Internship Snippets

My internship takes up a large portion of my Cambodian afternoons. Researching, editing, and composing material for Chab Dai has been a lot of work. It has also been a great deal of fun working with the Cambodian staff. Learning more about the organization and it's programs has helped me understand a how Chab Dai is truly leading the way in combating human trafficking.

Here is a peak at a small portion of my internship work:
http://chabdai.blogspot.com/#!/2012/06/invest-in-childsafe-holiday.html

Seen it.

Grammar lessons for small children happen daily. It is the constant correction by adult figures that shapes childhood language acquisition. I saw it, not I seen it. I wrote, not I written. These statements seem to stand out to the adult ear. They are almost unpleasing phrases as our ears are not accustomed to their utterances. We immediately correct. The corrections continue until the foundations of language are cemented. From here this author could take you on a journey about teaching ESL in a foreign nation, but that is not the focus. The focus is on sight. Using that phrase, "I seen it," is like a rock in your shoe. One must address it. So as a child would say, "I seen Phnom Penh."

What exactly has this author seen? Well, life in Kendal, the province which surrounds PPenh, is drastically different from what lay within the city boundaries. Outside of the city one will see traditional farms with one story raised houses, to save possessions from the floods of rainy season. Water buffalo graze on the sparse yellow grass and workers dot the rice paddies laboring in the hot sun. Yet when one steps inside of the Phnom Penh bubble, you will find luxurious air-conditioned cafes boast $5 dollar meals (when most day laborers earn one a day), Range Rovers meander through a swarm of motos, and the highest concentration of luxurious homes Cambodia. [Take note that this author is not including Shinoukville or Siem Reap as they generate most of their wealth from tourism.] Two worlds exist. Clearly funding is held up somewhere. It seems an unspoken statement, because all words have been used up. Nothing changes even when the brave few cry out for justice.

Take some time to please read this article on the dispersal of wealth. With a better understanding under your belt now of life in this place, take some time to give thanks for the comfort and consistency of your homeland. Please join with me in praying for this city. Let us offer up prayers for a new leader to be installed. Maybe then this country can slip out of the word "potential" to try on "achieved". Now you have "seen it" too, so please pass along the request of prayer.

Cheeky, Sneaky Cat

Normally I'm a big fan of animals, but since I moved into my house I've been avoiding the resident little calico like the plague. There's just something about pets, no matter how clean, in developing worlds that is questionable to me. However, over the past week Cocoa has been bound and determined to become my best friend. I have tolerated her to a certain extent. She started creeping closer and closer as I was doing work for my internship or when I would lesson plan. It was actually kind of nice to have a buddy during such dull hours. Today however, laying right next to me turned into getting as close as possible. She sure is a cheeky, sneaky little thing.

Kicking it with the King at Bonn Chroat Preah Nongkoal

Last Wednesday began as a perfectly crisp cool morning, the night air remained delightfully cold and pushed it's breeze through til morn. Actually it was cool enough that a blanket was necessary to sleep, a phenomenon indeed during this time of the year. I showered and dressed hastily to meet my friends for the Royal Ploughing Ceremony; held annually, this event creates such a stir that schools, governmental offices, and even shops close up. Maybe it is because this event is one where King Norodom Shinouk himself attends. The ceremony has historically been carried out by the royal family, where the king would direct the plough around the field as his wife would walk some feet behind sowing rice seeds.

The entire event was fascinating, though sitting in the tourist section adjacent to the King's was rather hot. Our seated section was not dotted with ceiling fans, but the free water and vintage hand fans did help a little. Prior to the ploughing, Buddhist monks open the ceremony by chanting. Then the royal oxen, bred specifically for this annual event, are lead by the king's royal hand around the field three times. However the royal family actually no longer leads this event, so a elected King Meakh and representative Queen Me Hour take their places.

Once the whole procession have lapped the track three times, Brahmins pray to the Gods of Heaven for blessing over the harvest season to come. Royal oxen are then lead to a row of silver trays. These trays contain individual portions of rice, corn, beans, fresh cut grass, water and wine. After the Brahmans see the items eaten they are able to make a prediction about the next season. For example, if fresh cut grass is eaten there will be pestilence amongst the livestock in the land. Or if the wine is sipped gangs will rule the city. No, I did not make the last one up, it was in the tourist info packet! From where we were sitting, it looked like the oxen ate corn, rice, and grass; but no one confirmed or denied it. What could come of next year's harvest, we will leave that knowledge to the Brahmans and the Khmer.

