Hey all! So to give a quick update....
This week I am moving apartments! I really like the apartment I live in now, but the rent is pretty high and the location isn't very good. I live too far away from my work and every place I go to. It's the kind of thing you wouldn't know when you're apartment hunting, but after two months living here (OMG I just realized it's been 2 months from yesterday!!!), I know I'm not happy with the location I'm living. So I will be paying less than half the rent I am now and moving in with my good friend from work! It is a real house and not an apartment so that will be a nice change. I'm so happy and relieved to be saving money on rent and moto rides to school.
The most amazing thing about this whole experience, aside from the final result of moving into a better place, is just how easy this is all turning out to be. I just broke my lease, and the family who owns my apartment complex didn't even say anything. I mean, I'll lose my security deposit, but still you think they would have at least forced me to uphold the month advance notice to move out. But, nope, she didn't even blink an eye! I've never had so little hassles with a landlord in my life! Plus, the people I'm going to be living with have already been so chill and welcoming.
I think the biggest shock of this whole experiences' ease has been my own internal thoughts. I'm already packing and it seems incredibly easy to just pack up and move everything I own. Completely the opposite of the stress I felt packing to move here two months ago. Somehow it seems as though I have less stuff now than what I came with, but I know that can't be possible! It's just a mental thing, I think. I can already see how much I've changed and relaxed. I decided to move on Saturday, began packing Sunday and told my landlord the same day. I'll be sleeping in my new place by Thursday. The person I was even a few months ago would have been an anxious mess at all this sudden and drastic change. But the vibe of this country--extremely mellow, relaxed, "no problem"--is rubbing off on me more than I thought. It's a really new and really amazing feeling for me.
Anyway, off to pack some more. Will update more soon! :)
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Laos Adventuring!
Hello everyone! Long time no see! Well, I'm pretty sure it's only been about a week, but it really feels like so much longer. A week in Laos kind of makes time stand still. I forgot what day it was, never knew the time, barely made it to any planned destinations... but in the best way because Laos was so relaxing and absorbing. I went with my friend from work and her two friends from back in Australia. I'm still a little bummed I wasn't able to make it Siem Reap due to massive flooding, but I'm so thankful I made the choice to go to Laos. All in the pursuit of crossing destinations off of my bucket list! Officially have been to Don Det/4000 Islands, Vientiane, and Vang Vieng. And who knows where else on the way. There are so many more places I have to see in Laos. I'm hooked!
Let me break it down since, as I think I sort of explained, time just ran together on this trip!
Day 1: Spent traveling by bus from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Don Det, Laos. It was a 12-hour bus ride made 14+ due to the heavy rain and lack of roads. There were so many times the bus just had to stop to find a route around the mud, puddles, cows, and mud. It was sort of the bus ride from hell... although, in retrospect, it wasn't the worst bus ride to come! Eventually, we made it to some sort of city in Southern Laos and got off the bus. Then we took a mini-van and then a ferry to Don Det, which is an island among the 4000 Islands of Laos. Oh, I didn't mention stopping at the border between Cambodia and Laos. It was a sort of shack and we were in pitch black. It took about an hour but I guess, for a border crossing, passed without much incident. I only mention it because I still don't understand why the Australians I was with had to pay $40 for their Laos visas and I, as well as the other Americans on the bus, had to pay $41!!! It shouldn't surprise me, really. I shouldn't even use that word anymore because nothing should ever surprise me, living in Asia.
Day 2: Finally in Don Det, we rented bicycles and decided it would be such fun to bike around the island and to the next island to see some sort of waterfall and some sort of dolphin beach. Well, I guess it WAS fun, but it was mostly just muddy. The roads (why do they bother calling them roads?! They are NOT roads, they are dirt piles that are sort of smoothed out!) were pretty muddy and getting a really crappy, rusty rented bike through super deep puddles was quite the task. My chain kept popping off even when we were on relatively solid ground! It was ridiculous! We did make it to the waterfall and it was beautiful. Well, it wasn't really a waterfall because the river was so high. It was more like a rapid river. But beautiful and "danger-rious" (as the signs read) all the same. After that excursion we laid around a nice restaurant, got massages, and relaxed. It is so absolutely wonderful to do nothing for hours on end! It would take me a long time to get sick of it.
Day 3: This was the day of all days. We hit the road (or more like hitched a ferry, then the road) to Pakse, a city a bit farther north. After about 4 hours of a drive, we made it there and spent the day in the markets. Then we joyous embarked on a VIP sleeper bus to Vientiane. The bus was confusing at first. We kept walking farther and farther back wondering when we would see our double beds. We could only see single beds. When we reached the back of the bus, we realized the beds we had been passing were, in fact, "double" "VIP" beds. I think I could just barely lay flat on my back without my arm hanging off the side of the bed for lack of space. Which I could have dealt with for one night. Except that the "double" "VIP" beds were for two people. So Shae and I climbed the "ladder" and got into our "bed" for arguably the worst night of my life. I couldn't lie on my side because we were on the second level and there was no railing, so every bump (do I need to mention this was the bumpiest ride I've ever been on?) I almost fell off and down from the top bunk. It was almost funny.
