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!!!!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
survived the first 2 weeks!
So its been almost 2 and a half weeks away from the states, 2 weeks in Cambodia, and 1 1/2 weeks in my village and its been a roller coaster of emotions and physical tests. Moving to my training village was something I will never forget... for many reasons. The day of move in we all gather in one room and are given our assignments of where we will be training for the next 2 months. The anticipation was unbearable at the starting of this big adventure.. most of which was unknown and mysterious. The trainees gather on 3 buses that depart to 3 seperate villages and we travel far and wide in different directions. The bus ride was awesome as we were traveling through the rural Cambodian villages we were all anticipating to work in. Once we arrived, I could barely catch my breath I was so nervous. The Cambodian people were all there staring at us as we departed our van and walked into the main Watt (buddist temple) for our arrival ceremony. Once inside we had to pay our respects to the buddah and sit in amazement and anticipation as monks bless us with chants while throwing flowers and water at us. After the chanting we meet our families one by one in the front of the watt.. which can only be described as awkward. After a quick pic with my host dad we sit around and eat fruit.. while laughing awkwardly at the huge language barrier in front of us. I had no idea how to speak Khmer and my dad surely had no idea how to speak English... so remember this as I describe the rest of the day.
After that awesome meeting we gather back up in the vans and get dropped off one by one as the rest of us watch in humor. While traveling through the town I could definitely sense that these people have never seen a foreigner and later I found we are the first foreigners to actually come to the quaint village of Chamkar Leu. My house is the farthest from the one main road so I was second to last to being dropped off. The van simply dropped me and my bags off at my gate and departed to drop off the next trainee. Once at my house I greeted my mom, little brother, and two little sisters... none of which knew a lick of English. After setting up my huge misquito net and moving my bags into my room.. they showed me the rest of my house and the squat toilet. I was in a state of shock and disbelief in the fact I was going to be living like this for 2 years, but I had no time to take in the moment as my family somehow told me to go out and meet the neighbors. That consisted of being led around by the arm to this shack next door, sat down on a chair while around 40 rural Cambodian locals gathered around and stared at me, laughed alot, and critiqued every aspect of my foreign complexion. It was a moment unlike any other and I was in a state of complete culture shock. Afterwards we went back to my house and ate dinner ON a table.. not in the chairs surrounding the table. The dad and I sit in indian style while the others sit with their legs to the side as a symbol of respect. Each person gets a huge bowl of rice and in the center sits 3 - 4 bowls of soups, beef stir fry, fish past, pickles, and other edible things. We eat with a spoon and use a fork to shove food the spoon; that same spoon is used repeatedly to dip into the bowls so their is alot of bodily fluid sharing. Your only allowed to scoop one spoonful of food your rice at a time so meals get dragged on forever. The conversation consisted of being looked at and smiled at... my family was very warm and welcoming, which I desperatly needed at that time. Afterwards we sat around the small tv in the one roomed house and they showed my a WWE cd which I thought was hilarious. We just sat around for a while because of the huge gap in language communication and they tried to make "the guest of honor" feel welcomed.. which I was... but the experience was so unreal I was just zoning off into space.. thinking about the next 2 years.
Finally I went to my room, sat in my bed and thought I was never going to be able to do this for 2 years. If I had doubts... it was then. I seriously thought about throwing in the towel because I was so physically exhasted from the heat, emotionally drained from the previous days of prepareation for this, and scared. Nights are filled with roosters waking my up at all hours of the night, dogs fighting tirelesly, and sweat dripping all over my sheets and pillow. After waking up the next morning I was still in shock and disbelief at how this was going to work for the next 2 years. Training started that day so I just got on my bike and rode off to training.
Training consists of language class and technical training. Ive visited health centers, their versions of hospitals, and seen how desperate the health care situation is. They are dirty and highly understaffed. Nothing is as it should be in the year 2010 and if I was going to be anywhere in the world.. this is it. Every day I learn the language and im starting to be able to converse with my family. Day by day it gets a whole lot better and im starting to really like my family and the village im in. To be able to converse with the people you live with makes a world of difference in my emotional and physical well being. Im loving life at the moment and any doubts that I had are completely gone. Im starting really good friendships with the other trainees and many of them are awesome people that are exactly like me in my wanting to make a difference in the world. We study in language groups of 4 and those are the poeple Im really starting to bond with.
