Friday, September 23, 2011
Holiday!
So, off on holiday now thank goodness! I was supposed to go to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat, but because of intense rain storms, the roads are flooded and my trip was canceled! After being devastated for a few hours, I decided to hitch on to my co-worker's trip to Laos. So, only a day later, I find myself having just packed for a backpacking trip through Laos (4000 Islands and Vientiane, etc.)!!!! I'll have limited internet during the trip, so check back in a week or so for a grand tale of my adventures in beautiful Laos! :)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Attempted Insights
So Blogger just told me that my page has 605 views which kind of made my day! 605 times someone has come here to read what I wrote... wow. It is encouraging because I haven't really wanted to sit down and write even though I need to. I want to update and I need to write down everything that's happening.
Anyway... I'll start somewhere...Well, it's officially been over a month living here. Which is so surreal to me because I feel like it's been SOOOO much longer than one month. It's good to remind myself that I've only been here a month so I can't expect to be completely set up yet! It just feels like so much longer. It's hard to picture the life I had for my previous 21 years. When I think of a memory or event from the past, even the recent past, it seems like a dream. To be in America seems like a dream. I suppose in a way it is, because, now, Cambodia is reality. As I live and work through the "honeymoon" phase, I'm slowly learning where things are and how I will need to budget myself. It's way easier than I thought it would be to spend a lot of money here. The little things add up quickly and everything's so cheap you end up living extravagantly because you can! Massages, getting my nails and hair done, it's all wonderful but I'm going to have to slow down if I want to be saving money while I'm here. I have to remind myself, you don't need all this, you live here, it's NOT a vacation! It's real life! Eventually I won't need to remind myself, but right now I still do.
Let's see. I can talk about work. It's weird to blog about daily life. Not like blogging about an exciting vacation. I want to think of witty and interesting things to put in my entries, but mostly it's just life. Well, actually, I probably COULD blog about everything here, because "life" is not at all simple or uneventful here. EVER. Just completing simple tasks is always a challenge. For example, laundry. My power and/or water seems to go out every Sunday (and only on Sundays), right when I always do laundry. Buying a water bottle is a challenging task sometimes, too. UGH I don't even want to go into the little irritations of daily life somewhere outside America. We really have it lucky. God, I miss Starbucks. Well, yeah, so just going to work can be quite the adventure. My tuk-tuk driver is awesome and speaks great English, but, because of that, he is really busy. Sometimes he sends his friends in his place to pick me up. I find this incredibly annoying and have to call him and get firm with him. We'll see how he does this week. Last week we got into a heated argument! All the guards at my school laughed at me and told me I should get a new driver. But I really like this guy I have for some reason. He's so flaky but he just makes me feel really safe. So, I guess I'll keep him. For now.
Anyway, I guess talking about driving to school can lead me to talking about school. I can't believe I've only worked 2 full weeks in my classroom with my students. It seems like time is moving at the most glacial of paces! I am more tired than I've ever been just trying to keep up with my crazy five year olds! SOME of them are really sweet. There's a few that haven't quite grown on me yet, or, rather, they haven't shown me their sweet sides AT ALL. But most of them are really great. They are affectionate and react so powerfully to positive reinforcement. I really tried to give them a lot of freedom in the first week or so, but they are a rambunctious group to say the least so I've had to really enforce some strict rules with them. My training at the children's center in Santa Barbara would probably not approve, but I can't have them screaming all day and biting each other, can I?! Well the new, stricter rules have had an amazing effect. These kids are going to be whipped into shape when I'm done with 'em! They really respond to clear cut rules with consequences. And they are so happy when they do well because I really tell them how proud I am of them. Positive reinforcement is potentially new to many of the kids as this is a culture where the kids will surely be punished for doing wrong, but won't always be praised for doing well. I give them a lot of love and they really return it! My favorite little story so far is of Pangnavorn, a naughty boy who just needed me to sit with him and ask him, does he want to be a good boy or a bad boy? He said he wanted to be a good boy. I told him, then show me how you can be a good boy today. He went from night to day! Now he draws hearts with my name in them in his journal! He told me he wants to be a police officer and insists I call him "Officer Pangavorn!" He melts my heart! So even though I have some really, really bad hours during the work day, if I have one little moment where they are sweet to me, it usually makes it all better. I just hope I can really help these guys! I think I can... :)
Anyway, that's a super glossed over, positive reenactment of my work life. In terms of free time, I'm usually soooo tired, but I force myself to go out and meet friends and see new places in the city! I am so blessed to be making good friends quickly here. I love the night life here, even though it is still really new to me. It is an uncomfortable reality to see "sex-pats" and prostitutes out and about at night. It's so weird to just be sitting with your friends and see things like that, but it's something that I notice less and less. I don't know if it's good that I notice it less. But I have to accept what's happening here at all levels, even if I don't really like it all. If I tried to fight everything--the limbless beggars, the children selling bracelets, the students at my school that drive up in Mercedes, the prostitutes, everything--well, I'd be fighting my whole time here. And I'm not here to fight the culture or the way things are. I'm here to help, to work, to enjoy myself, and to witness this country's growth and rebuilding. Hmmm... okay I guess I am getting some insights out of this blog entry! And I'd been fighting trying to write it! I guess I listen to myself, you can't fight it in Cambodia, whatever "it" is!