Day 4: When we woke up from our "night of sleep," we were in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, located in the northern part of the country. We quickly boarded into a car to be driven to Vang Vieng, which was our final destination. So approximately 28 hours from the time we left Don Det, we were in Vang Vieng! We met some really cool people along the way and ended up staying in a lovely guesthouse with them. We hit the town, which is a big backpacker stub in Southeast Asia. It was so weird seeing so many white people! It was so amazing to eat a hamburger that tasted almost Western! It was so confusing that despite the tourist draw, hardly any Lao people in said tourist industry in the town spoke English!
Day 5: Today was the big day to go tubing. Look up tubing in Laos on youtube for videos that give you the idea. It was sort of like Floatopia but even crazier! We rented tubes, hopped on the Mekong and floated from bar to bar all day. It was so much fun meeting all these interesting backpackers, drinking from ridiculously large buckets, and soaring through the air on swings and slides. Every time I found myself climbing a platform to get to a jumping point, destined for the rocky and dirty Mekong waters strong with the wet season's current, I thought to myself, why are you doing this? One wrong move and you could be destined for the jagged rocks! But I had to jump, of course! Needless to say I am bruised and scratched like I've never been before from exclusively awkward landings. Thank goodness for the men at each bar that stand at the water's edge with intertubes tied to ropes to pull in us crazy people who plunge into the rapid waters! A couple of times I missed the bar I was aiming for and the current pulled me down all the way to the next bar! I wish I had more pictures from tubing, but I wasn't about to bring my camera since I was soaking wet and muddy all day. You buy this little bags to keep your belongings dry in the water, but since you're in Laos you can't be surprised when they don't work at all and your Kip is soaked. I think tubing would illegal in anywhere but Asia (you know, in places with laws!), but I also think it was one of the most fun and crazy things I've ever done! I loved meeting other backpackers since, as an expat, I usually stick with other expats. I am definitely not a backpacker, but it was fun to live like them for a few days. I also ran into someone that I knew from Semester at Sea! He was on my voyage and recognized me! I love that I haven't seen someone in over 2 years and I can run into them in Vang Vieng, Laos. The world is a pretty cool place.
Day 6: Another day of tubing, although a little less insane since we drank a few less buckets and sort of knew the lay of the land. This time I tried to jump off as many swings and slides as I could! This one really long tile water slide about destroyed my body and that's when I called it a day. Tubing and being out in the sun all day just wears you down. I haven't been this physically drained, even now, days later, in forever.
Day 7: We decided to sign up for a tour and went kayaking. I realized as I was handed the paddle that I, in fact, had never been kayaking before, and began to freak out when I saw the current speed and the rapids of the river I was supposed to plunge in to. Luckily, Shae had experience and steered our kayak to safety (most of the time) in between rapids. We went tubing through a cave and also hiked to a cave where there were Buddhist statues. It was a really famous cave (called Elephant Cave) because it is a site of religious significance. In the cave there is a natural rock that really resembles an elephant. The whole area is called the Elephant Village and one finds elephants on nearly every imaginable object. It was cool to see, although by this point in the tour, we were all so tired from kayaking, paddling a tube through a pitch black cave, and hiking to said Elephant cave. After the cave, we kayaked to one of the tubing bars, had a beer and rest, and kayaked for what seemed like years to the stopping point of the trip. Kayaking in the pouring rain? I don't recommend it. But, I can now say I am a fully experienced kayak-er, right? That night we had a blast in the little town on our last night in Vang Vieng.
Day 8: The next morning we left in a van, back to Vientiane where we would fly home to Phnom Penh. No more buses for us! I had been looking forward to exploring Vientiane for a night, but when we got there it was not only deserted, but somehow completely full. It was a while before we found a guest house with vacancies, and when we did we paid more for the night then we had for all our accommodation COMBINED for the entirety of the trip! It was the most expensive city (waaaay more expensive than Phnom Penh), but for what reason I'm not sure since as I said it seemed completely deserted. Things sort of picked up after a pedicure and a trip to the night market. But the people weren't interested in bargaining and seemed annoyed at yet another Westerner's presence. It's confusing as to why this place draws so many tourists when, to me, it was like a smaller, less interesting, more expensive version of Phnom Penh. Maybe other travelers like that it is less developed than our cities in Cambodia, but, personally, if I'm going less developed, less English, please give me lower prices! I think I'll have to do more research to figure out the place. It was truly beautiful, though, and was more French than Cambodia. The baguettes were to die for! But overall I just found it puzzling....
