A Renewed Sense of Patriotism (a quick stateside blurb)

Let me tell you, as a PCV, there is nothing better than being in America for the 4th of July.  I mean, as far as holidays go, I'd rather have Christmas at home...or Thanksgiving...or Easter, but the 4th of July ain't half bad.  So you can trust that today will be filled with plenty of....eating (and maybe a sparkler or two).

The 4th of July was never something I celebrated with much gusto.  Honestly, I used to think "Why celebrate a country with so many issues?"  How could I celebrate a country involved in things like the military industrial complex, filled with corrupt politicians, and who still can't seem to grasp the concept of equality for all?  But today I realized why I should celebrate this incredible country.

I KNOW about all (well, at least most of) these things with which I happen to disagree.  I can talk about it and post facebook statuses about it and say whatever I want.  These are not rights and freedoms granted to every country in the world.  So believe me, us Americans have a lot to be grateful for.

So no matter where you stand in American politics, please just take this day to remember the great things about our country.  It's remembering our strengths that will help us repair our weaknesses.

AND EAT SOME BARBECUE!!!!!!!!!!

Don't worry, I'm still constantly embarrassing myself

I feel like I haven't really lived up to the public's expectations for this blog.

Anyone can tell you that a day in the life of Kelly Grogg is really just a string of embarrassing stories.  Seriously, I have a series of school dance and public bathroom stories that are so awkward, most people think I'm making them up.  But I'm not.    

As you can imagine, plopping me down in the middle of Cambodia did nothing to alleviate my life's attraction to a few embarrassing moments.  So I'm going to make more of an effort to publicly post my most embarrassing stories for your amusement.  Here my most recent story.

A couple of weeks ago, I was teaching one of my 11th grade classes, and having quite a bit of trouble getting any sort of participation from my students.  Eventually, I asked them to read the dialogue in pairs so they could practice before I called on them to read aloud.  A few of my shyer female students immediately started to point to their chests, gesturing that they had something to say.  I got WAY too excited and exclaimed to the class, "GREAT!  We already have a pair who would like to volunteer to read!"  These girls immediately started shaking their heads from side to side, looking like a couple of deer in the headlights. While I thought to myself, "What's the deal?  If you want to read just read already."  They motioned me to come in closer and whispered to me in khmer, "Teacher, um...your shirt....".

Sure enough, my shirt was almost entirely unbuttoned and the whole class got a scandalous glance at my underclothes.  I'm sure I was the talk of the town, but that did explain while it didn't feel quite as unbearably hot.  Who knows, maybe my shirt will find itself mysteriously unbuttoned from time to time in order to catch a breeze.  "Oh no!  Is my shirt unbuttoned?  I had no idea..."

My Start as an Old Cat Lady

Sometimes, life at site can get a little lonely.  So it helps to have someone else around who also doesn’t speak Khmer fluently.  Or any language fluently.  

He never really looks super happy, but he doesn't run away from me anymore!  

Meet Cat.  Well, I actually call him cha-mah, the Khmer word for cat.  But, for all intents and purposes, his English name is Cat.  Cat likes to hang around my porch a lot and has been known to sneak into my room from time to time if I leave the door open (especially if I have forgotten about a mouse trap that has gained an unfortunate resident).  Cat was a pretty skinny, little guy when we first met, but after sneaking food to him for a few weeks, he has become a regular part of the family.  My host family doesn’t always appreciate his meowing, but they bring him into the house every night and, as evidenced by his weight gain, they have started feeding him as well. 

As you can see, Cat only has three functional legs, so he’s had a pretty rough life as a Cambodian cat.  He’s got a lot of spunk and we’re not really at a point in our relationship where either one of us is willing to risk touching the other one (most animals here have fleas, rabies, or both, and I am a giant alien as far as this cat is concerned), but who knows?   We may get there one day. 

Pets aren’t really seen as companions here, but more like guard animals or they are kept around to trap mice.  Pets are so different in Cambodia that it’s a little hard to express sometimes.  I tried to explain the concept of dog food to a student the other day, and felt like a complete idiot. 

