Mr. Da and Cariga

This past week was a good one, and this weekend, while slow, was refreshing and balanced. Currently, I am sitting on our couch watching a baby gecko (named Charlie) scurry up the window shade, and Jeff is working hard on a delicious-smelling yellow curry for dinner -- quite reminiscent of Lam's Cariga, one of our favorite Sunday night take-outs in Newton. We just finished watching episode four of season one of The Wire, which I am quickly falling hard for, and we have no plans for tonight. So nice.

Tomorrow begins our last week of "camp-school" before our gracious benefactor/commander-in-chief, Trevor, arrives. Basically, we have to haul ass to finish all the projects we started these past two weeks and polish them all up to present next Sunday-Tuesday complete with a big, beautiful Cambodian bow (made of small children). This includes the self-portraits the kids are doing in Art, the plays they are writing/directing/acting in during Drama, the assessments we are doing in English, etc. So, no pressure...as always.

Back to Friday night. After a light rainstorm and a few Phnom Penh beers at our place with overseas staff, Jeff, Nica, Clara and I were picked up by Mr. Da, our tuk-tuk driver, for dinner at his house. Have you ever been invited into the home of your taxi driver? Didn't think so. We met Mr. Da about two weeks ago, and learned that he lives about six minutes from Liger. He speaks a decent amount of English and understands more, but his greatest assets are his wonderful smile, quick and genuine laugh and innate sense about people despite uncommon language. Mr. Da took us into town last Monday for dinner and groceries, and then again on Thursday, so we see him pretty frequently. On the ride back to Liger last Monday he asked if we would like to stop and see his house, since we were going to pass it anyway. I was a bit wary and made a weak joke ("and this is where he houses his murder weapons..."), but all he did was unlock a gate at the edge of the road and welcome us into his home. That same night he asked us if we wanted to come to dinner on Friday; he explained that "Mickey" (Nica) and "Clery" (Clara) had been previously invited for the same night. Jeff exuberantly agreed and it was set.

In the days after the invite, we asked different Khmer staff if it was normal/appropriate for Mr. Da (real name: DaDa) to invite us and for us to accept. We were told it was an honor and a sign of trust and respect for someone in Cambodia to invite you to their home, and that unlike in China (where you must refuse three times before accepting), it was okay that we agreed to come. However, we had to keep our end of the bargain and not blow him off, because he was probably going to overextend his resources in order to provide a good meal for us and it would be terribly rude if we stood him up. After being picked up, we tukked down Liger Lane and purchased some beer with the help of our Khmer Teaching Assistant Daroth (Dah-ROT), whom we invited because (1) we love him and (2) he would be immensely helpful in translating the evening/making everyone feel more connected.

The first time we saw Mr. Da's house was only for a few minutes, and included a walk around the exterior, including fruit trees, his cement driveway, a multi-level chicken coop and an outside kitchen area with a sink, water urns, etc. It also included this brief exchange:

Mr. Da: "My sister asleep." (pointing to the second floor of the dwelling)
Jeff: "Oh, then we should be quiet."
Caroline: "How old is your sister?"
Mr. Da: "I three-nine. Three-four."
Caroline: "Oh, so younger sister."
Mr. Da: "Yes, yes!" (big smile)
Caroline: (getting up to leave, notices in the shadows of the inside of the house, a shirtless, sumo-wrestler looking man - does not comment)
Jeff: (notices the same man a minute later and waves, greeting him in Khmer) "Susaday!"
Mr. Da: (peering into the house, confused, but then...) "Ah! Yes! My sister!"

We now know Mr. Da's sister is actually DoDo, his quite adorable and cognitively impaired brother. Yes, DaDa and DoDo (Yandelys and Yonaelys anyone?)

This time we were invited into the back portion of Mr. Da's property (although to call it his property is questionable as we do not think he actually owns it -- discussion ensued about the government commonly seizing property that individuals and families have lived on for years because they do not actually own it). If you walk around the side of the actual house, which is nice by Cambodian standards, with two floors, a bathroom, etc., you enter a sizable garden area and then further back, step right onto the banks of the Tonle Sap river. We were there around 6pm, so it was still light out and not yet buggy. It was amazing, because from the road, you would never assume that he lived on such a large piece of land with such a nice view.

