t know it yet. One really big reason why I am doing these interviews is to see their level of English. With a class of 70 students, it’s not difficult to see that there are some students that are really advanced and some that need more help. My plan is to place them into 8-10 groups in the class so we can work to each of the groups’ needs. Those students that are shy or aren’t as good at English, we can help them in many ways. We just wouldn’t get anything done with a class of 70 students that work all together. I also want to learn about the school from this sample group of students. I will talk to well over 200 students and I think that what they say will be pretty indicative of the students at the school. I will be starting secondary projects in a few months, and I want to work with all of the students, not just the ones in my class. So, if I am able to learn what the majority of students like to do here (soccer is pretty common), I will have a better idea of what a good secondary project will be.
My first project is to clean up the library. I will be taking before and after pictures because there is a lot of work to be done there. I want to establish “office hours” in the library, so all of the students know where I will be if they want to come and learn, talk or just hang out. I will be in the library every class that I’m not teaching. There is a lot of potential in there. There are not a lot of books at all, but everything is really unorganized and cramped, so I will be spending a lot of time in there organizing the books and making it much more welcoming to the students. There are two rooms- one is basically storage and the other is a actually used as a study hall. When I asked the vice director, she said that someone can get in there to clean up and get rid of the books that haven’t been in use for a long time. I was able to get a book from Peace Corps about the proper management and maintenance of a library. We will definitely need some donations later, but right now, I want to figure what we actually have and what we need.
I met with the vice director last week and then this week I had a meeting with Peace Corps staff and my director and everything seems to be good. It was great to have the staff come in to make sure that there wasn’t any miscommunication about anything. They understand that there are new techniques that I will use in the classroom that Khmer teachers don’t use, but my coteachers and school director seem to trust me. It’s really fun to have those meetings and be really professional and proper. The Embassy came to visit, just to see how Peace Corps Volunteers are doing and to learn about schools in Cambodia. It was cool to see the students look at me a little different after that.
Next week is the water festival and school will be cancelled all week, so that means I won’t be able to start teaching until the week after, or the one after that, depending on the interviews. I want to make sure that I have all of the interviews completed before I start teaching because the structure will be different. I will start lesson planning with my coteachers after the water festival. We need to come with rules and establish a routine. I have a master plan and it is going really well so far. During my meeting with the vice director, I told her that I really want to emphasize that my students do their own work because it only hurts them to cheat. She asked me if I was going to hit them if I caught them cheating. I said, “No, I won’t. They will just get zeroes.” Let’s just hope that they don’t test the rule, because I will have no problem making an example of the students that test it.
The students are so cool. The more that I am here, I really grow to like them more and more, and I haven’t even started teaching. They are so respectful and eager to learn. It’s really fun to walk around the school and hear the students say “Hello, cher”. In Cambodia, everyone refers to someone by their title. So, for me, I am “net crew”, which is what the woman who make my lunch everyday call me. But for the English teachers, it’s teacher and the students cut it down to “cher” (not said like Cher, the singer…)
I wrestled with the idea for a while, but I decided that one of the new things that we will do is to give the class American names. I know that I need to come up with a lot, but I already have a pretty solid list. I realized that many of my students want to work for western companies or Ngos, so if they get used to saying American names and have an American name themselves, it will be better for them. Plus, it’s just really fun to have Shirley Temple in the class. I met a boy yesterday who is studying at the teacher trainer college and he introduced himself as James Bond. It was the deal maker because he clearly is used to referring to himself as James Bond, so I think it will be good for my students as well. Plus, learning 260 Khmer names is going to be really tough on me. Like I said, I have already made a pretty good list, but it’s tough to not repeat first names, because I don’t want to confuse them, so I can only have 4 Johns (one for each of the classes I am teaching). So, if anyone has any recommendations for names, PLEASE leave them in the comments section. Just to clear the air early on, none of my students will be Dick Cheney or Joe Biden (especially Dick Cheney…). I am trying to keep it as non-political as possible.
Family/Community- My family is so cool. It’s really great because in Takeo, my family was always so concerned about me and every time I got onto my bike, I was bombarded with a bunch of questions in Khmer- where are you going? When will you be home? Who are you going with? And a few times when I came home past 5:00, my host parents called my LCF to see where I was. Of course my family now gets concerned, but I have my own life. They are really busy with their tailoring shop, so I try to stay out of their way. I just found out that my mom is internationally known for her work. Sweet! She is in the process of making me teaching shirts, but her expertise is in wedding clothes. Some of the outfits that they make are unreal; they are so beautiful and detailed. It is common for brides to change as many as 10 times at their weddings. Speaking of which, wedding season is coming up soon, so hopefully I will be able to go to some!