In a last bit of potentially exciting news, I'm planning on working with the expat theater troupe the Phnom Penh Players! I went to their first meeting and will be helping with the group's Christmas Panto show. The goal is to help and work with the group, figure things out, and hopefully produce my own plays within the group in the next year or so. The group is wonderful because all their shows' proceeds always go to a Cambodian Arts fund of some sort. So hopefully I can not only officially call myself an "international playwright," but I can also help raise money for the arts! It doesn't get better than that, does it?! I'll keep you all posted on that business as it arrives!
It's another lazy Sunday in these parts. I've lived through another birthday. My twenties are looking pretty cool... turned 20 in Morocco. Turned 21 in Santa Barbara (with a trip to Las Vegas two days later!). Turned 22 in Phnom Penh. My official goal for this decade: be somewhere amazing every birthday in my twenties. Who knows where I'll be on my 23rd birthday?!
Anyway... I'll start somewhere...Well, it's officially been over a month living here. Which is so surreal to me because I feel like it's been SOOOO much longer than one month. It's good to remind myself that I've only been here a month so I can't expect to be completely set up yet! It just feels like so much longer. It's hard to picture the life I had for my previous 21 years. When I think of a memory or event from the past, even the recent past, it seems like a dream. To be in America seems like a dream. I suppose in a way it is, because, now, Cambodia is reality. As I live and work through the "honeymoon" phase, I'm slowly learning where things are and how I will need to budget myself. It's way easier than I thought it would be to spend a lot of money here. The little things add up quickly and everything's so cheap you end up living extravagantly because you can! Massages, getting my nails and hair done, it's all wonderful but I'm going to have to slow down if I want to be saving money while I'm here. I have to remind myself, you don't need all this, you live here, it's NOT a vacation! It's real life! Eventually I won't need to remind myself, but right now I still do.
Let's see. I can talk about work. It's weird to blog about daily life. Not like blogging about an exciting vacation. I want to think of witty and interesting things to put in my entries, but mostly it's just life. Well, actually, I probably COULD blog about everything here, because "life" is not at all simple or uneventful here. EVER. Just completing simple tasks is always a challenge. For example, laundry. My power and/or water seems to go out every Sunday (and only on Sundays), right when I always do laundry. Buying a water bottle is a challenging task sometimes, too. UGH I don't even want to go into the little irritations of daily life somewhere outside America. We really have it lucky. God, I miss Starbucks. Well, yeah, so just going to work can be quite the adventure. My tuk-tuk driver is awesome and speaks great English, but, because of that, he is really busy. Sometimes he sends his friends in his place to pick me up. I find this incredibly annoying and have to call him and get firm with him. We'll see how he does this week. Last week we got into a heated argument! All the guards at my school laughed at me and told me I should get a new driver. But I really like this guy I have for some reason. He's so flaky but he just makes me feel really safe. So, I guess I'll keep him. For now.
