back from seattle, welcome k4s, steck&colin, pre-camp jitters

I went back to Seattle for three weeks to go to my best friend’s wedding…and man did it fly by!! It was quite an adjustment to go from my sleepy village days to the hustle and bustle of running errands, having social obligations, cursing at traffic, and eating SO. MUCH. FOOD. But it was amazing. I thought I would experience some sort of debilitating culture shock where I would be disgusted or overwhelmed by the consumerism of American society, but I’m maybe a little embarrassed to say…I wasn’t at all, in fact, I loved it all and didn't realize how much I had missed it. It was so fun to window shop for the newest trends, pay half a days stipend ($2) on a cup of coffee, drink red wine in real wine glasses and stay out past 6pm laughing with girlfriends. Oooh. And shopping in my closet was so fun. I would open my closet door and think ‘oh I forgot all about you!” and go to the grocery store in a silk blouse. So much fun. Also, being there for Carlyn on her wedding day was a unforgettable experience. And spending time with family. And smelling the crisp northwest air. And meeting my parents new dog. And going to the gorge….the list goes on and on.

That only lasted so long, however- then it was time to get on that long flight back to the other side of the world. Luckily the day I got back to Cambodia was the day before the new group of volunteers came to country!! I was asked to do the welcome week by the Peace Corps training staff and I couldn’t have been more happy teaching the newbies how to wash their clothes, go to the bathroom without toilet paper, help them buy things in the market, show off some of my language skills, and just overall feel helpful. It was also wonderful seeing how far I’ve come in a year. Living as the only foreigner in my village, you are constantly reminded of how much you still don’t know. But to remember how you felt your first few weeks….well, it just makes me proud of myself and my fellow volunteers.
Summer has been jam packed and been flying by… Kelly stecker and her boyfriend colin (for those of you who don’t know them…. close friends from college) are here visiting my village!! It’s so great having them here to experience what life is like for me. They are both so curious about every experience, it’s really fun to be around them and answer questions about things they find so novel, but are everyday and mundane for me. Today we went on a jog in the rice fields, had some strong coffee and poked at the slaughtered pig heads at the market, then went to the crocodile farm. Now they are taking their afternoon nap then hopefully we will have a chance to go to the floating village. Then tomorrow they are accompanying me to the first day of CAMP GLOW!!!!!
So, Diana and I have been planning this girls empowerment camp for about 6-7 months now. After months of kissing up to ministry officials, grant writing and re-writing, endless amounts of peace corps paperwork, negotiating prices of every cup, meal, ride, and piece of paper printed… I can’t believe it’s finally here. The thought of being in charge of 40 high school girls for three days and two nights makes me nervous…but I will just have to have faith. Diana and I will be sleeping on the floor with them, waking up at 4am with them, and giggling about boyfriends after the lights go out. I just feel like I should be doing something to prepare more on the day before…but I really don’t know what else to do. I guess I just have to let go and let it happen. I will definitely give an updated blog post and let you know how it goes!
And an update about the drinking water project….it was a wonderful success!! We maxed out the budget of 500$ after some unexpected extra costs of PVC pipes that wouldn’t reach or fit…but the builders finished the project in about 3 weeks and now the hospital and health center have an endless supply of fresh drinking water. The staff was so pleased they gave me a silk scarf from Siem Reap - with the price tag still on it to show how much they appreciated the project ($10), and then invited me to the district meeting where they asked me in front of the staff for the entire district to build EIGHT MORE (one for each district health center- way to put the pressure on me!). I said my standard answer for projects that I didn’t think would happen (“um….maybe?”) and they thanked me again.
So THANK YOU! For all your support from back home. Sorry I havent’ updated in forever…. I promise to try and be better about it. All for now.