It’s really fun to feel like you are integrating a little more. I am beginning to feel very comfortable here and I have established a routine. I have a lot of fun with my family too. My host nephew, Chun Lai is still scared to death of me, but I think that he is coming around. I may start buying stuff for him to buy his love.
I went to my host aunt’s 71st birthday party. Of my 4 host grandparents, 3 were Chinese, so my family is very in touch with their Chinese roots. At this birthday party, we ate vegetarian Chinese food- spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce and grilled mushrooms and kebab sticks with jackfruit and carrots. It was unreal, I ate so much. I was able to meet a lot of host cousins, who are around my age and most study English. They made me feel so comfortable. Four out of my 6 host siblings are married with kids, so they are pretty busy, but they always go out of their way to make sure that I feel comfortable because I feel like a total moron about 90% of the time here, and it shows. Everyone gets a good laugh and since I don’t really get embarrassed, I don’t get upset. There are just little things that don’t come natural. Like, how was I supposed to know that you use the little stick that the mushrooms came on to pick up the jackfruit and carrot combination? Well, I didn’t, but they all showed me how to do it and when I was struggling, they appreciated my attempts, but laughed none the less.
After dinner we sane “Happy Birsday” which was much different here. Right before we started, the birthday girl called me to stand next to her while everyone clapped and sang. She blew out the candles and then everyone commented on how I am so much taller than she is. We went outside and talked and hung out. It really hit me how no matter where you are in the world, whatever the local language is, whatever the local customs are, family gatherings are so universal. You eat, laugh and hang out. It made me miss my family, but I felt at home. I also was so proud of my family (my real-life, American family) because everyone always made the foreign exchange students or various friends feel so welcome and at home. I think that it’s a cycle- my family was always so welcoming to guests, and now I find a family that is so welcoming to me. It really means a lot and you don’t realize until you are the weird person from another country who always sweats, can’t really speak and has trouble eating, although my 3 year old host nephew has it down….
Last night I was talking to my host brother Huck (who is a life saver) while we were watching TV and he was talking about his family, because it’s really confusing to figure out who is married, etc. I found out that my host aunt who had just turned 71 lives with her niece and her family. Huck told me that during the Pol Pot regime (which is how many Khmer people refer to the Khmer Rogue) she lost all 5 of her children and her husband. She carries around such a heavy burden that I will never, ever understand. Stories like hers are common, but everyone that was born before 1979 has s tory. My host brother Manlee was telling me about how durin Pol Pot, there was no rice, so he would trap rats, kill them and eat them and he was seven. A lot of that was probably lost in translation, but you don’t have to be fluent to get the gist sometimes.
Sorry for the horrible stories, but there are sometimes that I get really frustrated with the state of this country but when I hear these stories, it’s a miracle that the country isn’t in worse shape. It’s the horribly tragic truth of living here and it’s something that I will never understand, although I try.
Well, I miss everyone so much! I will be posting some pictures soon of my room, house, family, and city. I am getting an expensive dinner paid for by Peace Corps! I am so excited!
This blog does not reflect the U.S. government or the Peace Corps. This entry reflects my thoughts, beliefs and opinions alone.
I have officially been in Battambang for one month and Thursday marks the 100th day since I left the U.S. The time is really flying here!
This is going to be a long one because I haven’t really updated everyone in a while, so just bear with me. The first part will be all about school and then my family/community. So for those of you that think I am “long winded” (Jenna Best), feel free to skip any part of this that gets boring. I know that some enjoy the details, so I will go into detail.
School- I have been observing for about 4 weeks now. I came up with my schedule last week and I decided to teach three 11th grade classes (B,C and D) and one 10th grade class (Q). The way that it works here is students are placed into classes of about 60-70 students A-S based on their test scores from the previous year. So, the 11th grade classes would be our idea of “honors” class and my 10th grade class would be remedial level. I wanted to work with the older, more accelerated students so that we can do more advanced projects and assignments. The 10th grade class is going to be tough because they don’t have that great of a foundation, but it will be a challenge and they deserve the chance. There are three periods a day, 7:00-9:00, 9:00-11:00 and then 2:00-4:00. They will have English twice a week. My classes have upwards of 65 students, and the largest class has 70 students. Here is my schedule:
Monday- 9:00-11:00 with 11C
Tuesday- 7:00-9:00 with 10Q, 9:00-11:00 with 11D, 2:00-4:00 with 11C
Wednesday- 9:00-11:00 with 10Q, 2:00-4:00 with 11B
Thursday- 9:00-11:00 with 11D
Friday- 7:00-9:00 with 11B
I tried to avoid the classes starting at 7:00 because the flag ceremony starts every morning at 7:00 and lasts for about 30 minutes. I didn’t want that to cut into my classes, so I only have two 7:00 classes. We also get 3 hours for lunch, which is too long. I usually just nap.
