Site Update...The Village Life

SO...this past weekend I changed host families...and it's been a big upgrade in so many ways...

My new house is wonderful…it’s tucked away in rice fields close to my
school. It’s so quiet and peaceful. My family consists of an awesome
housewife/mom (she is so goofy and maternal), a very kind father, and
a daughter who is in grade 12…who I hope will become my new best
friend. She is so sweet and smart and funny. Her name is P’nut, but I
have been calling her Peanut. My host mom grows her own vegetables in
a lovely little garden (we have cabbage, morning glories, string beans
among other vegetables), many fruit trees (mangos, coconuts, papayas),
and we even raise our own chickens! Which are delicious…we had one
yesterday for lunch.

My room is equally as awesome. It’s on the second floor and it very
big. And they gave me my own bed and mattress! (last night sleeping on
a mattress for the first time in the villages was the BEST night of
sleep I’ve had since coming to Cambodia) They even bought me a brand
new chamber pot (yes, since coming here…I’ve become easy to please).

Yesterday my new family was so welcoming…and they told me they were
preparing me a special lunch the next day (today). They kept asking me
if I knew how to eat this animal that I didn’t know the word for…so I
kept saying I don’t know. They beckoned me to a corner of the house
with a clay pot and they pulled out a giant turtle. I was pretty
surprised, said I had never had eaten a turtle before but would be
happy to try it. And actually…it was pretty tasty! I think they must
have steamed or boiled it then chopped it up and served it in the
shell- with the head attached and everything! It ended up being a
pregnant turtle and was filled with these strange little eggs. Some of
them hadn’t fully developed while others already had the shell on
them. The first piece they served me was the foot….and I had to chew
around the claws and everything. Haha. I felt that I had to be brave
and eat it all since I knew it was such a special meal. The turtle
cost $20…which is ridiculously expensive. To put this in perspective,
a public school teacher only makes about $60 a month.

Other than that little tidbit….things at site are going great! I’ve
started my honors English class and I have 28 wonderful, motivated,
and very clever students. I have teamed up with Andy Harrington (who
teaches 3rd grade in Kirkland) and we are setting up a pen pal program
between our two classes. I’ve also started an informal reading club on
Tuesdays when I sit in the library. Students come in and we sit in a
circle and read English books out loud. It’s a lot of fun! My next
project is to start a women’s empowerment camp for high school
girls...this will be my big secondary project for the summer. I’m
working with three other volunteers over three provinces and we hope
to set up a three day camp filled with inspirational guest speakers
and workshops on self-esteem, women’s rights, career planning, and
goal setting, among other topics. I think my fellow volunteers and
myself have noticed a general lack of support for young women so we’d
like to try to alleviate that, even if it’s on a small scale. I’ll
keep you updated on the project!