Same Same But Different

Photo

pukette — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:42:41 -0400

"How was your weekend?" "Week-ennnd....EGAY?"

pukette — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:42:40 -0400

Together I sit with Nari and Srey Am, two of my students from Group Four. We’re in our second-to-last extra help session. It’s just after eleven in the morning as we sit on the pleather green-purple-pink couch (which probably should have stayed in the 80’s). The sun is behind the clouds but the 35 degree heat is sitting heavy, my skirt is sticking to the couch, and the girls eyes seem to fade as the minutes pass and lure of lunch becomes stronger.

“Nari, what sound does a lion make? Srey Am, what makes a splish splash sound? Nari, where does an owl live?” I ask in rotation, quizzing them for next hour’s speaking exam.

Nari answers, “An ohwalll lives in a tree.”

Srey Am answers, “A whahhle makes a spwish-spwash sound.” I smile at her response and she wiggles in pride.

I am beaming, because for the first time, Srey Am and Nari are unhesitant about their answers, remembering the details, and comprehending the questions in different forms. They are understanding. This wasn’t the case months ago: The girls did not know some of the sounds that went with some of the alphabet, they didn’t know basic conversational questions like “how was your weekend?” or “how is the weather?” They were far behind the rest of the class and falling even further with each passing lesson. Just talking with them wasn’t possible, communicating- and teaching- was even harder.

But this session showed all of us just how much they had imrpoved. “Girls you are doing AMAZING! Your English is so good!”

We beam at each other for a few moments, before I continue: “Now girls, lets talk about our weekends. Nari, how was your weekend?”

Nari looks at me with a vacant expression in her eyes. “Ughhhhhhh weekend…. weeek-ennnd… (looks to Srey Am imploringly) EGAY? [means what?]”

A sting hits me at a derisive moment, one where I could go in the frustrated direction…as I want to explain to her desperately BUT NARI, we have gone over weekend EVERY HELP SESSION, you still don’t know weekend? I felt like a broken record. Had they not listened to me AT ALL?

…But instead I opted for the laughable, light-hearted option. I just had to laugh a little. Of course. It’s like a last tease, that last thing that I really want them to understand, but yet… they haven’t, despite all their improvements.

Sometimes all you can do is just laugh rather than be frustrated, and keep explaining for the hundredth time: ”Nari, weekend= saturday, sunday, play football, have fun, go to woodhouse…”

Photo

pukette — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:27:02 -0400

after painting

ipads are more fun than walls

teary and young chi!

never lose the good silly =)

pukette — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:17:00 -0400

never lose the good silly =)

Leaving?

pukette — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 01:34:00 -0400

My impending departure pops up lightly in conversation, here and there.

“ELIZAAAHhhhhttttt-ayyyyy, when you come back to TGC?” Kontea likes to yell.

“I am not sure, first I must get a job and save money so I can buy a plane ticket.” I articulate, carefully. “But it will be years. When I come back to TGC, you will speak very good English and be tall.”

“Ooohhhhhh. You come with BOYFRIEND and BABY.” Kontea smiles mischievously and laughs.

“Uhh…”

I have one week left with my students, one week left in Cambodia. One week left of Lida exploding in his chair with excitement, of Young Chi lazily rolling his eyes at in-class activities, of Savonn exclaiming “ELIZ-AAHT-AYYY, OIIIIII Yoouuu,” of Srey Am’s sudden peeps of nervousness; of Kontea’s contradicting “NO KHMER IN CLASS, nham ay Savonn?”; of Nari’s incessant use of khmer in English class, regardless of what I say; of Rahdy’s winks and confident head nods and notes in my pencil case (oh what ladykiller he will be); of Teary’s wide-smiles and observant, all-knowing eyes; of Kanya’s irrational but funny bouts of physical love (or hate) to the other students.

I’m leaving a little earlier than planned, and for this I feel a lot of conflicting feelings. Excitement but guilt. Happiness and anxiety for the unknown. And also, now that I have finally reached the point of departure, the light at the end of the tunnel I would dream of when sick or extremely frustrated… now that it is here, shining in my face, am I actually ready for it?

The idea of America might seem sweeter than actually being there.

