Nothing too much happened today. For some reason I cannot even remember much of the day even though it was just one day ago! Because everyone is studying so much, I have been alone for much of the day. Since I like to be around people, this can get a little depressing. Most of the morning was spent transferring pictures to my computer and saving them in a format that I could upload on the blog. Who knew it would be this much work!?
After my extensive computer time, I wandered around the dorm for a little bit and took pictures of the girls making dinner. Each day three girls are in charge of making the food for all three meals. This means that each girl ends up cooking two times per week. Last night we had fried fish with lots and lots of ginger. It was good but spicy!
Touch and Dany making dinner:
Dany cutting the fish. She makes these tiny little cuts along both sides of each fish before cutting it into larger chunks and frying it in oil. These cuts are to help make the scales smaller since they do not take the scales off.
Sophea dividing up the food among the plates for the three floors:
Following dinner, it was time for my first class. I met with the beginners from 8-9pm. There are only 4 girls in that class. I am using this time to work on English and to teach some US history and women’s history. I have 5 weeks and will meet once per week with the beginners, intermediate, and advanced. Here is the schedule I have worked out. We’ll see if this is what actually happens!
1.
Tell them a little about me, my background, education, family, etc. Then, discuss the postcards I gave them. Each person got a postcard from either Arizona or Texas, and we went over these in class – what was on each one, etc. We finished by talking about the different regions of the US – what is produced in each one, states, climate, vocabulary, pictures.
2.
Outline of American history and discussion of big events like American Revolution and Civil War
3.
Early women’s history: Native American women, Puritans, slavery (maybe read some of the Amistad book that I brought with me)
4.
Later women’s history: movement West, immigration, factories/mills, 20s to Depresion, WWII to 50s and then 60s (reactions to decade before)
5.
Women’s rights movement: early women involved in public with reform and abolition mvts, Seneca Falls, suffrage, workforce, feminism, anti-feminism
Tuesday
Today I actually left the dorm twice, if you can believe it! I know, I can’t either :) This morning I had an email from one of Maggie’s friends. She left her sim card for her phone with this friend, and we decided to meet for lunch at Java Café (I went there with Maggie as well). I was able to get a ride from a tuk-tuk driver who actually lives next door to the dorm. It is the same person who a lot of the residents have used, and he actually knows a lot of English (and knows how to get back to the dorm!), which is nice. He took me into town and then waited while we ate. He even drove us to a few shops and waited and then drove me back home. He had initially said $2 (no clue if he meant one way or the round trip – I think round trip even though I have paid $2 for one way before), but then when we got back to the dorm, he said it was up to me when I asked how much. I really didn’t know and just gave him $4, which is what I have done for two rides before. I am not sure it was enough because he waited, too. I asked if it was enough or if he needed more, and he said it was fine. Yikes! I’ll have to make sure I pay enough since he was very nice. It is good to know that there is someone right next door that I can use to get around. I feel kind of silly in the tuk-tuks (even though they are nice to be in) because it is definitely only white people who use them! The motos are fine actually, but I would like to have a helmet for them even though it seems like it is just the drivers who tend to wear them. And, the motos are soooo much cheaper – about 25 cents each way versus $2 each way on the moto.
Picture from the back of the tuk tuk:
This was also taken from the tuk tuk shows what they look like. Behind the tuk tuk is Independence Monument, which was built after Cambodia's independence from France (in the 1950s?) and now commerates Cambodians who have died in war.
So, back to my original story. I met someone named Abra at Java Café, where you can eat but also has an art gallery. The owner will be giving the first of the women’s empowerment lectures at Monument Bookstore this Sunday. The café is a nice place and is in all the guidebooks. Definitely only tourists and expats are there, but the prices seem fine. A little pricier for some of the sandwiches, but they looked large. I got a yogurt with granola and nuts, which was very tasty. The two of us talked about what we are doing. She was on a Fulbright to Singapore last year and is in Cambodia this summer working at a puppet theater. She will be starting her MFA in youth theater at UT Austin the fall. As a side note, she also knows someone here who is finishing their Fulbright year to Cambodia where she studied local textiles and now is just opening her own store in town. There are some very interesting foreigners here who are doing some really neat things.
And, again, back to my story! After lunch, we went down the street to a few stores. I haven’t had a chance to look at any of the stores like this because it doesn’t seem like something I should do with the girls from the dorm since they aren’t able to buy anything in them. I mostly just looked so that I can get the feel for what the nice stores have versus what the markets have concerning price and quality. We went to one store that had really nice scarves and purses for very good prices. There is a purse design there that I really like and might have to get before I leave. We went to another store that had similar things but not quite as extensive and then also some clothes. I got two things for my mom there (well, unless I decide to keep them!). I wonder if she can guess what they are by the time I come home! ??! We also went to a clothing store that had some very cute shoes. I think they are made in town because they said we could order different sizes. There were a couple of very cute styles that actually were in my size. One pair had a small little heel and t-strap but the strap curved around the side of the foot instead of right up the front. I felt like I was out of some Fred Astaire movie in the 1940s! They are $30 for a pair, so I’ll have to think about it.
After all of that looking around, I went back home and kind of laid around for a while. Here is a picture of dinner preparation that night. Instead of standing and doing things at the counter, they do everything on the floor. We had a lots of food - a seafood soup with fish and shrimp; and, a veggie dish with cauliflower, french fries, onions, carrots, and baby corn (the main one had pork but they made a bowl for me without meat!). The veggie dish was so good - I think it might be favorite one so far!
Around 7pm, I went with a few of the girls into town to do something different. They needed a change of scenery after studying for their law exams all day. We went to the park at Independence Monument, and it was a mad house. There were fireworks in the sky and tons of people – the traffic was unimaginable! There was a big celebration because today is the one year anniversary of when Preah Vihear, a temple near Thailand (and contested b/c Thailand claims it is theirs) was named to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
Since it is dark, you cannot really see the traffic, which was totally insane, but this might give you an idea. In the second picture, you can see some of the fireworks above Independence Monument.
We stopped for a short while at the celebration and then decided to go to a little place near the dorm that is set up like a small fair – bumper cars, throwing darts at balloons, that kind of thing. We played some of the darts and then left. I was a flaming disaster, but I did warn everyone that I have no coordination at all!!!
And, because my sister requested a picture...here are some of the lizards that live in the dorm and mostly hang out in the bathroom. They look kind of green in this picture, but they really are almost white. Kind of freaky albino lizards or something!
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