Check it Out!

Conclusion of Hun Sen Prosaut Water Project

The water tank is finally finished! Thanks to Jessie, Alex, Pryce, Tom and Sally, Jon and Susie, Barbara, and Coleen!

Countryside Class, a small community organization just outside of Battambang Town, Cambodia, joined this year with Peace Corps' 3rd annual Create Cambodia Arts Festival.

During the Student Showcase, they performed a the traditional Coconut Dance (which comes out of Svay Rieng!). You can watch the video here.

Cambodian Cuisine

This weekend, PSE, an education NGO in Cambodia, hosted a fundraiser for their programs. The highlight of this fundraiser: bringing together unique tastes from across Cambodia.

Sean, Saeed, and I were pleased to engage in some edible nostalgia as each of our provinces from our Peace Corps site placements were featured:

Sean, Saeed, Monika and I shared a delicious meal of stuffed frog, spicy chicken salad, roasted beef and veggies, and spiced duck, all served over red rice. We certainly ate our full.

We then wandered the venue, which was packed, and ended up in the corner with carnival games. We all tried our luck at darts, and I walked away with an adorably ugly puppy that only cost about $1 in attempted throws.

We also all gave walking on stilts a try, and by that I mean we all failed miserably but with style.

In the past I’ve been a fairly vocal critic of living in Phnom Penh (it’s certainly a lot different from being with my family in Svay Rieng), but last night’s event has me rethinking the pros and cons of being in the capital.

My Staff Spotlight in Peace Corps Cambodia's Weekly Update

Welcome to Staff Spotlight, where our staff will be in the limelight every week so that Volunteers and other staff have the chance to get to know about a crucial member of our team. This week we are talking to the super-friendly, high-achieving lacrosse goalie with two families: one of the PCVLs, Christin.



Christin describes herself as “a proud Hoosier from Northwest Indiana, which is actually a suburb of Chicago” (Yeah right, Christin). She traveled north for school though, and attended Albion College where she studied English Literature, Political Science, and Leadership in Public Policy and Service. At school she was an ultra popular RA, heavily involved in volunteerism (who’da guessed?), served as President of the Student Volunteer Bureau, and played goalie for the lacrosse team. After graduating, Christin joined Peace Corps Cambodia as an ETTT PCV and she has been here ever since.

During inquiries about her family, Christin wanted to talk about both her American family and her Khmer family. Her parents in America, she says, are awesome, hard-working people currently enjoying a well-deserved retirement and getting ready to move to northern Michigan. She also has one older brother and sister-in-law who, as she puts it, are waiting to produce nieces and nephews until she is Stateside under threats from our own PCVL. As for her Khmer family, Christin says she has been equally blessed; her parents learned how to make the best French fries at site for her, and her sister is one of her best friends in life. She didn’t indulge about her “awesome nieces and nephews” because she said that she will “gush your ear off about them all”.

When asked why she joined Peace Corps, Christin answered, “to become a better person.” “I wanted to be removed from my isolated bubble of homogeneity,” she says, “and experience difference in a way that cultivated a better understanding of universal humanness as opposed to labels of differentiation.” She adds, “Peace Corps offered me exactly the opportunity I was seeking: to travel, be challenged, to learn, to teach, and to serve. I stayed a third year with Peace Corps because I love what it stands for. Although Peace Corps may not always get it right, it tries and the potential for changed lives is endless…Plus, I just really love this country. I am amazed and humbled every day by the people I have met and by the development and change happening so quickly in a post-conflict society. “ When asked what she would like to see Peace Corps Cambodia accomplish, Christin answered, “To have all Volunteers who have ever served here to maintain at least one host country national relationship throughout the rest of their life. “

Now that’s a goal. Get to know Christin through some of her answers below.

Why would a Volunteer contact you?

I’m here for you. Anything you need: someone to talk to, help with a project, a link to different resources, whatever. I also coordinate staff development sessions and am working with the other PCVLs to start a Peace Corps Cambodia website.

What is a cool or interesting fact about yourself that you would like to share with Volunteers?

