A
blog post about Create Cambodia is a really daunting task. How can I possibly
explain accurately how amazing it all was if you weren't there? How can I even
come close to doing it justice? But I will do my best.
I’ll start by thanking every person
who made this possible. Claire, I could not have had a better partner to help
me pull all this together, and Lauren and Megan really completed the dream team.
Next year, I am so confident to leave this project in your capable hands.
Thanks to all of the volunteers who attended the festival. Every single one of
you was necessary to pull it all together, and of course the group took a lot
of pressure off of the “dream team” and allowed us time to enjoy ourselves at
the festival as well. Last, but far from least, I want to thank the people who
donated money to the festival. You chose a wonderful cause to give to, and I
want to thank you on behalf of the participating Peace Corps volunteers, as
well as the 150 Khmer students and counterparts.
Here’s what went down at the
festival:
Friday
Evening, March 1st
About 140 students plus 16 Khmer
counterparts arrived from all around the county between 3 and 5 o’ clock.
During that time they were checked in, and sent to decorate name tags. Once
everyone was settled in, our first simple activity was to hand out water bottles
and art supplies. The students decorated their water bottles so they would be
easily recognizable, and the students could reuse them throughout the festival
to cut down on garbage.
At 5:30 we had the essential and inevitable group
meeting to explain the rules and schedule of the festival. I was given the job
of being MC for the weekend because my Khmer is the best in this group, and
probably also because I’m good at yelling at students and I don’t care if they’re
scared of me. Somebody had to keep order in this place. After the meeting we
had dinner.
At 7:00PM the students were treated to a professional
dance performance with 4 different organizations in Cambodia. The first was
Epic Arts. This organization takes in disabled students, and helps them acquire
a full education, specifically training them in the arts. There were about 10
dancers, most of whom were deaf and one was in a wheel chair. They performed 3
different dances. The first moments were particularly exciting because they
came on stage using crutches, but as the music started up, they used the
crutches as props to do flips and spins. All 3 dances were modern, but the
moves were clearly influenced by traditional Khmer styles. The next performers
were from Krousar Thmey (which translates to New Family). This organization is
similar to Epic Arts in that it educates students with disabilities. Krousar
Thmey specializes in educating deaf and blind children dancing and music. They
also developed and taught the students Khmer systems of Braille and Sign
Language. Krousar Thmey performed 2 dances. Blind students played traditional
instruments, while the deaf students danced, following the directions of their
teacher. The third organization was Apsara Arts Association. Apsara is the name
of Khmer ballet. It involves beautiful traditional costumes, slow and
controlled movements, and twisted but beautiful positions. We were surprised to
find out that this dance troop was entirely made up of 12 year olds. They were
so young, but danced with the perfection of dancers twice their age and with
twice their experience. The final performers were students from Tiny Toones, an
organization that takes in poor students, gives them an education, and also
teaching them break dancing and other art forms. Needless to say, it was all
impressive and really exciting. After the concert our students had a brief meet
and greet with the performers.
At 9:00PM we started our last activity, which was
origami. A group of Peace Corps volunteers taught the students step by step to
make origami cranes. This activity had a second function as a cool-down
activity, meant to slow down the excitement in the hopes that they would fall
asleep faster. Lights out finally happened at around 11PM. Students (and PCVS)
set up rice mats and mosquito nets around the open-air venue and slept on the
floor.
Saturday
Morning, March 2nd
6:30AM was official wake-up time,
but students started getting up and making noise before 5AM. They packed up
their bedding, were led in group stretching, and then we all got our breakfast
of rice porridge.
At 8:30AM we had our first workshop.
Apsara Arts Organization came back with their 12 year old dancers. We thought
their teacher was going to lead the workshop, but what she had in mind was even
better. She brought about 7 or 8 girls to teach the whole group of students the
beginning of one of their routines. I was so impressed by the little girls.
They were professional and funny, and knew how to rock the crowd with the microphone
to get better participation. The students really enjoyed it, and so did I! The
movements are so intricate and precise that I had trouble keeping up, but I
loved seeing some of my students finally getting it after an hour of
repetition.
At 10:00AM we had our second
workshop, done this time by Krousar Thmey. Krousar Thmey came to educate the
students about working in the arts as a blind or deaf person. Our students got
to meet with their performers and ask questions about a variety of topics. Our
students learned some key words and phrases in sign language, and got to see
how their names look and feel written in Braille. Very few of our students even
knew that these systems existed, and they were all eager to learn more. They
particularly loved learning sign language, and I caught them signing to each
other throughout the rest of the festival.
Before lunch, we finished with one
more big group activity. Remember when you were in elementary school general
music, and your teacher led you in a series of snaps, pats, claps, and stamps
to create the sound of a rainstorm? Well that’s what we did with 150 people all
in a circle. The effect was really cool. My students particularly loved this
activity. It might as well have been magic to them.
Saturday
Afternoon, March 2nd
After lunch, the students had an hour of free time. Most of them were
exhausted and spent this time relaxing. Others spent it socializing and
listening to music. PCVs used this time to sit down and have a casual meeting
about upcoming activities, all the while guarding the venue entrance to make
sure we had no students escaping out into the wild dusty streets of Kandal
province.