All in all it was a very educating day. We even got to see the king himself! You know a country is small if you get to see a king walk within 10 feet of you (see photo below).  So, if you would like to see video of the event start at 4:20: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laNEy9hGrI8

My home... let me speak of my home. It is a spacious place, complete with gorgeous flowering plants, a meowing cat, and a full size fridge! Though owned by a young couple, it is clear that their three little kids run this nesting ground of insects. They jabber on at breakfast and lunch, spur impromptu soccer sessions post snacktime and beg for bedtime stories after dinner. Questions stream forth from their mouths like mist from a waterfall. "What are you doing?" "Where are you going?" "Will you read to me?" Are just a few of the daily interrogation sessions I receive. We play monsters, blocks, and toys together. Some days we even teach each other new yoga moves, but mostly we fetch water for one another and sit beneath the cool breeze of the ancient metal fans. Of course toys, books, and Dora videos lay strewn about the living room at intervals of the day but it's all good fun. They call that interactive play, apparently it's good for learning. Daytime is pleasant. 
Bedtime is not. Bedtime is when the night crawlers come out. When in the stillness one can hear both the serenading crickets and those pesky termites chomping the wooden closet to mush. Spiders crawl wherever they please, millipedes greet me for morning showers, and my room recently became the safety nest for a gecko mother to give birth to wee ones. Ants in Korea were few and far between, only a slight nuissance cleared by the simple removal of trash. Here the ants smell dinner cooking and at times attack even before preparation is complete. They are nasty little buggers and will even bite when threatened. Biting is ok, but if they pee on you (yes odd I know) it burns like acid and literally leaves a slight wound in the cutanious territory that was "marked". Somedays these things are funny, but more often then not they are uncomfortable. Yet it feels like it, that is to say life, should be more that way; that nature should weave its way in and out of our days rather then sterile homes void of natural excitement.
For better or for worse, this is my Cambodia home.

Ghost Town

Ghost towns are strange eery places. They are not where you want to be usually because something has happened or is about to. Impending disaster or frightful terrors lurk aroung the corner. So why did I choose to stay in the empty and still town of Phnom Penh during Khmer New Year? Well... I wanted to practice riding a moto! Ok, also to save money and cement my bearings of the city while everyone else hopped on motos, bus', planes and trains to return to their home provinces to celebrate. Sure it would have been fun to accept my new teaching assistant's offer to accompany her out to the countryside for dancing, eating and chatting but being the only barang (foreigner) was less appealing then a moto jaunt.

So amidst the deserted streets of the city, Adam instructed Abi and I on how to start, stop, and switch gears on our motorized ponies. Of course this all sounded familiar to my dad instructing me on how to do likewise on a quad, only that had four wheels... not two. Two wheels means one must be far more attentive to potholes, gravel, and corners. The worst of the two wheel balancing act were the round-a-bouts, but after a little practice Abi and I took reign of the surrounding ten blocks. Basics of moto-riding have been conquered, yet the next is to try when there is the usual PP mad dash traffic. Where tuk-tuks putt alongside of overburdened semi-trucks (a junior version of stateside ones) while cars battle to sway away the pesky moto-flies that cut off a normally free right hand turn, truly this is a challenge to be won. It is all just a daily reminder to be thankful for the moments in life you are given. Just make sure if you ever come to Phnom Penh make sure to wear a helmet when riding a bike or moto. Safety first!

Kampuchea Questions

The following are just a few questions one might ask themselves or traveling companions when in Phnom Pehn. Most are quite apt for all of southeast Asian travel, some are specifically Cambodia.
"Did you see that?!"
"Loot at how many people they fit in that trailer."
"Do they always pile garbage on the street like that?"
"Why is that old man exposing his belly?"
"What is that cloth on that woman's head?"
"Did you know Angry Birds was such a fashionable trend?"
"Is it always going to be this hot?"
"Is this country Muslim, what is that noise over the loudspeaker, a call to prayer?"
"How is that woman sitting sideways on that motorcycle?"
"Was that really a Range Rover next to the railroad tracks?"
"Do people really live in those tin shacks?"
"Why is that fish sitting in a basket in the sun? Won't it turn rancid?"
"I see the washing machine, but where is the dryer?"
"Where are we?"
"How did they fit two adults and four kids on that vespa?"
"What are those squiggly swirls? Are those letters?"
"I'm covered in sweat, how can it be so muggy?"
"Where can we get water?"
"What is that smell?"
"Is it always time for a smoke break?"
"Where is the waiter?"
"Do you have air-con (air conditioning)?"
"How much for tuk-tuk ride to Wat Phnom?"
"What are people wearing long sleeve shirts?"
"Why is that river brown, moreover why are people fishing in it?"
"What is that prickly fruit? It smells bad."
"Is that meat in the glass case really safe to eat?"
"How much for this?"
"Did you know coffee could be this strong and sweet?"
"What are we eating?"
"Where is the Russian Market?"
"Is this what dehydration feels like?"