Random Photo Blog

With about a month left here in Cambodia, I'm realizing just how far behind I am on posting photos. I often try to think of something good to blog about, just for an excuse to post a few photos. I got nothing. Well, nothing that I want to get into right now. I think you can look forward to a blog about our recent Camp G.L.O.W. very soon though.

For now, enjoy these random 21 pictures that I took between the months of October and December. Hooray I'm almost caught up to 2013!

A Pagoda for Pchum Ben festival, the second biggest Cambodian holiday.

It's a Buddhist holiday for offering sacrifices to one's ancestors. They are offering rice by the spoonful here.

Good luck finding your shoes when you want to leave.

Getting blessed by the monk

These are all food sacrifices from local families. The monks accept it and eat it. They believe that then the food is passed on to the ancestors.

Did you really expect the monks to be able to finish all that? After the monks have their fill, it's our turn to eat.

Solita, a couple weeks old, in her "crib"

"I'm not sure how I feel about this American dress, Aunt Diana"

Emily had a friend over. I did not approve.

This was the first time I spotted the Bengal Monitor in my backyard

He was eating a bullfrog and making quite a ruckus. 

This was at a party at the church near my village that I go to on weekends. This is a homemade meat griller lol.

Seoungyoon, a Korean volunteer who lived near me. He became a very good friend. This was his goodbye party, so I came to say goodbye.

However, the story didn't end there. Stay tuned.

Emily, looking good.

Can you find Emily?

My sister and her daughter on a typical afternoon. I was just impressed by how much they look alike. Keke the dog is lookin' good too.

The second time I spotted the monitor lizard

The girls in my host family are terrified of it.

I think it's cool. 

In case you can't wait for my blog about Camp GLOW, you can check out my friend's awesome blog. He blogged as the camp was happening. This is the first blog. Keep clicking the right arrows until you get to the end of the event.

http://60x27.com/2013/06/01/camp-glow-prey-veng/

2 Months, 2 Things

I'll be homeward bound in 2 months.

2 Things I can't wait for:

1. Places of interest being open past 6PM
2. Proudly telling people I am a RPCV- Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Not former. Not ex-PCV. Returned.

2 Things I don't want to leave:

1. Being surrounded by nature- looking out of my window and seeing rice fields instead of a parking lot, cooking, eating, and generally hanging out outside, etc.
2. Helping take care of my baby niece Solita, and watching her grow and learn

Here are some more pictures from the Peace Corps/KOICA day trip to Kampong Cham

Rubber trees ad jumping!

Climbing Phnom Sryee

Wat Nakor

These are pictures of Solita when she was just 5 days old! Now she's almost 8 months old!

Happy In My Village

                No matter what kind of fancy, expensive, delicious places I go to, I am always happy to come home to my village. And I realize how very cool that is. Okay, so the actual travelling to my village is something I dread, but once I get home, that’s exactly how I feel- like I’m finally home. And this time was no exception, when I finally came home after our Close of Service (COS) conference.

                I had such a great day. It was so simple, but I just enjoyed being in Cambodia, and being in Prey Veng. I really do love the here and now.

                Here are the types of things that make a PCV happy, all based on stuff that occurred today.

