Pictures. For the first time since arriving in Cambodia, there will be pictures in my blog. I will mix them in with the text, and at the end I will provide additional pictures. This post is a little disorganized since my computer/the internet has frozen so many times while putting these pictures in place. I finally figured out how to do it in spite of the slow internet, so future posts will be better. Please note that since I wash my clothes by hand and do not want to appear rich to my Cambodian friends, I wear a lot of the same clothes.
If you want to see all 379 pictures I took during training (probably so you can find the perfect pictures of me for your screen saver), you can follow this link:
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| PC Training |
So, I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer instead of a Peace Corps Trainee. Tomorrow, I will go to my site. It was sad saying goodbye to my the friends I have made here, but we will have much to share through text messaging and when we get together again.
For the next three months, we are on what we call "lock-down;" we cannot leave our province. The reason Peace Corps has this policy is so we will make a good impression on our community and make it clear that we are living there. So, I will spend a lot of time at my site and with the volunteers in my province (of course, I will spend a lot of time at my site after lock-down too).
Training wrapped up nicely. We returned from our health trip and I gave a presentation to about 40 Khmer students on hand-washing. It was a little awkward since it was my first time presenting information in a foreign language, but I will certainly improve.
Then, it was a Buddhist holiday in Cambodia: Pchum Ben. It is a day where the family goes to the wot and gives food so that their ancestors receive good things in the after life. It was a lot of fun. I hung out at the wot a bit and then spent a lot of time with my family.
After the holiday, we took our language test. I passed! I feel pretty comfortable with basic conversation and, by being outgoing at my site, I think I can speak a lot and continue to improve.
On our last day in our training village, we had a part for our Khmer teachers and our host families. It was great: we cooked pancakes, carnitas and other American food. We were lucky that one of the host-parents professionally had parties, so he was able to provide a tent, tables and chairs. The Khmer people really enjoyed it and we all had fun cooking and then hanging out. But, it was sad to leave our village.
Us with our carnitas creation:
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| From PC Training |
Me with my host-dad:
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| From PC Training |
Sweet shot of the party:
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| From PC Training |
Our Khmer teachers:
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| From PC Training |
My friend, Nathan giving a speech about our village:
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| From PC Training |
Then, it was off to Phnom Penh to wrap things up. In addition to some final trainings, we went shopping (I bought a lot of cheap DVDs) and ate delicious food. My province does not have any non-Khmer food, so I had to get as much ice cream, pizza and Indian food as possible.
I have a lot of expectations for tomorrow, which I won't bore you with, but please wish me luck. I hope to have internet once a week at my school or in the provincial town, but it may be once every two weeks while I get settled.
Here are more photos:
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| From blog slideslow |
Me with some Cambodian children at the market. They are always eager to speak with a foreigner.
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| From blog slideslow |
Me with my host parents.
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| From blog slideslow |
Myself in front of some houses by the river.
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| From blog slideslow |
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| From blog slideslow |
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| From blog slideslow |
The monkey that escaped from next-door and scared the family dogs and my host-mom. I am not kidding. My host-dad ran next door to get the owners. My friends and I aren't really sure why they have a monkey. My host-dad couldn't tell me, but when I asked if it was for safety, he said yes. But that could be just because I know the word for safety in Khmer.
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| From blog slideslow |
The view from behind my house in training. Eat your heart out, benjaminnorman.com (a site that I highly endorse)
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| From blog slideslow |
The shower facilities at my training site. Pretty typical. I scoop water from the basin with the bucket and pour it on myself.
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| From blog slideslow |
A typical toilet. In addition to learning how to bathe during training, we had to learn how to use the toilet.
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| From PC Training |
My host dad watching tv in the living room. The room also houses his car.
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| From PC Training |
Frontal view of of my house in training..
My host-dad watching TV in his living room.
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| From blog slideslow |
Me at our going away party with the people from the breakfast place we ate at every morning.
3 comments:
jeremy the pictures are eye opening thanks for sharing them. good luck moving to your site!!!
Jeremy,
The photos are wonderful. You look terrific. Let the adventure begin!
Beth
I'm impressed with the house you're staying in - more amenities than i thought you would have. Keep the photos coming and keep enjoying yourself. I'm sure the package Ian sent you will help.
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