Me: “Yeah, we have these small balls of food that aren’t really food, but like a bunch of different foods put into a dried ball.  People don’t eat it, we just buy it for our dogs.”

Student: “Why don’t they just eat rice?” 

Aaaaaand of course it came full-circle back to rice. 

But seriously, it is kind of weird to think that we buy special processed food for our animals, when most people here just feed their pets whatever they have left over.  Which yes, is mostly rice. 

So hug your flea-less pets extra tight (unless you have a cobra or a fish, or something like that) and know that if you feed them rice every once in a while, they will survive.  

Two Years

Yesterday I was talking with another PCV friend over the phone and we began to broach the subject of the 2-year time commitment for Peace Corps Volunteers.  Yes, two years is a long time.  But as we were talking I realized that my first year is almost up, and I feel nowhere near finished.  We concluded the first year is basically the time you have to screw everything up, and the second year is there for you to screw fewer things up, and hopefully get something done in the process.  

Progress is something that is extremely slow-paced in Cambodia, and in most other developing countries.  It is something that is especially slow when you are coming from the outside without a complete understanding of the language, the politics and the culture.  I can’t tell you how many times these roadblocks have gotten in the way of projects I thought would be amazing, only to realize that’s not really how things work here. 

But even with all the roadblocks, I am happy to report that things are finally starting to take off.  I have been able to work with a new teacher who is really receptive to working together, and even takes time out of his day to lesson plan outside of class with me.  My English club has a core group of students who meet every week, and I absolutely love working with them.  Last week I drew up my own ESL version of Chutes and Ladders.  It was the first board game they have ever seen or played and they LOVED it (side note: I’ll be on the lookout for used and unwanted board games when I come home to visit this summer, so let me know if you’re looking to get rid of any)!

I’ve also started an English class for adults that meets three days a week, and I have a great group of bank employees who are really dedicated to improving their English so they qualify for more promotions.  Last but not least, Camp GLOW has been fully funded so we are on for the second weekend in June.  When I told one of my students that her application was very good and I would like her to attend the camp, she was jumping out of her seat and clapping her hands, she was so excited.  I am so thrilled to see what this next year has in store for me. 

But with the great progress that comes with a great time commitment, there is also this continuing fear of missing out and the perpetual homesickness that never really seems to go away.  When I think about my time here, being in Cambodia has gotten so much easier, but being away from home continues to be just as difficult as the first day I left.    This past week, my Aunt Debbie passed away from a long battle with ovarian cancer.  This period of time has been the hardest for me to be here, even though things in Cambodia have been going so well, lately.  I wanted to be with my family, and even though we could Skype, in the words of my mom “The one thing with Skype is that I still can’t hug you.” 

But the great thing about being a PCV is the new family you acquire the moment you step off the plane.  I have felt so supported by Peace Corps staff and other volunteers in the past few weeks.  Of course I wish I could have been home during this time, but I’m very much looking forward to flying home in 36 days to give my family that big hug we’ve been waiting for, and then heading back to Cambodia to finish what I started. 

Who Runs the World? (Girls!)

This June I am very excited to join up with my province-mates to host a Camp GLOW.  Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a great opportunity to help teach young women about the importance of protecting their bodies, preparing for their futures, and preserving their environment.

I interact with many young women every day at school, and I cannot stress enough how important this camp is to me.  During many of my conversations with my female students, they doubt their abilities to take on leadership roles in the class, in their future careers, and in their lives.  One of the girls I spoke with about this camp, didn't even understand the importance of a leadership camp for girls.

Camp GLOW is an opportunity to teach girls that they can do anything they set out to do.  My goal is to make sure every girl goes out of that camp knowing she is unstoppable.

And here's where you come in.  We have to fundraise a little over $3,000 to make this a reality.  We have to pay for the transportation and lodging of almost 100 girls and we want to make sure that as many girls as possible will get to attend this event.  Believe me, every little bit counts.  So even if it's only a few dollars, that's a few dollars we didn't have before.  AND it's a tax deductible charitable donation!  EVERYONE WINS!

