One Month Already!?

Hello! 

I have been at site in Prey Veng for one month already, which is a little weird to think about. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Peace Corps time is quite strange and I find it hard to believe I have been at site for a month and in Cambodia for three months. 

My two younger sisters and cousin (yellow shirt)

Over the last month, I spent a lot of time doing what Peace Corps calls “integrating” which means doing a lot of walking around, going to bike rides, and talking with whoever is kind enough to interrupt their busy schedule to listen to my questionable Khmer. I have hung out with my extended family while they talk, sew clothes, make food, and sell fried bananas. My two younger sisters are probably tired of me following them when they go to make rice or watch TV; I tend to ask a lot of questions and make random observations to practice Khmer and figure out what is going on around me. The younger children that roam the houses of my extended family let me teach them songs or words in English; I also do a lot of dancing and making funny faces with them, which transcend any language barrier. 

Students practicing during a lesson

I have also spent a lot of time at my school, getting to know my school director and a few teachers and staff. School does not start until November 1st, so I have been teaching an informal class to about 17 students Monday through Friday. It has been good to get rid of all the teaching jitters I had; I am sure I will still be nervous come the start of school, but this will definitely help. I’ve tested out new games and techniques as well as gotten a feel for where my students are at in their English learning. 

View from the tallest building at my school

I think I am slowly but surely finding my place here in my family, in my school, and in my community. It will be a long process; Peace Corps says it takes anywhere from six months to a year, but I think I have a good start. Soon, school will start, and my life will get busier. For now, I take each day at a time, enjoying the good and learning from the difficult.  

Until next time, 

Carissa 

#728daysofpc and Other Updates

I found wifi in my town yesterday, so I decided to take advantage of it and update this blog!

 It has been quite a rollercoaster adjusting to life in Prey Veng. Peace Corps time is a curious thing; days seem to go on forever with plenty of time to sleep, think, and get bored. On the other hand, weeks and even months go by in a blink of an eye. I still cannot quite believe that we have been at permanent site for three weeks now and have lived in Cambodia for almost three months. It feels like I just got here honestly.

On a different note, you may have noticed I have started to post a picture a day on my social media platforms with the #728daysofpc. One of the other Cambodia PCVs in my cohort challenged herself to post a picture a day of something beautiful, fun, or exciting, and I decided to join her. Yes, I am deliberately posting pictures of good things, things or experiences that I enjoyed, made me smile, made me laugh, but I want to make it clear that this is not the single story of Peace Corps or Cambodia. There are a lot of hard things, things that you see or that happen that make you want to hide under your mosquito net and eat peanut butter; Peace Corps was never supposed to be easy. I sometimes sit in bed at night and wonder why I chose to undertake this difficult, confusing, but rewarding journey. When it gets bad, I remind myself it is ok to feel this way and remember the good times and the things that I love about living in this beautiful country with a family that has accepted me as their own. So, the reason I want to do the #728daysofpc challenge is to remind myself that every day has good, beautiful, wonderful moments, and I just have to take the time to notice them.

Speaking of the single story, if you have never seen Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk about "The Danger of a Single Story" please find the link to the video below. I have listened to it a few times now, most recently at our staging event in San Francisco, and it resonates with me especially now.

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

All in all, I am doing well here. I teach in the mornings right now to a group of hardworking students looking to get extra English practice in before school starts. I have enjoyed getting to know them and teaching again; it definitely makes time go a little faster! I will try to upload pictures next time of my new community, school, house, and family.

Until next time,
Carissa