I will be coteaching with two Khmer teachers. My 11th grade classes will be taught with a man called Sem Sopheap (Sopheap being our idea of a first name, since they put the surname first.) So, Sopheap was delegated by the school director to look out for me and show me the ropes. He is pretty good at English as is super stoked about teaching with me. The other teacher is called Prajenda for 10Q. She is in her 30’s and has three children, one goes to the high school and the youngest is 3 years old. She is very strict and will be great to teach with.
I began interviewing each student individually this week. The interview will be very important for a few reasons. First, I want to meet each student that I will be teaching individually and have a chance to get to know them better. There are a few students that I have been able to talk to previously, but I’m really glad that I have the chance to meet them personally. The students come out with some really personal stuff and it really helps me get a feel for what I am up against. For instance, I was able to find out that a few of my students live at the Buddhist temple with the monks while their parents live in different provinces. It’s really heartbreaking to hear, but they are very determined to continue their studies and to change the course of their lives and help their families out. There was another student, who speaks very, very well, who told me that he wants to be a doctor but his family is so poor that he won’t be able to become a doctor. This is where I will come in soon enough because there are a lot of opportunities for this boy, he just doesn’t know it yet. One really big reason why I am doing these interviews is to see their level of English. With a class of 70 students, it’s not difficult to see that there are some students that are really advanced and some that need more help. My plan is to place them into 8-10 groups in the class so we can work to each of the groups’ needs. Those students that are shy or aren’t as good at English, we can help them in many ways. We just wouldn’t get anything done with a class of 70 students that work all together. I also want to learn about the school from this sample group of students. I will talk to well over 200 students and I think that what they say will be pretty indicative of the students at the school. I will be starting secondary projects in a few months, and I want to work with all of the students, not just the ones in my class. So, if I am able to learn what the majority of students like to do here (soccer is pretty common), I will have a better idea of what a good secondary project will be.
My first project is to clean up the library. I will be taking before and after pictures because there is a lot of work to be done there. I want to establish “office hours” in the library, so all of the students know where I will be if they want to come and learn, talk or just hang out. I will be in the library every class that I’m not teaching. There is a lot of potential in there. There are not a lot of books at all, but everything is really unorganized and cramped, so I will be spending a lot of time in there organizing the books and making it much more welcoming to the students. There are two rooms- one is basically storage and the other is a actually used as a study hall. When I asked the vice director, she said that someone can get in there to clean up and get rid of the books that haven’t been in use for a long time. I was able to get a book from Peace Corps about the proper management and maintenance of a library. We will definitely need some donations later, but right now, I want to figure what we actually have and what we need.
I met with the vice director last week and then this week I had a meeting with Peace Corps staff and my director and everything seems to be good. It was great to have the staff come in to make sure that there wasn’t any miscommunication about anything. They understand that there are new techniques that I will use in the classroom that Khmer teachers don’t use, but my coteachers and school director seem to trust me. It’s really fun to have those meetings and be really professional and proper. The Embassy came to visit, just to see how Peace Corps Volunteers are doing and to learn about schools in Cambodia. It was cool to see the students look at me a little different after that.
Next week is the water festival and school will be cancelled all week, so that means I won’t be able to start teaching until the week after, or the one after that, depending on the interviews. I want to make sure that I have all of the interviews completed before I start teaching because the structure will be different. I will start lesson planning with my coteachers after the water festival. We need to come with rules and establish a routine. I have a master plan and it is going really well so far. During my meeting with the vice director, I told her that I really want to emphasize that my students do their own work because it only hurts them to cheat. She asked me if I was going to hit them if I caught them cheating. I said, “No, I won’t. They will just get zeroes.” Let’s just hope that they don’t test the rule, because I will have no problem making an example of the students that test it.
The students are so cool. The more that I am here, I really grow to like them more and more, and I haven’t even started teaching. They are so respectful and eager to learn. It’s really fun to walk around the school and hear the students say “Hello, cher”. In Cambodia, everyone refers to someone by their title. So, for me, I am “net crew”, which is what the woman who make my lunch everyday call me. But for the English teachers, it’s teacher and the students cut it down to “cher” (not said like Cher, the singer…)
I wrestled with the idea for a while, but I decided that one of the new things that we will do is to give the class American names. I know that I need to come up with a lot, but I already have a pretty solid list. I realized that many of my students want to work for western companies or Ngos, so if they get used to saying American names and have an American name themselves, it will be better for them. Plus, it’s just really fun to have Shirley Temple in the class. I met a boy yesterday who is studying at the teacher trainer college and he introduced himself as James Bond. It was the deal maker because he clearly is used to referring to himself as James Bond, so I think it will be good for my students as well. Plus, learning 260 Khmer names is going to be really tough on me. Like I said, I have already made a pretty good list, but it’s tough to not repeat first names, because I don’t want to confuse them, so I can only have 4 Johns (one for each of the classes I am teaching). So, if anyone has any recommendations for names, PLEASE leave them in the comments section. Just to clear the air early on, none of my students will be Dick Cheney or Joe Biden (especially Dick Cheney…). I am trying to keep it as non-political as possible.
Family/Community- My family is so cool. It’s really great because in Takeo, my family was always so concerned about me and every time I got onto my bike, I was bombarded with a bunch of questions in Khmer- where are you going? When will you be home? Who are you going with? And a few times when I came home past 5:00, my host parents called my LCF to see where I was. Of course my family now gets concerned, but I have my own life. They are really busy with their tailoring shop, so I try to stay out of their way. I just found out that my mom is internationally known for her work. Sweet! She is in the process of making me teaching shirts, but her expertise is in wedding clothes. Some of the outfits that they make are unreal; they are so beautiful and detailed. It is common for brides to change as many as 10 times at their weddings. Speaking of which, wedding season is coming up soon, so hopefully I will be able to go to some!
It’s really fun to feel like you are integrating a little more. I am beginning to feel very comfortable here and I have established a routine. I have a lot of fun with my family too. My host nephew, Chun Lai is still scared to death of me, but I think that he is coming around. I may start buying stuff for him to buy his love.
I went to my host aunt’s 71st birthday party. Of my 4 host grandparents, 3 were Chinese, so my family is very in touch with their Chinese roots. At this birthday party, we ate vegetarian Chinese food- spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce and grilled mushrooms and kebab sticks with jackfruit and carrots. It was unreal, I ate so much. I was able to meet a lot of host cousins, who are around my age and most study English. They made me feel so comfortable. Four out of my 6 host siblings are married with kids, so they are pretty busy, but they always go out of their way to make sure that I feel comfortable because I feel like a total moron about 90% of the time here, and it shows. Everyone gets a good laugh and since I don’t really get embarrassed, I don’t get upset. There are just little things that don’t come natural. Like, how was I supposed to know that you use the little stick that the mushrooms came on to pick up the jackfruit and carrot combination? Well, I didn’t, but they all showed me how to do it and when I was struggling, they appreciated my attempts, but laughed none the less.
After dinner we sane “Happy Birsday” which was much different here. Right before we started, the birthday girl called me to stand next to her while everyone clapped and sang. She blew out the candles and then everyone commented on how I am so much taller than she is. We went outside and talked and hung out. It really hit me how no matter where you are in the world, whatever the local language is, whatever the local customs are, family gatherings are so universal. You eat, laugh and hang out. It made me miss my family, but I felt at home. I also was so proud of my family (my real-life, American family) because everyone always made the foreign exchange students or various friends feel so welcome and at home. I think that it’s a cycle- my family was always so welcoming to guests, and now I find a family that is so welcoming to me. It really means a lot and you don’t realize until you are the weird person from another country who always sweats, can’t really speak and has trouble eating, although my 3 year old host nephew has it down….
Last night I was talking to my host brother Huck (who is a life saver) while we were watching TV and he was talking about his family, because it’s really confusing to figure out who is married, etc. I found out that my host aunt who had just turned 71 lives with her niece and her family. Huck told me that during the Pol Pot regime (which is how many Khmer people refer to the Khmer Rogue) she lost all 5 of her children and her husband. She carries around such a heavy burden that I will never, ever understand. Stories like hers are common, but everyone that was born before 1979 has s tory. My host brother Manlee was telling me about how durin Pol Pot, there was no rice, so he would trap rats, kill them and eat them and he was seven. A lot of that was probably lost in translation, but you don’t have to be fluent to get the gist sometimes.
Sorry for the horrible stories, but there are sometimes that I get really frustrated with the state of this country but when I hear these stories, it’s a miracle that the country isn’t in worse shape. It’s the horribly tragic truth of living here and it’s something that I will never understand, although I try.
Well, I miss everyone so much! I will be posting some pictures soon of my room, house, family, and city. I am getting an expensive dinner paid for by Peace Corps! I am so excited!
This blog does not reflect the U.S. government or the Peace Corps. This entry reflects my thoughts, beliefs and opinions alone.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
From Sister Kea!
This morning class was canceled again, so I thought that I would take the time to update everyone on what has been happening….