To be continued.

cultural immersion

pukette — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:31:13 -0400

cultural immersion

donate to the Campus Kitchens project at UNION!

pukette — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:33:45 -0500

The Campus Kitchens Project (http://www.campuskitchens.org/) is a national not-for-profit organization that is fighting hunger by empowering college students and local communities.

The Union College chapter FEEDS OVER 100 Schenectady every Saturday afternoon, using leftover food from West College Upperclass Dining Halls and Ozone Cafe.

Here is the link to the fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/the-campus-kitchen-atunion-college/march-matchness-2012

Pledge to donate just a dollar and tell five others to do the same!

A Fellow Visits a Fellow Fellow (and an Old Fellow Fellow) in India

pukette — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:37:00 -0500

Words escape me when I try to write about my days in India. I have been attempting to write a blog post about it for the past two and a half weeks, but ceaseless demands on my time combined with an obnoxious brain fart have failed to produce anything.

The best part of my trip was getting a day-in-the-life view of fellow fellows Emily and Jeremy, more interesting than even the Taj Mahal or the temples of Khajuraho. Before going, I had only a tiny made-up image in my mind of what Bagru Textiles was, based upon the samples and stories I’ve seen and heard before.

But let me tell you. I was DEEPLY impressed by what I saw.

I stepped off Jeremy’s temperamental moto in Bagru, was warmly welcomed into the Chupa’s household, and instantly swept up into their daily lives. Jeremy and Emily are constantly busy, checking off small tasks and big goals alike. Their days are spent dividing and conquering tasks, running around town doing errands and conducting meetings, collecting samples and consulting about blocks- everything and anything, big or small, that could possibly come up with attempting to run a business in India (and that seems like quite the job). Their shared bedroom is strewn with piles of textiles, samples and stray blocks. Emily uses her bed as a desk/inventory space/post office/internet cafe/rest stop, every day. Emily and Jeremy, quite literally, live their work. And what’s better, they have a definite presence in their community. Passerby would shout fond greetings as we went around, and as we hopped from block printer to block printer, I realized just how expansive the network of artisans under Bagru Textiles really is.

I left Bagru wowed by the entire initiative, feeling proud to be good friends with these awesome hardworking Minerva Fellows, deeply moved by their relentless work ethic and drive to make Bagru Textiles happen. I applaud them and their success because I know it has been a very difficult and bumpy road.

Check out the new website, bagrutextiles.com, to see what they have been able to accomplish!

Jeremy and some blocks!

Jeremy meeting with one of the block carvers, with some nifty new designs from a young Indian design student.

Emily in the Bagru Textiles headquarters/her bedroom. They really live their work.

Young Bagru-ians in matching sweaters and Bagru pigs. Nobody eats the pigs because 1. the town is full of Hindus (vegetarian) and Muslims (don’t eat pork) 2. the pigs spend all of their days munching on Bagru’s waste and becoming about equally as attractive.

Emily in the Pink City, in Jaipur!!

My 10 days in India were just an appetizer, but India seems like a world of it’s own (as I had heard before), very in tune with, yet still so out of touch with, the West and other countries around the world, a place of huge contrasts and contradictions. It’s much more in your face than Cambodia, it’s loud, it’s incredibly dirty, it’s chaotic, but somehow it all works. It was amazing to be there, to get a taste of the country, and to see the inner workings of Bagru Textiles.

JTG up-and-coming PROMOTIONAL STICKERS

pukette — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:17:27 -0500

JTG up-and-coming PROMOTIONAL STICKERS

Photo

pukette — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:11:04 -0500

Opening Up and Branching Out

pukette — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:36:00 -0500

The girls health classes have been going on since January. Heading into the classes, I had very high hopes and expectations— I envisioned classrooms full of warmth and understanding and trust as I explained all the minute details of puberty, clearing the fog that surrounds this time for every teenager, but especially these particular girls as they grow up in such a communication-conservative culture.

Well, the classes have been positive, but not necessarily as effective as I had hoped. The language barrier is bigger and fatter and more obtrusive than I had imagined. Trying to explain periods and breasts and hormones and cancer and examinations in English to students who just began the study of the language a year or two before… is nearly impossible. The details fall through the cracks and the larger picture is there, but they need the details, the full information.