Day 9: Which is today. Wow. Weird! Today we flew home on a lovely Vietnam Airways flight. I highly recommend them, it was one of the most pleasant flights I've ever had! It feels so good to be back home in Phnom Penh and in my apartment. I think I was at a turning point, going on two months living here, and I was hitting a slump. But the second I entered Laos, I missed Cambodia. I really love it here. I love being an expat and hated being a tourist. I love Khmer food! And Khmer people! And my apartment and my space! It isn't until you leave a place and come back that you can know what it means to you. And a place isn't home until it's home in your mind. When I was in Laos, I kept thinking, "I can't wait to get home." So, I guess I can officially call this home now. I loved Laos and want to go back and explore more cities, but I appreciate Cambodia and it's technologies, roads, infrastructures, food and people all the more for visiting it's neighbor.
Pictures from the trip are on facebook! There aren't many since I was in the water most of the time, but the ones I did take I am pretty proud of. It really is a beautiful part of the world, where I live. :)
Let me break it down since, as I think I sort of explained, time just ran together on this trip!
Day 1: Spent traveling by bus from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Don Det, Laos. It was a 12-hour bus ride made 14+ due to the heavy rain and lack of roads. There were so many times the bus just had to stop to find a route around the mud, puddles, cows, and mud. It was sort of the bus ride from hell... although, in retrospect, it wasn't the worst bus ride to come! Eventually, we made it to some sort of city in Southern Laos and got off the bus. Then we took a mini-van and then a ferry to Don Det, which is an island among the 4000 Islands of Laos. Oh, I didn't mention stopping at the border between Cambodia and Laos. It was a sort of shack and we were in pitch black. It took about an hour but I guess, for a border crossing, passed without much incident. I only mention it because I still don't understand why the Australians I was with had to pay $40 for their Laos visas and I, as well as the other Americans on the bus, had to pay $41!!! It shouldn't surprise me, really. I shouldn't even use that word anymore because nothing should ever surprise me, living in Asia.
Day 2: Finally in Don Det, we rented bicycles and decided it would be such fun to bike around the island and to the next island to see some sort of waterfall and some sort of dolphin beach. Well, I guess it WAS fun, but it was mostly just muddy. The roads (why do they bother calling them roads?! They are NOT roads, they are dirt piles that are sort of smoothed out!) were pretty muddy and getting a really crappy, rusty rented bike through super deep puddles was quite the task. My chain kept popping off even when we were on relatively solid ground! It was ridiculous! We did make it to the waterfall and it was beautiful. Well, it wasn't really a waterfall because the river was so high. It was more like a rapid river. But beautiful and "danger-rious" (as the signs read) all the same. After that excursion we laid around a nice restaurant, got massages, and relaxed. It is so absolutely wonderful to do nothing for hours on end! It would take me a long time to get sick of it.
Day 3: This was the day of all days. We hit the road (or more like hitched a ferry, then the road) to Pakse, a city a bit farther north. After about 4 hours of a drive, we made it there and spent the day in the markets. Then we joyous embarked on a VIP sleeper bus to Vientiane. The bus was confusing at first. We kept walking farther and farther back wondering when we would see our double beds. We could only see single beds. When we reached the back of the bus, we realized the beds we had been passing were, in fact, "double" "VIP" beds. I think I could just barely lay flat on my back without my arm hanging off the side of the bed for lack of space. Which I could have dealt with for one night. Except that the "double" "VIP" beds were for two people. So Shae and I climbed the "ladder" and got into our "bed" for arguably the worst night of my life. I couldn't lie on my side because we were on the second level and there was no railing, so every bump (do I need to mention this was the bumpiest ride I've ever been on?) I almost fell off and down from the top bunk. It was almost funny.
Day 4: When we woke up from our "night of sleep," we were in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, located in the northern part of the country. We quickly boarded into a car to be driven to Vang Vieng, which was our final destination. So approximately 28 hours from the time we left Don Det, we were in Vang Vieng! We met some really cool people along the way and ended up staying in a lovely guesthouse with them. We hit the town, which is a big backpacker stub in Southeast Asia. It was so weird seeing so many white people! It was so amazing to eat a hamburger that tasted almost Western! It was so confusing that despite the tourist draw, hardly any Lao people in said tourist industry in the town spoke English!
