Well I'm really sorry I haven't written in such a long time and I've meant to it's just that I find myself doing other things the entire time. It's just that I've realised that I have very little time left and I'm trying to spend as much time with the people here as possible. This week was really busy with lots of things to be done. All the children got tetanus vaccinations, we had visitors that I needed to show around, there was a Khmer birthday party, another birthday party for Elysia at CDCC, A movie shot at Korsang, and then yesterday a wild noight on the town. :) Everythign is good I'm just dreading to leave and I don't really write much cause I'm just prioritizing other things. However I wrote a report on my time in Cambodia that I thought might interest you. It is however I muct warn you quite detalied. But if you have the time and are interested here you go and I'll talk to you all soon when I get home!!
Cambodia 3rd year option report- 8 months in Cambodia, life and such
Starting off by stating the most important thing, although I was very reluctant and hesitant about going to Cambodia and spend 8 months here I must now admit that I am eternally satisfied with myself that I did go and I have enjoyed the experience immensely, even the bad times.
This has been a very personal experience for me, so I do apologize if what I am giving you is too personal.
The volunteer house:I had first planned to stay at the center with the children and even though it was something that I saw as one of the strongest reasons for coming I am very happy that I got introduced to BAB and the chance to stay at their volunteer house. I am quite sure it would have been a much more exhausting and less giving experience if I would have stayed with the original plan. However, with this said, staying at the volunteer house has not been the easiest at times. An unfortunate mix of personalities led to quite an unpleasant tension in the house the first three months, this was sadly solved with the result of two people giving up and going home. Misunderstandings and not having been told what rules apply in the house has also been quite frustrating. To give a few examples without seeming harsh or getting hung up on petty issues I am thinking of having first been told that if the house needs something that would be fixable and later being told this was not the case. Also I remember the time when there was job interviews held and the living room got completely occupied without having asked the people living in the house and paying rent and then just leaving it without cleaning up. What also has disturbed me is how visitors that show up are allowed to eat the food in the house while staying here with the understanding that this is included in the $5 they pay, however what has not been considered is the fact that none of those $5 goes into the food budget which has been completely paid for by the volunteers. Lastly something seriously needs to be done about the plumbing system since at times one can smell it all the way from the bottom floor up to the kitchen. My main concern has been that it has felt as if there is a continuant struggle between the volunteers and the people working here with everyone expecting to be waited on but not to wait.
On a positive note however it has been a great feeling of knowing that there is a so called home where one can come and just be. Also having lived with the house full of people at the same age has created a common sense of everyone can take care of themselves and do what they want as long as it does not disturb the others but still being able to have company when one wants and to receive help if needed. It did help to create a sort of security net. Another thing which has been highly appreciated has been having the cleaners around to especially do the shopping for the house since it is a very busy life here.
However would I have done it again I would probably have stayed at the volunteer house for one or two months tops and then have tried to find an apartment of my on together with a few others. This in order to have freedom not feeling like you always need to check in if you wish to do something and in order to avoid the confrontations that we have had.
Phnom Penh and its social lifeWhen talking about my 3rd year option I will not say I lived in Cambodia but rather that I lived in Phnom Penh, this since I see Phnom Penh as something unique and not completely part of the rest of Cambodia. Because of the weird limbo-land Phnom Penh has ended up being due to the mix of Khmer, local- and Barang, expat- culture. I have to say that I don’t think there are many places as interesting as this. Since it is hard to judge exactly how long it all will last I am so happy I got the chance to see it like it is now. However it is not sustainable and I do not know if it will be as enchanting as now. To me I will remember the time in Phnom Penh as the time when the city got paved. During the eight months I have been here I have seen more and more streets being paved but there are still quite a few streets including in the heart of it all that still needs to be paved and for a capital in 2007 to still have roads that needs to be paved is something which says a great deal about the country.
It is very easy if you would like to, to live a life of western luxury not ever having to see the poverty however it is also very apparent if you just take one step outside the box and look. To me it has been such a giving experience being able to see all the poverty and the how easy it is taking my life for granted. I especially remember one occasion when I was wearing a pink dress, sunglasses and was just fresh out of the shower going for a walk seeing a boy dressed in dirty clothes picking garbage walking by me. This really struck me and I realized what different lives we lived. Another memory worth telling about Phnom Penh was the first time I saw a syringe lying on the ground with my foot only a dm away from it, then just a minute later seeing a boy shooting up right in front of me not really bothered by my eyes watching.
Another really interesting thing that I still after seven months have been able to figure out is the relation between westerners and locals. Take moto-drivers for example. Some of them are surprisingly nice giving you back money if you pay too much. However most of them are on a constant look to try to rip you off. Sure I can understand that if you are very poor and you see someone who has money you try to get some of it but not when this person is there already trying to help your country. Another thing which amazes me is how so few of them have the slightest idea and refuse to believe that many of the people that come here aren’t rich people, it is just a common knowledge that anyone is white is rich which to me is so confusing.
Then there are those random encounters with the locals which just astonish you due to their friendliness such as the time when I was waiting for a friend to come home and I was invited by the Khmer neighbors to sit with them during their game of cards. Just the openness they had letting me join them without knowing me or even being able to talk that much to me is something which I would never see in a western culture to that extent.
InteractionsI ended up in quite the expat clique and I am sure I could have learnt a lot more about Khmer culture and people if I wanted to but to be honest I am very happy with the experience I received here and the occasional moments of complete Khmer situations only got so much sweeter. If I would do anything differently I probably would try to interact more with the Khmers but then again I’m not sure if I am willing to give up the time and chance I got to know the people I befriended here since they are truly interesting people. In addition the interaction from the children and staff at CDCC has definitely been an insight into Khmer culture.