The fruits and foods are awesome and unlike anything in America. Fruits like mangos and pineapples are plentiful among the makoots, soi mows, mians, pneuws and other fruits.. many of which are in my back yard. Coconut trees are everywhere and there is nothing like the smell of rain durring monsoon season. When it rains is pours and dirt streets turn into rivers. I was suprised at how people here know absolutely nothing about lightening... seeing as it kills more people here a year than some horrible diseases. I love life at the moment and the homesickness is starting to fade away. I miss people back home terribly, but my days are so busy I barely have time to think about it. The beauty of htis country is amazing and I cant wait to make it that much better with the work I will be doing.
On a final note... picture this. A long road surrounded by rice patty fields and pinnaple farms. At the end of this road is a huge watt orantely decorated with snakes and buddah statues. Coconut trees dot the landscape and shrines for hte dead rest silently amongst the buddahg shrines. Behind lies a mountain that is led up to the top with a railing made in the shape of a snakes body. Think Ace Ventura when Nature Calls... all i wanted was a slinky. At the top sits an old buddhist temple with nuns and old monks praying to shrines. This is Chamkar Leu.... my home for the next 2 months. Im alive and living life day by day. For now im getting ready to travel into the countryside and visit a current peace corps volunteer... wish me luck! sorry for the typos... tried to get this done before bed. PEACE!
After that awesome meeting we gather back up in the vans and get dropped off one by one as the rest of us watch in humor. While traveling through the town I could definitely sense that these people have never seen a foreigner and later I found we are the first foreigners to actually come to the quaint village of Chamkar Leu. My house is the farthest from the one main road so I was second to last to being dropped off. The van simply dropped me and my bags off at my gate and departed to drop off the next trainee. Once at my house I greeted my mom, little brother, and two little sisters... none of which knew a lick of English. After setting up my huge misquito net and moving my bags into my room.. they showed me the rest of my house and the squat toilet. I was in a state of shock and disbelief in the fact I was going to be living like this for 2 years, but I had no time to take in the moment as my family somehow told me to go out and meet the neighbors. That consisted of being led around by the arm to this shack next door, sat down on a chair while around 40 rural Cambodian locals gathered around and stared at me, laughed alot, and critiqued every aspect of my foreign complexion. It was a moment unlike any other and I was in a state of complete culture shock. Afterwards we went back to my house and ate dinner ON a table.. not in the chairs surrounding the table. The dad and I sit in indian style while the others sit with their legs to the side as a symbol of respect. Each person gets a huge bowl of rice and in the center sits 3 - 4 bowls of soups, beef stir fry, fish past, pickles, and other edible things. We eat with a spoon and use a fork to shove food the spoon; that same spoon is used repeatedly to dip into the bowls so their is alot of bodily fluid sharing. Your only allowed to scoop one spoonful of food your rice at a time so meals get dragged on forever. The conversation consisted of being looked at and smiled at... my family was very warm and welcoming, which I desperatly needed at that time. Afterwards we sat around the small tv in the one roomed house and they showed my a WWE cd which I thought was hilarious. We just sat around for a while because of the huge gap in language communication and they tried to make "the guest of honor" feel welcomed.. which I was... but the experience was so unreal I was just zoning off into space.. thinking about the next 2 years.
Finally I went to my room, sat in my bed and thought I was never going to be able to do this for 2 years. If I had doubts... it was then. I seriously thought about throwing in the towel because I was so physically exhasted from the heat, emotionally drained from the previous days of prepareation for this, and scared. Nights are filled with roosters waking my up at all hours of the night, dogs fighting tirelesly, and sweat dripping all over my sheets and pillow. After waking up the next morning I was still in shock and disbelief at how this was going to work for the next 2 years. Training started that day so I just got on my bike and rode off to training.
