Settling In

A lot has gone on since I last posted, so I will give you a basic recap of life.

In terms of my routine at home, I've settled into a permanent--at least until the end of December--teaching schedule, teaching Monday through Friday for 20 hours with a total of four different teachers, grades 9-12. I'm also lesson-planning with those teachers, so that also keeps me busy. The teachers are also different in terms of what they're looking to do and how they're looking to do it, so it keeps me interested to work with all of them. The students are eager--perhaps frustrated with the old textbook, which is at times way above their level, but eager.

I really like my living situation. I have the entire upstairs of the house to myself, which is toasty when it's hot out, but gives me a lot of room to just be myself. I'm currently sharing it with Coconut, a kitten that was given to me by my neighbor Poo and Ming (aunt and uncle), whom I like a lot. She is about 6 weeks old now, and she loves playing around with me. She's really friendly, so she wants to be wherever people are at all times, and just upon seeing me she starts purring really loudly. I made her a makeshift litter box in a big metal bowl that people use here for washing clothes (a 'clamm,' if you will) filled halfway with sand. It works!

My family also helps me really feel at home here. My little sister Li-Di has the cutest way of saying "Hi!" and also has a really spunky personality. It's her 4th birthday tomorrow--I gave her a stuffed animal that she seems to like a lot. Her little sister, my other little sister, Li-Ching, is just over one year old and took her first steps today. It's really exciting to be here for this part of their lives. When I stop living here (cayna hara) in 2010, I will have been a part of Li-Ching's life for more time than she will have lived without me in the house, which is crazy. They and their friends play a lot at the house, which is also nice, because, as you know if you know me, I love me some little people.

Their parents, my 'Big Brother' and 'Big Sister,' are also really awesome. My brother works in a nearby primary school and is pretty silent, but extremely handy around the house and occasionally surprisingly silly. My sister stays at home to take care of the kids, and she likes to joke around with me. She also has recently developed an interest in watching movies on my laptop with me, even though she doesn't speak English. We watched Love Actually the other day, and it was interesting to explain things like people having boyfriends and girlfriends when they are little kids and older without expecting to have to marry those people, people making out, people living together without being married, etc., with visual proof to back up my explanations. I also told her and her aunt (my Ming next door) about how we hug in the states, as people don't do it here much, especially not with friends of the opposite sex. Little by little. I tried out a public hug today with one of the other volunteers who had come into town to make pasta with fresh marinara sauce with me (Yes. It was delicious.), and it seemed to go over fine. (Fine as in they didn't think we were dating or I was a slut or anything.)

I'm growing to love my town more and more every day. It's small enough that it's easy for me to know a lot of people in the town and really make meaningful relationships. So far some of my favorite people (besides my family, of course!) are several friends who sew clothing at the market, the woman who sells me my Num Ban Chock for breakfast every day and has proclaimed herself my Mom in my town, a woman who has a fruit stand along the road and a beautiful smile, my super really awesome female co-teacher who speaks amazing English and has a great attitude about life, and the guy who fixes my bike for free at his little stand. It's a really nice place, extremely beautiful and filled with small-town charm. The dry season is just now trying to start here, so it's been really breezy and cool enough that I haven't been getting sweaty, which maybe to us back in New York was considered warm enough for 'Skirt Day' to happen, but here in Cambodia is considered cold enough for huge warm puffy coats.

In terms of my actual movements and actions around town and the province, I've biked several times to the two towns relatively close and twice to the provincial town, which is I think about 25 miles or so from where I am. It (the provincial town) is also really cushy, with everything from peanut butter to brownies--all at a price, of course. All the volunteers in the province (except Jason, who was out of commission because he caught dengue), also went to a small island called Rabbit Island off the coast for Halloween and had a lot of fun. It's nice to spend time with the other volunteers every once in a while, because it gives you a break from being somewhat of a small public figure and a chance to act out comfortable behaviors from home that in general are suppressed when dealing with Khmer people (like hugging or wearing bikinis to swim, for instance). Plus it's nice to be around people who can understand to some degree what kind of experience you are having--or just help you understand yourself.

I'm going to stop for now, just because I know if I make this much longer, you probably won't read it. If there's ever anything that you specifically want to know about--or know more about--please feel free to mention it in the comments or send me an email if it's something private!

last photos from training

Photo of the people interviewing me at the swearing-in ceremony October 5



Another interview photo woooo



My host mom and I the last day I was there, at the market right before we left. So sad times.



L to R: Sutjeeah, Sutjeeah's little sister who is also my friend, my friend Sovanni Lai, and I



Sutjeeah and I at her house the day before I left




Sutjeeah's sister (Greg's Bong Sarai/Host Sister) and I



A big Cambodian gecko called 'Tuck Gai,'because that's the sound it makes. One used to live in my room in our training village and wake me up in the middle of the night with its antics. But apparently having one in your bedroom brings you good health.



My host mom and I! She is the BEST.