I have been in Battambang for almost three weeks and I can feel myself falling into a schedule, which I am very thankful for. After swear in, we sort of venture off on our own and have to figure stuff out, which has been very exciting, but also very awkward. Here is what my daily schedule looks like: (sorry for the disorganization, but I am just typing whatever comes to my mind…)
I wake up at 6, shower and eat oatmeal in my room. I bought some brown sugar and cinnamon at the drink shop that has a lot of western food, so I add that to my oatmeal. I usually throw in some bananas, which are 25 cents for about 12, so it’s a cheap and healthy breakfast. I leave my house at 6:45 and get to school at about 6:50. The flag ceremony starts at 7:00, but because of the amount of rain water at the school, we have been skipping that. Whenever it rains, there is an enormous amount of rain water that collects around the school, it’s actually really gross. Some classes were canceled on Monday because the first floor of most of the buildings (there are 5 main buildings and a few more in the back) were flooded. The class that I was observing was on the third floor, so I was still able to observe. There are three periods at my school, from 7:00-9:00, 9:00-11:00 and then 2:00-4:00. So I rotate observing the three English teachers. I am hoping to figure out my schedule next week and start teaching the week after that, but I am taking my time. There is no rush and I want to make sure that I do this right. It looks like I will be teaching two 10th grade classes and two 11th grade classes. Of the classes that I have observed, many of the students have asked me some awesome questions when I introduced myself to them, such as “what are your goals while you are in Cambodia?” and “what is the best way to learn a language?” It makes me really excited when the students take an interest into learning English and I can’t wait to start teaching them. In between the morning and afternoon classes, I eat lunch at the school canteen. I chose my spot to eat at everyday. There is an older woman and her two daughters who run the stand. I usually get noodles and eggs and have become a regular. Part of the difficulty in moving into a new place as an American, especially in such a big place like Battambang, people try to rip you off (I would too if roles were reversed). I am also trying really hard to make a few really great connections, so I decided to eat lunch there everyday. I also have my usual fruit lady, the guy I go to refill the credit on my phone, an electronics store I buy things from and take other volunteers too as well as two women in the market- one sells fabrics and the other is a tailor. I stop by to see them as much as I can. If they become familiar with me, it will help me integrate into the community. So, back to the schedule, I eat lunch with those women and then head back to my house to wash some clothes, shower, read or pick up my laptop to head to the University to get internet. After observing the 2:00-4:00 class, I head back home and write in my journal and write a letter to Maura in the journal and hang out with my family. We usually eat dinner around 7:00 and watch tv together (either popular Khmer shows, the news, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the Amazing race or last night we watched some competition from the U.S. from 2001 where huge men smash cinder blocks, it’s pretty funny to see my family react to that….) I head to bed around 8 and take my third shower of the day, read and then head to bed. It sounds like a really boring schedule, but it is the schedule that I decided would fit me the best. There are many curveballs that are thrown into the schedule though. Such as the fact that there is some sort of exam for the teachers today and tomorrow, so classes were canceled today. So, I did a little laundry and got internet. I will probably go to the market a little later and some little stuff to add to my room, or just walk around and try to meet people or talk to those few people that I know. Instead of getting upset about these curveballs, I think the best way to handle it is simply roll with the punches and make the best of the situation. I will try to get as many errands done today as I can.
I have had many “Peace Corps moments” in the past two and a half weeks. For instance, I was having one of those days where I was second-guessing my presence here, in the sense of “do I have what it takes to make a difference?” because I felt like I haven’t done anything. I was sitting in a tenth grade class that I won’t be able to teach, but went anyways to try to meet the students. I was sitting there contemplating this when a boy named Thon turns around and strikes up a conversation. Most of the students at the school are either super confused why I am even there or too shy to say anything, so this kid strikes up a conversation. After talking for a few minutes, I find out that he has 5 siblings and is from Svay Rieng and lives in the pagoda with his siblings and has been there for 8 years. He also said that he works on English with one of the monks. He told me that I observed one of his friend’s classes and he said that he was so excited that I came to his class because he thinks speaking with foreigners is really important. He has a friend that as able to talk to a foreigner and his pronunciation improved so much, and that’s what he wants. When I asked him what he wanted to do for a living, he told me that he wants to work for an NGO, which I didn’t expect. When I asked him which one, he said that he wants to work for one that helps women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. He really brought me back to reality and I remembered why I am here.
In addition, I have been upset at how little Khmer I have been using. I had an epiphany the other night when my cousin (who calls me sister Kea, it’s really cute) was trying to speak Khmer with my and I was too shy. Well, when I tell my students that they shouldn’t be shy about speaking English, I am a huge hypocrite because I am shy about my Khmer. So, I decided to become shameless about using Khmer and it has been great. Darlene and I went to the market to buy some fruit, but then we realized that we don’t know how much we should be paying, so we went to visit our tailor friends (the two women who work next to each other, one is a tailor and one sells the fabric). We talked for about 5 minutes about how much we should be spending. They don’t speak any English and loved that we came to them for advice. We went back and talked to the fruit lady (“our fruit lady” as we call her now). Also, my host mom is really scared that I am unhappy and that I don’t like the food. While I was journaling last night, I had a 20 minute conversation with her last night about my family and America. We also talked about how happy I am here. I think that she feels a lot better because she has been stressed out about it.
