Saturday, September 25, 2010

end of training --- start of service

Today marks the day peace corps takes a step back and i take a step forward. Im traveling to my placement site where i will be working in a health center for the next 2 years. the prospect of this is still unnerving and the butterflies are ever more present. Sure, I know khmer and I can travel around this country with no problem, but that routine I have built up over the past couple months is no more and the network of friends and counterparts are all over the country... so now its up to me to figure things out and deal with problems.

I start working in a health center tomorow morning and I can only imagine how thats going to go. My health center director and the nurse I will be working with still are under the impression I know more khmer than I actually do. Its going to be frustrating and there will inevitably be communication issues, but ive done it before and the relationships will form. It will take some time but i know things will eventually get better if they start out less than great. Im looking forward to the challenge of starting this program. Noone has ever worked as a health volunteer in Cambodia and our group has the opportunity to make an everlasting impression on the program and the country. There is no script to follow and our program managers arent really sure how this is going to work out. Im going into a health center tomorow with no real job to perform... im going to be observing the health system and how things are run in the health center. But this opportunity is unparalleled to anything I could have imagined myself doing and the chance to really make an impact on this world is right in front of me. Today marks the day my training ends and my work begins and I couldnt be more thrilled to have the opportunity to partake in this awesome adventure.

Internet is still uknown, I dont know how laundry is going to work out, the food is going to be "new", and I dont even know how to use the bathroom in my new house. All of these things, while unknown at the moment, make peace corps what it is meant to be. Im supposed to figure out problems to solutions, no matter how complex or simple they may be, and over the next two years develope creative solutions that last a lifetime for the people of Cambodia. For now... its off to the village and start building those relationships which will carry me through my next 2 years of service in Peace Corps Cambodia. I hope all is well in the States... miss you all!!!!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Site Visit

Soooo much has happened since my last blog and theres little time to write so bear with me.

Training is going awesome. The frustrations from earlier on in training are starting to fade and my rejection phase of this environment is starting to change into a more acceptance and excitement feeling. Days get better and nights get worse. Instead of dogs, roosters, or monks drumming away only to wake, I have discovered rats in the banisters above my bed. They squeal at night and its been waking me quite a bit. Im not sweating as much at night so I guess thats a possitive!

Days are becoming less strenuous and im starting to pick up the language a bit better. I started to teach myself the constants and vowels so I should be able to understand Khmer script sometime in the near future. People are starting to become more comfortable with this new environment (including myself) so personalities are starting to blend more. I find myself still amazed by the beauty and simplicity of this country. The wats and the never ending rice patty fields are always a place to go and think when my mind is a cluster of madness. The family, which I will leave in a couple weeks, is starting to understand my level of Khmer so we communicate much better than before. At night I chase the neighborhood kids when I come home. they wait for the tall white guy to get home and we end up running around until you can see through my shirt due to all the sweat. Along with dance parties, karaoke sessions with horrible Khmer music, and English/Khmer sessions, evenings are awesome!

The chinese water festival was a week ago and well... they drink here. I get home from morning language class and my grandfather, uncle, family members are gathered around this elaborate lunch along with the Angkor beer. We drink because they keep on pouring beer into my mug until my friend demands I drink with her family because they want my presence. So I ride my bike over to her place and we all partake in Johnny Walker. by now its time to ride to the wat for a session on Buddism... not the time for this lol. So me and about 4 other somewhat intoxicated people sit indian style for an hour and half... laughing periodically at stupid events that really shouldnt have been that funny. I ride home and my family demands I drink more so instead I offer to sing karaoke... which was interesting to say the least. All in all... chinese water festival was a success.

The spiders are still bothersome to me and freak the shit outa me whenever they show their ugly selves but I find myself not killing them as much. They are more passive than anything and dont go after people... go figure lol. I only get my family to kill them whenever they are in the bathroom or closer to my bed than comfort would allow. My family has taken amusment in my fear of arachnids so they will hit the spiders... almost killing them... and throw them at me. OR... they like to put this huge ass spider from my yard on a stick and run after me with it.

Site visit was this week and I found out I will be living in the jungle for reals. At first I was bummed because im staying in the same province as I trained in, but o how I was wrong. The people in my province kick ASS and I can definitely live near each and every one of them for the next 2 years. The village I live in is BE-A-UTIFUL!!!! We arrived at my house and I was blown away at the site. First, my house is amazing!!! Its a beautiful wooden structure with a nice room for me that locks and you cant see through the walls! My bathroom is a bit small but its newer and clean. Under the house is a huge area to hang out and stay cool in the heat. The only downside is the spiders... theres tons of them everywhere cause of all the trees. Me and my host brother tour the town and the paths wind in and out of the Cambodian jungle. The trees are slender semi tall trees of the same height and they are thick with banana trees in between and butterflies all around. The trails are covered with palms and vines drape here and there. The houses are tucked away into the jungle and are covered in mango, banana, jackfruit, and deup trees. The wat is amazing and definitely is on the wealthy side. The town revolves around a rubber plantation where most of the fathers work and I found myself riding throughout the trees which go on forever! The smell was amazing and unlike anything in the US. Theres a huge soccer field with tall trees that were imported from France way back when. Between the two markets in town I will be able to get almost anything I could possibly need in the next 2 years... which definitely is an upside. Theres so much about the town I love and I cant wait to spend the near future living there and becoming apart of the community. Internet access will be the same as now so I will definitely be able to communicate with the outside world. Im only an hour bike ride from this provincial town so basically anything I could possibly desire is a quick bike ride away.

All in all... peace corps is an amazing experience filled with many different kinds of people and experiences. There have been events which have caught me off gaurd and there is a daily struggle to gather determination and strength to continue on. Home sickness is an every other day occurance, but its becoming more of a reality than a fear and the fact that I am on the other side of the world from my family and friends is a whole lot less difficult to deal with. Its becoming less homesickness and more of a dull downer, but that is normal and I SHOULD miss my wonderful family and friends. There are times when I cant see myself doing this for 2 years because its such a radical thing to do and different from anything I am used to, but there is not way ever that I would give this up.The good that I can do from this is too much and the experience has been too great to give up, go back home, and do the same old thing over and over again. We had a speach about commitment to ourselves, the people, and country of Cambodia. I am in this 100 percent of the way and for the next 2 years I will be living in Kampuchea!!! Expect great stories and look for the pics because they are coming... one at a time.