Reflections

          As our time in Cambodia comes to an end, we have taken time to reflect on our year in this amazing country. At one of the many going away parties that our friends, colleagues, and students have thrown us, we were asked to answer some questions about our time here. Our friend Soma, who has worked as a radio host had some great questions for us as did our other friends Leana, Sophia, and Arlene. I’d like to take a moment to answer these questions, as many of our other friends and relatives are interested in knowing as well.

1.      What was our favorite moment over the past year?

Keith and I both agreed that our trip to Kampong Tom was by far the most amazing experience in Cambodia. We have made so many great memories, but for both of us, the opportunity to really connect with our adopted family had the greatest impact.

2.      What was the worst moment?

Again, we agreed on this answer. The first month was really stressful, because the management at our school made our schedules a living nightmare. We didn’t know if we actually were going to be able to stay, because we didn’t have jobs for the first few weeks even after being in contact with the administration for over 7 months.

3.      What was the funniest moment?

Chantelle- for me it was when our Khmer students asked us how to use shaving cream. We had donated some of our left over toiletries to the students who lived in the dorm. We assumed that they would be able to figure out how to use soap, shampoo, face wash, and shaving cream. We realized however, that they didn’t really use some of those things. They thought that you were supposed to wash your body with the shaving cream. It was so funny and innocent. I just died laughing.

Keith- for me it was when I traveled to the local fortune teller. I was quite skeptical at first, but I decided to go, because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and my friends were encouraging me. While there, I asked if I would have any children in the future. After a close inspection of my palms, the fortune teller responded to our friends who were translating. Sophia and Leana just looked at each other and busted out laughing. I couldn’t understand what was so funny. They explained to me that the direct translation of the fortune teller was “baby making factory”! She warned me to be careful or I would end up with six kids. Chantelle was not amused.

4.      What was the scariest thing?

We both have had some run-ins with weird insects in Cambodia. One night there was a gigantic flying cockroach that came in the window and flew around the living room. No joke, it was the size of a small bird! Another day in Keith’s classroom, there was a huge spider, approximately the size of his palm. Both of these experiences left us to think about how easy it is for these creatures to come into our homes with no warning.

5.      What is our favorite restaurant?

This was a hard question to answer, because there are so many really good restaurants around town. We decided that our favorite Khmer food restaurant was Khmer Surin, but as I said there were a lot of really good meals during our stay. We will be creating a post about all of our favorite spots to add to this question.

Here are a few more questions and answers that we thought you might enjoy:

6.      What was the most shocking part?

Chantelle- the most shocking part was witnessing firsthand the corruption of the country--not only in the government, but from foreigners as well. I couldn’t get over seeing old western men with young Khmer prostitutes. Also, the fact that there is such a huge gap between the rich and poor was quite eye-opening. You can see Range Rovers passing by the children who are collecting bottles for recycling or begging for money. It’s just very unfair and so sad

Keith- I agree. In addition, it amazed me that people were so obsessed with image and didn’t hide the fact that they looked down on you. For example, we rode bicycles to save money and time, and were told by Khmer teachers and students that riding bicycles was for poor people, and that they thought it was inappropriate for us to commute in this fashion. The students were more open to the idea and actually thought that it was cool that we were helping their environment and getting exercise.

7.      What did we bring with us that we didn’t need?

Chantelle- closed toed shoes. I wore my Tom’s maybe twice this whole year because it was too hot/too dirty/ and too wet. I usually wore nicer sandals to work and while out and about instead.

Keith- long sleeved shirts. It’s so hot all the time. I also brought some waterproof boots, but they were too warm as well. I also stuck to wearing sandals and sneakers.

8.      What did we wish that we had brought?

Chantelle- first and foremost, our dog lilly. We both have missed her tremendously. Other than that, we were able to find what we needed or our family sent us care packages with items like Dunkin Donuts coffee, travel mugs, snacks, magazines, and books.

                                                                                                   

Keith- If I would have had a raincoat to begin with, our first few months would have gone more smoothly. I underestimated the rainy season, and thought that I would be too hot. Chantelle bought me one for my birthday, but that was after we had already experienced one monsoon season.

