I had planned on trying to get my last blog done before coming home, but unfortunately, I caught some really bad upper respiratory thing the last week we were in Cambodia. So between trying to get everything with the students and staff wrapped up, teaching, packing, cleaning and sleeping, it wasn't done. The trip home was 29 hours - door to door. I used all the meds I had to keep my ears and sinuses from getting too painful, but still ended up with an ear infection and bronchitis. After being home now three days and having more medication given to me, I'm able to somewhat start to function again.
It was very hard leaving everyone there. The students and staff I've worked with and lived with are wonderful, caring people and I hope that their dreams for a better future come true. The organization I was there with, Sustainable Schools International, is providing them with opportunity and they are working hard to get a good education and a vocation that will help their community and their families. I made good headway on the beginnings of an English school and thank everyone for their support - my family, friends, students and faculty at OSU and my church. My last two weeks was spent helping train a new Leadership Academy Manager who will take over my curriculum and English classes with the students as well as other things. A new International Adviser was also found and she will start on June 15th. I will remain in contact with them and the students over the summer as we continue to have Skype conversations and develop more curriculum. Once there is a good set of lessons in place, SSI plans on opening up the classes to the community.
Cambodia has changed dramatically since I was first there in 2002 - better roads, water and sewer lines in towns. Some of the countryside is getting electricity and paved roads (but mostly via private companies). There are opportunities - but a lot still depends on who you know and if you have money. The government in general does not look out for the people of Cambodia or its resources - unless it can gain by exploiting them. Elections are coming up in the next couple of years and it could be a tumultuous time as the people are tired of the current government (which has been ruling since Vietnam invaded to end the reign of Pol Pot). The Prime Minister has stated that he wants to continue in office for many more years - so he may choose to ignore the vote if it is against him.
Hopefully, all will be resolved peacefully and Cambodia will continue to grow. Education of its growing population is important as well as having jobs and opportunities for the youth. I know the young men and women I lived and worked with deserve a good future and hopefully I have been able in some small way to contribute to that future.
The boys finished their school year at Logos and ended up with pretty good grades. While they were ready to be out of school, they hated to leave their new friends. They are looking forward to the summer and getting to see all of their old friends!
This will be my last post. I will also upload some photos from the going away party - (boy did I cry)... some of the boys last days at school and some of the English Class students.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Friday, June 5, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
May 19th is a very special day for me because it is a day of celebration for both of my boys. Jonathan was born May 19th 2006 and 13 years ago, at 1 pm, I "got" Brian forever. That was when we pulled up to the orphanage in Sihanoukville and he was placed in my arms. (That lasted about 1 minute until he was crying for his nanny). We celebrated this year with soccer cake for Jonathan that we shared with the students here and by attending Brian's 7th grade "handchimes" concert at his school. Some of the kids in his class had told Brian they would bring him some black pants to wear, but they forgot. So 45 minutes before he was to be at the school, we were in a tuktuk racing to the closest mall to buy some pants. I never would have imaged 13 years ago, that I would be back in Cambodia with 2 sons and we would be trying to find a pair of black pants for Brian. We found the pants, got them measured and hemmed in 15 minutes and were only about 5 minutes late (and not the only late ones as I saw the student council president hurrying in right in front of us.).
Thirteen years ago, during that same time period, Carol, Brian, and I were being towed toward Phnom Penh behind a truck carrying wood. Our driver's car had broken down on the way back from Sihanoukville and the cell phone signal wouldn't carry over the small mountain so he couldn't call for help. We had sat on the side of the road in a small village until he found someone going towards Phnom Penh that could pull us. We were connected to the truck with a wooden pole and occasionally would drift into the oncoming traffic. Never Carol nor I will ever forget that ride - or the utter exhaustion we felt when we arrived at the hotel. By the time we got there, Brian had barfed and pooped on me. I must have passed some kind of test because he quit crying after that (maybe I smelled like him) and he gave us his first small smile as we sat in the lobby waiting for our room.
May has been another busy month at the Leadership Academy. Maureen Decoursey, the Director of Operatons for SSI, arrived May 1st and we launched into three weeks of nonstop work. Well, I take that back - she worked nonstop for 3 weeks - I unfortunately made it one week and then became very ill due to something I ate. Luckily we had already interviewed 7 candidates for the Leadership Academy Manager position and had completed some other work before I became bed ridden for 5 days. She and the Country Director went on and completed meetings with a bank, the Minister of Education, a NGO involved in agriculture - among other things. Fortunately, once I went to a doctor and got the right medicine it only took a day until I was able to be upright and another day to feel close to normal. She left today and my last week will be completing a few things we didn't get done and continuing training Sonhei, our new LA Manager. I'm glad someone will be here in the building with the students once I leave - I was a bit concerned with leaving 34 high school/college students without any adult around. not that I've had to really supervise them, but I was always here in case they needed something.
