Giving Thanks

Whelp... I have officially been in Cambodia for four months and at site for two; I have started co-teaching with my counterparts, slowly but surely working on blending our styles and methods. Last weekend, I spent some time in Phnom Penh with another PCV during the Water Festival holiday. Apart from eating way too much ice cream and Western food, we didn't do much, contenting ourselves with meandering around the city and a few markets. It was a nice getaway completing the first two months of integration and work at site.

Since Thanksgiving is coming for everyone in the United States this week, I wanted to make this post deliberately reflective about what I am thankful for...

1. Family and Friends: My family and friends, both back in the US and around the globe, have been so incredibly supportive as I applied, prepped, and set off on this crazy Peace Corps adventure. For every doubt, sad thought, and worry I have had, there have been several people encouraging me with letters, emails, messages, and phone calls. I am so grateful for all the love and support I have received over the last year.

2. Khmer Host Family: While I consider my host family here in Prey Veng my family now, I wanted to recognize them separately. Over the last two months, they have been caring, patient, and just plain wonderful as I worked to find my place in the community and in our family. It is a work in progress (just like my Khmer is), but they have been so helpful and gracious since I arrived. When I felt sick two weeks ago, my Bong Sray rubbed me with preng kola, brought me my favorite fruit juice, and made me stay in bed to rest. I absolutely hate being sick, but she did all she could to help me feel better.

3. English Teaching Counterparts: As I have gotten to know my counterparts (Khmer teachers that I teach English with) over the last few weeks, I have realized how lucky I am to have such great people to collaborate with. They are both open to trying new techniques and methods, sharing their classroom and students with me wholeheartedly. I hope to continue building relationships with them built on mutual respect and a willingness to learn.

4. Fellow PCVs: The other PCVs I have met since staging began in July have been a wonderful source of comfort, wisdom, information, and advice. Many people that work for Peace Corps in the offices here and in Washington are RPCVs (returned Peace Corps Volunteers), so I have met a diverse range of people who have served all over the globe. Additionally, the other PCVs here in Cambodia inspire me, listen to me, and help me when things get tough; the other PCVs in Prey Veng are especially awesome. And I can't wait for our first Prey Veng Thanksgiving next weekend!!

5. This Opportunity: I am extremely grateful for the wonderful opportunity Peace Corps has been thus far. It has already pushed me to experience new things, grow, and change, which I think will only make me a stronger, more intelligent, and reflective person. I cannot wait to see what will happen over the next two years.

So, while I don't always love the rats I hear at night or every food I try, while I sometimes want to lock myself in my room and watch movies, while I miss my family terribly, while I live in dread of the heat of the dry season...

I am extremely thankful this Thanksgiving.

Until next time,
Carissa

The Calm Before the Storm

Well, it is officially November, and while friends and family in the US are enjoying the chilly weather and changing leaves of Fall, it has actually gotten a bit chilly here in Cambodia. By chilly, I mean 70 degrees, but after months of sunny, hot 90 degree weather I am almost tempted to put on a jacket. 

A view of the lake during Water Festival

Along with this time of year comes the beginning of the school year, and I am excited for it to get started with my primary assignment: teaching at the Provincial Teacher Training College in my town. Over the past few weeks, I have had the chance to get to know some of my students and a few teachers and staff. On the 1st, we had a welcome back ceremony, full of speeches and wishes for a good year. As part of that ceremony, I, along with the other new teachers, had to introduce myself, to the 200+ students gathered for the ceremony. While my students have already graduated from high school, they still wear the typical uniform of white collard shirts and black or dark blue pants and skirts and act like the younger students I have interacted with: standing and often bowing when speaking to me (a teacher) and cautiously trying out the standard Khmer questions in English. Normally, it is "what is your name?", "where are you from?", "how old are you?", and "are you married?” in that order.