Yesterday was a really great day at school. I went to my usual ladies to eat lunch (the spot had to be moved up near the buildings because the back of the school is literally underwater). When I walked up, they told me (in Khmer, of course) that I am going to be so unhappy because she didn’t have noodles today! Would rice be ok? I go there not because she is the world’s greatest cook, although the food is good, but I go there because I want it to be part of my schedule. I guess I have become a regular, with a usual, which is really fun. They call me “net crew” which is Khmer for female teacher. It’s very respectful and I think that she loves the fact that the American eats there. Whenever kids walk by that she knows, she says, come eat here, sit by the American teacher. It’s really fun.
When I observed the 2:00-4:00 class, which is grade 11, one of my favorite classes that I have seen, my coteacher could only teach for an hour because he had to go to the Provincial Office of Education for a meeting. So, I stayed with the students and just talked to them. We talked about a varied of things- how old people are in America when they get married/drive, all about my family, seasons in America, what I do in my free time, why I came to Cambodia, food, the fact that I am not married and don’t have a boyfriend- they told me that they didn’t believe me that I didn’t have a boyfriend. It was really fun to informally be able to talk with these kids. We just hung out for a while and headed home. I decided that is a class that I really want to teach because I really like the students. Their English is amazing, but their desire to learn the language is what really makes me want to teach them
Keiko sent me a text today that every time we take a step forward, we take two steps back. When class was canceled today, I was pretty annoyed because I didn’t understand that today was canceled too, I thought that it was tomorrow. So, after thinking about it for a while, I decided that this is the way things are- I will never get a schedule letting me know when class will be in session. I can either get upset at everyone and be unhappy with it, or come to terms with it. I am not going to change the education system here in Cambodia and that’s not why I am here. The things that I can control are my interactions with the people here and what happens in my class, so that is where I plan on making my mark. I can set a good example, which is what I am doing, but I realized early on my limitations, and I am very glad that I did.
Sorry that the last post was really bad, but I tried to make up for it with this one. I was sad when I saw that there were no comments (that was a shocker Mom!) but I realized that when I make a really bad post, people aren’t going to comment. I hope that I made up for it on this one!
This post does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of the Peace Corps or of the United States government. It reflects my thoughts and opinions alone.
I have been in Battambang for almost three weeks and I can feel myself falling into a schedule, which I am very thankful for. After swear in, we sort of venture off on our own and have to figure stuff out, which has been very exciting, but also very awkward. Here is what my daily schedule looks like: (sorry for the disorganization, but I am just typing whatever comes to my mind…)
I wake up at 6, shower and eat oatmeal in my room. I bought some brown sugar and cinnamon at the drink shop that has a lot of western food, so I add that to my oatmeal. I usually throw in some bananas, which are 25 cents for about 12, so it’s a cheap and healthy breakfast. I leave my house at 6:45 and get to school at about 6:50. The flag ceremony starts at 7:00, but because of the amount of rain water at the school, we have been skipping that. Whenever it rains, there is an enormous amount of rain water that collects around the school, it’s actually really gross. Some classes were canceled on Monday because the first floor of most of the buildings (there are 5 main buildings and a few more in the back) were flooded. The class that I was observing was on the third floor, so I was still able to observe. There are three periods at my school, from 7:00-9:00, 9:00-11:00 and then 2:00-4:00. So I rotate observing the three English teachers. I am hoping to figure out my schedule next week and start teaching the week after that, but I am taking my time. There is no rush and I want to make sure that I do this right. It looks like I will be teaching two 10th grade classes and two 11th grade classes. Of the classes that I have observed, many of the students have asked me some awesome questions when I introduced myself to them, such as “what are your goals while you are in Cambodia?” and “what is the best way to learn a language?” It makes me really excited when the students take an interest into learning English and I can’t wait to start teaching them. In between the morning and afternoon classes, I eat lunch at the school canteen. I chose my spot to eat at everyday. There is an older woman and her two daughters who run the stand. I usually get noodles and eggs and have become a regular. Part of the difficulty in moving into a new place as an American, especially in such a big place like Battambang, people try to rip you off (I would too if roles were reversed). I am also trying really hard to make a few really great connections, so I decided to eat lunch there everyday. I also have my usual fruit lady, the guy I go to refill the credit on my phone, an electronics store I buy things from and take other volunteers too as well as two women in the market- one sells fabrics and the other is a tailor. I stop by to see them as much as I can. If they become familiar with me, it will help me integrate into the community. So, back to the schedule, I eat lunch with those women and then head back to my house to wash some clothes, shower, read or pick up my laptop to head to the University to get internet. After observing the 2:00-4:00 class, I head back home and write in my journal and write a letter to Maura in the journal and hang out with my family. We usually eat dinner around 7:00 and watch tv together (either popular Khmer shows, the news, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the Amazing race or last night we watched some competition from the U.S. from 2001 where huge men smash cinder blocks, it’s pretty funny to see my family react to that….) I head to bed around 8 and take my third shower of the day, read and then head to bed. It sounds like a really boring schedule, but it is the schedule that I decided would fit me the best. There are many curveballs that are thrown into the schedule though. Such as the fact that there is some sort of exam for the teachers today and tomorrow, so classes were canceled today. So, I did a little laundry and got internet. I will probably go to the market a little later and some little stuff to add to my room, or just walk around and try to meet people or talk to those few people that I know. Instead of getting upset about these curveballs, I think the best way to handle it is simply roll with the punches and make the best of the situation. I will try to get as many errands done today as I can.