Thursday I was expecting to go to Jonathan's school and watch the 3rd grade "recycle" fashion show. They had made costumes out of clean recyclable trash. But around 8:30, I received a tearful call from him saying he had hurt his finger. I couldn't really tell if it was serious or not until he said it was "black". Then I started thinking he had broke it and it was really bruised. The school staff come on and said he had gotten a piece of wood deep under his fingernail and that I should come as the school nurse wasn't there that day. One of my students took me to the school on his moto and we picked him up. He had jammed a sliver of wood under his nail that morning when he was putting his helmet on a wooden table. It was the entire length of his nail, but hadn't gone into the nail bed thankfully. Maureen had just that week talked with an expat in the area and he had given her a name of a doctor he took his children too - so we called him up and took the motorcycle to his office - only 5 minutes away. He spoke pretty good English - they had to give Jon a numbing shot in his finger so they could cut away the nail some and get to the splinter. At first, it kept breaking and I was afraid they would have to cut the nail the entire length. But after about 15 minutes of this and that, the nurse was able to get enough of the splinter on the tweezer and the rest of it come out in one piece. I didn't have the heart or the energy to send him back to school after that. He was pretty tired from crying and I was from the adrenaline rush. The finger hurt a little yesterday, but today he hasn't complained at all. I'm quite sure that the memory of the motorcycle ride to the doctor and the doctor visit will not be forgotten.
The boys and I have really mixed feeling about leaving a week from Monday - I think we are ready to be back in OK, but also will miss the friends we have made here. Today, we went out to visit Brian's birthfamily for the last time and as we were leaving he said he wished that we could come back every summer so he could see them. Who knows - probably not every summer, but hopefully some summer we will.
I really haven't taken many pictures during this last month, but here are a few.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Thirteen years ago, during that same time period, Carol, Brian, and I were being towed toward Phnom Penh behind a truck carrying wood. Our driver's car had broken down on the way back from Sihanoukville and the cell phone signal wouldn't carry over the small mountain so he couldn't call for help. We had sat on the side of the road in a small village until he found someone going towards Phnom Penh that could pull us. We were connected to the truck with a wooden pole and occasionally would drift into the oncoming traffic. Never Carol nor I will ever forget that ride - or the utter exhaustion we felt when we arrived at the hotel. By the time we got there, Brian had barfed and pooped on me. I must have passed some kind of test because he quit crying after that (maybe I smelled like him) and he gave us his first small smile as we sat in the lobby waiting for our room.
May has been another busy month at the Leadership Academy. Maureen Decoursey, the Director of Operatons for SSI, arrived May 1st and we launched into three weeks of nonstop work. Well, I take that back - she worked nonstop for 3 weeks - I unfortunately made it one week and then became very ill due to something I ate. Luckily we had already interviewed 7 candidates for the Leadership Academy Manager position and had completed some other work before I became bed ridden for 5 days. She and the Country Director went on and completed meetings with a bank, the Minister of Education, a NGO involved in agriculture - among other things. Fortunately, once I went to a doctor and got the right medicine it only took a day until I was able to be upright and another day to feel close to normal. She left today and my last week will be completing a few things we didn't get done and continuing training Sonhei, our new LA Manager. I'm glad someone will be here in the building with the students once I leave - I was a bit concerned with leaving 34 high school/college students without any adult around. not that I've had to really supervise them, but I was always here in case they needed something.
Thursday I was expecting to go to Jonathan's school and watch the 3rd grade "recycle" fashion show. They had made costumes out of clean recyclable trash. But around 8:30, I received a tearful call from him saying he had hurt his finger. I couldn't really tell if it was serious or not until he said it was "black". Then I started thinking he had broke it and it was really bruised. The school staff come on and said he had gotten a piece of wood deep under his fingernail and that I should come as the school nurse wasn't there that day. One of my students took me to the school on his moto and we picked him up. He had jammed a sliver of wood under his nail that morning when he was putting his helmet on a wooden table. It was the entire length of his nail, but hadn't gone into the nail bed thankfully. Maureen had just that week talked with an expat in the area and he had given her a name of a doctor he took his children too - so we called him up and took the motorcycle to his office - only 5 minutes away. He spoke pretty good English - they had to give Jon a numbing shot in his finger so they could cut away the nail some and get to the splinter. At first, it kept breaking and I was afraid they would have to cut the nail the entire length. But after about 15 minutes of this and that, the nurse was able to get enough of the splinter on the tweezer and the rest of it come out in one piece. I didn't have the heart or the energy to send him back to school after that. He was pretty tired from crying and I was from the adrenaline rush. The finger hurt a little yesterday, but today he hasn't complained at all. I'm quite sure that the memory of the motorcycle ride to the doctor and the doctor visit will not be forgotten.
The boys and I have really mixed feeling about leaving a week from Monday - I think we are ready to be back in OK, but also will miss the friends we have made here. Today, we went out to visit Brian's birthfamily for the last time and as we were leaving he said he wished that we could come back every summer so he could see them. Who knows - probably not every summer, but hopefully some summer we will.