Anyway, I guess talking about driving to school can lead me to talking about school. I can't believe I've only worked 2 full weeks in my classroom with my students. It seems like time is moving at the most glacial of paces! I am more tired than I've ever been just trying to keep up with my crazy five year olds! SOME of them are really sweet. There's a few that haven't quite grown on me yet, or, rather, they haven't shown me their sweet sides AT ALL. But most of them are really great. They are affectionate and react so powerfully to positive reinforcement. I really tried to give them a lot of freedom in the first week or so, but they are a rambunctious group to say the least so I've had to really enforce some strict rules with them. My training at the children's center in Santa Barbara would probably not approve, but I can't have them screaming all day and biting each other, can I?! Well the new, stricter rules have had an amazing effect. These kids are going to be whipped into shape when I'm done with 'em! They really respond to clear cut rules with consequences. And they are so happy when they do well because I really tell them how proud I am of them. Positive reinforcement is potentially new to many of the kids as this is a culture where the kids will surely be punished for doing wrong, but won't always be praised for doing well. I give them a lot of love and they really return it! My favorite little story so far is of Pangnavorn, a naughty boy who just needed me to sit with him and ask him, does he want to be a good boy or a bad boy? He said he wanted to be a good boy. I told him, then show me how you can be a good boy today. He went from night to day! Now he draws hearts with my name in them in his journal! He told me he wants to be a police officer and insists I call him "Officer Pangavorn!" He melts my heart! So even though I have some really, really bad hours during the work day, if I have one little moment where they are sweet to me, it usually makes it all better. I just hope I can really help these guys! I think I can... :)
Anyway, that's a super glossed over, positive reenactment of my work life. In terms of free time, I'm usually soooo tired, but I force myself to go out and meet friends and see new places in the city! I am so blessed to be making good friends quickly here. I love the night life here, even though it is still really new to me. It is an uncomfortable reality to see "sex-pats" and prostitutes out and about at night. It's so weird to just be sitting with your friends and see things like that, but it's something that I notice less and less. I don't know if it's good that I notice it less. But I have to accept what's happening here at all levels, even if I don't really like it all. If I tried to fight everything--the limbless beggars, the children selling bracelets, the students at my school that drive up in Mercedes, the prostitutes, everything--well, I'd be fighting my whole time here. And I'm not here to fight the culture or the way things are. I'm here to help, to work, to enjoy myself, and to witness this country's growth and rebuilding. Hmmm... okay I guess I am getting some insights out of this blog entry! And I'd been fighting trying to write it! I guess I listen to myself, you can't fight it in Cambodia, whatever "it" is!
In a last bit of potentially exciting news, I'm planning on working with the expat theater troupe the Phnom Penh Players! I went to their first meeting and will be helping with the group's Christmas Panto show. The goal is to help and work with the group, figure things out, and hopefully produce my own plays within the group in the next year or so. The group is wonderful because all their shows' proceeds always go to a Cambodian Arts fund of some sort. So hopefully I can not only officially call myself an "international playwright," but I can also help raise money for the arts! It doesn't get better than that, does it?! I'll keep you all posted on that business as it arrives!
It's another lazy Sunday in these parts. I've lived through another birthday. My twenties are looking pretty cool... turned 20 in Morocco. Turned 21 in Santa Barbara (with a trip to Las Vegas two days later!). Turned 22 in Phnom Penh. My official goal for this decade: be somewhere amazing every birthday in my twenties. Who knows where I'll be on my 23rd birthday?!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Teeeeeacherrrr
Hello everyone! Greetings from the happiest, most relaxing place on earth, Cambodia! Well, sometimes Phnom Penh isn't so relaxing, but I'm relaxed and so is everyone else. I think it's impossible to be truly unhappy here!
Anyway, I'm officially a kindergarten teacher now! The first days of school and over and now it's time to get moving with lessons, songs, games and all that "fun" stuff! My kids are very... "sweet" haha! I have 24 kids, most of them Khmer and mostly boys. Some of the boys are troublemakers but they are all so cute and sweet in their own ways! It's always funny for them to hear me try to say their Khmer names but I'm slowly remembering how to pronounce them correctly. It's never how you'd think it would sound. So I just have to listen to "Teeeeacherrr, that's not how you say my name!" I'm looking forward to seeing them slowly grasp reading this year! That being said, it sure feels like it's going to be a looong year. I don't know yet if it's in a good way or a bad way!