Training consists of language class and technical training. Ive visited health centers, their versions of hospitals, and seen how desperate the health care situation is. They are dirty and highly understaffed. Nothing is as it should be in the year 2010 and if I was going to be anywhere in the world.. this is it. Every day I learn the language and im starting to be able to converse with my family. Day by day it gets a whole lot better and im starting to really like my family and the village im in. To be able to converse with the people you live with makes a world of difference in my emotional and physical well being. Im loving life at the moment and any doubts that I had are completely gone. Im starting really good friendships with the other trainees and many of them are awesome people that are exactly like me in my wanting to make a difference in the world. We study in language groups of 4 and those are the poeple Im really starting to bond with.
The fruits and foods are awesome and unlike anything in America. Fruits like mangos and pineapples are plentiful among the makoots, soi mows, mians, pneuws and other fruits.. many of which are in my back yard. Coconut trees are everywhere and there is nothing like the smell of rain durring monsoon season. When it rains is pours and dirt streets turn into rivers. I was suprised at how people here know absolutely nothing about lightening... seeing as it kills more people here a year than some horrible diseases. I love life at the moment and the homesickness is starting to fade away. I miss people back home terribly, but my days are so busy I barely have time to think about it. The beauty of htis country is amazing and I cant wait to make it that much better with the work I will be doing.
On a final note... picture this. A long road surrounded by rice patty fields and pinnaple farms. At the end of this road is a huge watt orantely decorated with snakes and buddah statues. Coconut trees dot the landscape and shrines for hte dead rest silently amongst the buddahg shrines. Behind lies a mountain that is led up to the top with a railing made in the shape of a snakes body. Think Ace Ventura when Nature Calls... all i wanted was a slinky. At the top sits an old buddhist temple with nuns and old monks praying to shrines. This is Chamkar Leu.... my home for the next 2 months. Im alive and living life day by day. For now im getting ready to travel into the countryside and visit a current peace corps volunteer... wish me luck! sorry for the typos... tried to get this done before bed. PEACE!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
First Impression
So after our 13 hour flight we arrived in Hong Kong and me + a few cool cats walked around down town Hong Kong. The buildings were amazing.... the tops were covered in clouds and the lights were unlike anything ive seen. We ate at this noodle shop and I had this nasty shrimp wan-tan soup... never again. The streets of that city are gated off so its very difficult to walk around and get where you want. A tropical storm was hitting the city at the time... so yea... it was pretty awesome!
The next morning we woke up early and flew to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. From the step off the flight I started sweating, but I was loving every minute of it cause I WAS IN CAMBODIA! After a bus trip through the crazy streets of Phnom Penh we arrived at the Peace Corps head quarters and had introductions to the people that were going to be helping us survive for the next two years. Amazingness ensued because we then broke up into groups and traveled around the city. The streets were jam packed with mopeds and cars, going every direction and not obeying a single law. People turn when they want and the direction of traffic is simply a suggestion of which way you should go. We toured a market where i saw / ate dragon fruit, maku, and duri fruit. The smell was horrible, but the freshness and lack of preservatives and chemicals was a sight to behold and unlike anything one can find in the U.S.
After that we traveled to a Wat (temple) and gazed at the buddah statues sitting in the front of this empty yet ornate room. From there we traveled to the royal palace and happened to see indian elephants roaming the street in front of it. Apparently elephants are the way to roll. While talking to current peace corps volunteers I found out toilet paper is not normally used and I will most likely be using my hand. Also, I found out huge spiders the size of your face are a normal site and I should probably get used to it... not gunna happen.
After only a day I can see how amazing this country is and how in need it is for help. The people have gone through a horrible past and most are still recovering from the murder of 1/3 of its population (3 million people) during the Kmer Rouge. Poverty is everywhere yet I see nothing but smiles from passing locals. This is going to be unlike anything Ive ever experienced and there will be alot to adjust to. I cant wait to share what lies ahead... so look out for more!
The next morning we woke up early and flew to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. From the step off the flight I started sweating, but I was loving every minute of it cause I WAS IN CAMBODIA! After a bus trip through the crazy streets of Phnom Penh we arrived at the Peace Corps head quarters and had introductions to the people that were going to be helping us survive for the next two years. Amazingness ensued because we then broke up into groups and traveled around the city. The streets were jam packed with mopeds and cars, going every direction and not obeying a single law. People turn when they want and the direction of traffic is simply a suggestion of which way you should go. We toured a market where i saw / ate dragon fruit, maku, and duri fruit. The smell was horrible, but the freshness and lack of preservatives and chemicals was a sight to behold and unlike anything one can find in the U.S.