I really haven't taken many pictures during this last month, but here are a few.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Sunday, April 26, 2015
April 26, 2015
We have had a busy month here, with a visit to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center, the Khmer New Year, trip to Kep on the coast, school and teaching English Classes. I started working with the beginning class this week and hope to try them on Skype in a couple more weeks. Some of them have minimal English speaking skills, so it will take a bit more to prepare them to skype - however, they try hard and are eager to speak with others in the USA. The beginners will only speak for 15 minutes with their conversation partner (the more advanced have been speaking for 30 minutes). It will take us some time to make sure they have the vocabulary for that!
At the beginning of April, the boys and I took a tour of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center with BetelNut Tours. It took us about 2 hours in the back of an open jeep to get there as it is south of PP in the Takeo province. We had one other tourist with us - a woman from Florida who was trying to travel for two years on just her Social Security Income. I may be adventurous - but she has me beat. She was staying in a hostel with some young 20 somethings who had entertained her the evening before after a night of bar hopping. Not really my idea of a good place to get some sleep - must be getting old.
The Phnom Tamao Rescue Center takes in exotic and endangered animals that are injured or have been pets and are no longer wanted. One of them is a tiger that someone was raising in a home in PP until it got too big! Also there was an assortment of crocodiles, otters, monkeys, birds, deer, an iguana from Central America, boars, snakes and sun bears. I've posted some pictures on Google Drive under April 6th if you want to see some of the native Cambodian animals we saw. The first two pictures are of the Buddhist Wat that is close to our house.
As mentioned in my last post, most of the students went home early in April for the Khmer New Year. The boys and I caught a bus near Central Market the Saturday prior. Because of the traffic and crowds leaving town, our bus was over an hour late getting there. Once we boarded however, it was air conditioned and comfortable. However our 3 hours ride was closer to 5 hours - traffic and occasional stops at various towns along the way to pick up one or two travelers and drop them off down the road slowed us down. The scenery was a welcome change from the city and the boys had electronics - so we were all fine.
Once we got to Kep, which is on the Gulf of Thailand coast in Cambodia - close to the Vietnam border, we caught a tuk-tuk to our hotel. I had been worried as you never really know what you've booked until you get there, but it was great. It was across the highway from the Gulf (rocky area - no beach) and within 200 steps of Crab Market - which we went to for lunch and dinner. It was about a 15 minute walk to the beach. We stayed in a nice bungalow - they had about 8 so it was a small place. The grounds were beautifully landscaped and most days was swarming with butterflies attracted to all the flowers there. It had a small pool that Jon and I were in every day - some days 3 times. It also served a nice breakfast and had a good cocktail hour!
While in Kep, we hiked around Kep National Park which is small hills/mountains and jungle. After walking on a pretty level path about halfway around the park, we decided that we needed to get back to the beginning which we could do by going up and over a very steep, jungle path. I forgot my camera this day, but just image very steep. At one point, there was a rope tied between trees to help you pull yourself up. It took us about an hour to take our "shortcut" - up and down. At the very bottom of the path was the road. I was so excited to see it I forgot to watch my footing and took a big tumble. Both boys were scared I'd really hurt myself - I did get bruises on the back of one knee where I came down on a tree branch and bruises on my rear end (so glad that is padded) - and dirt on my pants, but nothing serious. There was a small open restaurant down the road on the side of the mountain also where we stopped for lunch and to let an afternoon storm pass by. We were really glad we were not on the steep path at that point as it was hard to keep your footing when it didn't have water pouring down it. It was a beautiful view and the boys and I had banana and chocolate crepes.
The rest of the trip was spent relaxing around the pool, playing at the beach and eating crab, shrimp and squid at Crab Market. Luckily for the boys and me, several places also offered pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers. They got what they wanted and so did I!
The upcoming weeks will also be busy as Maureen from Sustainable Schools is coming out to help wrap up some of the projects we've been working on long distance over skype (SSI is located in Fort Collins, CO). We will be interviewing to find someone to take my place as well as a full time Cambodian to be the Leadership Academy Manager. Some of the wonderful students here have taken on some of that role since the past LA Manager left early March. We are also meeting with some government officials, networking with other NGO and working on writing out procedures and policies for the new staff.
Only 5 weeks left! It's hard to believe it has gone so fast. We are looking forward to going home but I know I'll miss the wonderful students and staff I've been working with the past 4 months.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
We have had a busy month here, with a visit to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center, the Khmer New Year, trip to Kep on the coast, school and teaching English Classes. I started working with the beginning class this week and hope to try them on Skype in a couple more weeks. Some of them have minimal English speaking skills, so it will take a bit more to prepare them to skype - however, they try hard and are eager to speak with others in the USA. The beginners will only speak for 15 minutes with their conversation partner (the more advanced have been speaking for 30 minutes). It will take us some time to make sure they have the vocabulary for that!
