Student One: "What about spay?"
Me: "Spell it."
Student One: "S-P-A-Y."
Me: "Yes, spay is a word. What does it mean?"
Student One: "I don't know, can you give a hint?"
Me: "Does anyone else know what spay means? It has to do with dogs and cats."
(various shrugs, head bobs and murmurs)
Me: "Any ideas? Think about how many cats and dogs there are around Cambodia. In America, there are also lots of cats and dogs, but we don't want our cats and dogs wandering around the streets, so we do a special thing to make sure there are not hundreds of animals without a home."
Student Two (bravely, encircling her neck with her hands): "You mean like the thing on the neck?"
Me: "Oh, good! You're thinking along the right lines. That's called a collar, and yes, we do use those in the U.S. to keep our dogs safe, but it's not spaying. Anyone else?"
Student Three: "Like a food?"
Student Four: "Like to walk it?"
Student Five: "Something a house?"
Me (unwittingly falling into a trap): "Okay, we cannot add this word to the list to study, since none of you know it, but I will tell you what it means. In the U.S. and lots of other countries, the vets do a surgery on the dogs and cats so they can't have babies. That way, we can make sure there are not too many dogs and cats out there without anyone to take care of them."
(silence. abject horror spreading across faces. children literally pushing themselves physically farther away from me as if I just confessed to mutilating cats and dogs for fun in my spare time.)
Student One: "WHAT? NOoooo....!"
Me: "I mean, c'mon guys, think about all the sad, dirty dogs and cats on the streets in Phnom Penh! They have no one to feed them or give them a bath or play with them and the mom cats just keep having so many babies..."
Student One: "Yeah, but that's mean!"
Student Two: "And what if the mom dog is so smart and then...you don't let have the puppies and then...you don't get the smart baby dogs?!"
Me: "But guys, think about how scary it is when you're riding on the moto and a stray dog runs into the road!"
Student One: "But, you kill them!"
Me (quickly losing ground): "We don't kill them, we just make it so they can't have babies. It doesn't even hurt!"
Student One, leaving the room at the end of class (brings her face right up to mine, shakes her finger at me): "MEAN and NOT NICE! I don't like."
I tell this story because (a) it was one of the funnier social exchanges I have had with the kids recently, but also because (b) it serves to illustrate how far the kids have come in developing their own identities and opinions. If this had been two years ago, they probably would have absorbed the information with a straight face and not reacted at all, in a well-enforced bid (by government school and general Khmer culture) to be respectful. Being encouraged to speak up, voice their opinions and back it up with evidence is still new for them, but they are really starting to stand on their own two feet. We want them to be able to interpret their "gut feelings" about things being right or wrong and then move to action. We want them to be direct and clear about their feelings and beliefs, even if it makes them seem "outspoken" in their culture. I am happy to say we are well on our way, and with some kids, might even need to reign them in a little bit, haha.
Also, if you know me, you know I am not much of an animal person, so this was a really strange juxtaposition for me to be placed in the role of animal rights representative.
Another wonderful snippet from this week happened as I was coming down my outside apartment stairs, on my way back to school after lunch. When you get to the end of our staircase, you turn right toward school and walk past the washing machine. It's very small and unaccompanied, as there is no need for a dryer, and it sits right under the stairs so as to be protected from rain. On this particular day, Sophal and Simean, two of our wonderful cleaners, who happen to be sisters and live at the end of the Liger road, were standing there in their matching gray Liger polos. I startled them, but not before I saw what they were doing. A la Ben Stiller in Zoolander, trying to get the files out of the computer, they were poking at the washing machine with the most puzzled looks on their faces. The washing machine was at the end of a cycle, buzzing and bumping with only five minutes left on the timer. When I came by, they both started laughing an embarrassed laugh as if I had caught them doing something wrong, and then as they always do, began urgently speaking to me in Khmer as if I have any idea what they are saying. I tried to pantomime what the machine did and how it related to the neighboring drying racks full of wet clothes, but they just laughed as if I were crazy.
It's really the little things about this place that allow you to smile every day.
I had dinner with friends on Thursday, and one told me about the funny looks she gets from Cambodians when she is walking the dog early in the morning and stops to pick up the poop. She said that the look on people's faces indicate that they think she is actually collecting dog poop to use for some weird reason; it does not occur to them that she is contributing to the general cleanliness and health of the community. That would be too outlandish.
Heading into week five tomorrow and then will be off on our first vacation, this time to Luang Prabang in Laos! We are also going to be sitting in the VIP section (what what?!) for a huge MMA fight next weekend. Very exciting for Cambodia to host such an event, so we couldn't miss it.
I leave you with a recent photo from our balcony.
No comments:
Post a Comment