Nica and I (with DoDo perched in the background)

Nica, Mr. Da and me (note my muscle shirt -- another night market purchase)

 Jeff, Clara, Daroth, Caroline, Mr. Da

After a beer on the river, dinner commenced. I was sitting in between Daroth, a Cambodian who can suck the meat off of any bone in less than five seconds and who stands up and shakes his body to "make more room" when he begins to feel full, and Clara, a vegetarian waif. I fall somewhere in the middle, as did my level of trepidation about the meal. But, I should not have been worried. Below are the pictures, so I will let them speak loudly, but the spread included two flavorful chicken dishes, a fish stew, pork soup (which his mother brought over from a neighboring province), steamed white rice and ice cold beer.

Some of the highlights of the meal included conversation about Mr. Da's work history (worked a security post for a Singapore-based lumber company, then as a driver for a Chinese company, finally as a tuk-tuk driver) and personal history (wife died five years ago from a bad traffic accident, which pretty much drained his resources; did go to university - not sure if he finished). We also witnessed Daroth crunch on a chicken foot, and Jeff and I each ate one chicken testicle (sorry -- had to tell you all!). Pictures of both below. Look closely...I dare you.

Those are not pinto beans.

Saturday morning Jeff and I met Robert and his wife Kate in town for a haircut. Well, I had a decadent cup of iced coffee that made me feel buzzed and read my book, while the other three indulged in head massage/haircuts that lasted almost an hour (for $8 plus tip). Jeffery came out a happy boy.

P.S. The book I was reading is called A Visit from the Goon Squad (written by Jennifer Egan) and it was so good that I ended up finishing it Saturday afternoon despite my best efforts to stretch it out. Egan's writing is brilliant, both in its prose and its plot, and there is more than one scene that I just cannot get out of my head. Good thing she won a Pulitzer for it. If you are looking for a good book, you found it.

The rest of Saturday involved a yummy lunch at a place Robert and Kate brought us (corn fritters and a club sandwich), grocery shopping, The Wire and, oh yes, witnessing an arrest. So, on the way back from grocery shopping in a non-Mr. Da tuk-tuk, we came upon the biggest mess of street-blocking traffic that we had seen, and that's saying a lot as there is usually a pretty consistent level of traffic. It soon became clear that everyone had stopped to watch something that was going down on the left side of the road, outside a small shop. Literally not one vehicle was moving in either direction. We saw a crowd standing around what looked like a fight. After about two minutes, we saw two police officers emerge from the crowd with a kid in his late teens and sandwich him on a moto. The intensity of the situation dissipated quickly and traffic broke up, but I can honestly say that it was the first moment where I felt real panic that I was either (1) going to witness something brutal or (2) be in a dangerous situation that I could not get out of. Thankfully it amounted to nothing, but that sick feeling took a little longer to subside.

The highlight of today was taking a walk down the road to the pagoda that I wrote about in one of my first posts. We went to the huge, fish-filled pond (and fed them Ramen noodles) walked around the different burial sights (from small gravestones with Chinese writing to massive, stately mausoleums) and took in all the natural beauty that the grounds offer. Again, the peaceful beauty and prominent wealth of the pagoda and its accessories was a jarring contrast to what exists just outside its doors.

I leave you with wishes for a relaxing Sunday and a good week ahead. And, the photos of the week. What could be better than chicken testicles, you ask? Badass little kids at sports with Jeff.

Got myself a fly swatter..

Bet you thought I would start my next entry with something about the students, didn't you?

Well my new best friend (bright-pink) fly swatter just stole the show.

Perhaps that will clue you in to the current bug level in our apartment. Again, I just have to get used to it, but that doesn't take away from the relish with which I swing BPFS or the "HA!" that I yell when I get one.