I have had many “Peace Corps moments” in the past two and a half weeks. For instance, I was having one of those days where I was second-guessing my presence here, in the sense of “do I have what it takes to make a difference?” because I felt like I haven’t done anything. I was sitting in a tenth grade class that I won’t be able to teach, but went anyways to try to meet the students. I was sitting there contemplating this when a boy named Thon turns around and strikes up a conversation. Most of the students at the school are either super confused why I am even there or too shy to say anything, so this kid strikes up a conversation. After talking for a few minutes, I find out that he has 5 siblings and is from Svay Rieng and lives in the pagoda with his siblings and has been there for 8 years. He also said that he works on English with one of the monks. He told me that I observed one of his friend’s classes and he said that he was so excited that I came to his class because he thinks speaking with foreigners is really important. He has a friend that as able to talk to a foreigner and his pronunciation improved so much, and that’s what he wants. When I asked him what he wanted to do for a living, he told me that he wants to work for an NGO, which I didn’t expect. When I asked him which one, he said that he wants to work for one that helps women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. He really brought me back to reality and I remembered why I am here.
In addition, I have been upset at how little Khmer I have been using. I had an epiphany the other night when my cousin (who calls me sister Kea, it’s really cute) was trying to speak Khmer with my and I was too shy. Well, when I tell my students that they shouldn’t be shy about speaking English, I am a huge hypocrite because I am shy about my Khmer. So, I decided to become shameless about using Khmer and it has been great. Darlene and I went to the market to buy some fruit, but then we realized that we don’t know how much we should be paying, so we went to visit our tailor friends (the two women who work next to each other, one is a tailor and one sells the fabric). We talked for about 5 minutes about how much we should be spending. They don’t speak any English and loved that we came to them for advice. We went back and talked to the fruit lady (“our fruit lady” as we call her now). Also, my host mom is really scared that I am unhappy and that I don’t like the food. While I was journaling last night, I had a 20 minute conversation with her last night about my family and America. We also talked about how happy I am here. I think that she feels a lot better because she has been stressed out about it.
Yesterday was a really great day at school. I went to my usual ladies to eat lunch (the spot had to be moved up near the buildings because the back of the school is literally underwater). When I walked up, they told me (in Khmer, of course) that I am going to be so unhappy because she didn’t have noodles today! Would rice be ok? I go there not because she is the world’s greatest cook, although the food is good, but I go there because I want it to be part of my schedule. I guess I have become a regular, with a usual, which is really fun. They call me “net crew” which is Khmer for female teacher. It’s very respectful and I think that she loves the fact that the American eats there. Whenever kids walk by that she knows, she says, come eat here, sit by the American teacher. It’s really fun.
When I observed the 2:00-4:00 class, which is grade 11, one of my favorite classes that I have seen, my coteacher could only teach for an hour because he had to go to the Provincial Office of Education for a meeting. So, I stayed with the students and just talked to them. We talked about a varied of things- how old people are in America when they get married/drive, all about my family, seasons in America, what I do in my free time, why I came to Cambodia, food, the fact that I am not married and don’t have a boyfriend- they told me that they didn’t believe me that I didn’t have a boyfriend. It was really fun to informally be able to talk with these kids. We just hung out for a while and headed home. I decided that is a class that I really want to teach because I really like the students. Their English is amazing, but their desire to learn the language is what really makes me want to teach them
Keiko sent me a text today that every time we take a step forward, we take two steps back. When class was canceled today, I was pretty annoyed because I didn’t understand that today was canceled too, I thought that it was tomorrow. So, after thinking about it for a while, I decided that this is the way things are- I will never get a schedule letting me know when class will be in session. I can either get upset at everyone and be unhappy with it, or come to terms with it. I am not going to change the education system here in Cambodia and that’s not why I am here. The things that I can control are my interactions with the people here and what happens in my class, so that is where I plan on making my mark. I can set a good example, which is what I am doing, but I realized early on my limitations, and I am very glad that I did.
Sorry that the last post was really bad, but I tried to make up for it with this one. I was sad when I saw that there were no comments (that was a shocker Mom!) but I realized that when I make a really bad post, people aren’t going to comment. I hope that I made up for it on this one!
