There are three very importan ceremonial occasions in Cambodia. One is Khmer New Year, on is the Water Festival, and the last is Pchum Ben. The fun thing about these festivals is that sometimes cell phone service crashes because the network is so busy. So if anyone has been trying to call me and can't get through, not to worry, it''s just Pchum Ben. This a fifteen day period in which one's ancestor's who went to hell are allowed to return the mortal world. In order to try and make up for the bad things these ancestors did in a past life, people go to the wat (temple) and offer money and food, similar to the catholic concept of praying people out of purgatory. One really fun thing about Pchum Ben is that it starts at four in the morning. Music starts playing on the loudspeakers so all can hear for miles around. People go to the wat seven times (ideally, those who can't afford the offerings or are less devout go less frequently) in this fifteen day period. I went with my family a couple of times. It was really fascinating. People pray and offer food and money to the family shrine. Then, the whole family (extended familes with as many as 100 people) carry the shrine around the outside of the wat three times, chanting and lighting incense. After this, the shrine is taken inside and placed before the Buddha. The head of the family offers prayers and then the monks chant a blessing over everyone. While this ceremony is beautiful, one is required to sit a certain way when listening to prayers and blessings. You must fold your legs underneath you, clasp your hands in prayers, and not move for 45 min- 2 hours. Good times. For those of you who think this doesn't sound so bad, I have two words for you: try it. It is extremely uncomfortable. The ceremony becomes significantly less moving when your extremeties lose circulation.
But all in all, I have enjoyed the experience. The last day is the big ceremony at the wat, it is the third most important day to Khmer people. There will no doubt be more food than I can possibly consume. In other news, less than two weeks from now I will be a volunteer. I feel totally unprepared. I will miss my host family and all the other trainees. But I'm also super excited. I can't believe it's almost october in the states. I'm jealous of the drop in tempeture. It only gets hotter here. But I miss you all and can't wait to hear from you!
22 September, 2008
13 September, 2008
So Kravagn, or Kravanh, however you want to spell it, is a pretty cool place. It is pretty much in the middle of Pursat (also spelled Poutsat, there seems to be a great deal of spelling discrepancy here) It is a pretty small town, only accessible by bike and pick up. The school is small, only 600 students. There are about 30 treachers. Most of them are under thirty and several speak English quite well. Everyone keeps telling me how excited they are to have me. Everyone and their mom wants me to teach them English. Everyone and their mom and their mom's dog is super excited that I am coming to teach themEnglish. I am super excited as well, not to mention slightly overwhelmed. But the scenery is gorgeous. The town is surrounded bywats, mountains and rivers. Definitely the most beautiful place I've ever been. The host family is very relaxed. The mother is about 40, with two sons, 12 and 14. Her mother also lives with us, as she is currently renting her house to a very cool NGO called sustainable Cambodia. Some of the teachers at the high school work for this organization, as well as a few foreign volunteers. The town also has a health clinic funded by Doctors Without Borders. In less than a month I will officially be living there as a Volunteer.
Wow.
We arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday. We had to arrange some financial matters and let Peace Corps know how site visit went. Being in Phnom Penh is always a little strange, the huge expat community here can be so overwhelming that you almost forget you're in Cambodia. Almost. Then, you're hanging out at an internet cafe and half of a rooster walks in the front door. Yes, that's right, half a rooster. I am staring at him, wondering how and animal that seems to only be composed of a neck and feet can possibly be alive. But this is Cambodia, and there are many things that defy explanation. I would send a picture if I could. For those of you worried about the camera, part of the problem could be the address. The last few things I've received fromt he states didn't have the PO box number on it. It will still find it's way to me, it just takes much longer. The second line of the address should have PO Box 2453 on it.
Yes, it is nice being in Phnom Penh and [pretending like we are back home. I almost wonder how the first three months at sitee will go, since we will be prohibited from leaving our provinces. We will definitely miss having each other. But it will be good to do what we came her for. Part of me is apprehensive about having to train a new community. People here believe (and often rightly so) that Americans have machines to do everything for them. This leads Cambodians to believe that we are complete invalids. For the next few months I shall convince people that I am capable doing excessvely complex tasks such as: eating rice, riding a bike, taking a shower, washing clothes, and various other arduous chores.