I was captain of my elementary school’s chess club, which won a trophy at the state tournament. I also played Parks Department Baseball for a few years as the only girl in the league. I was the catcher. My team, the Rangers, was runner up in the 1997 championship.

What is the coolest or most interesting thing you have learned about Khmer culture so far?

I’ve grown to love the communal aspect of Khmer family life. My family compound comes with two houses and 9 people. My parents took in their grandson from Takeo Province to ensure that he could attend school. My 16 year-old nephew takes responsibility for his 6 year-old cousin’s education. When my sister needs to go to work, there are at least 3 other people there to watch her baby. I’m a middle-class Midwesterner; I was taught the value of personal responsibility and never relying on others, so living in such an intra-reliant familial unit has been a new and rewarding experience for me.

Do you have a good Volunteer story you would like to share?

As I was preparing to move out of Svay Rieng Province, I spent a lot of time writing letters of appreciation in Khmer to the people who mattered most to me in my community. The letter I worked on the hardest was the letter to my host family. My last night at home, my mom, sister, and I sat outside talking for a long time and I gave them their gift. My mom asked my sister to read the letter aloud. As I listened, red with embarrassment, I was horrified to realize a rather tragic copying mistake. Where I had intended to write, ‘When you look back on our time together, please think about the good things and forget the bad things,’ I had forgotten a line in copying and written, ‘When you look back on our time together, please think about the bad things.’ Both my sister and my mom busted out laughing and still tease me about it. I offered to rewrite the whole letter to fix it, but they refused. As my mom put it, now, when they miss me and read the letter, they’ll laugh as well as cry.

Here’s hoping every Volunteer has such a great story to share. Thank you for your time, Christin! Volunteers can contact Christin through email, telephone, signing up for an all-boys baseball team, or just dropping by the Lod Cha cart in front of the office in the morning to see if she’s hungry.

I Love My Khmer Family

Me: Can I come visit next weekend?

Sister: Why are you asking? It’s your house too. Come and go as you want!

Peace Corps Highlights

During my third year of Peace Corps service in Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonder, I’m living apart from my host family of my first two years. Now, I live in the capital city Phnom Penh while my parents, sisters, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephews live a three-hour van ride away in Svay Rieng Province. My family has been the defining aspect of my time in Cambodia, and phone calls throughout the week are not enough the quench the loneliness I feel living apart from them. So I visit them as often as I can, which, sadly, isn’t often enough. Here are just some of highlights from this past weekend I got to spend with them:

* Cuddling with Chayna (6 years old) and Neath (2 years old) as we watched movie after movie. I think Chayna has watched Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs more than any other person.

* Helping Loem (16 years old) understand what was wrong with his facebook account and all of us laughing hysterically as we discovered that he was temporarily suspended from adding friends since he tried to add pretty girl after pretty girl to an excessive degree.

* My dad walking into the house after work yelling, ‘Hello!’ That was the first time I’ve ever heard him speak English.

* My sister and I gossiping about the men in the village.

* My mother demanding that I again sleep in the main room with everyone because my old room upstairs is too far away.

* Taking Chayna and Neath to the local pagoda by bicycle, me wearing an old motorbike helmet (per Peace Corps policy) and the kids sitting on the luggage rack in the back.

* Several of the teachers stopping by the house to take me and my sister out for soup.

* My aunts and uncles coming over for dinner. And bringing the beer.

* Having Neath follow me everywhere and even waiting outside the bathroom door because she would cry if I left her sight.

* Being sent home with more than 5 pounds of carrots and cucumbers because my mom doesn’t want me to worry about going to the Phnom Penh markets.

They’re loving their new skateboard, curtesy of Leslie C. Thanks from me and from them!

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit my host family in Svay Rieng. Even though I know Phnom Penh’s where I’m supposed to be work-wise, I miss having my family around me and life in the countryside. I miss not having to lock every door at all times; I miss communal naps when it’s just too hot to function; I miss eating rice on the floor; I miss losing money to my dad in cards; I miss the kids; I miss my mom taking care of me. I even miss the damn ducks.