To try to combat this, I’ve turned to finding a lot of resources in Khmer, including fact sheets and interactive CDROM’s. But these are incomplete, and mostly focusing on women’s pre- and post-natal health and care, not girls and going through puberty. I get all key words in a lesson translated into Khmer, I have their quizzes translated to and from English and Khmer with the help of Chhaylon, I try to act out what I am saying as much as possible, looking like a complete baffoon as I attempt to explain a tampon. But these efforts aren’t equaling effective and complete education on this subject, something that is important and basically the purpose of the class in the first place.

The solution? A real live Khmer-speaking health teacher. How to do this? We will collaborate with the Women’s Resource Center, a local NGO here in Siem Reap that provides health care and vocational training, among other services, to women and girls. By linking up with them, we can have them come to our school to lecture for our girls, and also their mothers. The center would also be able to provide services to the mothers of our students outside of health education. In return, for WRC to also benefit, we will start to provide community English and computer classes for women from the center to join, as well as parents of TGC, and finally, members of the community who apply and are of ample need and ability. New fellows, this is where you come in— this will end up being your baby next year that we pass off in May.

Thus some big things are happening for TGC, blossoming from this simple need for a better health teacher. We’re going to be opening up our walls to the community and branching out, expanding outwards instead of just up.

On the agenda? The first weekend of March, Chanthy (the project coordinator) and I will hold a seminar for parents. Chanthy will lecture on anger management as I coordinate a health crash-course using the CDROM’s.

The lesson? Small problems sometimes equate to big, awesome changes.

Stay tuned as we get this off the ground and establish our union with the resource center.

soccer soccer soccer OI OI OI!!!!!!!

pukette — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:05:00 -0500

soccer soccer soccer OI OI OI!!!!!!!

Drinking and Driving

pukette — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:56:17 -0500

Today I ran into a car.The car didn’t do the wrong here, as they usually do, bounding down the road at full speed without fear of running into people, since here cars are at the top of the food chain and everyone else needs to make way.

And no, thankfully I did not hit a moving car, for that would be dangerous.

I hit a parked car on the side of the road, with the poor driver still inside.

I’ve had minor fender benders before, getting hit by a moto once (not serious, just theatrical) and running into a turning moto once (their fault).

This time it really was my fault. Before the collision I was happily crossing Wat Bo road and following street 26 towards TGC. The road begins with mild turbulance, as the flood damages still haven’t been repaired (weathering has softens the bumps a bit, but not much). Normally I ride these bumps fine and without much trouble.

But today my mind was elsewhere as I listened to Party Rock Anthem, sipping fresh pressed sugar cane juice in the immense heat, feeling the wind in my helmet (ha).

Feeling good, I took one hand off of the handlebars (I am normally capable of such a feat) while simultaneously taking a sip of juice and attempting to change to a Birtney song just as I hit a big pot hole and…

It all happened fast as I went over into the car, the wheel sliding across the front bumper and me keeling over onto the hood, my blood pumping fast.

The driver got out to look at the damage, which was nothing, besides a tiny scrape across the front. I looked at my leg, which was fine except for a few tiny scrapes. The drivers face softened as I watched another man approach to look at the damage, meanwhile I am apologizing profusely. Fears quickly raced through my head that they will demand a large sum of money I do not have, because of my barang (foreigner) status and white skin (= $$$), something I had heard will happen if you get into an accident here.

But his face softened even more, exclaiming, “it’s ok,” and waved me off. I kept apologizing profusely SOHM DOH, excuse me, SO SORRY, in a fusion of English and Khmer, and he repeated himself, waving me off, until I shakily hopped back on my bike, back on my original path towards school.

Riding away, I shakily laughed out of embarrassment and relief that what had happened wasn’t worse. I retracted and thought, I should have given him some money… but had only 500 Riel (12.5 cents) in my pocket.

After the after-shock faded, I had a slight sense of embarrassment, for next time, I should give them the benefit of the doubt. Khmer people are friendly and more often than not, actually do want to help you, contrary to the few bad stories that circulate throughout the ex-pat circles.

And after all, I was the blumbering barang riding one-handed along the pot-holiest of pot holled roads, attempting to drink and change the song at the same time.

The Engeye Water Project

pukette — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:58:52 -0500

Minerva Fellows Mark O’Shea and Brenny Kinnane are working tirelessly to get water to the clinic in Ddegeya, Ugana, which could ignite the expansion of the clinic to include a maternity ward, as well as provide the village with better access to fresh water, spurring further growth.

DONATE HERE! They’re trying to raise $3500 by mid February!

Here’s what Brenny has to say about it: “The first goal of the water project is to provide an endless supply of water for EHC so that its staff and residents would never need to fetch water, or pay to have water fetched, down at the borehole ever again. There are four buildings on Engeye’s compound and only one of them is currently harvesting rainwater. By placing gutters on the additional three roofs available EHC would capture nearly quadruple the amount of rainwater it currently can. And rather than purchasing more plastic cisterns to store this water, it would be more efficient to collect all the water in one place, a massive belowground tank. Having observed such a tank at a nearby NGO and discussed the design with the engineer who oversaw its construction, it seemed prudent to mimic the structure in our project. The fifty thousand-liter tank would increase water storage capacity more than six times the present capacity and thereby effectively assure that EHC never experiences a dry season again...”

If you would like to learn more, here’s Brenny’s post about the water project.

Home

pukette — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:21:01 -0500

HAPPY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

pukette — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:37:00 -0500

(yes that is me)

Lida & Ella. So magical.

pukette — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:17:15 -0500

Lida & Ella. So magical.

Teacher Sopha and Lessons in Cambodian Communication

pukette — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:45:07 -0500

The following took place over the course of a full school day, because communication in Cambodia always takes some time.

It began one morning in the teacher’s room, the air conditioning on far to low, everyone sitting quietly and stoically at their respective places.

I broke the silence with, “Sopha, my mom and sister are visiting soon, what would you like them to bring for you?”

Sopha sat next to me at his desk and shuffled in his seat uncomfortably after the question. Hem hem, clearing his throat, “Oh, well, do you mean a gift for TGC, or do you mean a gift for the person? uncomfortable laugh Because for TGC there is a wishlist.”

“No no Sopha, I mean a gift for YOU, and for each teacher. A personal, fun gift.”

With that his eyes got big and he held his big tummy and smiled wide out of embarassment. “Oooooooiiiiiiiiii for ME???” He squinted his eyes, his smile a half-moon. He shook his head. “I could not know such things.” And after much prodding, he confessed, “In my culture we do not tell the giver what we want, normally we tell all our friends and hope the giver knows to ask them.”

Three hours later…

Packing myself up for the day and readying to leave school, Sopha interrupted the process in his usual fashion:

Hem hem (smile)

I looked up. “Yes, Sopha?”

“(high pitched) So, Eliza, I am wondering. If a friend asks a question, do you answer yes or no, truth or no? If your friend asked another friend to say one thing, would you want the friend who is to answer to speak the truth or to not say anything? Yes or no? Because maybe the friend does not want to embarrass you or himself. Yes or no?

Lost in the hypotheticals, I replied “…………….yes?”

He wiggled, looking down at his desk, “Really? Are you ready for this?” And then he exploded, straining his eyes as if it pained him to speak and he had to push it out all at once, “Oh your culture, WOOOO (motioning his hand over his head) so much I do not understand!!!! (so glad it’s mutual) So when you ask me before, what I want from your mother and your sister, I am so embarrassed I do not know what to say. But if you are asking…. and this is ok with you…”

“Yes Sopha, that is why I asked.”

He smiles. “Oooooookayyyy!”

And he proceeds to explain in great detail while still being incredibly vague that he would like something to play his English listening exercises, something to use in private, assuming with headphones. And then he apologizes profusely for his honesty and hopes it does not offend me.

Mom, are you listening? =)

…. =)

pukette — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:33:02 -0500

…. =)

spreading christmas cheer means singing loud for all (even the...

pukette — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:27:00 -0500

spreading christmas cheer means singing loud for all (even the neighbors) to hear