Language barriers are awkward for everyone, no one necessarily likes taking time to sit down and talk to an adult like they're a baby, explaining each word slowly and clearly--it's exhausting. Whenever someone wants to practice English but it's apparent they haven't studied in probably 3 decades, I find myself grinding my teeth saying things like “Yes, Cambodia so happy. I eat Khmer food, yes” instead of rattling off in the Khmer I've spent hours learning and practicing. I want to be nice! And I have experience as such, working with refugees or talking to foreign exchange students, etc etc I believe I have perfected the nonchalant non-native English speaker conversation including appropriate body language, facial expressions, leading phrases and words, and filling in the uncomfortable gaps with a gaff here or there--laughing at a child or something strange to diffuse the tension and make sure the other person doesn't feel embarrassed or intimated----that's how my brain works.
When I finally get going, rattling off in Khmer things escalate quickly talking about money, American economics, goods, relationships--last night I bonded with family and strangers alike about my prostitution price: “500-1000$ depending on the situation,” I say to a roar of laughter. “The $500 is for my Khmer family, they get a discount,” to another wave of laughter and then subsequent invitations to “sing karaoke,” a euphemism for visiting a brothel. “No,” I say. After 6 months here it gets harder to fluff awkward situations like that that are genuinely offensive in my culture. But I do try--hiding my Aries fire demon, letting it come out only when I can't suppress it anymore.
“John, I can't understand you when you speak Khmer,” a, umm, friend always says to me. “Well everyone else can, so…” I retort. “Yeah, I don't know, it's not so clear,” he fires back. “Well, maybe you're not so smart,” I whip back--I've had this conversation so many times with him I'm tired! I walk away giggling to my inner-demons.
Like I said, not so uhh “classic” Peace Corps, eh?
The newest fad in my hood is all the students boys and girls alike have tinted their hair different colors: their black hair now maroon on top, their ponytails green, blue, yellow--disposable income at its finest: vanity. I am kind of into it though.
The ladies at the Tela Mart (the closest thing to a 7/11 within 50 miles of me) all know me, some by name, although I never gave it. I come here to sit down in some AC and eat ice cream or drink a soy milk straight from a fridge. It's nice. It's about 13Km from my site and a perfect excuse to come to a “city” and see traffic and movement and monuments. Granted this city is about the size of downtown Omaha if that, it's still quaint and cute and I really want to go on a boat ride today. Too bad I don't have any friends :( just kidding they're just all traveling while I stay in my village, working through my endless series of, I guess, insecurities not only in my job here but life as well. But it's okay, I focus on me now, and I go to Bali later!
Really it's not a big deal!
The school break has already set in, kind of a surprise to me about 2 weeks earlier than it should be, but I do live in Cambodia. My birthday and the second semester will be here before I know it, and with it a fresh start that I will definitely take advantage of. In a month, I will go to Siem Reap with TWO of my students who won 2 spots in the Art Olympics challenge where only 10 students in the country won. Amazing! I will try to get better pictures of their pieces to post.
We will go to workshops, museums, Angkor Wat, the circus, etc so I'm super excited about that. It's definitely an awesome opportunity that peace corps affords students.
One of my best students also won the top spot for his grade in the short story competition IN english! His story is about ISIS and a strange drug, but I don't have a copy of it yet. I was nervous it wasn't going to win because it's uhh kind of violent but who knows? Creativity trumps all. He will receive assorted books as a prize! He's not as excited as he wanted to go to Siem Reap. You would think in Peace Corps your students would be so happy to have even 1 new book, but PC Cambodia is a little posh corps, and the students would sometimes fit nicely in an American classroom with a umm less than grateful attitude. But I'm being probably too judgmental, but it still kind of hurts to see most people don't care he won out of ~70 students because the prize isn't as luxurious as a weekend getaway to Siem Reap. #justsaying
All in all its always an interesting time here, getting told I have no muscle, or that I'm son smart or so beautiful or so skinny or so tall or so this or so that. They do it out of love. If they didn't like me they wouldn't talk to me. And that's Cambodian culture!
I need to bike back now it's nearing 11 and I haven't really done anything today besides watch the first episode of House of Cards and read this really long story about solving a series of sexual assault cases...and biking here...and writing this. Maybe that is productive in Peace Corps terms. Regardless of what you think about the PC experience, everyone's is different even within the same province. But one thing for sure is that a lot of things don't make sense, but there's a lot of love. And mocking.
