Living Just Enough for the City!

Greetings, hugs, and Kampuchean kisses to all my family, friends, and faithful blog followers. It's been quite a while...well a little more than a while since my last post. I know you're probably thinking "How can she let a half a year go by without any updates on only a 2 year experience???" I ask myself that often, but instead of listing all the reasons why I haven't been as consistent as in the past I will just give you nutshells of what's happened each month. So, please, brace yourselves because I gather that this post will be a bit longer that usual.

Let's go back to June of this year...a month filled with surprises and success! Since second semester exams were taking place in June of this year, I made a trip back home to the US. Yet, this was no ordinary trip. It was something planned and held secret between my father and me from the rest of my family- many of which came in town for my cousin's baby shower. As you can imagine, shouts and tears of joy ran rapid as I made my debut. Besides seeing many of my family and friends, my quick trip was filled with all my material American fantasies...Chipotle, Target, shopping malls, and Vegas, to name a few. Who would have thought that my trip to America would be such a luxurious vacation? Besides straightening my hair, operating a motor vehicle, and eating as much good classic American food as possible there was only one thing I left regretting I did not do. Some of you might laugh, but washing my clothes with an actual washing machine and dryer was on my to do list, but due to my hectic and short schedule I simply didn't have the time. Needless to say, when I got back to my village and realized I had a double load of clothes to wash by hand in the blazing sun I was a just a tad bit perturbed. While I had a wonderful time back in the States with many temptations to stay, I came back to Cambodia to participate in a huge project my province-mates and myself had been working on for about three months prior. Usually, success tastes sweet. But in this case, success was savory and tasted just like RICE...rice that was utterly "chingyan na" (very delicious)! We planned and hosted an education fair (similar to a college and/or career fair)- the first ever of its kind in our province. Our theme for the fair was RICE- Real Ideas for Continuing Education. We decided to introduce this ides to our students because we felt there was a need to expose them to post-secondary educational opportunities. The majority of our rural students rarely leave their villages that already lack basic resources, so instead of taking a select few of students to the capital of Phnom Penh to see the universities we decided to bring the universities, some guest speakers, scholarship organizations, and other resources to them. A little over 500 of our students and even some from Pursat and Siem Reap provinces were in attendance. For many of our students, it was their first trip to Kampong Cham provincial town! While this concept is very common stateside, this new idea in Kampong Cham created quite a buzz over here- even gaining some media attention. People are already asking when we are hosting the next one. And, yes, the next one is currently in the works, so be sure to stay tuned.

Now moving along to July. July was quite possibly the longest, most daunting month I have ever spent in this country. While it started off with a fun Fourth of July celebration at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh filled with burgers, beer, hot dogs, and entertainment things quickly died down as school was no longer in session and I found myself getting sick...yet, again! To spare you from graphics that seem normal to us PCVs but definite TMI for you, I'll just say it just wasn't pretty along with some painful trips to the hospital (sadly, by now everyone there knows me). While we gained over 50 new trainees, we also lost a few more members of my group whom by now had been here a year. With the combination of physical ailments, seeing more volunteers go home, having withdrawals from the States, and the everyday challenges of being a Peace Corps volunteer in Cambodia, I found myself questioning my motives and roles here. The latter is not uncommon among PCVs, no matter where they are serving, at some point during their service. There has literally been only one other time I have felt like this, but the feelings of doubt only lasted for a day and then quickly faded. This time, on the other hand, was a bit more troubling than I would ever imagine.

On to August...my birthday month. I was very excited for this time to come, as I planned some definite making up for last year's woes that had me in quite a somber mood for the entire month- my Dengue and giardia, the death of a dear friend/former boyfriend, and simply being surrounded by company I didn't know too well at the time. I decided to bring in this next year with a bang by celebrating in the Soul of Asia- a trip has given me indelible memories for a lifetime. Being in Korea was fun, fascinating, and fantastical! Not only was I eager to absorb North East Asian culture- everything from their food, music, gestures, and history- but I was also thrilled to spend time with my family and friends who live there. Seoul is such a bustling, flourishing city that I am proud to say I got to see several different sides of. From life on the American military base to life of the twenty-somethings expat communities, Seoul never seemed to fail me with intriguing things to do and see. My first taste of Korean culture was at one of the most well known shopping areas: MyeongDong. Being the true smitten tourist that I was, I began unabashedly taking pictures of everything and everyone! I was impressed by their cool, chic sense of style, but a little bummed to find out most stores didn't sell their fabulous clothes in anything bigger than a size 2! I wish you could've seen the look on the salesman's face when I pointed to the Korean conversion shoe chart asking him to bring out a pair of shoes for my sturdy, American feet. With very pitying and perplexed wide eyes, he shook his head and politely gestured to me that my size was not available. But, being the determined fashionista I am, I began a hunt for some fly Korean threads. It took a 5 hour round trip bus ride outside of Seoul to more mellow Yeoju, but I must say it was well worth it. I must also say that I expected to hear more of their music that is currently breaking world barriers (K-Pop) or to go to a concert, but I surprisingly wasn't able to do so. I got turned on to K-Pop here in Cambodia. 2NE1, Rain, 4 Minute, 2 PM, Shinee, The Wonder Girls...you name it, Cambodia plays it. Or they might play a copy of it with the same beats using Khmer words, but you get my drift. Although I didn't get to experience K-Pop first hand, I did get some good eats. From traditional kimchi to Korean barbeque to....brace yourselves....RICE! Yes, rice! Those little white grain thingys. To my very pleasant surprise, the rice was yummy, fluffy, savory goodness. In fact, the hardest thing about coming back here to Cambodia was eating the rice!