Here's the link, if you would like to donate:
https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-303-014

Thanks for helping for helping our girls GLOW!

Highs and Lows

My freshman year of college, My floor-mates and I ate dinner together almost every night.  It was no easy feat to schedule around everyone's evening class schedules, but we always enjoyed our dinners.  These dinners would often go on for hours as we continued to talk, drink coffee and, in my case, eat dessert (Freshman 15!).

The best part of these dinners came at the end of the week when we would do something called "Highs and Lows".  During this time we would all go around the table and talk about the best part of our week (the high) and the worst part of our week (the low).  It was such a great way to keep track of how everyone was doing, and the big events in everyone's lives.  

So the following post is going to be my high and low of this week.  Who knows!  I may start throwing these at the end of my posts from now on!

I always like to start with the low so we can end on a positive note:-)

LOW: I found out that I have yet another week of no classes.  This will be week number three of no teaching.  While I have enjoyed the time off, I really do love teaching, as it gives me a sense of purpose, and most importantly, something to do!

HIGH: Today, one of my English Club students used the word "hearsay" correctly in a sentence.  Most of you know that I am a complete mock trial nerd, so any legal term like this really makes my ears perk up (and for any mockers reading my blog, I definitely had a "trigger-word" response and was instantly formulating a response with an exception under 803).

The best part about this is that I didn't even teach her that word.  This particular student has been asking me about ways to help her study on her own, in addition to the two times a week she meets with me.  So I've been lending her books and telling her to look up any words she doesn't know, and telling her to read as much as possible.  It is so amazing to me that this young lady has gained so much autonomy in her learning, something that is not common in Cambodia.  This is sustainability at its finest.  Giving a student the tools and confidence to know that they can learn on their own is something that I strive to do during my time here.

Lastly, the smile that spread across her face when I told her how amazing it was that she learned that word on her own, and used it correctly, was priceless.

Just so you guys know, it's really freaking hot.

My parents love to tell this story about how when I was a little girl, I was a big whiner.  It's true.  And in all honestly, I still am, but I try to keep it under wraps most of the time.

Anyway, apparently one day when I was very young, my mom was carrying me into a restaurant as I was screaming at the top of my lungs, "I'M HOOTTTT!!!!!!  I'M SWEATY!!!!!!!"  I was sobbing and screaming so hysterically that a complete stranger came up to my mom and asked, "My goodness, what is wrong with her?", to which my mom replied, "Listen to her!  She's hot and she's sweaty."

Now, it's important to note that the reason I was so hot and sweaty is that my mom had just CARRIED me from the AIR CONDITIONED car into the AIR CONDITIONED restaurant.  If only Little Kelly could see me now...

Yes, I am hot and I am sweaty.  But the difference between then and now is that I am hot and sweaty pretty much all the time.  And I don't cry about it...usually.  Instead I have found other ways to cope with the heat in Cambodia, and I've decided to share my wisdom with all of you.

1) Bike just fast enough to create a breeze, not not fast enough for it to actually count as exercise

2) Be naked as much as possible (opportunities for this are rare)

3) Sit directly in front of your fan.  Sure, sometimes it feels like a hair dryer is being blown on your  
    face, but hey, at least you feel something.

4) Avoid moving at all costs

5) If you are fancy enough to buy a drink with ice in it, blow directly into the cup so the cold air blows
    back into your face

6) Spend as much time as legally possible in the air conditioned ATM cubicle thing (why these things
    are pretty much the only places in Cambodia with air conditioning is beyond me).  A lot of people in      
    my town think I have trouble working the ATM, but I honestly just go in there and press buttons for
    about 10-15 minutes each day.

Well, it's a constantly growing list, so I'll let you know if I come up with any new plots to stay cool.  Until then, enjoy your snow while I am sweating in my sleep!