9.      What was the best/worst parts about our job?

Chantelle- The best part for me was teaching my health classes. It didn’t really feel like work, because I enjoyed enlightening my students.  My students were so sweet and for the most part hard working. They made me feel like my work was important. The worst part was frustrations with administration. After getting to know the system better it was less frustrating, but the hardest part was having a problem and not getting support from our superiors. Fortunately, this is an issue that is currently being changed.

Keith- The students were by far the best part of the job. The majority of them were very hard working, very respectful, fun, and generally were excited to learn. The worst part for me was my schedule and the inability to communicate our problems to management. I often felt like my issues were unresolved, which is part of the reason why we decided to stop after one year.

10.  When are we coming back?

This is the million dollar question. We are excited to go home and see our family and friends, but are sad to say goodbye. We have been offered promotions within the university from the president himself. We also have been offered other positions in other places. Now, we have to weigh our options and decide what is best for us for the immediate and distant future…tough choices. We will say that we most certainly plan to return to Cambodia. We do not know, however, when and for how long our next trip will be.

Kampong Thom

            This past weekend we traveled to Kampong Thom with our friend Phun for two nights and three days filled with adventure. We left Phnom Penh excited to meet our adopted brother’s family, but we didn’t realize how the time there would impact us.

            On Friday morning we hopped on a bus at Central Market. The trip took about 4 hours, because of heavy traffic due to the election weekend and road conditions. I slept most of the way to avoid feeling carsick, but overall it wasn’t too bad of a ride. Once we arrived to the city we stopped at our hotel to drop off our bags and eat some lunch. After a quick meal, we met up with our friends Phun, Meanrith, Samnang, and Smy to go on a hike. We traveled by way of motorbike down the dirt roads to Santuk Mountain. The climb up was a great workout, and by the time we reached the top of the 800some steps we were drenched in sweat. We stopped to enjoy the view and feed the wild monkeys (swa) some berries. We made our way up the “dangerous” staircase to find an amazing temple surrounded by trees. We also attempted to find some waterfalls, but took the wrong path and were unsuccessful. After our hike back down the mountain we headed to Samnang’s home where we enjoyed countless fresh coconuts (doung) and mangoes (svie) with her father and cousin. 

            The next day, we headed to our friend Phun’s home to meet his family and enjoy more coconuts while we played with his farm animals including chickens, dogs, cats, and ox. His family was so excited to meet us, and even though his parents couldn’t say how they were feeling, their eyes and smiles let us know that they were so pleased to have us. We felt so happy to have the opportunity to meet such a wonderful family. We even spoke to his sister on the phone (she’s a maid in Malaysia). We made another quick stop at Meanriths home to meet his mother, sisters, and brothers, as well as his cows, ducks, dogs, and kittens. I was in heaven with all of the sweet baby animals! From there we headed to Sambo Prey Kuk temples to see ancient ruins from the pre-Angkor period. The temples were only re-discovered in the early 2000’s. The road to the temples was pretty rough because of heavy rains the night before, but after a few short stalls we made it safely. Our next stop was about an hour away, far out in the country side where Samnang’s relatives live. We were greeted by warm smiles, more coconuts, and enough food to feed an army. Samnang’s village had never seen foreigners so they were quite intrigued by Keith and I. It was really funny to watch their expressions as we ate their traditional foods. It was by far, the most delicious meal we have eaten in Cambodia. Everything was so fresh and full of flavor. We took a trip across a nearby river and watched as Phun and Meanrith showed off their swimming skills. Again, everyone we met was so entertained by us and even commented that it was like watching a movie because we were so unusual. We said our goodbyes and made our way back to Phun’s home where we enjoyed yet another delicious meal consisting of farm fresh chickens (yep, the same one’s we were chasing earlier) rice, vegetables from the garden, and more coconut. I even named one of Phun’s new puppies “doung” because we had so many delicious coconuts during our visit.

 After saying farewell to another gracious family, we headed back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep and to prepare for our journey home the following morning. We recounted the experiences from the weekend and told our friends how much fun we had during our stay in Kampong Thom. We didn’t expect to be shown so much generosity from people who had so little. Most of the people lacked modern day essentials like electricity, water, and sanitation, yet had so much love and kindness to give. I think our hearts grew about 100 times bigger over the three days. After 10 months in Cambodia, we decided that this weekend was the most meaningful. We are so thankful to our new friends and family for allowing us into their homes and their hearts. We feel so truly blessed to know such amazing people and are forever greatful.