Freshly squeezed sugar cane juice

Following closer after, I am usually asked if I have eaten rice already, which is to ask if I have already had whatever meal is temporally closest. “Nyam bye” (eat rice) is the standard way to talk about food in general, whether you are actually eating rice or not. Walk into any Khmer home and the first thing you will hear after hello is the question about if you have eaten already “Nyam bye haej?” (eat rice already?) which is often followed by an insistence to eat something with the residents of the home. It’s little wonder rice is such a big part of Khmer culture and daily life; it’s usually eaten three times a day, and many PCVs often joke that if there isn’t rice at a meal, you have not really eaten in the eyes of Khmer culture. When I describe the food in America and my daily eating habits there, Khmer people are shocked by my answer that I only ate rice a couple times a month, usually opting for potatoes or bread instead. When I told my host sister this, her eyes got really wide and she shook her head in amazement, declaring she didn’t think she could live in America because she wouldn’t be able to eat without rice.

First festival "parade" I've seen going down our street

I am not sure how I got on a rice and culture tangent, but there it is. It turns out that my actual classes won’t start until Monday, so the past few days have been an unexpected respite from the craziness I am sure will come. I am often struck by the juxtaposition of the importance education has in Khmer culture and how many holidays and cancelled classes interrupt the school year; many students take extra lessons during the lunch hour or before and after school in order to get a better education, spending precious time and money. I am sure it is something I will continue to think about over the next two years. 

 

 

Next weekend, I am also headed to Phnom Penh with a fellow PCV for Bon Om Tuk (Water Festival), the first time I will have left the province in two months. I will definitely be stocking up on peanut butter, new books, and other exciting things while in the capitol! 

Until next time, 

Carissa 

A lovely wat (pagoda) in town

 

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

Hello from Prey Veng Province!

Yes, I made it to my permanent site and am settling into my new family, my new community, and my new life. After a few days in Phnom Penh and a wonderful swearing-in ceremony, it was tough to say goodbye to the other PCVs, staff, and LCFs, my friends and support system the past few months. Too quickly, we were herded to vans and sent off to our sites. 

There are five of us K10s serving in Prey Veng Province, two CHEs and three ETTTs. Added to the two volunteers already in the province, we will be seven strong, ready to tackle the world! 

As we took dropped each volunteer off at their new house, we all piled out of the van and made small talk with various members of the family. Having the other K10s with us helped ease some of the awkwardness of first meetings and some of the sadness of leaving each other; it was definitely nice to see each person's house and attempt to fix its location on a hastily-made mind map for  a future visit. 

When I arrived at my new house, my host family was there to greet me with shy smiles and hellos. In this family, I have a host mom and dad. (I call them "older sister" and "older brother" since they are not significantly older than me.) I also have two younger sisters, who are wonderful, smart, and quite helpful when I am unsure what to do. They have all made me feel very welcome, and I think I am slowly but surely finding my place. 

As for my work, school doesn't start until November 1st, so I just hang around school for a few hours every day and let people get used to me. However, the school, and the town in general, are dead right now due to Pchum Ben, one of the major holidays in Cambodia where families visit their relatives and go to the wat with food for their ancestors. It lasts for 15 days, and during that time, many people leave to visit family or just take the opportunity to relax. If you know me at all, you will know I like to keep busy, to have a plan and a schedule, so this abundance of free time has been a bit difficult. I know once school starts I will be very busy, so I am trying to enjoy the free time, but it's challenging. 

So, that is a little bit about my life here so far in Prey Veng. I think we are going to some wats for the holiday festivities this weekend, so I am sure I will have more to report after that. 

Until next time, 

Carissa 

And… here we go!

The wait is over; I know where I am going for the next two years! After much anticipation and a few sleepless nights, PC finally herded us into a room and handed out our site placements. They also had a map of all the PCVs in Cambodia on it, so we could see who would be near us. ANNNNNDDDD….

 

A map of Cambodia with Prey Veng highlighted

I am headed to Prey Veng Province to work in a Provincial Teacher Training Center!

I was honestly not expecting to be placed at a PTTC, so it was quite a surprise when I looked at my folder. Most of the ETTT PCVs in Cambodia will work at a high school, teaching English to students while collaborating with a Khmer co-teacher. My experience will be slightly different, because I will be teaching English as well as teaching techniques to primary school teacher trainees. Unlike in high schools, there is not a standardized curriculum for English in PTTCs, so I will be developing my own with the help of my co-teachers. The number of students within the school also fluctuates more than in a high school due to practicums and the layout of the school year. 