Anyway. Yes, the students have arrived and today marked the first day of our second week of "Camp Liger." Each morning of last week we started the day with an all-school sing-along with Robert playing the guitar, went over some guidelines for the day and then broke into groups. We currently have 44 students, so last week's schedule consisted of groups of seven to nine kids rotating between Art, Sports, English, Swimming and Medical. After two days, all the kids had completed their Medical workshop, which dealt with things like how to brush your teeth, why staying hydrated is important and what diarrhea is. This last point is key because chances are that our kids have lived with it for most of their lives without knowing that it is an indicator of poor health. Our on-site nurse (with the support of a medical doctor from a local non-profit) then spent the next few days pulling each student individually in order to establish basic medical records (eyes, ears, height, weight, etc.). It is predicted that most of our students have never been vaccinated and that more than a few will need glasses. Even from simple observation we also know that dental issues are common with our students, including broken and rotting teeth.

Another health-related topic that we have been talking about lately is the Cambodian practice of "coining." Coining refers to the practice of taking a small, round, metal object (interesting since Cambodian currency does not actually include coins..), dipping it in gas or oil, and rubbing it along the skin of a person who is ill. The rubbing increases in speed and pressure until the blood vessels below the skin break, leaving harsh-looking, thick, red lines along the skin. This can be done on the back, the legs, the arms...really anywhere. It is thought to restore the health of the person. We learned about coining during the medical portion of our training and our nurse found evidence of coining among our students. Liger has stated that it does not condone coining and will not tolerate it, while at the same time has informed overseas staff that there is a good chance that there are Khmer staff members who believe in and practice coining. If staff members have coining scars on their body, they are not allowed to show them at work.

Once the medical rotation ended, that extra block turned into Drama. Each day we had three morning sessions, lunch, quiet time (staff meeting time), two afternoon sessions and then came back together for an all-school closing assembly. Last week, I was stationed in the library with Jess and Nica, and we structured our days around getting to know the students in two ways (1) gathering baseline data (letter ID, letter-sound correspondence, sight word recognition) and (2) introducing and assessing oral language skills. Most students do not speak English in any deep or fluent way. A few have some isolated vocabulary and many have learned scripts, including, "Good Morning Teacher, how you sleep?" and when asked how they are, can reply "Fine, thank you, and you?" Since we know they like to ask and answer questions, we chose one important topic for each day and paired it with an anchoring question or statement. So, Monday we did "My name is..," Tuesday was "I like..." and Wednesday was "I can." We were able to build in higher-level concepts such as adding the -ing to verbs when saying "I like" and taking it off when saying "I can." On Thursday, Nica designed a really cool mapping activity on her iPad to explain "I am from," and we had the students do a basic writing sample of what they had learned that week. It was amazing how quickly they picked up the basics of the iPad while dropping pins on their home provinces and typing their names.

Today while in the pool, one of our students with very low oral language abilities came up to me and asked, "Where...are...youfrom?" It was priceless. These kids are sponges. Anything that is said in English, they immediately repeat, whether they know what they are saying or not. They also respond really well to songs, including "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "I Like to Eat, Eat, Eat." Listening to a bunch of Cambodian children (with beautiful voices) try to keep up with the changing vowel sounds in "I Like to Eat, Eat, Eat," is hilarious.

Overall, the week held a lot of ups and downs and a lot of long days, but the general consensus is that we have a really special group of kids and that even if we don't really know what we are doing yet, they are having a great time. One of my favorite activities that we did last week  in whole group was having the students get into line from shortest to tallest without talking. Below are some pictures of the process and Robert assessing their final line.

On Thursday night I went out to dinner with some of the interns to a restaurant that teaches local street children how to work in a restaurant. We ordered fried tarantula with a lime-pepper dipping sauce and all had a bite. Well, not all of us. I ate a leg (tasted like a french fry) and some of the abdomen, which tasted like chicken. Woo! Max ordered a dish with red ants in it and JoJo and Clara shared some Mekong river fish. I had a stir-fry beef dish with morning glories and crispy sweet potatoes, which was delicious. They also served really good mango-lime margaritas. Yum.

Friday night Nica, Jeff and I were compelled to find some comfort food, so we trekked to the far end of Monivong and arrived at Mike's Burger, a burger joint/add-on to a gas station that is owned and operated by an American. The smell of meat and fries greeted us at the door, as did a shelf of American novelties (Slim Jims, Capri Suns, Vitamin Waters, Blow Pops, etc.). We ordered cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and fries to share. Although I felt sick the next morning because my body is not used to that much meat/fat, it was totally worth it and comforting to know that it is available when we need a break from steamed white rice and chicken broth soup. For lunch. In ninety degree heat.

