I have been trying to write a blog post for the past two
weeks, but my thoughts have been so scattered that I haven’t really been able
to get down a coherent paragraph.
However, as it is the last day of the month, I am going to knock out
some updates today even if it kills me. So blog readers, bear with me.
The first three weeks at permanent site have been an insane
rollercoaster: a really, really, slow rollercoaster. Since school doesn’t start until tomorrow (SO EXCITED) I
have pretty much just been bummin’ around town for the last 3 weeks. While this was great for the first
couple of days, it got pretty old, pretty fast. However, as I spent hours reading, biking around and
speaking broken Khmer with random people I realized that this slower pace has
its perks. I have slept at least 8
hours every night (something unheard of for me during the school year), I am
able to exercise every day and I have time to journal, read, and do the things
I love. I also have time to just
sit and talk with people.
Normally, I would never consider just spending 2 hours in a coffee shop
talking to random strangers and sipping tea, but here, that’s a pretty great
way to spend an afternoon.
It is because of this more relaxed pace of life that I have been able to
form some pretty great relationships in my community.
My first week here, one of my main priorities was to find a
good coffee shop. Iced coffee is
pretty much be best thing ever because
aA) it’s coffee
bB) it’s cold
As I was biking around, I was having trouble finding a
coffee shop that wasn’t brimming with men. Now, at home, a coffee shop full of men would definitely be
a huge bonus, but things are a bit different in CambodiaJ. It’s not really common to see women just hangin’ with the
guys. Being new here, I’m
pretty intense about keeping up a good reputation, so I’m trying very hard to
interact with men only in social situations where it would be appropriate (I’m
probably even being overly cautious with this), and being the only woman among
about 20 men doesn’t seem super kosher.
After biking around for a good 30 minutes, I couldn’t find
any coffee shops with a single woman. So, I did what any reasonable young woman my age would do and
went home and cried. However, a
few hours later, I pulled myself together and reminded myself to just keep trying (this has become a sort
of mantra of mine). I got back on
my bike and decided to explore the larger market and see what was up there,
even though the size of it was a bit intimidating. Like manna from heaven, I found a coffee shop owned by a
woman. I got some coffee and
started talking to the owner, and before I knew it, we had formed a sort of a
friendship. Her daughters started
showing up (which was very helpful because they speak a little English) and now
I have a sort of coffee club I go to every day.
I have enjoyed each of our meetings more and more each
day. They have also started to
refuse my money when I try to pay for my coffee. I keep trying to thrust riel in their hands, only to have them
reply, “Sister, you do not pay because you are family.” I might have teared up a little
when they first said thatJ. Today, I got to visit their
home and I had a really nice time.
I taught them some card games and we all sat around with our dictionaries
learning new words and trying to make conversation.
This group of women has truly become a second family to me,
and made me feel incredibly welcome in my new home. I cannot wait for the day
when my Khmer skills are good enough to tell them how much their friendship has
meant to me.
So in short, yeah, Peace Corps is hard. I miss my family and friends. I miss McDonalds. But the warmth and kindness of the
people I have met here has convinced me that this is going to be a pretty great
home for the next two years.
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