As for the province of Prey Veng, I am really excited to explore a new part of Cambodia. Prey Veng translates as the “Long Forest”; however, most of the trees have been cut down to make way for farms. It is 2-3 hours away from Phnom Penh, so getting back to the capitol shouldn’t be a problem. I will also be a few hours from Vietnam, which I am excited to visit. From what I have heard, Prey Veng has a lot of mango trees, so I am already looking forward to mango season and all the yummy fruit! My site is also near at least two other volunteers, so I am excited to serve and work with them.  

All in all, I am very happy with my placement. Prey Veng isn’t known for being the most desirable province, because it doesn’t have a big attraction like Angkor Wat or the beach. However, at the end of the day, I came to Cambodia to work with the people of Cambodia and to truly live in Cambodia. Ordinary is beautiful, but you have to have the patience and courage to look. I am sure each province will have its challenges; I am choosing to approach this placement with an open mind and heart. In that spirit, my provincemates and I have adopted a new hashtag #preyvengproud. 

So, cheers to my next adventure in Cambodia! I am excited to get started, but first we will spend a few days in Phnom Penh and get sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. 

Until next time, 

Carissa

Model School Practicum and the End of PST

My fellow PST co-teacher, Brady, and I!

For the last two weeks, my fellow PST Brady and I taught English to a class full of 8th graders as part of our practicum experience, colloquially known as “model school.” Since we will be ETTT (English Teacher/Teacher Training) volunteers, this was an opportunity to practice our teaching skills in the Cambodian context. The first week Brady and I taught alone, but in the second week, we were joined by a Khmer teacher counterpart. I really enjoyed the opportunity to practice co-teaching with a Khmer teacher. It will also be helpful since we will be required to teach with a local counterpart once we get to our permanent sites. 

We have received a lot of training about the differences between the Cambodian and American education systems including the perception of teachers and common practices in schools. In order to provide more context to this and future posts, I wanted to highlight several features and practices of the educational system and schools in Cambodia: 

Our classroom

• Since the Khmer people place great importance on education, teachers are traditionally respected within a community and especially within the classroom. To reflect that, students stand when answering a question or talking to a teacher during class. 
• While teaching methodology is definitely changing throughout Cambodia, many schools and teachers ascribe to a top-down approach to education where the teacher has all information and knowledge and shares it with students. Often this results in teacher-centered lessons and activities with little to no interaction between students. One of our jobs as volunteers is to work with teachers in our schools to implement more student-centered activities where students are encouraged to talk to each other, use each other as resources, and experiment with the language. 
• Classes in Cambodia are often quite large, usually around 40-50 students. This is another reason teachers often use a teacher-centered approach. It is much easier to keep control of the class using these types of activities and lessons. 
• Students wear uniforms which usually consist of white shirts with blue or black pants or skirts. Cambodians take off their shoes when entering houses, temples, and some buildings; students in most schools take off their shoes when entering the classroom. 
• The English curriculum for the entire country is set by the Ministry of Education, and each grade has a book to reflect that curriculum. While recent reform has improved the curriculum making it more relevant and communicative, students often struggle to use English in real life situations. While students may be able to fill in a blank, pick the correct verb tense, or memorize a dialogue, they lack the opportunity to hear and use these things in spoken speech. As an education volunteer, one of my jobs is to give students the opportunity to practice speaking with a native English speaker. 

Our students!!

I hope this gives you some context and insight into the Cambodian education system; I will of course continue to elaborate on this subject throughout my service, but I wanted to get some of these down on paper. 

Finally, I have about two more weeks of PST before we move to our permanent sites. On Wednesday, we will receive our province placements and get a better idea of who will be near located near us. Because it is a small country, the vast majority of us will have someone within biking distance of our house. Some of us will also have situates (or other volunteers in our village). I am simultaneously nervous, scared, and excited about learning our placements!! 

Until next time, 

Carissa