The monsoon season is upon us now and when it rains, it rains HARD. I always associated rain with winter and early spring and if it rains in the morning, it rains all day. Here, the monsoon season is a late summer/fall phenomenon. It can be beautiful and sunny with out a cloud in the sky and 15 minutes later be pouring down rain. I've always loved rain so I enjoy it, but I definitely have to pack a rain jacket every time I leave the dorm!
We air dry all of our clothes here so as soon as it starts raining, we scurry out to push the racks of drying clothes into the kitchen. It often takes a few days for our clothes to try because 1) we often don't get them inside soon enough and 2) in addition to rain, we also have humidity and clothes don't dry well unless the weather is dry!
Southeast Asia relies on these monsoons for a variety of reasons. Rice needs constant rain to prosper because rice paddies must be several inches deep in water for the rice to grow. It's also really hot during this time so the afternoon showers cool everything down a bit. It's not nearly as hot as Vietnam was- that was horrendous, but it's still in the 90s.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
I never would have imagined...
How much this trip is reshaping my life. I've now completed a week and a bit as a Leadership Resident at Harpswell and it's wonderful and amazing in so many different ways.
When I was a volunteer in Vietnam, I enjoyed teaching but found it frustrating that I rarely taught the same class twice and the students constantly talked during my classes. It was also quite difficult to get more than 5% or 10% of the class to participate. Here, my classes are only a few students and the girls are eager to participate and are very respectful. I can use my degree because I'm teaching them geography, history, English, critical analysis through journal articles and anything else they are interested in learning. We'll start a new curriculum in September but for now I'm mostly teaching things I'm familiar with from my knowledge base.
They've decided that I must like housework because I cook almost every day and I like to help them clean up the kitchen and do dishes. They are funny. Most leadership residents eat with the girls, and I do as well, but the main thing they eat is meat. I've been buying my own food at the western supermarket and making high-protein dishes with plenty of vegetables. I'm spoiled for choice on both fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately I think the lack of iron and B vitamin-rich foods here has made me anemic, so I've started taking iron/B supplements. When I cook, the girls come up and ask me the names of different ingredients and I try to explain not only what they are, but their nutritional value. I'm planning to hold a nutritional seminar because the girls seem really interested in learning about food and why different types of food are good for them. They mostly eat rice with some kind of meat and fruit on special occasions. The meat is sometimes cooked with vegetables, but they don't eat raw vegetables. Their budget is $30 per month per girl for food from Harpswell, supplemented by what they might make at a job.
Harpswell was founded by Alan Lightman, an MIT professor and writer, to provide housing, some scholarships, food, English instruction and mentoring for female Cambodian college students. Many studies have demonstrated that the best way for a developing country to advance is to educate the women of the country. The organization selects about 15-20 girls each year from around the country based on aptitude (as shown by high school exit exams and grades), ambition and other factors. My role as a Leadership Resident is to live with the girls, teach English, creative writing, history, geography, critical thinking/analysis, and leadership. I'm also here to mentor them and be a role model. I live with three other girls in a 12x15 (approximately) foot dorm room with two bunkbeds, four desks/chairs and a dresser. The bathroom with cold showers (which I'm very used to at this point) is down the hall next to the kitchen. On the opposite side is the lounge with computers and a TV. The Boeing Trabeck is 3 stories and about 32 girls live here. There is another dorm on the other side of town called the Teuk Thla dorm, which is quite new and houses about 50 girls. The girls are 18-23 and either studying at a university nearby or are starting their first jobs. They are from all over Cambodia and their parents mostly work in agriculture, growing rice, corn, or other food products, or work in service industries.
Yesterday, I went to visit my other new volunteer project, called A New Day Cambodia. There was a huge garbage dump in the outskirts of the city near Street 271 and many women and children (not many men) would scavenge in the dump for things to use and for food. A New Day Cambodia was started by two New Yorkers who initially took in two girls from the dump and later rented two houses and now provide food, clothing and education for 100 children who were former scavengers. I will be teaching English to the oldest kids on Saturdays. Many Harpswell girls serve as mentors to the New Day kids, providing a great connection for both.
Phnom Penh is a NUTTY but great city. There are neat markets filled with clothes, fruits, vegetables, food booths, CDs, DVDs, electronics and many other things. On hot days the smell of meat pervades the market, seeking out every enclosed space. The Cambodians don't notice and after almost 5 months in Asia, I rarely notice it either. It's amazing how much you can get used to things that only months before would have had a very different effect. The first time I walked into the meat section of the market, I gagged with nausea. Now I can walk through that section with no problem. I see chickens defeathered but still whole, lots of different cuts of meat and other things that I formerly couldn't stand. Now, it's just part of this crazy life I lead.
The city is pretty dirty, but there are beautiful parts as well. I like going down to the waterfront to the delicious restaurants. There are also great cafes all over with wifi, western food and "designer" coffee. Phnom Penh is trying to remake itself into a tourist town, with some success. There are still many kids and mothers begging in the streets and poverty is evident elsewhere. I've joined a gym, about a kilometer from my house and the number of Lexus, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda and other nice cars assures me that there is plenty of wealth in the country as well. I go to the western supermarket because I'm worried about whether the fruits and vegetables at the outdoor market are safe for me to eat. I'm probably just paying a lot more for the same vegetables, but I want to take some precautions. Knock on wood, I haven't been sick yet, but there's always a first time for everything!