Day 5: Today was the big day to go tubing. Look up tubing in Laos on youtube for videos that give you the idea. It was sort of like Floatopia but even crazier! We rented tubes, hopped on the Mekong and floated from bar to bar all day. It was so much fun meeting all these interesting backpackers, drinking from ridiculously large buckets, and soaring through the air on swings and slides. Every time I found myself climbing a platform to get to a jumping point, destined for the rocky and dirty Mekong waters strong with the wet season's current, I thought to myself, why are you doing this? One wrong move and you could be destined for the jagged rocks! But I had to jump, of course! Needless to say I am bruised and scratched like I've never been before from exclusively awkward landings. Thank goodness for the men at each bar that stand at the water's edge with intertubes tied to ropes to pull in us crazy people who plunge into the rapid waters! A couple of times I missed the bar I was aiming for and the current pulled me down all the way to the next bar! I wish I had more pictures from tubing, but I wasn't about to bring my camera since I was soaking wet and muddy all day. You buy this little bags to keep your belongings dry in the water, but since you're in Laos you can't be surprised when they don't work at all and your Kip is soaked. I think tubing would illegal in anywhere but Asia (you know, in places with laws!), but I also think it was one of the most fun and crazy things I've ever done! I loved meeting other backpackers since, as an expat, I usually stick with other expats. I am definitely not a backpacker, but it was fun to live like them for a few days. I also ran into someone that I knew from Semester at Sea! He was on my voyage and recognized me! I love that I haven't seen someone in over 2 years and I can run into them in Vang Vieng, Laos. The world is a pretty cool place.
Day 6: Another day of tubing, although a little less insane since we drank a few less buckets and sort of knew the lay of the land. This time I tried to jump off as many swings and slides as I could! This one really long tile water slide about destroyed my body and that's when I called it a day. Tubing and being out in the sun all day just wears you down. I haven't been this physically drained, even now, days later, in forever.
Day 7: We decided to sign up for a tour and went kayaking. I realized as I was handed the paddle that I, in fact, had never been kayaking before, and began to freak out when I saw the current speed and the rapids of the river I was supposed to plunge in to. Luckily, Shae had experience and steered our kayak to safety (most of the time) in between rapids. We went tubing through a cave and also hiked to a cave where there were Buddhist statues. It was a really famous cave (called Elephant Cave) because it is a site of religious significance. In the cave there is a natural rock that really resembles an elephant. The whole area is called the Elephant Village and one finds elephants on nearly every imaginable object. It was cool to see, although by this point in the tour, we were all so tired from kayaking, paddling a tube through a pitch black cave, and hiking to said Elephant cave. After the cave, we kayaked to one of the tubing bars, had a beer and rest, and kayaked for what seemed like years to the stopping point of the trip. Kayaking in the pouring rain? I don't recommend it. But, I can now say I am a fully experienced kayak-er, right? That night we had a blast in the little town on our last night in Vang Vieng.
Day 8: The next morning we left in a van, back to Vientiane where we would fly home to Phnom Penh. No more buses for us! I had been looking forward to exploring Vientiane for a night, but when we got there it was not only deserted, but somehow completely full. It was a while before we found a guest house with vacancies, and when we did we paid more for the night then we had for all our accommodation COMBINED for the entirety of the trip! It was the most expensive city (waaaay more expensive than Phnom Penh), but for what reason I'm not sure since as I said it seemed completely deserted. Things sort of picked up after a pedicure and a trip to the night market. But the people weren't interested in bargaining and seemed annoyed at yet another Westerner's presence. It's confusing as to why this place draws so many tourists when, to me, it was like a smaller, less interesting, more expensive version of Phnom Penh. Maybe other travelers like that it is less developed than our cities in Cambodia, but, personally, if I'm going less developed, less English, please give me lower prices! I think I'll have to do more research to figure out the place. It was truly beautiful, though, and was more French than Cambodia. The baguettes were to die for! But overall I just found it puzzling....
Day 9: Which is today. Wow. Weird! Today we flew home on a lovely Vietnam Airways flight. I highly recommend them, it was one of the most pleasant flights I've ever had! It feels so good to be back home in Phnom Penh and in my apartment. I think I was at a turning point, going on two months living here, and I was hitting a slump. But the second I entered Laos, I missed Cambodia. I really love it here. I love being an expat and hated being a tourist. I love Khmer food! And Khmer people! And my apartment and my space! It isn't until you leave a place and come back that you can know what it means to you. And a place isn't home until it's home in your mind. When I was in Laos, I kept thinking, "I can't wait to get home." So, I guess I can officially call this home now. I loved Laos and want to go back and explore more cities, but I appreciate Cambodia and it's technologies, roads, infrastructures, food and people all the more for visiting it's neighbor.
Pictures from the trip are on facebook! There aren't many since I was in the water most of the time, but the ones I did take I am pretty proud of. It really is a beautiful part of the world, where I live. :)
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? :)
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