Saturday evening Jeff and I tukked into town and happened to run into Max and JoJo on street 278, which is a pretty touristy/ex-pat area. They had been in town all day, and we were checking into a hotel for the night. The four of us grabbed a pitcher of (actually decent) mojitos on the fourth floor rooftop bar Top Banana, a stoner-looking hang out and hostel. Bridesmaids was on the TV in the background and the wireless password was "doyouspeakEnglish," to which I replied "Yes" after asking (in English) and then felt like an ass. By six-thirty, Jess swung by with her tuk-tuk and the five of us headed over to Riverside to meet up with a friend of a former co-worker of Jess' who has been living in Cambodia for four years as a consultant to the Ministry of Health. After some seventy cents Anchor beers, pineapple fried rice, a pizza...some more beers, a banana smoothie...we walked down to the night market where I acquired a zebra print dress with little zebras on it. Yes, both whole zebras and their print...for three dollars.

The rest of the night does not need to be detailed, but did involve flaming shots of absinthe resulting in a blood blister on my hand. It also included a bar called "Heart of Darkness" and a techno remix of "Call Me Maybe." It was a great night with new friends and exactly what we all needed to blow off some steam from the week.

Now on to week two!

Week Two and the Riverside

This week, our days became much more intense. I can confidently categorize it as the "stop playing around and get shit done" week. We spent the first five or six days after arrival going into town, getting to know each other and throwing ideas around, but this week we realized we had five days to plan before students actually arrived. This week included a long presentation about Child Safety and Protection as it specifically relates to the cultural climate in Cambodia. The presenter was not shy about sharing the details of his experiences as a social worker dealing mainly with young Cambodian boys and men who had suffered sexual abuse. He referenced a number of interesting statistics and threw out some shocking anecdotes. One of the things he mentioned that resonated with me as having deeper implications for Liger was a common Cambodian saying, which roughly translates to "the sun shone on me first, so..." and is commonly used by adults to discount the rights of children. It can be used to justify something that has been done to a child (sexual or physical abuse), or may be used to discredit a child's statements or ideas. It stuck with me because a lot of what Liger seeks to accomplish depends on the partnership that our students can create within their home communities. One of the major goals is for students to take what they learn here and bring it to their provinces; if they are met with distrust and spite because the sun didn't shine on them first...we will be preparing for a difficult journey.

The presenter went on to tell us some general knowledge about Cambodian sexual norms. Females are expected to remain virgins until marriage, but males are not. Metaphorically, girls are 'white cotton' and cannot be completely cleaned once marred, while boys are 'pure gold' -- easily rinsed and shined back up. Once married, it is pretty much acceptable for men to have sex outside marriage, with the understanding that it is only for sex and not for love. They must also continue to provide financial support to the family. We also heard about the lack of sexual education that most Cambodians have been provided with. For example, when our presenter was doing a session in a nearby province and put out an anonymous Q&A jar, someone wrote down: "Is is possible to have sex through the naval opening?" Although this is just one example, it serves to illustrate the misinformation or lack of information that is widespread around Cambodia.

I do want to offset this conversation with some of the information that I have gleaned from informal conversations with my Khmer staff peers. They say that in the past, it was taboo to be openly gay, to live together before marriage and to date more than one person (and arranged marriages are still quite common). However, times are changing, and all of these practices are now slowly becoming more acceptable. One staff member told me it is now "okay to be gay...or lesbian!" Another, who is the same age as me, disclosed that his parents' marriage was arranged when they were both still in utero, because their fathers were close friends and lived in close proximity. He said that he would not want to have an arranged marriage himself, and that his mother understands and trusts him to make a good decision on his own. Another staff member who is maybe ten years older than me and had an arranged marriage said that she is very lucky because she loves her husband, but that she knows that is not always the case and would not enforce this tradition with her own children.

