choices

With the start of the new calendar year, many emails reminded me of the American tradition of renewal come January 1st. I have never been much for resolutions or thinking of this time as a new start, which actually jives quite well with Khmer culture. Although January 1st is another holiday here, there's not much celebration here except for in the bigger Western influenced cities. In April, it is Khmer New Year which I'm told is quite a big deal as schools often suspend studies for 3-4 weeks. I do like the idea of reflecting on the past to inform my only complete year I will spend in Cambodia.

As a result, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how teaching here has very little in common with my experience teaching in America. For example, I often take the time in class to discuss more casually (to the extent my students understand me) cultural differences, usually related to the lesson. In my community class I teach with my tutor, today I was told by a student that I know a lot about Khmer culture due to my astute comparisons of opposite sex friendships in Cambodia vs. America. While I am no expert on Khmer culture, I realized that I have gained a lot of knowledge as I approach six months here. It is also a constant challenge not to generalize about an entire culture based on some individuals, but it is something I find myself and other PCVs constantly at fault for doing as we try to make sense of our differences. I also speak in generalizations when describing Americans to Cambodians because, ironically enough, the culture of conformity is more familiar to Cambodians and speaking in generalities helps them to comprehend an unfamiliar culture. Teaching about individuality and diversity within other cultures is something I will try to explain at a later time when my Khmer vocabulary can more accurately aid in describing this.

Sometimes, my false sense of integration makes me feel a bit too comfortable and causes me to lose sight of obvious differences between my background and that of my coworkers, students and community members. I sometimes take the fact that I am a transplant adopted into this community for two years with a grain of salt. I have an ability to come and go from my site because I am accustomed to travelling and I desire to experience other areas of Cambodia. Over New Years, I traveled to Kampong Som to visit Sihanoukville and Koh Rong, a nearby island. Although my host family has been able to travel there as well as Siem Reap, I realize that the majority of Cambodians do not leave their province and most likely will never travel these distances despite the relatively small size of the entire country (Cambodia is slightly smaller than Oklahoma). This fact seemed to slip my mind as I was teaching my trainees today a lesson about the airport. I stopped teaching to ask "raise your hand if you've ever been to an airport". I was already pretty positive that for the twenty-five 18-20 year olds in front of me as well as my 30 year old co-teacher, the answer would be no. They also most likely will never go to an airport in their life. One had been outside of an airport but never inside, so I begin to describe some basic aspects of an airport and opened up the floor for any questions they had about flying and how airports function. I explained my journey to Cambodia from Washington D.C., how many stops the plane took, how many hours it lasted, etc. and it occurred to me that my students were unaware that this journey was one of many I have taken. In my nature, I have an urge to adventure and explore and I see my experience living and working in my community as part of that. Although I am content at my site discovering new people and places, I also have an inability to sit still which will always leave me thirsting to find more. I am fortunate enough to come from circumstances that allow me the freedom to be able to make such choices.

A fellow PCV living my province visited my town yesterday which is much larger than his site. As I led him around the market looking for breakfast, he kept remarking on the variety of food options I have available to me. We walked down the fruit "aisle" outside the indoor area of the market with 20 or more vendors and explained his only options are whatever the one fruit vendor in his village is selling for the day. Many people fantasize about life in the Peace Corps as a possibility to simplify their day-to-day experiences by scaling down their scope. I am glad that I still have the ability to make simple decisions that may change the course of my day, such as choosing between breakfast options or what topic I might want to discuss with my English club. Even if my students will not experience an airport any time soon, broadening their awareness and opening up the possibility of choice is my current focus.

The following pictures are connected to my interest in the changing landscape of Prey Veng, which is a concept that extends to the rapid growth and development in other parts of Cambodia as well. I have seen and discussed the quick response to increased numbers of tourists in other areas of the country. Buildings are erected with rapid speed here. I see the same trend in my town in terms of construction and road improvement. Another intriguing facet of my town is evolving natural landscape as areas that are water filled during the wet months reveal land, thus enabling harvesting opportunities and community growth. New pictures have been added here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sam_wise/sets/72157632187727135/

These shelters, small shops, restaurants, etc. have all been erected as the water revealed land

Street resurfacing adjacent the park

Note: For those who read this blog regularly, once or obsessively, I would really like feedback on things you want to learn from my experiences in Cambodia, modes of sharing (pictures, writing, etc.) and any other requests. I try to share themes that I find prevalent or inspiring to write/photograph in my daily life, but am receptive to suggestions as well to improve the content. Thanks a lot for your help!