This weekend was the first chance I've really had to sleep in and it's been marvelous. I finally feel like I'm over the jetlag and myself again! That being said it's killer to wake up so early for school. I haven't done that since high school, really and it's a brutal battle every morning. But, with a little coffee, I'm ready for the screaming and running and jumping at 7:45am.
I'm still trying to figure out the best tuk-tuk driver to take me to and from work each day. I thought I had someone I really liked, but he is kind of flaky so we'll see where it goes. I miss biking every where in Santa Barbara! (Although many people ride bicycles here, I'm not super interested in A) Working up a sweat before I get to work and B) Being hit by speeding SUVs on these crazy, law-less streets!) I do sometimes wish I lived a little closer to work, though, so that I could walk. That being said, it's always a great feeling to be riding in a tuk-tuk, the wind blowing dirt all over you, the blaring BEEPS from honking passerbys. It really is wonderful although it sounds like a sarcastic remark!
I love meeting so many new people everyday. I also really like all the people I work with. The teaching assistants and guards in front of the school are really nice, and all the other teachers at my building are super friendly! Oh, and speaking of guards, my apartment building has a guard in front which is really nice of course, but it's so funny because he has taken it upon himself to be super protective of me! He does not speak much English but he glares at anyone I'm with as if to say "Don't mess with her!" He also seems to get frustrated and worried if I come home too late! He gives me a look like, "Where have you been?!" He also often walks me across the street (I live on a busy street) even though I have become pretty adept at crossing. It's really sweet how much he seems to take his job seriously! I feel safer coming home though, so it's very nice.
Anyway, I'm just enjoying a lazy Sunday now and going to spend some time researching more games and songs to play with the kids. They just stare up at you waiting for you to entertain them, so I better be prepared!
Until next time! :)
Anyway, I'm officially a kindergarten teacher now! The first days of school and over and now it's time to get moving with lessons, songs, games and all that "fun" stuff! My kids are very... "sweet" haha! I have 24 kids, most of them Khmer and mostly boys. Some of the boys are troublemakers but they are all so cute and sweet in their own ways! It's always funny for them to hear me try to say their Khmer names but I'm slowly remembering how to pronounce them correctly. It's never how you'd think it would sound. So I just have to listen to "Teeeeacherrr, that's not how you say my name!" I'm looking forward to seeing them slowly grasp reading this year! That being said, it sure feels like it's going to be a looong year. I don't know yet if it's in a good way or a bad way!
This weekend was the first chance I've really had to sleep in and it's been marvelous. I finally feel like I'm over the jetlag and myself again! That being said it's killer to wake up so early for school. I haven't done that since high school, really and it's a brutal battle every morning. But, with a little coffee, I'm ready for the screaming and running and jumping at 7:45am.
I'm still trying to figure out the best tuk-tuk driver to take me to and from work each day. I thought I had someone I really liked, but he is kind of flaky so we'll see where it goes. I miss biking every where in Santa Barbara! (Although many people ride bicycles here, I'm not super interested in A) Working up a sweat before I get to work and B) Being hit by speeding SUVs on these crazy, law-less streets!) I do sometimes wish I lived a little closer to work, though, so that I could walk. That being said, it's always a great feeling to be riding in a tuk-tuk, the wind blowing dirt all over you, the blaring BEEPS from honking passerbys. It really is wonderful although it sounds like a sarcastic remark!
I love meeting so many new people everyday. I also really like all the people I work with. The teaching assistants and guards in front of the school are really nice, and all the other teachers at my building are super friendly! Oh, and speaking of guards, my apartment building has a guard in front which is really nice of course, but it's so funny because he has taken it upon himself to be super protective of me! He does not speak much English but he glares at anyone I'm with as if to say "Don't mess with her!" He also seems to get frustrated and worried if I come home too late! He gives me a look like, "Where have you been?!" He also often walks me across the street (I live on a busy street) even though I have become pretty adept at crossing. It's really sweet how much he seems to take his job seriously! I feel safer coming home though, so it's very nice.
Anyway, I'm just enjoying a lazy Sunday now and going to spend some time researching more games and songs to play with the kids. They just stare up at you waiting for you to entertain them, so I better be prepared!
Until next time! :)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Settling In
So tomorrow is officially my first day of work (other than the last week or so of observation and orientation). The kids will join me Thursday for the first day of kindergarten! I can't wait to meet the kids and start learning their long, complicated Khmer names...
