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
Thursday, February 12, 2015
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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