Too many titles to choose just one...

Much has happened since my prior post expressing the limbo I was experiencing, namely I have moved to my permanent site and am trying to figure out what is going on here. The following titles came to mind when I tried to summarize my past few days in my new home:

(1) PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteer) in the age of technology
(2) Welcome to my province, Prey Veng
(3) Anti-Anti-American Sentiments (double negative work here?)
(4) Working on my "ongui lang-ing" OR Extracting my type-Aness/Khmer-ing myself (sorry for the many creation of new nouns, especially in Khmer)

I will describe each title in a bit more detail to get you up to speed.
(1) As I separate from my new support network of 58 PCVs, I realized that our access to internet and phones does a lot to keep us feeling not too far away from one another. When I speak with friends and family from home, they remind me of this circumstance that would not be so if I was a volunteer 5 or 10 years ago. In our transition from Trainees to Volunteers, we became closer friends right before we would be spread among the provinces of Cambodia and unable to see one another for a couple of months. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) we have the access to technology to enable us to reach out to one another. I say unluckily as well because I sometimes feel this access to internet makes it more challenging to break out of my comfort zone at my desk and experience what is outside. I make time for both each day and hope I can continue to balance comforts with discomforts.
(2) After anxiously waiting for about 2 months, I finally got my permanent site in an exciting and visually stimulating presentation organized by PC Staff and Volunteers. After a grounding and hilarious speech from our country director about what it means to stay throughout your service when times are tough, we entered a large room with a map of Cambodia taped onto the floor. They called out our names as our faces flashed on the screen with superlatives chosen by our fellow volunteers. Then our site was announced which I was unable to hear or process since I believe I blacked out in all of the excitement. My superlatives were: "Easiest PCT to Talk To", "Most Humble", "Best Teacher" and the best - "Most Likely to Make it to Mordor and Possess the One Ring". I'm not trying to brag because all PCVs had pretty sweet superlatives. I am placed in Prey Veng with two K6s in nearby(ish) towns and three K5s who are already here. I had not heard of it, but then again I only knew of a handful of provinces within Cambodia. It is one of the more overlooked and quieter provinces, but I was assured that it is a great province to be placed. It is only a couple of hours from Phnom Penh and depending on which route you take, you can cross the Mekong on a ferry. This was the route I took to my home a few days ago and we initiated ourselves into the province by eating what another volunteer called "the potato chips of Prey Veng" (crickets and other critters). They were quite tasty and not as crunchy as you would expect. I will explain much more in depth about Prey Veng in future posts with pictures as I will be here for 2 years, so I'll just leave you in suspense. In a few words, the provincial town is very pretty, but small and manageable feeling. There is a lake adjacent to the market which is a great size and another PCV told me there is a monkey island in the lake. I could not ask for more in a site.
(3) I was talking to my dad and he mentioned the idea of Anti-American sentiments; I can't quite remember why but I know it was because we were talking on 9/11. I have been told time and time again that Cambodians very much like Americans. I have been feeling their warmth, namely within my new host family that is so welcoming and supportive. I also feel this when I enter the Department of Education unannounced and have discussions with the staff there or when I am walking through the market and the women are excited to hear me attempt speaking Khmer (pronounced Kumai which I only learned at staging in DC). I feel safe and less like a spectacle than I expected to be entering a town not too familiar with foreigners.
(4) I arrived at my site a few days ago (I am trying not to count exactly how many as I believe this will be bad for my mental health) and I find myself without a schedule for the first time in I don't know how long. Khmer are really good at this thing called "ongui lang"-ing which basically means "sitting around". I have a few packets provided by PC to structure my gathering of baseline data on my new site and if you know me well, you know I'm trying to complete them all within my first week. I realize that getting to know a new town does not happen in a week, and I am struggling to set realistic expectations for myself for a given time period. I am trying to understand the almost meditative mindset, as my dad pointed out, that Khmer have when it comes to the passing of time and the value of conversation and sitting around. This well definitely take me at least two years but maybe a lifetime to wrap my head around. However, I do have a great start if it really is the case that my Provincial Teacher Training Center (PTTC), where I will be working with counterparts to train primary school teachers, does in fact start in December. I very much hope this was a miscommunication as my school director does not speak English, but until then I will be working on my ongui lang-ing.

Until more of this town and my work here reveals itself, here is a picture of what it looks like to chill with my little sisters who can use a knife better than I can...