At the beginning of April, the boys and I took a tour of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center with BetelNut Tours. It took us about 2 hours in the back of an open jeep to get there as it is south of PP in the Takeo province. We had one other tourist with us - a woman from Florida who was trying to travel for two years on just her Social Security Income. I may be adventurous - but she has me beat. She was staying in a hostel with some young 20 somethings who had entertained her the evening before after a night of bar hopping. Not really my idea of a good place to get some sleep - must be getting old.
The Phnom Tamao Rescue Center takes in exotic and endangered animals that are injured or have been pets and are no longer wanted. One of them is a tiger that someone was raising in a home in PP until it got too big! Also there was an assortment of crocodiles, otters, monkeys, birds, deer, an iguana from Central America, boars, snakes and sun bears. I've posted some pictures on Google Drive under April 6th if you want to see some of the native Cambodian animals we saw. The first two pictures are of the Buddhist Wat that is close to our house.
As mentioned in my last post, most of the students went home early in April for the Khmer New Year. The boys and I caught a bus near Central Market the Saturday prior. Because of the traffic and crowds leaving town, our bus was over an hour late getting there. Once we boarded however, it was air conditioned and comfortable. However our 3 hours ride was closer to 5 hours - traffic and occasional stops at various towns along the way to pick up one or two travelers and drop them off down the road slowed us down. The scenery was a welcome change from the city and the boys had electronics - so we were all fine.
Once we got to Kep, which is on the Gulf of Thailand coast in Cambodia - close to the Vietnam border, we caught a tuk-tuk to our hotel. I had been worried as you never really know what you've booked until you get there, but it was great. It was across the highway from the Gulf (rocky area - no beach) and within 200 steps of Crab Market - which we went to for lunch and dinner. It was about a 15 minute walk to the beach. We stayed in a nice bungalow - they had about 8 so it was a small place. The grounds were beautifully landscaped and most days was swarming with butterflies attracted to all the flowers there. It had a small pool that Jon and I were in every day - some days 3 times. It also served a nice breakfast and had a good cocktail hour!
While in Kep, we hiked around Kep National Park which is small hills/mountains and jungle. After walking on a pretty level path about halfway around the park, we decided that we needed to get back to the beginning which we could do by going up and over a very steep, jungle path. I forgot my camera this day, but just image very steep. At one point, there was a rope tied between trees to help you pull yourself up. It took us about an hour to take our "shortcut" - up and down. At the very bottom of the path was the road. I was so excited to see it I forgot to watch my footing and took a big tumble. Both boys were scared I'd really hurt myself - I did get bruises on the back of one knee where I came down on a tree branch and bruises on my rear end (so glad that is padded) - and dirt on my pants, but nothing serious. There was a small open restaurant down the road on the side of the mountain also where we stopped for lunch and to let an afternoon storm pass by. We were really glad we were not on the steep path at that point as it was hard to keep your footing when it didn't have water pouring down it. It was a beautiful view and the boys and I had banana and chocolate crepes.
The rest of the trip was spent relaxing around the pool, playing at the beach and eating crab, shrimp and squid at Crab Market. Luckily for the boys and me, several places also offered pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers. They got what they wanted and so did I!
The upcoming weeks will also be busy as Maureen from Sustainable Schools is coming out to help wrap up some of the projects we've been working on long distance over skype (SSI is located in Fort Collins, CO). We will be interviewing to find someone to take my place as well as a full time Cambodian to be the Leadership Academy Manager. Some of the wonderful students here have taken on some of that role since the past LA Manager left early March. We are also meeting with some government officials, networking with other NGO and working on writing out procedures and policies for the new staff.
Only 5 weeks left! It's hard to believe it has gone so fast. We are looking forward to going home but I know I'll miss the wonderful students and staff I've been working with the past 4 months.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Khmer New Year does not begin for several weeks - April 13 - 15 this year - but the students here at the Leadership Academy as well as most around the country of Cambodia are excited and happy it will be here soon. Many of the student had semester tests last week and this week and did not have to go to school for several days. Some of the students are already back in their "home country" which is their village and will not be back in Phnom Penh until April 19. It seems very similar to winter break for most Americans. Today, Jonathan and I were hanging out in the room being bored when upstairs I could hear giggling, laughing, and screaming. After about 10 minutes, I thought perhaps I should make sure the students weren't doing something that they shouldn't be...after all, I live with kids that range from 14 - 23 years old. Jon and I discovered that they were so ready for New Years that they were playing some traditional new year's games in the open area on the third floor. The first game called boss chhoung - I was familiar with because my kids had played it at Cambodian Heritage Camp in Colorado. It's like dodgeball with a rolled up scarf - about the size of a softball and tied so the ends can be used for throwing and swinging. Two sides face off and throw to the other side. If you catch the scarf, you are fine. If the scarf touches you and you don't catch it, the students here were putting baby powder on your face. Jonathan played for over a half an hour (I took pictures).
