So,
we have officially been at our PST homestay for a month. Time these
days is quite peculiar for me; the days of technical and language
training seem to last forever, but the entire week flies by in an
instant. Either way, the calendar does not lie, and a month has passed. I
honestly feel like a member of my host family more and more every day,
which is something I was not expecting to happen so quickly. At dinner
these days, I joke with my host dad and sister, ask my host mom about
the ingredients in a dish, and teach them all a few English words. It is
quite different from the quiet dinners of my first week, full of head
nods and shy smiles. I think a lot of it has to do with the constant
culture and language training we receive from Peace Corps and the
fantastic LCFs we have; we can always rehearse bits of language or ask a
cultural question before returning home. Another large factor is the
astounding generosity of our host families; we were (practically and
culturally) babies when we were dropped off at our sites. These families
welcomed us into their home and their lives.
My
host family mainly consists of four people: my host mom, dad, younger
sister, and older brother. In actuality, I have two more older brothers,
but both live in other places. However, I have met both of them, and
the one that lives in Phnom Penh comes home quite frequently. In
general, I spend the most time with my host mom, dad, and sister. Most
days I only see my older brother in passing, but he is always very
helpful when something needs to be clarified or translated; out of my
four family members at home, he speaks the best English.
Here is a quick look at the rest of my PST host family:
Every
morning, I have coffee with my host dad in front of the house before
heading out for the day. We don’t usually talk a lot, not much more than
“good morning," “have some coffee,” and “thank you,” but I really do
enjoy this quiet time with him. We sit and watch cars, motos, and bikes
go by on the busy road in front of the house. Sometimes, he cleans the
car or waters the plants. It reminds me every day to take the time to be
present, to appreciate the new day.
My
host sister is a classic teenager; she watches TV, talks to friends on
her cellphone, and occasionally gets upset when her parents tell her to
do something. Most evenings we study Khmer and English before or after
dinner. She is teaching me to write in Khmer (which is very difficult!),
and I help her with pronunciation and sentence structure. In the
beginning, I was a little worried we wouldn’t be able to build a
relationship, but little by little, we have. I think she might even be
happy to have another girl in the family sometimes.
Out
of everyone in the family, I am closest to my host mom. She is truly
superwomen. She works in Phnom Penh a few days a week, raises chickens
for the family to eat and to sell in our backyard, cooks most meals for
us, and cleans the house. She is also a talented seamstress, who
recently made me a new shirt and two sampots (traditional Khmer skirts).
Despite all the work she does, she always answers my questions, helps
me when I ask (and even when I don’t), and walks around with a smile.
And as a typical Cambodian mom, she is continually worried about my rice
intake. At dinner once, she actually played the guilt card and said “I
worry when you don’t eat enough.” Trust me, I eat more than enough! So,
even though I sometimes tire of hearing “eat more, eat more” I know it
comes from a good place; she truly sees me as her child, to be worried
about and fussed over.
After
dinner, my host mom and I are usually left sitting at the table. I
always try to get her to let me help clean up, but since she always
refuses, I sit and keep her company as she tidies the kitchen and feeds
the chickens. As night falls around us, we usually chat about the
market, food, or village gossip. In the beginning, it was awkward, and I
only stayed for a few minutes as I gulped down the rest of my water.
However, it has become one of my favorite times of the day, and I linger
until she shoos me inside to take a shower or get way from the
mosquitos.
All
in all, I love my Cambodian family. It will be difficult to leave them
in a few short weeks. After that, I will head to my permanent site and a
whole new family. We find out our placements in the second week of
September. I am excited and can’t wait to know, but I’m also nervous!
This next week starts our two week practicum in which we put our
teaching skills to the test by teaching English to actual students; I
will be teaching 8th grade with another volunteer co-teacher. Wish me
luck!
Until next time,
Carissa
