I Love Cambodia

I just bought a bike, which has given me a new life. It’s a beauty. I can see where they welded pieces together under the thin layer of spray paint, but it gives it a little character. Really, I’m going places now... I think I could outride my tuk tuk during rush hour. I don’t know whether or not it’s safer than a moto – I still have to throw myself into the middle of traffic to get anywhere. I had to do some serious bargaining with the guy at the bike shop. Actually, I’m a liar – Beate did. There were about ten shops lined up on the same street, so I went shop hopping with my friend from Holland – she speaks Khmer and is a mean negotiator. I’m not – I’m too soft. You may think finding a bicycle seems easy, but keep in mind I’m a giant in the land of five footers. I wish I could have taken snapshots of the test rides – my knees hit the handlebars, and of course most of the “new” bikes don’t go in a straight line. I ended up with a sweet ride for thirty-three bucks – the biggest bike in the country. It has a new basket on the front, a light, a bell that will rust in three weeks, and a lock that I can’t operate. I dig it. I bought some blue and orange contact paper so I can dress it up a little. I almost lost my mangoes (which I bought from a guy on a motorcycle) today when I hit a pothole, but I’ll learn how to navigate the side streets in no time. I don’t think I can ride it to work – I would be a sweaty mess by the time I got there – but I have an open door to this part of the city. I feel an odd sense of freedom with such a simple purchase.
I made another investment at a place I consider the miracle shop. Even in the U.S., finding shoes for my feet was impossible (“Your Feets Too Big” – Lucas, you know what I’m talkin about). You can imagine that a size twelve shoe in Cambodia is close to a four letter word, BUT there is a shoe store that makes shoes, boots, sandals, you name it, for next to nothing – custom fit! I chose the sandals I liked, then they traced around both feet on a piece of paper (my brother asked if they had paper that big - funnyman). The beauty of this process is that both shoes will fit my feet, since my right foot is over a size bigger than my left. I love Cambodia.

Teacher or Student?

I am definitely embracing both roles, and the kids at my school don’t know that their roles as teacher and student are a bit blurry too. We’re all doing our fair share of learning and teaching daily. I have taught the students that there is a big difference between food and foot, edition and addiction – which in the end might keep one from sticking his foot in his mouth or acquiring a second bad habit. Not that I can actually model those things. I’m definitely learning how to be more humble, though – I have a new instructor who is teaching me Khmer vocabulary. He is nine. He sits with me during lunch and we go over the same words every day because I can’t remember any of them. I’m nervous because tomorrow he’ll expect me to know mango, water and car. It’s pretty hilarious – if you have seen Pink Panther with Steve Martin, you’d understand how the interaction goes. “I wooood lach to buy an amburegeare.” Well, my little buddy says “water – tduk”, and I say “tuk”, and he says, “no, tduk” (louder) and I say “tuke” – he says, “TDUK!” (frustration mounting, big eyes), and I give up and drink the water. We repeat the process with mango. It’s exhausting, really. So I know how my students feel when I make them repeat “huge” and “human” over and over again (those words are impossible, for the record – “shuge” and “shuman” every time… I can’t even say them correctly anymore). The kids give a lot - it’s clear that they are not always comfortable or capable, but they put themselves out there anyway. So I’m trying to learn from them and doing the same – I ask how to say new words at the risk of being laughed at… almost every time. Communication is complicated enough when two people speak the same language – imagine communication problems eight hours a day. I’m grateful for a sense of humor, or I would go crazy. There’s still time, I suppose – it’s early  .

Never a Dull Moment

This week kind of exploded – some work and play that was familiar, and other activity that was completely new to me. First of all, I’m wearing many hats at the school, which has already opened the door to some unique opportunities. The most exciting event was an education reception I attended at the residence of the British Ambassador. The gathering was designed to promote institutions of education in the UK and build relationships between international schools in Asia and Great Britain. Of course, I don’t play a significant role in that scheme… I just stumbled upon an invitation. I had no idea what I was doing among ministers of education and university presidents, but there I was with my messenger bag and harmonica (just in case). My tuk tuk driver dropped me off and left me in the hands of the guards… at that point I was kind of wishing he would accompany me. I thought I would fare better at an engagement hosted by masters of the English language – but their accents and speed of delivery still got the better of me. I kind of felt like Bridget Jones. His home had an open entry of white marble steps framed with small palms – quite a contrast to the dirty streets on the other side of the wall. A large pool was flush with the lower level patio and a canopy of trees. There was a mad exchange of business cards and a lot of men in suits talking about how important they were. I knew just how important I was, so I stood quietly between the dish of party nuts and the fan. At first I felt uncomfortable, but realized that I had nobody to impress, so I decided to just enjoy the moment. I drank the ambassador’s wine, examined his landscape portraits of Manchester and Yorkshire, ate more cashews and watched the Cambodian ballet dancers. I took a self-guided tour of the first floor and snuck upstairs to the bathroom. I kind of got a kick out of that – easily amused. As everyone got in their cars to leave, I jumped on the back of a mototaxi and headed to the grocery store for some salsa. It was a good night.

On more familiar ground… I played basketball with a group of women who meet every Tuesday at a local school. It was so much fun. Most of the women are from Germany, a couple from Holland, and one from Japan - she was a go-getter, but kept bouncing off me like a pinball. The rules and style of play were a little different – we didn’t really enforce little things like traveling five or six steps or collisions at half court. There were very unique shots and holes in the backboard, but regardless of skill, they found so much joy in playing. It was refreshing to run around and laugh. I just enjoyed meeting some new people and am excited to go back tomorrow. I’ve unofficially been named coach, and they decided it would be beneficial to have ten minutes of training every week before we play. I don’t think any of them have played organized basketball, so it will be fun. I love sports – I love that a ball and a hoop or a net can connect people.

The other new thing I’m working on is our school website. I’ve never even considered how information gets on the internet – I guess I just assumed that ideas and products and facts appear as I need them… like there’s a web genie or something. But because I’m the English speaker of the group, I’m now responsible for consulting with web designers/builders and organizing/writing/maintaining our site, which is actually a lot of work. Stuff like this quickly reveals strengths and weaknesses. I’m great at coming up with ideas, thinking about possibilities, and talking it through. That’s where my skill set ends, if you can call those skills. It will be a good learning experience for me, however, and it’s good for me to be the one that must do it… there’s nobody else to save me or finish for me.

I'll have to write later about our trip to my friend's village in the province. I put some pictures above. The people there certainly impacted my heart, and it was nice to get away from the city and see a different kind of life. I swam with the kids and cows, visited the library my friend built at the local school, played with the kids, and participated in a pretty serious volleyball competition. All of these experiences are changing my heart in so many ways. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've had already - they make me excited to start a new day and see what happens next.