• Good food. Not necessarily American food, but just food that you want to eat. For lunch, I made myself a mean grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. That was a treat because I just came from Phnom Penh and brought home a few supplies to last a couple days. Then for dinner my family made a delicious meal of fried pork, potatoes, rice, and mangoes. Mmmmmm.
• Small successes. Like being able to adapt a letter to the Provincial Office of Education in the Khmer language with minimal help from a Cambodian counterpart.
• Good lessons. Okay, so the 10^th grade students might not have learned that much from my lesson today. But they came to class- the only class that bothered to stay this afternoon. They participated despite the heat. They asked questions. They joked around with my counterpart and me.
• Onkoy Laing “sit-play” time. I spent time with my sister and two nieces after lunch. My 7 month old niece beats her hands like a drum every time she sees me, because it is like our special game. Later that afternoon, I sat on the grass in a circle with 4 of my favorite female students. We were supposed to study music, but only those 4 showed up, and for today we just preferred sitting and chatting. We sat there for 45 minutes teasing each other and throwing blades of grass on each other’s laps.
• Gifts. I brought bottles of kool-aid and a couple movies dubbed in Khmer for my host family. Kimla especially liked the sweet blue kool-aid and my sister immediately put Tomb Raider into the DVD player (which was also a gift from me and my family). My sister bought me 2 cans of coke while I was gone, because they know how much I like it. Also, while I was teaching my 10^th grade class, one of my 11^th grade Honor Society kids came over to the window and tried to discreetly call me over (not discreet at ALL! haha). She handed me 1 kilo of heavenly fresh avocados. Her grandfather visited her last weekend from Mondulkiri, and she asked him to pick up a kilo of avocados just for me, because she knows how much I love that treat.
• Contact from overseas. Even just a simple hello in an email or on facebook can easily make my day. Extra points if you actually care enough to make skype happen. Early this morning I went over to the amazing new gas station a couple miles away that has WIFI. The WIFI even works sometimes too! There’s nothing better than seeing the faces of the people you love. Technology rocks.
• Relaxing time. Time to sit in a hammock with a good book, or with new awesome headphones and a broken ipod. After lunch is a great time to find a place in the shade, and chill out for a short time. I watched that weird looking orange and yellow lizard climb the tree. I counted the fish jumping in the pond next to me.

When these things all come together, the other stuff doesn’t matter. Like having no electricity all day. or my computer dying. Or taking a bath in the dark, dumping mosquito larvae all over my body. Or hunching over a bucket scrubbing laundry for more than an hour in the hot sun.

I wouldn’t be in a position to take the good things if I also didn’t receive the frustrating-at-times things.

I hope tomorrow is this good!

Click here to see a video of my students and I dancing and singing a Khmer song

teaching my honor society

I went to a local fortune teller.

She said I was going to marry a rich black man only 3 months after the day I met her. This was almost a year ago now. I think she was wrong.

Sam and I took a day trip to Kampong Cham with the Prey Veng KOICA volunteers

tuk tuk

pizza! and pasta!

I make friends with cats everywhere I go <3

Hahaha. Clearly the only ones who know how to take pictures are the 3 in the middle. And that girl all the way on the right. Work it, gurl!

The pagoda on top of Phnom Bro

what? lol.

The Finished Library Project

Outside the library

                A little over a year ago, many of you will remember that I started work on a library development project at the high school. I saw that there was no library at my school, and even the system for lending out textbooks was disorganized and flawed. More importantly, I saw that students had nothing to do when teachers were absent from class. Many students would just leave school out of boredom, or they would horse around in the classrooms.

finished library

                I proposed the idea of a library to my school, and to Peace Corps, and after much planning and budgeting, I proposed it to you- my supportive friends and family in America. So this blog is to let you know exactly what your money went to, and to thank you from myself and from my village for your donations.

The librarian Rothavy, updating the inventory list

                The first thing we did was to organize the collection of old textbooks from the last 40 years. We got rid of unusable textbooks, and organized the ones still in use. After that we cleaned out an old classroom being used for a storage room and painted it with bright welcoming colors. We even painted a big world map outside the library, which students visit on a daily basis to see how many countries they can recognize and see who can be the first to find Cambodia.

The Librian's desk

                About 35% of the funds went to bookshelves. Good strong bookshelves are so important, because they need to outlast Cambodian elements including rats, snakes, spiders, leaking roofs during monsoons, termites, dust, mud, and more. We bought sturdy glass and metal shelves with sliding doors.

Stools for the 7th graders to see

                The rest of the funds went toward books and office supplies. We also received book donations from local people and local organizations. We now have well over 1000 books, covering a wide range of topics in both Khmer and English.

The English, Dictionary, and Khmer History sections

                I spent many weeks organizing the books in the library, and creating a system that is easy to follow and easy to sustain after I’m gone. Books are organized by language and by topic, and placed in sections based on colored stickers.

The sections chart

                With the help of counterparts, we furnished the library with tables, desks, and chairs. I decorated the walls with library rules, charts, and maps. Then finally, I gave 2 teachers and 10 students helpers training on running the library.

The Library rules in Khmer and English (yes with my baby-ish Khmer writing)

                Now the library is open 5 days a week, 2 hours each day. On average, about 30-40 students visit the library each day. The most popular books are the Khmer fiction books and the English animal books. There is also a borrowing policy. Students in grades 10-12 can get a library card for the year, and can borrow one book for 2 weeks at a time. Every day an average of 6-8 students borrow a book from the library. There are 2 librarians, and both work very efficiently 5 hours each a week. They have told me time and time again how wonderful it is to see Cambodian students actually enjoying independent reading. They admitted to doubting me from the beginning, but are thrilled to say how wrong they were.

A Library Card

                I could not be more proud of the students and the librarians as I completely step back and let them take over the library. This project has turned out even more successful than I had dared to hope. This library will be catering to students and teachers for years to come. Thank you so much to all the people who generously donated, who trusted in me as a project coordinator, and who cared about these students on the other side of the world. 

The Return Table for students to put their books after reading

A thank you sign to all the counterparts that helped and continue to help on this project

English Fiction, and English Geography

They love the Khmer storybooks

A very very special thank you goes out to Arlene R., Barbara G., Carol F., Chelsea W., Daniel B., Debra L., Diane C., Donna B., Erica G., James and Betty L., Jess B., Joan P., Joseph B., Kaellen H., Kitty C., Kathryn F., Pamela P., Rene W., and Thomas L.

None of this would have been possible without you.

3 Months, 3 Things

Going back to America in 3 months

3 Things I can't wait for:

1. Delivery
2. Barbeques
3. Drinking from the tap. And taking showers with my mouth open.

3 Things I don't want to leave:

1. Eating on the floor
2. My sisters and brothers in Takeo and Prey Veng
3. The way Khmer people WANT to sit and listen to me play music and sing

More stuff:

I just came back from a vacation in Korea, which was amazing in every way. When it was all over, it was really really hard to leave and come back to Cambodia. I got back to the capital city and spent 2 days moping in a hotel bed, surrounded by candy wrappers and dirty laundry. You could say I was having a very late-in-the-game rejection of Cambodia. But I knew just the thing that would help me snap out of it.

I came over to Takeo province to visit my training host family for the Khmer New Year. As soon as I arrived, my host mom gave me a big hug (she's gotten so much better at the whole hugging thing). And then I just spent time with my family.

My first full day there is really what pulled me out of my funk. In the morning we all piled in the car and went to the pagoda. My older sister and I showed our faces inside, and then decided to chill out outside in the shade until the ceremony is over. I surprised myself by pouring out my heart to her about my feelings recently, and just like any good sister, she gave great advice. I just feel so lucky to be close enough to some people here that they really feel like family. After the ceremony, we were invited to  yey's (grandma's) house for lunch. I sat there with about 30 khmer people, eating a traditional feast, and I thought to myself how few "travelers" get to experience anything like this. And here I am, not just watching from the outside, but participating with people who accept me as one of them. We came home after lunch, and I spent the hottest part of the day napping in my favorite hammock outside in the shade. After my nap I borrowed my brother's bike and went over to my friend Siphen's house. We chatted and munched on fruit for a few hours. I made my way back home, and watched a movie with my two youngest siblings. Then, my family invited a monk to our house to bless the family in the new year. So a monk and 2 priests came, and I sat with my whole family to receive the blessing. I listened to the chanting, and giggled as the family dog kept coming and going like he wanted to be blessed also. The monk was splashing scented water on us during his blessing. My youngest brother Lini set himself up right in front of the monk, so within a minute, he was soaked. In the middle of the blessing, he took his shirt off and tossed it aside. We all laughed. I'm just glad he kept his pants on. Then, as it was growing dark, we decided to walk through the rice fields to a relative's house across the way. There, the children were playing traditional games, the women were cooking snacks, and the men were chilling out drinking beer. As usual, I was steered over to the drinking men, where I shared a beer with my father. Then, somehow I ended up with a guitar in my hands, and I played for the party for about an hour before we decided to head home. I ate rice with my family, and finally went to bed exhausted.

It's days like this that I remember how cool my life is right now, and how it won't always be this way, so LIVE it.

A spider and her eggs on my mosquito net.

harvested rice

The rice fields

This path is my favorite place to go for a walk/run.

Just about ready to be harvested

The brick factory down the street

Trash. This is what the sides of the roads look like in Prey Veng.

This cow kept trying to get to the other side of the building THROUGH the library. There's no door on the other side. I kept having to shoo it out.

Or maybe she just wanted to read some books.