Another game they played later in the afternoon was called Boss Ongkunh (Augkunh). Ongkunh is a vine that has a fruit with large seeds/pits inside. The students had found a little dirt and each side had three of these seeds sitting upright in the dirt in a triangle shape. The object of the game was to knock over the other sides seeds by tossing more of the ohnkunh pits. The losing team got their knees 'tapped' with the seeds by the winning team. Of course, it was boys verus girls. I was a bit confused at first because I thought they were tapping each others knees with the pits to see if they could get a reflex (duh). But the tapper had two of the pits in their hand and they were trying to make a noise with the pits when they tapped the other person's knee.
One of the students told me that new years is a great time for boys and girls because they don't get to mingle much in the countryside and this gave them time to get together and get to know each other. I found it very heartwarming to think that in this age where many kids know too much about the opposite sex, that this "old fashioned" approach of playing games together provided a safe way to meet.. Some other games we've played with the students here have involved just sitting/kneeling in a circle and doing various counting/clapping type games. When you don't have a lot of money to buy toys or games or electronics, people do find fun ways to enjoy each others company. I look forward to learning more games from the students over the next couple weeks as we approach the Khmer New Year.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Another game they played later in the afternoon was called Boss Ongkunh (Augkunh). Ongkunh is a vine that has a fruit with large seeds/pits inside. The students had found a little dirt and each side had three of these seeds sitting upright in the dirt in a triangle shape. The object of the game was to knock over the other sides seeds by tossing more of the ohnkunh pits. The losing team got their knees 'tapped' with the seeds by the winning team. Of course, it was boys verus girls. I was a bit confused at first because I thought they were tapping each others knees with the pits to see if they could get a reflex (duh). But the tapper had two of the pits in their hand and they were trying to make a noise with the pits when they tapped the other person's knee.
One of the students told me that new years is a great time for boys and girls because they don't get to mingle much in the countryside and this gave them time to get together and get to know each other. I found it very heartwarming to think that in this age where many kids know too much about the opposite sex, that this "old fashioned" approach of playing games together provided a safe way to meet.. Some other games we've played with the students here have involved just sitting/kneeling in a circle and doing various counting/clapping type games. When you don't have a lot of money to buy toys or games or electronics, people do find fun ways to enjoy each others company. I look forward to learning more games from the students over the next couple weeks as we approach the Khmer New Year.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
March 17 - Halfway point
It's been a long time since I posted - we are still doing good here, but have been very busy. Planning for the two English Zone classes has been taking me 8 - 10 hours per week (Yes, I am a bit OCD - that is what makes a good SLP), teaching them another 6 hours, supervising the English Zone skype conversations between the USA and Cambodian students - 4 to 5 hours. Another of my responsibilities at the Leadership Academy has been trying to get procedures into writing - which became more of a priority when the Cambodian staff who has held the Leadership Academy Director position took another job. The transition has been fairly smooth - most of the things he was doing can be done by the older students until a new person is hired - but a lot of work between here and the SSI office in Fort Collins getting it organized. Thank goodness for skype.
Other than that - just been taking care of the boys (& myself). We were able to visit with Brian's two birth-brothers last month (we met them 3 years ago), as well meet his birth-mom, his brother's new wife and baby girl and a half-brother. The trip was 3 hours outside of town in the countryside and Mr. Ken took us. He was my driver when Carol and I came to Cambodia in 2002 to pick up Brian. It was good to catch up with him again as we have corresponded for over 10 years. At Brian's request, I will not be posting any pictures or discuss the visit in detail, but I can say we had a very nice visit and hope to see them all again before we leave.
We also had a great trip to Siem Reap - and I've posted WAY too many photos on Google Drive
https://drive.google.com
The ancient temples of the Khmer kings are located there - Here's a little internet blurb
Angkor translates to mean 'Capital City' or 'Holy City'. The ruins of this holy city are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization.
It's been a long time since I posted - we are still doing good here, but have been very busy. Planning for the two English Zone classes has been taking me 8 - 10 hours per week (Yes, I am a bit OCD - that is what makes a good SLP), teaching them another 6 hours, supervising the English Zone skype conversations between the USA and Cambodian students - 4 to 5 hours. Another of my responsibilities at the Leadership Academy has been trying to get procedures into writing - which became more of a priority when the Cambodian staff who has held the Leadership Academy Director position took another job. The transition has been fairly smooth - most of the things he was doing can be done by the older students until a new person is hired - but a lot of work between here and the SSI office in Fort Collins getting it organized. Thank goodness for skype.