Sidenote: I am constantly blown away by the openness of the Cambodians I meet and their ability to make me feel incredibly welcome. I was almost moved to tears at an all-staff BBQ the other night when one of the staff members, checking that we were enjoying our stay so far proclaimed: "Cambodia is your home and your home is Cambodia!" She went on to say that she was so happy to have finally met us and that if we needed ANYTHING, to just ask. The sincerity was like none other. I was similarly moved to tears during a presentation by Liger's social worker and Robert's administrative assistant/superwoman. They went into detail about the make up of our student body, including economic standing, complete with pictures of student homes. We have students who live in raised, two-room homes with concrete floors, and we have students who live among six others in one room made from bamboo reeds and palm leaves. While the economic dissonance was certainly alarming, it was the presenters' unbridled passion for the Liger mission and their dedication and loyalty to Robert that moved me the most.

That was a long side note - I will try and get my hands on the powerpoint that they put together and link it to the blog if possible. It's such an incredible representation of Liger's mission and success in recruiting.

Anyway, besides child protection and student population, we plunged into the weekend program, dress code for staff, kitchen duties/on-site environmental practices, schedule creation, hopes and fears (I cried at that one too...haha), and poisonous animals of Cambodia. It's safe to say that each night we walked home (less than one minute from school) with our minds reeling. Some conversations were more challenging than others, mostly due to the abundance of really good ideas that people are passionate about communicating to the group. It's not as if we are disagreeing about the worth of any one idea, but rather having to draw the line when we have spent two or three hours thinking up fifty different "Day One: Get to Know You" activities. Every single staff member here is brilliant in their own way, super dedicated to the mission and eager to stamp their name on a good idea, so you can only imagine the level of on-going discussion. And if you know me, the length of my lists!

By Friday morning we had a finalized schedule for week one that was approved by Robert without any major changes (whoo hoo!). We know who is doing what when, as well as how the students will be grouped and how long they will be at each activity. Another teacher and I spent some time getting amped up over prospective first week English assessments only to have our hopes dashed when Robert pointed out that we were getting way ahead of ourselves, and that the first couple of weeks need to be relaxed and much more fun. Enter: Learning Curve, Expectation Adjustment and my good friend, Trust the Process. He and I have gotten quite close these past few days.

By Thursday night, Jeff and I had decided that it might be nice/was necessary to take a mental health break, as well as see another part of the city, so we booked a room at the Paddy Rice hotel in the Riverside part of Phnom Penh. Just your regular half-Khmer, half-Irish, local pub-hotel! Jess was also eager for a bit of a break, so the three of us set off for the other side of the city (about 25 minutes) at 3:30. After dropping Jess off with a HUGE smile on her face, we tukked a few more blocks and arrived at Paddy. Although they did not have Guinness on tap (sad Jeff), they did have shamrock room numbers on the doors and the word "crack" everywhere. I stopped myself from correcting their spelling (craic), but rather relished the humor and attempt.

The reason we chose the spot was expressly for its location -- right across from the Tonle Sap river (sorry Dad, we thought it was the Mekong when we talked to you) and bustling promenade. On our five pm walk along the river we saw many more Westerners (the word we have arrived at after wrongly assuming every single white person is American, haha) than in our neck of the woods. Unfortunately, that number included a large number of older, white males with young, Cambodian, female company. I'll save that topic for when I know more about it...moving on, we also saw a lot of different games being played, including volleyball in a circle without a net, a version of hackysack using a ball with a feather attached and about thirty or forty people doing group aerobics, which really looked like awkward dance moves. Below is a priceless image of a shirt that we saw at the night market near Paddy. It's a picture of Kelly Clarkson with a rhinestoned cross in her hands and the phrase "I like your style Style up make your." Who doesn't need one of those?! I mean really.

After the walk, we went back to the room to shower and then looked up a good place to eat in the guidebook. I was craving Mexican, so we headed a few blocks down to Cantina. We got a couple of good margaritas, a delicious plate of nachos with guac and then a quesadilla and some fajitas. It was nothing special on the inside, but it was easy to communicate with the waitress and the margs were good.