Over the holiday, I was lucky enough to visit Sokha Resort in Sihanoukville with some new friends! It was gorgeous and relaxing and we ate sooooo much good seafood. It rained a lot because of a typhoon hitting Taiwan, but we still got to enjoy the pool one of the days we were there. Typhoons in Asia, hurricanes in the US... the world is going crazy, isn't it?! It sure feels like something's crazy... this city... this country... certainly me for moving here! It seems like everyday is an adventure.
Let's see... what else can I say? I really don't know. I'm just trying to figure out the price for... something... anything....
Off to work tomorrow, I'll report back with more details. Still having trouble putting it all into words. But... in a good way!
Over the holiday, I was lucky enough to visit Sokha Resort in Sihanoukville with some new friends! It was gorgeous and relaxing and we ate sooooo much good seafood. It rained a lot because of a typhoon hitting Taiwan, but we still got to enjoy the pool one of the days we were there. Typhoons in Asia, hurricanes in the US... the world is going crazy, isn't it?! It sure feels like something's crazy... this city... this country... certainly me for moving here! It seems like everyday is an adventure.
Let's see... what else can I say? I really don't know. I'm just trying to figure out the price for... something... anything....
Off to work tomorrow, I'll report back with more details. Still having trouble putting it all into words. But... in a good way!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Apartment
Hello everyone! I've been trying to get myself to update the blog more because there is indeed a lot to share, but I feel so at a loss for words, for once, and it makes it harder to write.
Anyway, I'm settling into my apartment nicely, but still haven't been able to clean it properly. The power went out on my floor for the whole day and night yesterday. That was not fun because that meant no fans the whole night... I didn't sleep much. I'm doing better than I expected in the heat, but that is relative. It's so so so so hot. And people are saying this is the coolest time of the year. And this year in particular is a cool one. I don't believe this satanic weather is possible! It couldn't be the cool season right now. I just hope I'll get more adjusted to it. And soon. Right now I just feel dirty, sweaty and swollen up the whole time. I'm really trying to increase my water intake, but that can be difficult during work and running around the city!
Anyhoo, summer school is over for the kids which meant the end of my little "training period" and on to a week holiday before the fall session. I've been able to visit a few of the cites in the city that I've been meaning to see, such as the National Museum and the Genocide Museum. The Genocide Museum is very moving. I can't say much on it because it is something you read about and talk about but being here and seeing the places of such horror is something entirely different. The National Museum was wonderful, but I should have given myself more time in between them; I raced through the artwork because my mind was elsewhere.
I've also had the chance to do a lot of shopping which is always fun. Prices here really vary and the bargaining can be tiresome. And all the sizes are so small! I swear you never know if something is for an adult or a child... but I am loving walking through the sticky, smelly isles of the Russian Market, which is really close to my apartment.
I feel like I will never have enough time to do all that I want to do! And I still have to really get ready for the first day of kindergarten next week! Lesson plans and decorating... so much to do... but for now, off to Sihanoukville for a beach weekend. Why not? :)
Anyway, I'm settling into my apartment nicely, but still haven't been able to clean it properly. The power went out on my floor for the whole day and night yesterday. That was not fun because that meant no fans the whole night... I didn't sleep much. I'm doing better than I expected in the heat, but that is relative. It's so so so so hot. And people are saying this is the coolest time of the year. And this year in particular is a cool one. I don't believe this satanic weather is possible! It couldn't be the cool season right now. I just hope I'll get more adjusted to it. And soon. Right now I just feel dirty, sweaty and swollen up the whole time. I'm really trying to increase my water intake, but that can be difficult during work and running around the city!
Anyhoo, summer school is over for the kids which meant the end of my little "training period" and on to a week holiday before the fall session. I've been able to visit a few of the cites in the city that I've been meaning to see, such as the National Museum and the Genocide Museum. The Genocide Museum is very moving. I can't say much on it because it is something you read about and talk about but being here and seeing the places of such horror is something entirely different. The National Museum was wonderful, but I should have given myself more time in between them; I raced through the artwork because my mind was elsewhere.
I've also had the chance to do a lot of shopping which is always fun. Prices here really vary and the bargaining can be tiresome. And all the sizes are so small! I swear you never know if something is for an adult or a child... but I am loving walking through the sticky, smelly isles of the Russian Market, which is really close to my apartment.