Other than that - just been taking care of the boys (& myself). We were able to visit with Brian's two birth-brothers last month (we met them 3 years ago), as well meet his birth-mom, his brother's new wife and baby girl and a half-brother. The trip was 3 hours outside of town in the countryside and Mr. Ken took us. He was my driver when Carol and I came to Cambodia in 2002 to pick up Brian. It was good to catch up with him again as we have corresponded for over 10 years. At Brian's request, I will not be posting any pictures or discuss the visit in detail, but I can say we had a very nice visit and hope to see them all again before we leave.
We also had a great trip to Siem Reap - and I've posted WAY too many photos on Google Drive
https://drive.google.com
The ancient temples of the Khmer kings are located there - Here's a little internet blurb
Angkor translates to mean 'Capital City' or 'Holy City'. The ruins of this holy city are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization.
The Angkor Wat temples were built between 800AD to 1300AD. During this time over 27 kings ruled this large territory, about 400 Square kilometers (250 square miles) in north western Cambodia. The temples are thought to have been abandoned around the 15th century. They were built by the Khmer Empire which was one of the greatest powers in South-East Asia. The 'Khmer' refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. It is estimated that at its height of rule the population contained more than one million people. The temples are not only impressive because of the beauty. It is also amazing to marvel at the vast waterworks and military defenses that were put in place. They were quite advanced for their time.
http://www.angkor-temple-guides.com/angkor.aspx
We initially planned on going by ourselves, but were invited to join another family from the boy's school, the Workman's - Karen, Phillip and their daughters, Laura and Teresa. Susan Sain also joined us. I met Karen and Susan through Logos where the boys are at school - both are special education teachers - and wonderful people to travel with. I learned how to bargain better with the tuk tuk drivers and market vendors by watching them! We did three half days at the temples and spent the rest of the time swimming, resting, shopping, and eating. The first evening, we rode elephants up a hill to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat. The next morning, we toured Ta Prohm, which is the least "restored" of the temples (where Angelina Jolie was filmed for screens in Tomb Raider) and the Angkor Thom complex (Bayon, elephant terrace, plus more). That afternoon was spent swimming and the evening we went to traditional aspara dancing. We got up and left at 5 am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was beautiful and worth the early start. After resting/swim, we went to the Cambodian Culture Village and saw more traditional dances, a wax museum and miniatures of Cambodia's famous buildings. That evening we enjoyed an Indian dinner. A great vacation for sure.
For the most part, all of us have been healthy. The boy's have managed to avoid the traveler's tummy problems - but not me - luckily it was the day we came home from Siem Reap and I was able to sleep for 5 hours once we got home. I also discovered it is very easy to get dehydrated here and Gatorade is expensive. I finally learned about Royal D, which is a powder that comes in a variety of flavors and is intended for rehydration. I've felt much better since I started drinking one or two glasses a day. As it is getting warmer and warmer, I start sweating (or "sparkling") as soon as I get up (and during my sleep most nights). When I'm teaching, the students just look at me sometimes and go get the floor fan and turn it on me without me asking. Must be sparkling for them also.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Feb. 12, 2015
I'm considering investing in the loudspeaker rental business as I think you'd make some serious cash here. It appears that any major event, such as a wedding, funeral, house warming, or regular party is an occasion to be shared with the neighbors - via a pair of gigantic loudspeakers. For the first month, I only heard regular parties at an earsplitting 95 db or more - weddings and blessing of houses. Most would begin about 7 am and end around 11 pm.
For four days last week, beginning around 5 am (or that might just be when it woke me up), a funeral was being conducted somewhere in our neighborhood. One of the students told me that in the countryside, the proceedings can begin around 3 am and go to midnight so I guess I can't complain. If my research is correct, when someone who practices Buddhism dies, it is seen as the end of one life and the beginning of another -hopefully better. One of the students told me that the "master of ceremony" - which I think is a senior level Buddhist monk called an achar - conducts the ceremony. This involves chanting in a language that most Cambodians can not understand for up to an hour at a time. The chant is to calm the spirit and prepare it for what is next. The number of days that the chanting can occur can be up to seven days depending upon the family and their means. The first four days, the seventh day and the hundredth day are the most important. The student felt that the deceased must have been an important person for the proceedings to start so early in town and go for so many days. In between the chanting, traditional funeral music was then played - loudly - and it was melodic gongs, cymbals, and xylophones. We had quiet (relatively - if you don't mind constant construction noise, dogs, roosters and chickens) for a couple days, then on day 7, the music and chanting began again. This time I think there were two things going on - the 7th day of the funeral and a wedding since occasionally, it sounded like people live talking and telling jokes. The next day, it was only the wedding music, chanting and the people talking on the loudspeaker.
I've uploaded a couple short video clips of the chanting and music on the Google Drive Cambodian photo file if you wish to hear it. While the student said that this is "traditional", I'm assuming the ceremony part only, since loudspeakers were not around 40 - 50 years ago!