I was only there 24 hours, but it was the most refreshing 24 hours possible. I was greeted with abundant enthusiasm and crushing hugs from Chayna and Neath. Neath clung to me the whole time, making sure my arms stayed wrapped around her, and even trying to sleep in my bed before realizing that she’s not quite old enough to be without her mom. My family had a gigantic plate of french fries waiting for me upon arrival, and I was treated to one of my favorite dishes for dinner as an early birthday present. We all sat around, laughing, watching Loem and some cousins trying out the new skateboard (thanks, Leslie!). My mom, Chayna, and I played the Dr. Seuss Memory game I got him from the States. My dad went to the school to show off his new watch that his American daughter brought him. My mom was adamant that I sleep downstairs instead of upstairs in my old room; she didn’t want me to be so far away. I was able to catch up with several teachers over dinner and over morning fruit. And I got to spend the ride to and from the Rieng revisiting majestic scenes of endless fields that I sorely miss and are sadly missing from my new city life.

Next month’s visit can’t come soon enough…

Today was my last day at my school in Svay Rieng Province. I unexpectedly had to leave two weeks earlier than I anticipated due to needing to begin my new responsibilities as a Volunteer Leader. My goodbyes have been rushed, but I have the comfort of knowing that they aren't 'goodbye's, just 'see you in a couple months's. 

As part of my leaving, the school director put together a small assembly. He spoke of the history of Peace Corps at our school and presented me with a certificate of service from the school; he also framed a copy of the letter I had written as a parting gift.

As part of the ceremony, the director asked me to give a speech to the students. Here it is (in Khmer and then English):

ពីរឆ្នាំដែលខ្ញុំបានបង្រៀននៅសាលានេះគឺជាពេលសប្បាយចិត្តខ្លាំងណាស់ក្នុងជីវិតខ្ញុំ។ ខ្ញុំមានសំណាងល្អដែលអោយខ្ញុំជួបលោកគ្រូអ្នកគ្រូ សិស្សទាំងអស់គ្នានៅសាលានេះ។ ក្នុងចំនួនពីរឆ្នាំនេះខ្ញុំមានឪិកាសរៀន អំពីវប្បធ៍ម ភាសា និង ជីវិតប្រចាំថ្ងៃនៅប្រទេសកម្ពុជា។ សាលានៅកម្ពុជាប្លែកច្រើនពីសាលានៅប្រទេសអាមេរិក។ ខ្ញុំចំលែកចិត្តខ្លាំងណាស់អំពីការអប់រំ សិស្ស ហើយនិង គ្រូនៅកម្ពុជា ជាពិសេសដែលសិស្សហើយនិងគ្រូនៅកម្ពុជាមានការគោរពគ្នាច្រើនជាងនៅប្រទេសរបស់ខ្ញុំ។

នៅប្រទេសអាមេរិកពុកខ្ញុំតែងតែបរាប់ខ្ញុំថាការអប់រំគឺជារឿងសំខាន់ជាងគេ។ ខ្ញុំត្រេកអរថាខ្ញុំបានធ្វើតាមដំបូន្មានរបស់ពុកខ្ញុំ ហើយនិង ខ្ញុំពិតជាជូនពរសិស្សទាំងអសធ្វើតាមដំបូន្មាននេះដែរ។ សូមខិតខំរៀនពេញមួយជីវិត។

ពីរឆ្នាំនេះខ្ញុំសប្បាយចិត​តដែលធ្វើការជាមួយលោកគ្រូអ្នកគ្រូ បង្រៀនសិស្ស ថែមទាំង រៀនពីណុកគេទៃងអស់គ្នា។

ខ្ញុំសុំទោសចំពោះកំហុសដែលខ្ញុំបានធ្វើដោយអចេតនា។ ខ្ញុំបានខិតខំរៀនអំពីប្រពែណីវន្នធ៍កមណុជាប៉ុន្តែខ្ញុំដឺងថាខ្ញុំមានកំហុសខ្លះៗ។សុំទោស។

ខ្ញុំស្តាយណាស់ថាខ្ញុំមិនអាចបង្រៀននៅទីនេះយូរជាងនេះ។ ខ្ញុំមិនដែលបំភ​លេចសិស្ស គ្រូ និង សាលានេះម្តងណាទេ។ សាលានេះគឺជាសាលាលេខ មួយក្នុងចិត្តខ្ញុំរហូត។ ខ្ញុំវិងវឹកលោកគ្រូអ្នកគ្រូសិស្សទាំងអស់ខ្លាំងណាស់។

សូមអរគុណ។ ជម្រាបលា។

The two years that I taught here were extremely happy years in my life. I had great luck to be here and meet all the teachers and students at this school. In these two years, I had the opportunity to learn about Cambodia's culture, language, and daily life. I learned that the schools here are very different from the schools in America. I was very impressed with the educational system, students, and teachers in Cambodia, especially the amount of respect that students and teachers show each other here, much more than in America.

My father in America always told me that education is the most important thing. I'm very grateful that I followed my father's advice, and I truly wish for all you students to follow this advice as well. Please study hard throughout your whole lives.

During these two years, I've been very happy to work with the teachers, teach the students, and learn from all of you. I'm very sorry for all the mistakes I may have unintentionally made. I tried very hard to learn about Cambodia's traditional culture, but I know I made some mistakes. I apologize.

I regret very much that I can not stay and teach here longer. I will never forget the students, teachers, or this school, not even once. This school will always be Number 1 in my heart. I will miss all of you very much. 

Thank you and goodbye.

Breaking My Heart

Nephew: Grandma, what did you mean that Aunt 'Tin is leaving soon?

Grandma: She's leaving our house. She's moving to Kandal to work there.

Nephew: What did you do to make her mad?!

How to Do Khmer New Year

#1. Make an offering of your favorite foods and treats at your house. At the moment the New Year begins (this year it was around 2:15 am), say your prayers and place and incense stick.

#2. Just take a load off and relax.

#3. Drink and eat more than your normal share of sugar and just go wild.

#4. Hang out with your family: eat, drink, make music, and be merry.

#5. Liven up your afternoons with a bit of gambling.

#6.  Dance with your family.

#7. Dance with strangers.

#8. Ask the monks to bless you and your family for the coming year.

#9. Join together with your family and pray for your ancestors.

#10. Karaoke.

What I Will Miss about Svay Rieng

1. The way my host dad lights up and yells, ‘You’re back already!’ whenever I get home (even if it’s just back from a day trip to the town). 

2. The way the baby stands at the bottom of the steps and screams my name until I come to get her.

3. The way my favorite students see me across the school yard and wave so enthusiastically.

4. The way any student will take off his/her hat as they pass me (even if I’m in grubby, sweaty shorts and tshirt on a bike ride).

5. The way my dogs come to greet me on the road after I get back from a trip, the way they jump on me so happily that I can barely finish the walk to the gate.

6. The way my sister and brother-in-law teach ‘bad’ things to the baby (i.e. ‘I’m gonna kill you!’ and the Khmer equivalent of flipping the bird) and laugh hysterically when she performs them.

7. The way my host mom makes me french fries for dinner whenever she thinks I’m sad or sick or lonely.

8. The way the baby will take everything off the coffee table and put it in my lap, methodically saying, ‘This belongs to Aunt…’ with every object.

9. The way Mayoneth, my good friend at the school and a Khmer Literature teacher, whispers and giggles with me in the school office.

10. The way the stars look from my window, so bright without air or light pollution.

11. The way I have to walk so gingerly to the bathroom for fear of stepping on one of the plethora of chicks that freely wander the yard.

12. Watching my dad scale the wall in my room to make an offering at our spirit house.

13. Fruit fresh from our trees: coconuts, mangoes, bananas, jackfruit, sugar palm.

14. The noises my brother and dad make to call the chickens and cows.

15. The way the baby hugs me gingerly when I’m not feeling well.

(posted February 14, 2013)

This is my friend Vannak (the man, not the water buffalo). Vannak is a tuk tuk driver in Phnom Penh, where he normally waits for customers at the hotel frequented by Peace Corps volunteers. Over the past year Vannak and I have become very good friends ever since bonding over coming from the same province, Svay Rieng (the most underrated province in all of Cambodia). Vannak has been living in Phnom Penh for the past 8 years, the first 3 as a factory worker, and claims to love his life in Phnom Penh more than Svay Rieng, despite being far from his family, because he says rice farming just isn’t the life he wants. I understand that, especially after seeing the permanent damage rice harvesting has done to his hands, but I am surprised to hear him claim to be so happy in Phnom Penh. Because, here’s the thing: Vannak is homeless. He sleeps every night in his tuk tuk, stores his clothes under the seat, and showers in the river. 