At 1:30PM, we were supposed to have
a workshop led by a fine arts university, but they had to cancel last minute. Instead
the Peace Corps volunteers led the students in a few activities meant to encourage
the students’ acting skills. First was a game called Emotion Orchestra, and I
of course volunteered to be the conductor. We separated the students into 4 groups
and gave them 4 different emotions- angry, tired, happy, and sad. Then I stood
in front of them, and controlled the levels of their emotions like a conductor.
I’m sure I was having even more fun than them. After I had my fun, I stepped
down and we let the students be the conductors.
3:00PM started our workshop with
Cambodia Living Arts. CLA is an awesome organization, really on the front lines
of bringing all forms of traditional art back to Cambodian people. This year
they brought a team of Chapei Dong Veng players. Chapei is a two stringed long
neck guitar. In the traditional style of playing, the lower string acts as a
constantly strummed drone while the higher pitched string plays a melody. After
about a minute of an improvisational melody, the chapei player stops, and
improvises a similar melody with his voice. The lyrics are often jokes and
comments about what the singer sees or thinks about his current situation, or
about his audience. After singing a verse, the player then leads back in with
his chapei. My students told me that this was their favorite workshop, and I
think it was mine too, but this is probably because after the workshop, the
players gave us an opportunity to try out their instruments. I had myself a
short two minute lesson, and then was on my way, creating silly verses with the
students in the traditional chapei dong veng style. Another cool part about
this organization is that they offer lessons on Chapei and many other
instruments to Khmer students for pretty cheap while they are studying at
university in Phnom Penh. I know some of my students are ready to sign up.
At 4:30, a Peace Corps Volunteer led
a visual art workshop. The students all created their own versions of the
painting Starry Starry Night, except with Angkorian temples. Just like
last year, by this time in the festival, the students were used to being asked
to create things in their own way. In the beginning they were hesitant, but by
now they all had their noses to the paper, feverishly drawing colorful skylines
and temples.
Saturday Evening, March 2nd
After dinner, everyone was exhausted,
but we knew they’d get their second wind with what we had in store for them.
First was a rhythm activity led by another PCV. She handed out and tied
different colored string to students’ wrists and ankles. Depending on what
color they got, tied to where, that determined which beat they would either
drum (with a chopstick) or stamp their foot. The volunteer slowly brought them
to do a typical drum set beat, filling in the beats with different groups of
sounds. When it was put all together along with music the kids were so proud of
themselves.
And
then at 7:30 came the moment that all the students had been waiting for- PROM!
Or, well, the closest thing they’ll ever have to a prom. Despite the humidity,
the students danced with high energy for 2 hours. Songs ranged from the Cupid Shuffle
to JLO to Khmer Rongvong. I played DJ and did my best to keep everyone happy,
and also get as much time dancing with my students as I could. Everyone had a
blast letting loose and showing off their goofy moves.
Before sending the students to bed, we had 2 more
cool-down activities. First, we had the students sit and either write thank you
letters or draw thank you pictures. We gave them the option of either
addressing them to their Peace Corps Volunteer, or to the sponsors who made the
festival possible. Then we collected all the materials, and the students did a
half hour of yoga. The idea was to make them sleepy and also give it a little
more time for the sweat to evaporate off their bodies before going to bed (not
all the groups could have their shower time before lights out.. there were only
4 showers for over 150 people!)
Sunday
Morning, March 3rd
This time, the students stayed in bed even past 6AM, which was a
miracle. We clearly wore them out on Saturday! We led them in morning stretches
again, they had their breakfast, and then met in their groups to prepare for
each of their performances. For my group, that meant tuning our guitars and
warming up our voices.
Soon after 9AM, our big Student
Exhibition started. The students performed what they had been working on with
their teachers and PCVs at site for months. Instead of writing what each
individual group performed, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Some of the participating groups did
not put on a performance because their art was visual. Their artwork was
displayed throughout the festival, and the students had scheduled time to do an
“artwalk” and discuss what they saw.
As you can see, the festival was a
huge success. The students will be talking about it for the rest of their
lives, and so will I. When I joined the Peace Corps, I had dreams of doing
projects in the arts, particularly in music, but I never dreamed that I could
do something on this massive level. Artistic expression is something that I’ve
held so dear to me my whole life. I can’t imagine having to grow up without
ever studying music, holding a crayon, or creating my own story. I think back
on my life, and so much of my happiness has come from music. I dedicated my
life to music and the way that it makes me feel, and the way that I can make it
speak to others. I feel so blessed to have been able to watch so many wonderful
students get a small taste of that through this festival, and through my own
chorus class. This country is seeing a rebirth of art and creativity after it
was all but wiped out in the genocide 30 years ago. After collaborating with
wonderful organizations like CLA, Epic Arts, Krousar Thmey, Apsara Arts, and
Tiny Toones, and also after seeing the students thirst for more, I know that
the beautiful and unique artistic traditions in Cambodia will one day see a full
recovery. We didn’t bring the students here to train them to be professionals,
or in the expectation that they would become experts, but rather to open their
eyes to a world where art is celebrated, understood, and respected. It is THEIR
culture and THEIR country and they have every right to feel proud of their
ancient heritage, and to be leaders supporting the new artistic and creative
revival in Cambodia.
I love my students. I love this
country. I love my job. To paraphrase another PCV working on this project, “THIS
is what they were talking about when they mentioned Peace Corps Highs.”
