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.