After that we traveled to a Wat (temple) and gazed at the buddah statues sitting in the front of this empty yet ornate room. From there we traveled to the royal palace and happened to see indian elephants roaming the street in front of it. Apparently elephants are the way to roll. While talking to current peace corps volunteers I found out toilet paper is not normally used and I will most likely be using my hand. Also, I found out huge spiders the size of your face are a normal site and I should probably get used to it... not gunna happen.
After only a day I can see how amazing this country is and how in need it is for help. The people have gone through a horrible past and most are still recovering from the murder of 1/3 of its population (3 million people) during the Kmer Rouge. Poverty is everywhere yet I see nothing but smiles from passing locals. This is going to be unlike anything Ive ever experienced and there will be alot to adjust to. I cant wait to share what lies ahead... so look out for more!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Saying Goodbye... for now
So I leave for the adventure of a lifetime in 4 days and I can't even begin to describe the emotions and feelings running through my head.
Excitement: I cannot believe this is about to happen! Soon I will be living with a Cambodian family learning a completely new culture and helping many people. This opportunity is a gift few have the ability to experience and I can't wait to start living the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer for the next 27 months.
Sadness: There's no way to get around it, I am saying goodbye to many amazing people for the next 27 months and it is something I am finding very hard to cope with. My friends and family are awesome individuals I am extremely fortunate to have in my life and leaving them behind for such a long time brings me to tears. But these situations have come and gone before... the sadness WILL pass... and it will be replaced by the memories of this upcoming adventure.
Determination: My time in Cambodia is going to be both rewarding and trying. Times may get rough but i'm more determined than ever to use my mind for good and come up with creative and useful ways to accomplish any goal I set for myself. There is so much I will be able to do and it is up to me to take advantage of my time there to improve life of the Cambodian people.
Questions?: Will I have a toilet seat to sit on / will there be toilet paper? Are there really tarantulas the size of my face? How hot is hot in Cambodia? Will I be living with 5 or 15 family member? How am I going to communicate with friends and family back home? What is monsoon season really like? and the list goes on...
These being the most prominent feelings, many more are swirling throughout my head. For now, I'm focusing on chilling with the people important to me, saying "see ya later", trying to get my America on and absorb everything that is most likely not going to be available in the coming months. For my friends and family just remember, this is not a goodbye forever. Its simply a see ya in a year or two and keep in touch during this "long adventure".
Excitement: I cannot believe this is about to happen! Soon I will be living with a Cambodian family learning a completely new culture and helping many people. This opportunity is a gift few have the ability to experience and I can't wait to start living the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer for the next 27 months.
Sadness: There's no way to get around it, I am saying goodbye to many amazing people for the next 27 months and it is something I am finding very hard to cope with. My friends and family are awesome individuals I am extremely fortunate to have in my life and leaving them behind for such a long time brings me to tears. But these situations have come and gone before... the sadness WILL pass... and it will be replaced by the memories of this upcoming adventure.
Determination: My time in Cambodia is going to be both rewarding and trying. Times may get rough but i'm more determined than ever to use my mind for good and come up with creative and useful ways to accomplish any goal I set for myself. There is so much I will be able to do and it is up to me to take advantage of my time there to improve life of the Cambodian people.
Questions?: Will I have a toilet seat to sit on / will there be toilet paper? Are there really tarantulas the size of my face? How hot is hot in Cambodia? Will I be living with 5 or 15 family member? How am I going to communicate with friends and family back home? What is monsoon season really like? and the list goes on...
These being the most prominent feelings, many more are swirling throughout my head. For now, I'm focusing on chilling with the people important to me, saying "see ya later", trying to get my America on and absorb everything that is most likely not going to be available in the coming months. For my friends and family just remember, this is not a goodbye forever. Its simply a see ya in a year or two and keep in touch during this "long adventure".
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