snippets August 18

I guess it’s about time for an update. Mostly same old same old. HC in the morning, classes in the afternoon. Things have been a bit crazier since Camp GLOW is coming up Sept. 8. We’ve had so many last minute cancellations and I’ve been chasing down parents signatures (not literally…yet). Here are some snippets from my life:

Today there was a kid at the HC and his mom was forcefeeding him coca cola. Apparently he drank motor oil and the coke is supposed to make him throw up…

Today my host mom held a bucket up to me and asked “Do you dare to eat this?” I looked in and there were these two snake/eel like things. In Chinese it’s called huang san. And I’m like “yea” Cause I’ve had it before. And she was like “wow you’ll eat anything.”

A few days ago, I had my HC director sign my vacation form cause I’m going to China in October. He asked me “ Oh, in September you’re going to Thailand right?” I replied, “No I went in July and came back already…”

Today, I taught my English class “All My Loving”. We’re on a song learning binge right now. Part of it is they have to fill in the blanks, first with guesses (sort of like mad libs), then by listening carefully to me sing (no speakers for my ipod). Unfortunately, sometimes we hear what we want to hear. So, one of the lines was “Kissing the __lips__ that I’m Missing”. For the longest time they could not get the word lips so I tried everything. First I asked them what do we usually kiss. They said “cheek” and “forehead”. Then I said what do we use to kiss? They ALL replied “Nose”. Eventually I just had to tell them that we kiss with our lips because lip to lip kissing is something they’ve only seen on tv. I think some of them thought it was a dirty song.

a few updates

Today, the mosquitoes were attacking as usual at lunch, but my mom decided to do something about it. She said something about hitting the mosquitoes and I thought “Brilliant! She’s getting the mosquito racket.” She comes back with a can of raid and proceeds to spray under the table and over my legs with it. Aiming at the flying dexterous mosquitoes. I end up eating less than usual because I’m eager to go wash all the poison off my legs. Later she comes with the racket. Unfortunately, She drove the mosquitoes away already with the poison on my legs.

During girl’s leadership class today I found out one of my students went to Siem Reap City. I asked, “Is she coming back tomorrow?” They replied, “No, she’s not coming back until the 20^th. They sent her to work at a carwash so she can pay the tuition for her English classes next year.” I was very sad.

I've devoted a lot of time to my Girls' Class. Starting wayyy back before even April when we began writing the grant for the Camp GLOW(Girls Leading our World) in September. I've spent so much time with these girls that they still understand me when I completely butcher words in khmer and they no longer retain any resemblance to the actual spoken language. I've worried and sweat and I'm pretty sure my back is broken from all the hours I've spent hunched over a computer or a desk working on grants, logistics, lesson planning, evaluating, and translating. And hearing about this one girl possibly not being able to come because she has to work at a car wash?! It just makes me really want to cry. Life is so so hard for them. Just living is hard. Yesterday I wrote an email to my friends complaining about how hungry I was and how having giardia was horrible and I could barely do any work for the past week. Well I'm also super lucky to have PC pay for a nice home for me. Have a host mom that cares enough to make me three meals a day. Have a medical officer that gives me the right drugs, in the right doses, and holds my hand as I act like a total baby. I have an awesome boyfriend that will just talk to me on the phone when I feel bad and I have the freedom to go to a foriegn country and be a volunteer there. If I were a typical person from my village I would be suffering from giardia for two unbearable weeks. Google it. It's pretty bad and I'm sure you couldn't even imagine it. I would be hungry ALL the time. I would have to get up before dawn to go into the rice fields whether its a blazing 100 degrees or whether its monsooning. When I got home I would have to take care of my younger siblings and make the rice and cook the dinner. Then hopefully I'll have enough light to study and do my homework. In a few hours I'll be hungry again, but I can't eat cause there's no food left and I have giardia.If I'm lucky, my parents will let me take 3 hours from the middle of my day to bike down an impassable mud road in order to go to the free classes that strange foriegn lady teaches. Unfortunately, tomorrow I may be sent to Siem Reap or Thailand to work in a garment factory/ car wash/ gas station/ live in servant at someone's home.