I feel like I will never have enough time to do all that I want to do! And I still have to really get ready for the first day of kindergarten next week! Lesson plans and decorating... so much to do... but for now, off to Sihanoukville for a beach weekend. Why not? :)
Saturday, August 20, 2011
In my new home...
Hello everyone!
Okay, so I owe you all some major updating. So much has happened in the last few days and I know I will not be able to put it all down. But I think now is the time to try. Get back into this whole blog writing business.
I am currently sitting on my new bed. I don't mean it's new, I just mean it's new to me. If I think about the fact that it's previous occupants moved out just two days ago, I might barf a little. This apartment is wonderful, but it is dirtyyyyyyy. So much cleaning to do and so much accepting that the standard of cleanliness I enjoy in America is no longer worth dreaming about. But I can deal, it will just take a little while. But that's not what you want to hear about! What can I say though, really, to sum up the last few days. Well, I know it feels like I've been hear a month, maybe longer. Not that I know anything, just that I don't remember anything else. I have so much to do here and it's so hot.
Does this make any sense? I'm reading what I just wrote back and even I'm confused. Am I still jet-lagged? I think so.
I've begun work (Heritage International School) but only just training and observation of other teachers. I will get my class for the fall term starting September 1st. I am so excited to meet my kindergarteners! They are so sweet... or at least they appear that way right now! They will all have had a small amount of English exposure but it will be my job next year to push them to English literacy! Yay!
Heritage has four different buildings, all very close and in the residential part of Phnom Penh. My building is a bit smaller, but all the buildings are tight communities and everyone I've met who is connected to the school has pretty much been wonderful! There is even a pool at my building so the kids get to go swimming twice a week. Some of the kids are from very wealthy families, some are upper-middle to middle-class. I am interested to see where my interactions with parents and families take me, as it will be very different than traditional "parent-teacher conferences" in America. Not too much to say about work except I have so much of it before school starts! So many lesson plans to write for these little guys...
Tomorrow, I will spend time with my "brother" the monk and go shopping some more for supplies and decorations for my apartment. The walls are really dull so I need to spice things up a bit in here!
That's where I'll leave off for now, on the couch in this comfy-couch of a city. Get it?... you sink in and don't really want to ever get up.
Okay, so I owe you all some major updating. So much has happened in the last few days and I know I will not be able to put it all down. But I think now is the time to try. Get back into this whole blog writing business.
I am currently sitting on my new bed. I don't mean it's new, I just mean it's new to me. If I think about the fact that it's previous occupants moved out just two days ago, I might barf a little. This apartment is wonderful, but it is dirtyyyyyyy. So much cleaning to do and so much accepting that the standard of cleanliness I enjoy in America is no longer worth dreaming about. But I can deal, it will just take a little while. But that's not what you want to hear about! What can I say though, really, to sum up the last few days. Well, I know it feels like I've been hear a month, maybe longer. Not that I know anything, just that I don't remember anything else. I have so much to do here and it's so hot.
Does this make any sense? I'm reading what I just wrote back and even I'm confused. Am I still jet-lagged? I think so.
I've begun work (Heritage International School) but only just training and observation of other teachers. I will get my class for the fall term starting September 1st. I am so excited to meet my kindergarteners! They are so sweet... or at least they appear that way right now! They will all have had a small amount of English exposure but it will be my job next year to push them to English literacy! Yay!
Heritage has four different buildings, all very close and in the residential part of Phnom Penh. My building is a bit smaller, but all the buildings are tight communities and everyone I've met who is connected to the school has pretty much been wonderful! There is even a pool at my building so the kids get to go swimming twice a week. Some of the kids are from very wealthy families, some are upper-middle to middle-class. I am interested to see where my interactions with parents and families take me, as it will be very different than traditional "parent-teacher conferences" in America. Not too much to say about work except I have so much of it before school starts! So many lesson plans to write for these little guys...
Tomorrow, I will spend time with my "brother" the monk and go shopping some more for supplies and decorations for my apartment. The walls are really dull so I need to spice things up a bit in here!
That's where I'll leave off for now, on the couch in this comfy-couch of a city. Get it?... you sink in and don't really want to ever get up.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
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