Every day I teach at least one, if not two or three classes. Right now I'm teaching Rina, Kuntaea and Savary a reading and speaking class and we'll also study geography and writing later in the week. Savary is an accounting major attending the National University of Management. She is from Kandal Province and she came to university on her own but didn't have enough money to pay for it and she didn't have a safe place to live. A teacher told her about Harpswell and now she will be able to finish her degree. I'll tell you more stories about the Harpswell girls in upcoming editions of my blog.
Arkun! (thank you)
When I was a volunteer in Vietnam, I enjoyed teaching but found it frustrating that I rarely taught the same class twice and the students constantly talked during my classes. It was also quite difficult to get more than 5% or 10% of the class to participate. Here, my classes are only a few students and the girls are eager to participate and are very respectful. I can use my degree because I'm teaching them geography, history, English, critical analysis through journal articles and anything else they are interested in learning. We'll start a new curriculum in September but for now I'm mostly teaching things I'm familiar with from my knowledge base.
They've decided that I must like housework because I cook almost every day and I like to help them clean up the kitchen and do dishes. They are funny. Most leadership residents eat with the girls, and I do as well, but the main thing they eat is meat. I've been buying my own food at the western supermarket and making high-protein dishes with plenty of vegetables. I'm spoiled for choice on both fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately I think the lack of iron and B vitamin-rich foods here has made me anemic, so I've started taking iron/B supplements. When I cook, the girls come up and ask me the names of different ingredients and I try to explain not only what they are, but their nutritional value. I'm planning to hold a nutritional seminar because the girls seem really interested in learning about food and why different types of food are good for them. They mostly eat rice with some kind of meat and fruit on special occasions. The meat is sometimes cooked with vegetables, but they don't eat raw vegetables. Their budget is $30 per month per girl for food from Harpswell, supplemented by what they might make at a job.
Harpswell was founded by Alan Lightman, an MIT professor and writer, to provide housing, some scholarships, food, English instruction and mentoring for female Cambodian college students. Many studies have demonstrated that the best way for a developing country to advance is to educate the women of the country. The organization selects about 15-20 girls each year from around the country based on aptitude (as shown by high school exit exams and grades), ambition and other factors. My role as a Leadership Resident is to live with the girls, teach English, creative writing, history, geography, critical thinking/analysis, and leadership. I'm also here to mentor them and be a role model. I live with three other girls in a 12x15 (approximately) foot dorm room with two bunkbeds, four desks/chairs and a dresser. The bathroom with cold showers (which I'm very used to at this point) is down the hall next to the kitchen. On the opposite side is the lounge with computers and a TV. The Boeing Trabeck is 3 stories and about 32 girls live here. There is another dorm on the other side of town called the Teuk Thla dorm, which is quite new and houses about 50 girls. The girls are 18-23 and either studying at a university nearby or are starting their first jobs. They are from all over Cambodia and their parents mostly work in agriculture, growing rice, corn, or other food products, or work in service industries.
Yesterday, I went to visit my other new volunteer project, called A New Day Cambodia. There was a huge garbage dump in the outskirts of the city near Street 271 and many women and children (not many men) would scavenge in the dump for things to use and for food. A New Day Cambodia was started by two New Yorkers who initially took in two girls from the dump and later rented two houses and now provide food, clothing and education for 100 children who were former scavengers. I will be teaching English to the oldest kids on Saturdays. Many Harpswell girls serve as mentors to the New Day kids, providing a great connection for both.
Phnom Penh is a NUTTY but great city. There are neat markets filled with clothes, fruits, vegetables, food booths, CDs, DVDs, electronics and many other things. On hot days the smell of meat pervades the market, seeking out every enclosed space. The Cambodians don't notice and after almost 5 months in Asia, I rarely notice it either. It's amazing how much you can get used to things that only months before would have had a very different effect. The first time I walked into the meat section of the market, I gagged with nausea. Now I can walk through that section with no problem. I see chickens defeathered but still whole, lots of different cuts of meat and other things that I formerly couldn't stand. Now, it's just part of this crazy life I lead.
The city is pretty dirty, but there are beautiful parts as well. I like going down to the waterfront to the delicious restaurants. There are also great cafes all over with wifi, western food and "designer" coffee. Phnom Penh is trying to remake itself into a tourist town, with some success. There are still many kids and mothers begging in the streets and poverty is evident elsewhere. I've joined a gym, about a kilometer from my house and the number of Lexus, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda and other nice cars assures me that there is plenty of wealth in the country as well. I go to the western supermarket because I'm worried about whether the fruits and vegetables at the outdoor market are safe for me to eat. I'm probably just paying a lot more for the same vegetables, but I want to take some precautions. Knock on wood, I haven't been sick yet, but there's always a first time for everything!
Every day I teach at least one, if not two or three classes. Right now I'm teaching Rina, Kuntaea and Savary a reading and speaking class and we'll also study geography and writing later in the week. Savary is an accounting major attending the National University of Management. She is from Kandal Province and she came to university on her own but didn't have enough money to pay for it and she didn't have a safe place to live. A teacher told her about Harpswell and now she will be able to finish her degree. I'll tell you more stories about the Harpswell girls in upcoming editions of my blog.
Arkun! (thank you)
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About Me
- Erika
- My life goal is to visit a minimum of one country for every year of my life. If I live to be 100, then I hope to visit 100 countries! My first goal is to visit 30 countries by the end of my 30th year in February 2014. This blog will chronicle my journeys.