At about eight thirty, as we were finishing dinner, we remembered that there was a live band playing in the bar under our room, starting at nine. Super. "Two Shots and a Chaser" would certainly keep us up, so instead of heading home, we chose the route of having another drink. On the wander back toward Paddy Rice, I spied a fourth story roof deck with chairs, and Jeff insisted we stop in. Thank goodness we did because we ended up at a great little spot called "Le Moon," overlooking the river. There was some serious making out going on at the table in front of us, which brought to mind Meg Deg's "making out" chant from Ireland, but we were able to enjoy the view of the river in front of us and the magnificent view of the royal palace behind us.

This morning we tukked around town to grab a vacuum (prompting a "You live in my country?" from the driver), as we have a cleaning lady beginning Monday.  

Although we haven't met the students yet, we did see them from our window and have heard their voices around campus today. Robert told us that we were welcome to swing by and meet families, etc., but that today would be focused around the house parents and run by the Khmer-speaking staff. Tomorrow our days students arrive with their parents for lunch, at which point we will be able to meet everyone.

That's all for now. The next time I write, we will have spent a few days with the kids!

Get over it, Caro!

Before I forget, below is a link to a blog post, which was the result of one of our orientation activities. The teaching staff (overseas teachers/interns and Khmer TAs/house parents), were split into four groups: North, South, East and West. We spent about two hours going in one of those directions stretching out from our site. The goal of the task was to take a short walk through our immediate local community and investigate/document any social, economic, health and environmental issues (the four foundations of the Liger curriculum). My group included Peter - another teacher, Nica - an intern, Lita - a house parent and Reksmey - one of three TAs. We deemed ourselves the Polar Express, bearing north. Our trip took us first to a slum area across the main road from the Liger site, and then to the contrasting site of the local pagoda, about a quarter-mile down the road. If you want pictures of our local community, here is your chance...

http://polarexpressllc.blogspot.com/

I also want to take a minute and recount some of the things that I have had to become quickly acclimated to since arriving in Cambodia. Those of you who know me, know that I like to have a clean and organized space, and that I am quite compulsive when it comes to things being in their place. Therefore, you will probably be shocked to hear how well I am doing with some of the norms I have had to adopt...

1. You will shower more than once a day. Again, those of you who know me know that I hate to shower. I don't mind the clean feeling afterwards, but rather the time it takes to shower and then having wet hair that needs to be dried, etc. Forget that. Showers are no longer fifteen-minute ordeals. No matter how often you shower, you are going to sweat immensely and probably smell at least a little bit, so just jump in, cool off and throw your hair back. The thought of using a hair dryer or straightener here is painful.

2. You will be in bare feet for the entire time you are in-doors. This one has a few implications. One, you will spend time trying to locate your shoes at the doorway where you took them off, which may have been hours earlier. Two, you will have dirty feet. If you are sensory like me and don't like the feeling of dusty feet, you will wipe your feet on lots of little mats here and there. And you get over it. Cambodian culture (and many other Asian cultures) dictates that it is polite to remove footwear when entering someone's home or other formal dwelling. Respect over comfort.

3. There will be ants on your counters at all times -- and geckos on the walls. At times, it is possible to rid your counter top of ants, but only the counter space within arm's reach. And they come from everywhere. Geckos dart up and down the walls and across the floors in an alarming way, especially when you first enter the house and turn the lights on, but they are super cute and helpful in keeping spiders out of our bed. Geico.

4. There are no real napkins at meals and no mirrors in the bathrooms. As I mentioned before, there are tissue-paper "napkins" on the tables at most restaurants, but they only serve to become saturated and stick to your hands. Liger (genius!) has installed an automatic hand dryer in the dining area. Also, for some reason, there are no mirrors above the sinks on the Liger campus (except teacher apartments). In some restaurants I have been to there are mirrors, but it seems to be more like the exception to the rule (this is only in my limited experience).

5. There may not be TP in the bathrooms and the toilet may take three flushes instead of one. I will not elaborate, but just throwing it out there for those of you who intend on visiting.

Those are the norms that jump out at me, but I look forward to adding some that have more to do with culture and are less superficial.

Kep

I will try to go for the "less is more" approach this evening. Like the bikini pictured above...this babe was on the end of the pier on the Kep beach.

Cambodia continues to be incredibly layered in every sense - working through everything we are seeing and doing and trying to apply meaning, while also remaining foreigners, proves to be time consuming and rather draining. There is no shortage of recounting, assessing and comparing in our household each night. This past weekend we had the opportunity to experience an entirely new part of Cambodia on our journey to Kep. Many of you, knowing the geography of Cambodia, asked us if we would be living near the beach. If you call three hours "near," then the answer, as we found out, is yes. 

Some verbs that come to mind when I reflect back on our bus ride include: jostle, quiver, lurch, bump, squeeze (as in: "We had to squeeze in between ten cows and a moto, while also avoiding tipping over into a rice paddy..."), puke (almost), screech...and the list goes on. It was a 7:30AM wake-up call after a fun night out with other ex-pat teachers at the FCC for happy hour, closely followed by a fresh seafood dinner (think grilled whole prawns with roasted garlic and a side of morning glories). The bus we ordered was for 25 people, but thank goodness they sent us a 36-person vehicle so we could all spread out. Out our windows we saw green pastures with big, white, healthy-looking cows (not the skinny, ugly city cows), sparsely populated villages with pretty homes, and an overall feel that we were in a National Geographic special on the Cambodian country side. 

Just as I was about to give up on the bus entirely and throw myself onto the road because I would rather die than continue (extreme? I don't think so), we turned off the main road and entered the sleepy coastal town of Kep. Our bus pulled up right outside our hotel, which was steps from the beach. Complete with pool table, lounge area, pool/jacuzzi, room A/C and beautiful views, the Beach House is certainly a place to which we will return.

The first day involved a pizza lunch -- we met a number of ex-pats who have started tourist-driven businesses in the area -- and relaxing on the beach. At one point, when getting up from my towel to adjust my suit, I noticed that there were three Cambodian twenty-somethings taking pictures of us from the wall above. Although I was freaked out at first, it quickly turned into just another thing that I should get over quickly. The real reason is that Cambodians do not wear bathing suits when they swim. Instead, they prefer to frolic in the waves in jeans, long sleeved button downs, pajamas or any other non-swim suit related item of clothing. So, for some people, to see Americans in bikinis and without shirts is something curious. That first night we all went out to a local restaurant (minutes from the rather well-known Kep Crab Market) for fish. After looking around for the best deal, we ended up on a beautiful second story terrace over-looking the water. We then dined on what Jeff has called "a top five meal." The incredibly friendly owner brought out three plates each of whole fish, prawns, grilled squid, whole crab and delicious fried rice, beers for less than a dollar and a medley of sauces, the best of which was lemon juice and black pepper based. Although Cambodians lack any semblance of proper napkins (think tissue paper), we were given water with sliced lemons to dip our crabby hands into at the end. Overall, it was a culinary and cultural experience to remember.

Sunday we woke up, grabbed a coffee and headed off to Rabbit Island, about a 15-minute open boat ride away. We were eleven people on one long boat, sitting on planks of wood going crosswise. We tipped and dunked and felt sort of like we were on a carnival ride (I remembered to keep my eyes on the horizon, Dad), but got there in one piece. After about two hours of lounging on the beach, which is white sand, rustic, wooden cabanas, lots of local dogs and warm water, we trekked back for a shower, lunch and our departure.

I could go into more detail and mention things like our bus hitting what we think was a person on a moto, or at least driving them off the road (whaaa?!), but I will just say that alls well that ends well, and enjoy the snippet below!

Jeff (getting into bed): "I just want to let you know that you let a scary, two-inch bug into the room this morning and its probably going to crawl into your mouth tonight."

Caro: "I dont think it flies."

Jeff: "It flutters."

Caro (indignantly): "Well it can't get onto the bed!"

Jeff: "It was chillin on the desk.."

Caro: "Seriously?! Why didn't you kill it?!"

Jeff: "I tried to, it fluttered away."

The Honeymoon Phase

This afternoon as I sat on the back seat of a bus, touring the streets of Phnom Penh, I was engaged in a conversation about the realities of living and teaching abroad. While Jeff and I have only just started, many others on staff are on their fourth or fifth stint abroad. We talked about how leading up to departure, it was exasperating to have people ask, “Are you SO excited for your big trip?!,” because first of all, excited only begins to dip into the cocktail of emotions coursing through your body, and second of all, moving across the world and entering an entirely new environment, both personally and professionally, can hardly be called a “trip.” However, we rationalized, people were just attempting to normalize and discuss something that they do not entirely understand. And making that effort is important. On the receiving end of this question, it was difficult for us, as we did not entirely understand what we were getting into either. We then talked about how hard it was to write emails home and adequately communicate to those we had left just what our first glimpse of this experience is like. I said that unless people were asking me specific, structured questions, I was unable to provide a genuine answer. It has been overwhelming in a sense, but not in the negatively connoted way I would typically reference, i.e. "I have three intense IEP meetings today and I haven't written the drafts yet, I am so overwhelmed!" Even now, I sit here erasing sentence after sentence, trying to find the right language to describe these past few days.

Since arrival, we have been completely immersed in newness – a new apartment, new colleagues and friends, a new school community, a new climate and environment, a new culture, a new city, a new job, a new language. We have been told that we are in the “honeymoon phase." We are experiencing everything with fascination, excitement and awe. Everything seems thrilling and every challenge is chalked up as a learning experience. Soon, we are told, they honeymoon stage will phase out and we will be faced with the challenging aspects that a different culture brings. The small annoyances that are easy to let slide today, will turn into larger, more frustrating problems. Although it was tough to hear that this is ultimately headed our way, it was nice to be encouraged to seek support. For now, I will continue exclaiming randomly as we travel through town. Whether it’s a funny name for a business (Cute Girl Salon, Associated Federation for Small and Medium Business Owners), a cute baby (so damn many…), something we didn’t think we would find in Cambodia (Baby Armani, delicious iced coffee, three pool tables in full swing on the side of a dirt road), it’s as if my mental processing facilities have overflowed and all I am left with is the ability to point and name.

Yesterday was our first day of orientation, and we were excited to really start the process that will eventually shape our responsibilities and job description. It was also the first day that the entire staff was together in a formal setting. The Cambodian staff is incredibly friendly with HUGE smiles and the majority can speak at least basic English. From the kitchen staff to the security team, everyone stated their name and a bit about themselves. It was so satisfying finally to get to meet everyone, but also very humbling. Robert has done a great job of eliminating any power dynamic between the overseas and host staff. He has encouraged us all to remember that we are one family. At this point, I feel like the Cambodian staff has more to offer – most of them have been on site much longer, many have helped construct the buildings, recruit students and were on site for the student visit in June. They all speak the native language, Khmer, which we now know is informally pronounced with a long I at the end (kuh-my). I feel like the overseas staff has yet to really contribute. Before it was my turn to introduce myself, I thought about what I would typically say: “Hi, my name is Caroline, I am from Buffalo, NY and went to Boston College where I graduated with an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education and Human Development. After undergrad I went straight into my masters in Special Ed, while teaching kindergarten at a private school. For the past two years I have served as a Learning Center teacher for grades K-3.” I quickly realized that none of this information would mean anything to these new colleagues. They probably don’t know what Buffalo is, even if they had heard of New York state, and they certainly didn’t care about Boston College. I don’t mean to say that my accomplishments are less valued here, but that instead we are all starting out on a clean page. The real value is going to be in connecting with the students, working together as a team and supporting each other as we figure out the program and curriculum.

As we learn more about Cambodia and Liger’s mission, I am filled with growing excitement, but also growing doubts. Will we be able to take on the challenges that will pop up when the kids arrive? Is this lab school model going to be adaptable to the Cambodian culture? Am I fit to teach these bright students when my most recent experience and practice is with special education? Will the students relate to me? Will the language barrier be too much to handle?

But at the end of the day, when we find ourselves talking educational theory and dissecting Robert's meetings over Stomp the Yard (it crosses all cultural boundaries, and never fails to make Jeff cry) with a fabulous new colleague, we realize that we need to trust the process and our shared abilities.

Now we just need to meet the kids!