This post does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of the Peace Corps or of the United States government. It reflects my thoughts and opinions alone.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
One week down....
I have officially been in Battambang for one week and I love it here so far.
First, family life: I live with a widow and she has six children, the youngest is 23 years old and studies at the University near my house. Four of her children live with us- the oldest son, his wife and their son who is two and scared of me, two daughters and another son. The other two live near our house and are married with children. They are all very nice and don’t speak much English, which will really help me with my Khmer. My house is about one kilometer from the school, but I have to ride in the really busy and scary round-about right when you get into town. At first, I took a much longer way to get to school just to avoid that round-about, but since it was infringing on my sleeping time, I just decided to tough it out and take that way. I haven’t been hit so far, so hopefully I can keep that streak alive… just kidding, don’t start freaking out Mom… But this family is very different from my last family. Since I had three tounger sisters and a billions nieghborhood kids, I literally couldn’t leave the house without a bunch of questions- where are you going? What time will you be home? Did you eat rice yet? Now when I leave, they let me go- it’s nice to have my independence again. I also have a really nice set-up and I just can’t really wait to get into a routine.
School: This could be one of the more frustrating parts of my day. I am not a patient person by nature, but I am learning very quickly just how important it is. I will be observing for about a month before teaching. Since there are 5 teachers in my school, I spend my days observing their classes and trying to figure out which classes I want to teach. It is time consuming because it’s tricky to make the schedule that I want. I will be teaching grades 10 and 11. I am just learning to sit back and watch and let the chips fall where they may. The classes are very enjoyable though. Many Khmer students are very shy and timid, but the students at my school are much less shy then the ones in Tramkak, which is a huge relief. Also, the classes were divided between boys and girls in Tramkak, but these classes aren’t really as segregated between the genders.
I am still trying to set up my room and my host brother Huk is going to take me to buy some more stuff today. The vendors like to jack up the price when they see that I am not Khmer, so having someone from here is a huge help. I printed out a lot of pictures and hung them up on my wall, which is a fun decoration and a great reminder of home.
First, family life: I live with a widow and she has six children, the youngest is 23 years old and studies at the University near my house. Four of her children live with us- the oldest son, his wife and their son who is two and scared of me, two daughters and another son. The other two live near our house and are married with children. They are all very nice and don’t speak much English, which will really help me with my Khmer. My house is about one kilometer from the school, but I have to ride in the really busy and scary round-about right when you get into town. At first, I took a much longer way to get to school just to avoid that round-about, but since it was infringing on my sleeping time, I just decided to tough it out and take that way. I haven’t been hit so far, so hopefully I can keep that streak alive… just kidding, don’t start freaking out Mom… But this family is very different from my last family. Since I had three tounger sisters and a billions nieghborhood kids, I literally couldn’t leave the house without a bunch of questions- where are you going? What time will you be home? Did you eat rice yet? Now when I leave, they let me go- it’s nice to have my independence again. I also have a really nice set-up and I just can’t really wait to get into a routine.
School: This could be one of the more frustrating parts of my day. I am not a patient person by nature, but I am learning very quickly just how important it is. I will be observing for about a month before teaching. Since there are 5 teachers in my school, I spend my days observing their classes and trying to figure out which classes I want to teach. It is time consuming because it’s tricky to make the schedule that I want. I will be teaching grades 10 and 11. I am just learning to sit back and watch and let the chips fall where they may. The classes are very enjoyable though. Many Khmer students are very shy and timid, but the students at my school are much less shy then the ones in Tramkak, which is a huge relief. Also, the classes were divided between boys and girls in Tramkak, but these classes aren’t really as segregated between the genders.
I am still trying to set up my room and my host brother Huk is going to take me to buy some more stuff today. The vendors like to jack up the price when they see that I am not Khmer, so having someone from here is a huge help. I printed out a lot of pictures and hung them up on my wall, which is a fun decoration and a great reminder of home.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Quick Post
I don't have too much to report, so I will wait a few more days for another update. I wanted to let you all know my mailing address:
PCV Kealan Waldron
P.O. Box 328
Battambang
CAMBODIA
My new email address is kealanwaldron@gmail.com. Now that I am not in training, I will have much more time to send personalized emails (I already have gotten a few!) and of course, facebook!
Thanks everyone!
This blog represents my own thoughts, views and opinions and does not reflect on the thoughts of the U.S. government or Peace Corps.
PCV Kealan Waldron
P.O. Box 328
Battambang
CAMBODIA
My new email address is kealanwaldron@gmail.com. Now that I am not in training, I will have much more time to send personalized emails (I already have gotten a few!) and of course, facebook!
Thanks everyone!
This blog represents my own thoughts, views and opinions and does not reflect on the thoughts of the U.S. government or Peace Corps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)