Over the Pchum Ben Festival, Vannak was able to visit his family in Svay Rieng, and he invited me and the other Riengers to come visit. His family exuded hospitality, and that day will go down as one of my favorite during my Peace Corps service.

Knowing that my Cambodian goal was to ride a water buffalo, Vannak arranged to have his neighbor bring her most docile buffalo (freshly cleaned) for me and the others. We were forced fed delicious food in abundance, allowed freedom to play with animals and small children alike, shown the rice fields and fish pond,  and invited back for Khmer New Year. 

One other thing of note: I had always placed great weight in friendships on the depth of our conversation, but life in Cambodia has entirely altered the value I place on my friendships. Since Vannak doesn’t speak any English, we get by in my extremely limited Khmer. But it works. It works because of the mutual effort we put into communicating and the kindness we extend to each other in place of being frustrated by miscommunication. Maybe language isn’t as important as I had thought.

My dream fulfilled!

On Tuesdays I get to teach my favorite class: 10A. It’s the only class that I get to teach regularly without a co-teacher, so I’m able to do weird things with the students and have a completely casual relationship with them without having to worry about my co-teaching relationship. 

Today, we studied prepositions of place: in, on, above, below, beside, outside, between. As usual, I gave them visual representations of each preposition on the chalkboard and then worked with them to produce the proper Khmer translation. To reinforce the lesson, we played a game (an EXTREMELY rare occurrence in Cambodian classrooms) akin to follow the leader. They simply had to follow my command, which included a preposition of place. (Put your pen above your head. Put your book under your desk. Put your shoe beside your desk.) They were starting to catch on, so I yelled, ‘Stand outside the classroom!’ and made a beeline for the door. I stood outside and glanced in, noticing that they were all still seated and glancing at each other nervously. I popped my head inside and repeated the command. I watched as the first student understood and a smile broke out and he sprinted to the door, closely followed by the others. After I sent them back inside, the bell rang for the break time.

Normally, breaks are spent with me at the desk, writing in the class book or studying Khmer. Today, the students had another idea. Some of them had lyrics from their private class, and they pleasantly demanded that I sing them. So I belted out Take Me to Your Heart, followed by Oun Sarang Bong. Feeling a bit parched, I walked out to pick up a water bottle from the nearest stall. On the way back, I passed one of my other grade 10 classes who were currently on break with one of my coteachers. They called me inside for a brief chat, and I noticed from the chalkboard that they were also studying the preposition lesson. I knew this, because those same diagrams that I use to teach that lesson, that I had used in class with this coteacher the previous week, were on the board. For perhaps the first time, I felt as if my being here and working with these teachers might make some sort of difference – one infinitesimally small – but difference all the same.

After the break, I finished the book’s lesson with about twenty minutes to spare, so I decided to indulge in a cultural exchange moment and teach them about the upcoming Thanksgiving celebrations all across the United States. I explained how it was one of our major holidays, that we met with the majority of our extended family, and that we ate till we were full then rested and then ate more. I taught them the form, ‘This year I am thankful for…’ and called on a few students to tell me what they are thankful for this year. They all said, ‘This year I am thankful for my teacher.’ (I’d be more flattered if there weren’t such a culture of copying answers here.) I asked if they have a holiday similar to Thanksgiving in Cambodia. They don’t. I asked when they tell their families what they’re thankful for. Never. So their homework was to go home and tell their families what happened this year to make them thankful. I really hope this is one assignment they actually do…

(posted November 25, 2012)

You Know You've Integrated When... #1

A Khmer woman approaches you and asks (in Khmer) for directions to the bank.

Bonus points for knowing and telling her.

Bonus points detracted for her not being able to understand your accent.

(posted May 10, 2012)

Girls Basketball