The boys and I went with two of the students to visit the Royal Palace last weekend. The buildings and grounds are impressive and we saw some valuable statues made of emerald and diamonds. The boys got tired of it pretty easy, but since it only took an hour and a half they toughed it out (mostly after I bought them ice cream). A small band was playing traditional Cambodian music - I have another clip of that. It's easier on the ear without the loud speakers and we watched it for awhile.
The English classes and skype conversations between 8 OSU students and 15 of the Leadership Academy students have started. I'm finding it much easier to plan for the intermediate English speakers than for the advanced beginners, but I'll get there eventually. It's taking a lot of time to plan and some other things are getting pushed to the side. I think most all of the students on both sides of the world are enjoying the conversations once they get past the nerves.
I hope next week to travel out of Phnom Penh to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat and the other temples - we are thinking of taking the bus since flying is expensive. - That takes 7 - 8 hours, but we'd see the countryside I'm told! Hopefully all of us will be over our head colds by then.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
I'm considering investing in the loudspeaker rental business as I think you'd make some serious cash here. It appears that any major event, such as a wedding, funeral, house warming, or regular party is an occasion to be shared with the neighbors - via a pair of gigantic loudspeakers. For the first month, I only heard regular parties at an earsplitting 95 db or more - weddings and blessing of houses. Most would begin about 7 am and end around 11 pm.
For four days last week, beginning around 5 am (or that might just be when it woke me up), a funeral was being conducted somewhere in our neighborhood. One of the students told me that in the countryside, the proceedings can begin around 3 am and go to midnight so I guess I can't complain. If my research is correct, when someone who practices Buddhism dies, it is seen as the end of one life and the beginning of another -hopefully better. One of the students told me that the "master of ceremony" - which I think is a senior level Buddhist monk called an achar - conducts the ceremony. This involves chanting in a language that most Cambodians can not understand for up to an hour at a time. The chant is to calm the spirit and prepare it for what is next. The number of days that the chanting can occur can be up to seven days depending upon the family and their means. The first four days, the seventh day and the hundredth day are the most important. The student felt that the deceased must have been an important person for the proceedings to start so early in town and go for so many days. In between the chanting, traditional funeral music was then played - loudly - and it was melodic gongs, cymbals, and xylophones. We had quiet (relatively - if you don't mind constant construction noise, dogs, roosters and chickens) for a couple days, then on day 7, the music and chanting began again. This time I think there were two things going on - the 7th day of the funeral and a wedding since occasionally, it sounded like people live talking and telling jokes. The next day, it was only the wedding music, chanting and the people talking on the loudspeaker.
I've uploaded a couple short video clips of the chanting and music on the Google Drive Cambodian photo file if you wish to hear it. While the student said that this is "traditional", I'm assuming the ceremony part only, since loudspeakers were not around 40 - 50 years ago!
The boys and I went with two of the students to visit the Royal Palace last weekend. The buildings and grounds are impressive and we saw some valuable statues made of emerald and diamonds. The boys got tired of it pretty easy, but since it only took an hour and a half they toughed it out (mostly after I bought them ice cream). A small band was playing traditional Cambodian music - I have another clip of that. It's easier on the ear without the loud speakers and we watched it for awhile.
The English classes and skype conversations between 8 OSU students and 15 of the Leadership Academy students have started. I'm finding it much easier to plan for the intermediate English speakers than for the advanced beginners, but I'll get there eventually. It's taking a lot of time to plan and some other things are getting pushed to the side. I think most all of the students on both sides of the world are enjoying the conversations once they get past the nerves.
I hope next week to travel out of Phnom Penh to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat and the other temples - we are thinking of taking the bus since flying is expensive. - That takes 7 - 8 hours, but we'd see the countryside I'm told! Hopefully all of us will be over our head colds by then.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
Sunday, February 1, 2015
One Month
February 1st - I am having trouble believing we have already been here one month. This week was spent on preparing and beginning the first English classes here with the "more advanced" students. I still needed Phearith, the Cambodian staff here, to translate some in class as I've not been able to separate the lower intermediate students from the upper intermediate students due to scheduling issues. (reminds me of work scheduling the clinic at OSU).
I felt kinship with the graduate SLP clinicians this week as my nerves were in tangles before the first class. Deep breathing and positive statements helped me through (and probably over 8 hours of planning). Group one has 6 members and once we got started, things went well. I'm trying to develop lessons a little different than a typical ESL class as the students are preparing to speak with their conversation partners over the topics we cover in class. Of course the first lessons will be on "getting to know someone" as the Cambodian students will be paired up with the USA students. Maps, vocabulary words about directions, geography, food and family - this is where I'm leaning for the start. Group 2 has 9 members and I'll start with them on Monday.
Several of the special education/remedial teachers from the boy's sister school, Asian Hope, have asked me to consult on some of their students. I met with one on Monday and was able to give her some suggestions. Sure wish I had brought my LiPS program with me. Thanks to Ashley Webb I've gotten scanned copies of the most important parts of it. Next week, I'll also meet with two other teachers to talk with them about their students.
