Had such an awesome Thanksgiving with some pretty amazing peace corps volunteers. The whole lot of them are great people to be around and the holiday couldn't have been better spent! Thanksgiving thursday was spent in our provincial town and those of us from the province that were around managed to scramble up some American food like cheesy brocolli rice, garlic butter mashed potatoes, and bread pudding. We stuffed ourselves and conversed afterwards... which included the story of Thanksgiving for the several Khmer people in the room. The night was a blast and the next day we had the pleasure of riding on a 7 hour bus to Cambodia's second largest city. After arriving, all the volunteers convened in a large hall and ate one of the most delicious Thanksgiving dinner I have eaten in my 22 years of life. Whether or not it was because I have been eating rice and beef for the past 4 months, the turkey was seasoned to perfection, mashed potatoes seemed to come from a restaurant in the States, and the deserts were taste bud numbing. My stomach was smiling just as much as my lips were and for the first time in a while I was so full I could barely breath. The dinner was full of conversation and catching up, and I have to admit.. I missed everyone!
The dinner was followed by one of the most comfortable nights I have had in Cambodia, with my soft and comfy bed and air conditioner turned on blast. The next couple days were filled with meetings on how we are all progressing as peace corps volunteers and it was good to hear everyone's suggestions on how to get things rolling. I had a blast talking with friends and staff, and the nights out on the town became the icing on the cake. The last night was a little hazy... i'll just leave it at that haha. The bus ride home was a tad scary due to the accident that happened half way home (i was not involved in it). We passed two cars, one which was crashed severely on the front and side, and the other which was split in half and mangled into very small pieces of horror. A tarp covered the section that was supposedly the drivers seat... and the reality sunk in that these roads are extremely dangerous. Drivers simply do not look before they enter onto a roadway, and when combined with selfish and oblivious drivers that speed dangerously fast makes a good recipe for tragic accidents.
Besides that downer, I whole heartedly enjoyed my time with around 50 other friends and was ready to hit the village streets and start working. I don't know what flipped the switch but my level of motivation and happiness increased ten fold. When people say hi to me or stare at me... I don't get annoyed or feel singled out. Instead I am starting to stop and talk to people and make an effort to get to know the people of my community. I ride around with a smile and now I am the one saying HELLO and SUSADYE! In the health center I got out from behind the table I set up in the lobby with all my health materials displayed on it and am actively talking to people about their health. I don't know a whole lot of Khmer yet when it comes to health terms, but I am definitely on my way. Things are just becoming so much easier, from my village, to my work environment, and even to my home! I have so many ideas on projects to work on, kids to teach, and areas to focus on. I want to try and start teaching kids about health in the local school and tomorrow I am meeting with the school director to see where I can go with that. Friday I may meet with the village chief and discuss ways about conducting a household survey of the community on sanitation and nutrition. I am in the process of mapping out my community and during my hours at the health center I am going to start showing videos on health care topics peace corps recently gave out. I have a bunch of ideas going on in my head and now it is time to make them become a reality. They are nothing groundbreaking, but they are a chance for me to get my feet wet and start doing what I came here for.
Times are going to start getting rather busy and to be truthful I think I am ready for it. Before the IST I was wanting to do more, but content with my daily routine of being somewhat lazy. Now I am ready to get out there and my motivation is skyrocketing me towards accomplishing goals. Maybe I need more weekends like that last one... hmmm.
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