I’m sure I have matured so much here even though I am unable to see it and my only regret at the moment is knowing that I have to leave and end this experience. I remember the very first day I was here I looked out the window as I was asking the current volunteer what she thought about Phnom Penh and she told me she loved it and I could not for my life understand what there was to love. After seven months in Phnom Penh I can only take a look out and realize how hard I fell for the place and the special charm it has. It is a very difficult place to live in because of the mix between westerners and locals and because of the difficult past the country has which still shines through clearly to the problems of today, the way Khmer people think and reason is also completely different from that of westerners but in spite of all this it was defiantly the right place for me to spend my gap year and even though I can’t guarantee Phnom Penh being able to give everyone as much as it has given me it is defiantly worth a try and it still needs the exchange of westerners.
CDCC where it isCDCC is located about a five-ten minute motor ride away from the center of the city in quite a drug-users nest. This affects the children in a sense since they do not walk outside the walls of the center and that security walls has been put up surrounding the place, there are also several syringes lying around which is a bit of a scare since many of the children often walk around without shoes. For volunteers there is no real danger going to the center as long as one do not walk around barefoot outside the walls of the center, something which I would not recommend doing at all in Phnom Penh, and to stay away after dark.
The children and how they areOn arrival we were told that the center was a complete mess and that the children lacked any kind of structure and discipline, this, however I have noticed very little of. Most of the children at the center are very organized, showing up on time for classes with a notebook (however not always the right one) and a pen or pencil. It is neither uncommon that 20 minutes before class is supposed to starts the students come up to you asking to start the class. As far as the will to study it varies as with all children in the world but discipline is something they definitely have. As far as help is concerned we have during these past months always had a Khmer teacher ready to help translate when needed which has helped immensely.
As far as children are concerned they are lovely and will give you so much attention that you think you are the new Angelina Jolie and there have been very few times when I have not seen a child with whom I can interact with. They are all so eager for your attention and to play, read or just receive a hug. In the beginning it is almost overwhelming the way they keep hugging you but you do get used to and fond of it quite quickly.
The need for volunteers
The children has a packed schedule, at times almost too packed which in regards to you as a volunteer makes you at times feel redundant. The problem in this case however is not the children but the fact that the director Mr. Socha accepts volunteers and offers even if there is no need for it. This has throughout the time caused great troubles with both long term and short term volunteers coming in and taking up both your time and students. This is something in spite of repeated discussions that have not been able to be solved and this I must say is the most frustrating part of volunteering at CDCC. You have come to help and to give your time and at many times you find yourself bypassed and for me this has been the hardest to accept.
It is a great place and the staff is lovely and the children are among the most amazing children I have ever met however Cambodian culture plays in here as well where it is rude to decline gifts and thus they have so much help and resources that other places around Phnom Penh could make such a better use of.
As for volunteers in the future I would recommend either having made sure that a set schedule is made of when and who to teach and to receive a promise from Mech Socha that this will not be changed through out the time or have your mind set to that there will come in other people and that you and your help will not be prioritized. If not then I would probably recommend trying to find another place in Phnom Penh, and there are many that would be so grateful to have you and would make good use of you. The only reason why I did not do this myself is that I managed to establish a connection with the children that was just too hard for me to break before I realized the situation.
Teaching experience and methods
As far as teaching is concerned it has been a most interesting experience both as a personal challenge and as teaching experience. We started out as a trio mostly focusing on an active, game focused class. During this time I felt more comfortable taking the supportive role staying in the background and helping the kids as to standing in front of the white board. This due to partly the group dynamic and partly the schedule and the way of teaching the others wanted to focus on. However, after the two others having left and there was a new addition which resulted in a duo I found myself as the more experienced one and thus managed to take the place as the leader. However due to a better match of personalities and similar train of thought I have found that the past few months have been so much more rewarding both for me as a teacher and as far as I can tell for the students. The difference between the first five months and the last two has been that they first had a lot of fun and games which I think was an unusual way for them to be learning however I’m not sure if they actually learnt that much while as now where we have put a bigger priority on learning things it becomes more similar to a normal class.
The levels of the groupsDuring this time we have taught the children divided into seven groups; one advanced-, two intermediate-, and two beginner- groups. Most of the advanced group has developed immensely, not just due to us however since they have several people teaching them English, but sadly quite a few of them have fallen short of lessons due to other projects taking up their time. I have found that in the beginning we did not quite know what level they were at and we found ourselves using the Khmer teacher for translation a lot, this has now changed and most of the time there is no need for the translator. They are all able to make themselves understood but conversations are still quite limited with the exception of a few. Most of them can manage to read on the board and to make sense of it however reading stories is still a difficult task. Their writing is at a level where if you have gone through a topic they are mostly able to answer questions but this happens in sentences or single words. They are still not able to write in a coherent manner.
The intermediate groups have a big gap between the levels of knowledge and are thus difficult to judge. Similar to the advanced group they can speak quite freely when it is a topic they know however if you are trying to introduce something new it is still handy to have a Khmer translator there. Writing is possible in short sentences or single words and there is often a need to spell out the word for them.
Lastly the beginners groups has a range of children from 6 to 12 years old and a very small level of English, the two groups are also the two largest groups and thus it is very difficult to hold an organized class. With this in mind we still try to play as much as possible keeping writing and reading to a minimum and focusing on speaking. Reading are for most of them not heard of yet and writing extends to the most advanced as far as copying down from the white board.
Copying of the board is something that all three groups are very good at.
Participation wise all of them are eager to attend classes and enjoy the English with the volunteers very much. However, due to there packed schedule and the past they come from may of them has a hard time keeping focus for a long time and becomes either very restless or tired. With this in mind it is thus suggested to keep the class moving and not sticking with one topic for too long.