I'm also on the look-out for anyone in Phnom Penh who does high school guidance counseling - and may have a lead. One of the teachers from the boy's school pointed me in a good direction. The high school students from the rural area that are living in the dorm with us have limited exposure to different professions and are a bit clueless as to what some of the careers they are looking at involve - both what they would actually do in that field as well as what training is needed.
I've been lost at the market wondering about all the different varieties of fish and wanted to try some. Today, one of the students, Rat Mom, rode bicycles with Jonathan and me to the farmer's market to help us pick out fish. (In Cambodian, the family name is listed first and the given name is second.) Mom helped me pick out "Chrakeng", a small silvery fish. Jonathan almost threw up at the market due to the different aromas and all the fish, pork, and chicken hanging out. He decided then that he wasn't going to eat any fish. Mom helped me clean and marinate the fish in salt, sugar, and Knor's chicken powder! Then we fried it upstairs in the student kitchen. As the smell of frying fish moved out of the kitchen into the computer room, several of the young men came in to see what was cooking. They were happy to find out that I had more than enough for myself and planned on sharing with the students. Mom made a sauce/salad to go with the fish of mango (a hard, tart variety), sugar, salt, soy, chili pepper, and another fish - don't know its name, but looked like a sardine that had been dried. All of these ingredients were mashed together for the salad/sauce. We ate it with rice and another dish that the male students had cooked of pork, cabbage and Knor's chicken powder (which I guess is the favorite seasoning for fish and pork.). Jonathan dared me to eat the eyeball of my fish - so I did - very crunchy - just like the skin since it was fried. I posted on Google Drive of the days events - but not me eating fish eyeballs.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
This week, I'll teach 6 English classes and orient the OSU students who have volunteered as Conversation Partners. Then on Thursday, I plan to start the conversations between the students here and the volunteers there. Hopefully, Skype and the internet will be working here - always a bit of a gamble. Probably will be a rough start - finding headphones and skype passwords - but I'm sure it will all pull together in a time or two.
I felt kinship with the graduate SLP clinicians this week as my nerves were in tangles before the first class. Deep breathing and positive statements helped me through (and probably over 8 hours of planning). Group one has 6 members and once we got started, things went well. I'm trying to develop lessons a little different than a typical ESL class as the students are preparing to speak with their conversation partners over the topics we cover in class. Of course the first lessons will be on "getting to know someone" as the Cambodian students will be paired up with the USA students. Maps, vocabulary words about directions, geography, food and family - this is where I'm leaning for the start. Group 2 has 9 members and I'll start with them on Monday.
Several of the special education/remedial teachers from the boy's sister school, Asian Hope, have asked me to consult on some of their students. I met with one on Monday and was able to give her some suggestions. Sure wish I had brought my LiPS program with me. Thanks to Ashley Webb I've gotten scanned copies of the most important parts of it. Next week, I'll also meet with two other teachers to talk with them about their students.
I'm also on the look-out for anyone in Phnom Penh who does high school guidance counseling - and may have a lead. One of the teachers from the boy's school pointed me in a good direction. The high school students from the rural area that are living in the dorm with us have limited exposure to different professions and are a bit clueless as to what some of the careers they are looking at involve - both what they would actually do in that field as well as what training is needed.
I've been lost at the market wondering about all the different varieties of fish and wanted to try some. Today, one of the students, Rat Mom, rode bicycles with Jonathan and me to the farmer's market to help us pick out fish. (In Cambodian, the family name is listed first and the given name is second.) Mom helped me pick out "Chrakeng", a small silvery fish. Jonathan almost threw up at the market due to the different aromas and all the fish, pork, and chicken hanging out. He decided then that he wasn't going to eat any fish. Mom helped me clean and marinate the fish in salt, sugar, and Knor's chicken powder! Then we fried it upstairs in the student kitchen. As the smell of frying fish moved out of the kitchen into the computer room, several of the young men came in to see what was cooking. They were happy to find out that I had more than enough for myself and planned on sharing with the students. Mom made a sauce/salad to go with the fish of mango (a hard, tart variety), sugar, salt, soy, chili pepper, and another fish - don't know its name, but looked like a sardine that had been dried. All of these ingredients were mashed together for the salad/sauce. We ate it with rice and another dish that the male students had cooked of pork, cabbage and Knor's chicken powder (which I guess is the favorite seasoning for fish and pork.). Jonathan dared me to eat the eyeball of my fish - so I did - very crunchy - just like the skin since it was fried. I posted on Google Drive of the days events - but not me eating fish eyeballs.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing
This week, I'll teach 6 English classes and orient the OSU students who have volunteered as Conversation Partners. Then on Thursday, I plan to start the conversations between the students here and the volunteers there. Hopefully, Skype and the internet will be working here - always a bit of a gamble. Probably will be a rough start - finding headphones and skype passwords - but I'm sure it will all pull together in a time or two.
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