Normal Life?

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving has passed and we are less than one month away from Christmas. It seems inconceivable that we have been living in Cambodia for almost four months, while at the same time it feels like we have been here forever.

I have not been as good about updating the blog as I was in the beginning, mostly because everything seems more mundane and less exciting to write about. I guess that is the natural progression of things, but I will do my best to update now.

Since my last update, Kate and Tyler continued their honeymoon into Laos and Vietnam. We started school the day after returning from Siem Reap, and it was awesome to see the kids after almost two weeks. I remember hearing their voices when they first starting arriving back on campus -- it felt like we were home. Luckily, we did not lose any students to the vacation. As much as I tried to push the thought out of my head, we were well aware that it is typical for a boarding student population to lose a first-year student or two during their first vacation. However, all our students seemed happy to be back and had lots of stories to tell about being home. A lot of them came back with new things -- new clothes, new hair accessories, one student actually came back with dyed black hair...

One of the first activities that I facilitated with the kids after break was creating a "memory museum." Each student was asked to bring something back with them from home that served as a memory. I explained that a memento is something that helps you to imagine or remember a special place. I showed the kids pictures from Kate and Ty's wedding as my example.

It was so interesting to see what the kids all brought back -- from a specially carved pair of chopsticks to a huge coconut to a small pebble and even a new pair of sandals -- the students presented their objects so genuinely. Each child made a label for their object, and since we don't have a fully functioning library yet (we have thousands of dollars worth of books headed our way from China, woo hoo!), we decorated the empty shelves with our memories. It was a really special thing to do with the kids and although a lot of their discussion and sharing was in Khmer, I feel like it helped me to get to know the students even better. I also felt a sense of settling, in that we know these are our 50 kids and they know we are their teachers and no one is leaving. It all felt a lot more permanent after getting through the first big hurdle of vacation.

The first weekend back was Oktoberfest. Jess, who formerly worked at an international school in Munich, insisted that it would be fun for a bunch of us to get tickets to the local celebration. I was doubtful of the good time to be had at a Cambodian version of Oktoberfest, especially since they struggle in the beer department, but we bought tickets anyway. Robert and his wife, Kate, me and Jeff, Jess and Nica, Max and JoJo all shelled out the $18 and arrived just as things were getting started. The only down side to the entire event was the Tiger beer (reminiscent of Busch Light). Otherwise, it was one of the most fun nights I have had here. There was authentic German food, including fresh baked pretzel bread, a whole roasted pig (delicious!), pickled cabbage, potatoes of all kinds, lots of condiments, three kinds of sausage, etc. It was a feast! An authentic German band, complete with dread-locked flute player and old, gray-bearded accordion man were a blast, encouraging the guests to dance on the tables (which we happily did) and sing along to German songs with accompanying hand motions. Jess vouched for their authenticity. We had an absolutely fantastic time. We met some other teachers from another international school and JoJo and I ended up on stage singing  4 Non Blondes "What's Up?" Makes sense, right? The Cambodian contingent, to their credit, were all down to have a great time. Some were dancing with us and a lot were dancing together, but overall it was one of the only times that I have seen local Cambodians (albeit the upper class - $$ admission) loosen up and have fun in an overt way. They also played Gangnum Style no less three times, which guarantees a good night.

Meanwhile, school has taken on more of a routine, as we have begun a more standard and consistent academic program. Our fifty kids have been organized into two groups (21 and 29), with the smaller number consisting of those students who need more support in English oral language development. They are non-readers, many of whom are still in the phonics stage (linking letters and sounds). We spent the first two weeks working through capital and lowercase letter identification and we are still drilling sounds every morning. The 29 are all reading at an A level or higher and have better oral language skills. Thankfully, the majority of all 50 kids are able to express higher level thinking skills in their mother tongue, including insights into what they would say to the members of the ASEAN conference if they had the chance. One of our 21 indicated that he knew that Cambodia had borrowed a lot of money from the U.S. a long time ago and if he had the chance, he would ask Obama to erase the debt. A girl from the 29 said she wanted to discuss human trafficking with the leaders. Another said she wanted to tell Obama that Cambodia is not a weak country. Our youngest boy said he would ask the leaders to buy him toys and ice cream because they probably have a lot of money...we definitely have a range here at Liger, haha.

Two weekends ago Jeff and I took a trip to Kampot, a riverside town about two and a half hours from the city. We hired a car to whisk us away at 4:45 on Friday and arrived by 7:15. The hotel we stayed in was right next to the river, within full view of the beautiful tree-covered mountains, a sight unseen in the city. It had a big pool and a delicious restaurant (best fish tacos we've had), as well as a general feeling of all the guests just hanging out together. Saturday we got a tuk-tuk and went from place to place, getting to know Kampot. It has a very small town feel compared to PP, and there is a pretty large French ex-pat and ex-pat in general influence/population. The highlight was going to these really cool caves that were filled with rock formations that look like different animals (elephants, cows, turtles, an old man, ghost (below), etc.).

We were toured through by five English-speaking Cambodian kids ranging from ten to eighteen. It was great to be able to speak to them about their lives, where they go to school, if the older ones are planning on going to university, where they live, how many siblings they have, etc. It was refreshing because its often really hard to communicate with our students the way we want to because of their English limitations (or our Khmer limitations...).

We had lunch overlooking the river at a cute little ex-pat run place and sipped a pitcher of Pimm's on the second level. That night we ate ribs at The Rusty Keyhole, met a couple from D.C. who were on a world tour (literally, they will be in Tanzania for New Years after touring throughout Asia, and hit Europe before ending in S. America); we ended the night at a newly opened cafe run by a wizened Frenchman who looks like Dumbledore but rages on the drums during live sets with his 18-year-old Cambodian guitar player. Overall the weekend was very relaxing and desperately needed. It was easy enough to get to, but still felt like we were far removed from our lives in the city.

I have to cut this short because we are heading off to a tour of the killing fields this morning with my friends Meaghan and Natalie from BC, who are visiting. Still to come: Thanksgiving, Meg Deg's visit, and some of the more trying components of Cambodian life...