Now moving on to September. Even though this month didn't serenade me like those sweet Earth, Wind, and Fire lyrics, I was able to take a trip down memory lane and realize how quickly the year passed by since my group was officially sworn in as volunteers. Besides helping with the training of the new group of volunteers (K4s), many of us in country were eagerly anticipating their swear-in ceremony because there was a rumor that the Cambodian prime minister was supposed to be in attendance and possibly speak. We found out that he would ironically be in America attending a special forum that President Obama invited all the leaders of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to. Regardless of his absence, their swearing in ceremony was well organized and honorable event. Although, I must admit that it was a bit surreal to be "on the other side" and now in the shoes of the older, seasoned group in country.

October was a month that would forever change my path in this journey. While still internally battling my relevancy, goals, and purpose for being here along with innumerable other external factors that had my mind going awry, I struggled to come up with the answers that not too long ago were crystal clear to me. Then, all of a sudden, the answer was literally right on front of me. I was reading the bulletin for that day's mass when the answer I had been looking for was at my fingertips. "Each of the specific, visible ministries is also an opportunity to express faith through service...This is the most demanding service because it requires us to lose ourselves in something bigger than ourselves. This is how faith the size of a mustard seed can move mulberry trees- we are not alone, but our service is always with the other members of the Body of Christ." Of course! This is why I am here! I asked for this challenge, and I most certainly got it. Yes, there were times at which I asked myself if I was strong enough to handle something like this, or maybe thinking I was biting off a little more that I could chew??? But, it was only a period of time where the path I was treading got so cloudy that I just got lost in them. Now, I am back on my trail smoothly striding through my journey. Very shortly after I got back on track did I receive news from staff that I would be relocating, and this time not families. I moved sites completely from my rural village to my provincial town. I have a completely new environment, new school, new living situation, a new (social) life! Adjusting to these new changes wasn't too hard, as I already had plenty of contacts here. The new living situation that I very luckily stumbled upon is more than a blessing, and really more than anything I could have ever asked for or imagined. Besides the fact that I am apparently now living what we PC folks over here dub the "Posh Corps" life (did I mention I no longer wash my clothes by hand?!?! what? insane, i know!), I live in a very unique household in which nearly everyone who lives here is from a different country. Can we say cross-cultural exchange overload? Yes, we can! ;) And I can't repeat enough how much I appreciate this blessing and am learning from it. One of the only down sides about living here is the cost of living. It's so much more expensive, yet I get the same monthly allowance from PC that I had in the village. So, counting and pinching my riel (Khmer currency) is something I do on a daily basis. By the end of the month, I was also blessed enough to be part of the group of volunteers to be invited to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh for a meet and greet featuring our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. The several Peace Corps shot outs she gave in her speech has us all shouting with joy and grinning from ear to ear. What a month!

It's now November already, and I am in disbelief. 2010 is almost over, and sadly so is my service. So many people are asking what my plans are after this and where I will be. I am putting the pieces of that puzzle together as we speak, but this experience has sparked several interests that I didn't think about or have before coming here. I once considered possibly applying to extend my service a year given the many things I want to do, but don't have the time to do all at once before I leave next summer. (Mom, don't worry! This was just a thought, so don't stress!) Whatever I do decide and when I do promise to keep you all informed, since it is because of most of you in the States that have I been supported and sustained throughout this journey. Not even a million "Awkuns" (thank yous) can express my gratitude to you. So, until next time (and, I really do promise to not keep you waiting for updates another six months) please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers.