We are in Cambodia!

Day 43 marked a new chapter in our adventure. We bussed all day and arrived
at the Meas Family Homestay just in time or dinner. We ate curry, spring
rolls and soup with noodles. I didn't eat this kind of food before this
trip, and yet, that meal strangely tasted like home. The following morning,
when I awoke to the smell of pancakes, real, fluffy American pancakes,
(with freshly made mango jam!) I realized that last nights meal was no
exception. I discovered that Siphen, our host's cooking, and is just homely
in general.

After breakfast, our entire group went to the high school. We arrived on
the back of a double benched wagon pulled by a motorcycle. The layout was a
"U" shape building with a dirt courtyard. There was no air conditioning and
the library was three bookshelves. This was the largest high school in the
area, and known as one of the better schools. We socialized with some of
the students. Besides a few basic questions (where are you from, how old
are you) it was difficult to carry a conversation. When we would say
something they didn't understand they would laugh nervously and then say
"good bye". Trevor had more success playing piano with a student. It was
the only instrument in the building. I mentioned to Rebecca that the
students were very shy and she said that she has noticed that the girls are
generally shy to male visitors and most males students are shy in general.
Afterwards we split into two groups for the day. One group went to start
work on our shelter building project, and my group spent extra time at the
school.

We walked in a classroom with tables and benches on either side with a
white board up front. The first thing we noticed was that all of girls say
on one side and boys the other. This could be a misrepresentation of
typical Cambodian social norms; it was the first day of school. The class
was taught lecture-style and entirely in English. In what I believe was
twelfth grade English, the teacher went over introductory conversation such
as (hello, nice to meet you, good bye (he added peace out, Girl Scout,
which got the kids laughing). He got a few students to come up and run
through a sample conversation in front of the class. A few people in our
group got up there too. The difference was clear. I felt fortunate to have
been born into an English speaking country. This trip, the opportunities
available to us, the ease of going anywhere because, odds are, someone will
speak a little of our language, has shown me how much I take my mother
tongue for-granted.

We organized activities for them to practice their English. Julia and
Arielle led the class in Pictionary. Julia is a great doodler. They were
all animals. The kids seemed to enjoy it, guessing what they thought was
being draw . Shani and Jack wrote lists of things like colors, animals ,
sports, and had the class vote on which was their favorite. Sophia, Maddy,
Jessie and I wanted to do something that would get them out of their seats.
We came up with a list of dualities such as "coffee or tea", or "sweet or
salty", and had everyone stand up and move to a side of the room designated
for one of the two options. The rules were a bit complicated so the teacher
explained it to them in Khmer. During the activity, they were laughing
and seemed to be having fun with it, but by the third question it ended up
being all the guys on one side and all the girls on the other side. "Cats
or dogs" nobody moved. Apparently all of the guys liked cats and all of the
girls preferred dogs. And all of the guys liked rain and all of the girls
liked sun. I said to the guys, well I like dogs better than cats so I'm
moving to the other side. Still no movement. "Mangoes or Bananas", Maddy
called out. I saw two girls holding hands bobbing away from the rest of the
group, like they were working up the courage to come across. "I like
mangoes better too, would you like to come across with me?" I went across
with the two girls. Things seemed to loosen up a bit but in the end we
couldn't entirely break the gender barrier. It may have been frustrating,
but we learned a lot about Cambodian social norms and how people interact
with one another in a Khmer academic setting. Our guide (who is Siphen's
brother in law) told us that only twenty percent of twelfth grade passed
their final national exam. School starts in November for them and goes
until the summer just like us, but they don't take their test until
September. They get their results in October and many twelfth graders must
retake the grade.

After school, we drove into town and explored a market. They were selling
random stuff. Whitening cream and other products, jewelry, fruits. Getting
back into the taxi wagon I took one last look around and BAM! It hit me
like a brick. We really were on the other side of the world! A natural
reaction to traveling to new cultures is people attempt to bring their
world with them, or create some part of their world here. I looked at a
makeshift shop covered in rusty corrugated iron with dirt floors,
visualizing brick and glass buildings from my hometown in the north suburbs
of Chicago, in that moment there was no escaping that we are here, and boy
did that feel great. We are in Cambodia.

Eli Susman