They just don't want me to experience any discomfort at all. That would signal the end of the world. Ironically, the discomfort I feel when I am asked how much money my family makes, or why I am so fat, or why don't I sit even though everyone else is standing,is of no consequesnce whatsoever. Sometimes it is frustrating to be doing absolutely nothing, and people stare as though I am the most entertaining thing they have ever seen. Yes, being white is about the most exciting thing a person can possibly. To my American sensibilties, this all very tiresome. I find myself feeling offended that they think such an imbicile as to be incapable of eating rice. But they are just doing they''re jobs as hosts. People here don''t have the American aversion to being served. It's all about where a person fits in the social grid. Everyone has a place. This is why Khmer people ask such intrusive questions, in order to correctly map one's place in this grid. Having a cush place on the grid is desired. People revere power and money. Because this society is based on patronage, the rich are respected as possibly the primary means of income. People like being patronized, as the alternative is often starvation. This makes it extremely hard to get things done, as connections are more important the actual work. Also, the belief in reincarnation means that Cambodians tend to view time as rather infinite, there will always be more, like air or water, it will never run out. The rich should be respected, they did something virtuous in past life to be so well off in this one. The reverse is true of the poor. They should serve the rich in order to gain more merit. I cannot emphasize enough how overly generalized this picture is. There are plenty of people who resent the rich and respect the poor. But the past has a strong hold here. People here know how bad things can get. Often they are resistent to change because of this. Things are better now than they used to be. They aren't perfect, but change could mean going backward instead of forward. Showing people what is possible is maybe the hardest job we have.
Wow.
We arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday. We had to arrange some financial matters and let Peace Corps know how site visit went. Being in Phnom Penh is always a little strange, the huge expat community here can be so overwhelming that you almost forget you're in Cambodia. Almost. Then, you're hanging out at an internet cafe and half of a rooster walks in the front door. Yes, that's right, half a rooster. I am staring at him, wondering how and animal that seems to only be composed of a neck and feet can possibly be alive. But this is Cambodia, and there are many things that defy explanation. I would send a picture if I could. For those of you worried about the camera, part of the problem could be the address. The last few things I've received fromt he states didn't have the PO box number on it. It will still find it's way to me, it just takes much longer. The second line of the address should have PO Box 2453 on it.
Yes, it is nice being in Phnom Penh and [pretending like we are back home. I almost wonder how the first three months at sitee will go, since we will be prohibited from leaving our provinces. We will definitely miss having each other. But it will be good to do what we came her for. Part of me is apprehensive about having to train a new community. People here believe (and often rightly so) that Americans have machines to do everything for them. This leads Cambodians to believe that we are complete invalids. For the next few months I shall convince people that I am capable doing excessvely complex tasks such as: eating rice, riding a bike, taking a shower, washing clothes, and various other arduous chores.
They just don't want me to experience any discomfort at all. That would signal the end of the world. Ironically, the discomfort I feel when I am asked how much money my family makes, or why I am so fat, or why don't I sit even though everyone else is standing,is of no consequesnce whatsoever. Sometimes it is frustrating to be doing absolutely nothing, and people stare as though I am the most entertaining thing they have ever seen. Yes, being white is about the most exciting thing a person can possibly. To my American sensibilties, this all very tiresome. I find myself feeling offended that they think such an imbicile as to be incapable of eating rice. But they are just doing they''re jobs as hosts. People here don''t have the American aversion to being served. It's all about where a person fits in the social grid. Everyone has a place. This is why Khmer people ask such intrusive questions, in order to correctly map one's place in this grid. Having a cush place on the grid is desired. People revere power and money. Because this society is based on patronage, the rich are respected as possibly the primary means of income. People like being patronized, as the alternative is often starvation. This makes it extremely hard to get things done, as connections are more important the actual work. Also, the belief in reincarnation means that Cambodians tend to view time as rather infinite, there will always be more, like air or water, it will never run out. The rich should be respected, they did something virtuous in past life to be so well off in this one. The reverse is true of the poor. They should serve the rich in order to gain more merit. I cannot emphasize enough how overly generalized this picture is. There are plenty of people who resent the rich and respect the poor. But the past has a strong hold here. People here know how bad things can get. Often they are resistent to change because of this. Things are better now than they used to be. They aren't perfect, but change could mean going backward instead of forward. Showing people what is possible is maybe the hardest job we have.
04 September, 2008
Phnom Kravagn, Pursat Province. It has mountains and waterfalls. About 20 kilos from the national road (easy biking distance in the right season) there is a well funded but understaffed high school. That is where I will be teaching for the next two years. I will be living with a market vendor, her 65 year old mother, and her 12 and 13 year old sons. Tomorrow, I meet my counterpart from the school. We will have conferences for the next two days, and then my counterpart and I will go to my site. For the next couple of days, I'll get to know my host family, the school staff, and the general layout of the community. Afterwards we spend a couple days in Phnom Penh, and then back to the training villages. There are currently no volunteers in Pursat province. Me and the girl who will be living in Pursat provincial town are the first. I think it will be a fantastic site, especially since I will be in one of the few non landmined mountainous regions of Cambodia.
I like being the first. I feel like some sort of explorer. Also, I will be close to Battambang, on the Thai border. It has all of the amenities of Phnom Penh, like western food, with fewer tourists. But I won't be there for a while, we have to be at our permanent site for 90 days before we are allowed to leave the province. I will do a lot of biking. I'm kind of sad that my friends won't be close, but they are in the surrounding provinces.
As excited as I am to be going to my permanent site, I will be sad to leave the training village. This is the most gangster town in Cambodia (in a good way) People here do awesome things like wear gold chains, hike one pant leg up, throw dance parties for no particular reason, and other assorted activities that are simply stellar. I will miss it.
One of the most interesting things about this place is how incompetent I feel. We are possibly the most educated people for miles, yet we can barely feed and bathe ourselves. The other day, I definitely dropped the family's bucket into the well. It took my host brother almost half an hour to retrieve it. Also, Khmer people tend to eat rice with a spoon and use chopsticks for noodles, which seems counterintuitive to me. I am working on the fine art of eating noodle soup with chopsticks and not having it end up all over my clothes. Thankfully, I am not the most incompetent person in my group! Just a few days ago my genius friends decided that they putting two people on one bike was a good idea. Understand that Cambodians do this all the time. Most bikes have a seat attached to the back for carrying things and people. The key to this is weight distribution. The larger person should be in front. My college educated friends forgot this little detail. It went down like this: Friend A was riding a bike, Friend B (anyone who knows the story about the guy with the sarong, this is that guy) was walking. Friend A thinks riding Khmer style would be a good idea. Friend B agrees. The problem: Friend B outweighs Friend A by a little over 50 lbs. Basically, the bike nearly flipped backward. Friend A managed to keep hold of the bike and land on his feet. Friend B, not so lucky. He fell backwards into barbed wire and cut his arm all the way up to his shoulder. He hasn't showered for two days in order to keep the bandages dry. Oh yes, we are a sharp group of prospective Peace Corps Volunteers. Pray for the people who have to put up with us for the next two years.
Thanks to everyone for sending me stuff and keeping me in your prayers. You have no idea how much it means. I should be near internet for the next week, so I hope ot keep you updated as much as possible.
I like being the first. I feel like some sort of explorer. Also, I will be close to Battambang, on the Thai border. It has all of the amenities of Phnom Penh, like western food, with fewer tourists. But I won't be there for a while, we have to be at our permanent site for 90 days before we are allowed to leave the province. I will do a lot of biking. I'm kind of sad that my friends won't be close, but they are in the surrounding provinces.
As excited as I am to be going to my permanent site, I will be sad to leave the training village. This is the most gangster town in Cambodia (in a good way) People here do awesome things like wear gold chains, hike one pant leg up, throw dance parties for no particular reason, and other assorted activities that are simply stellar. I will miss it.
One of the most interesting things about this place is how incompetent I feel. We are possibly the most educated people for miles, yet we can barely feed and bathe ourselves. The other day, I definitely dropped the family's bucket into the well. It took my host brother almost half an hour to retrieve it. Also, Khmer people tend to eat rice with a spoon and use chopsticks for noodles, which seems counterintuitive to me. I am working on the fine art of eating noodle soup with chopsticks and not having it end up all over my clothes. Thankfully, I am not the most incompetent person in my group! Just a few days ago my genius friends decided that they putting two people on one bike was a good idea. Understand that Cambodians do this all the time. Most bikes have a seat attached to the back for carrying things and people. The key to this is weight distribution. The larger person should be in front. My college educated friends forgot this little detail. It went down like this: Friend A was riding a bike, Friend B (anyone who knows the story about the guy with the sarong, this is that guy) was walking. Friend A thinks riding Khmer style would be a good idea. Friend B agrees. The problem: Friend B outweighs Friend A by a little over 50 lbs. Basically, the bike nearly flipped backward. Friend A managed to keep hold of the bike and land on his feet. Friend B, not so lucky. He fell backwards into barbed wire and cut his arm all the way up to his shoulder. He hasn't showered for two days in order to keep the bandages dry. Oh yes, we are a sharp group of prospective Peace Corps Volunteers. Pray for the people who have to put up with us for the next two years.
Thanks to everyone for sending me stuff and keeping me in your prayers. You have no idea how much it means. I should be near internet for the next week, so I hope ot keep you updated as much as possible.
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