MOTIVATION. CONTROL. FOUND.

triangulatic.


Control. Something I never thought very hard about before joining Peace Corps. Probably because I had it. I lived where I wanted to live, I ate what I wanted to eat, I did what I wanted to do with very little struggle.

PCVs give up a lot to serve. We leave our friends and family back at home. Some of us leave our "cushy" American jobs with clear assignments and parameters. We leave acceptable health care and our own generally good health behind. We leave pizza delivery. We leave what is known and comfortable. We almost literally get thrown to the wolves (I'm sure some PCVs are placed near wolf dens. I wish I were....) CONTROL. We've lost control.

I have had trillions upon trillions (exaggeration) of conversations with fellow PCV friends about our disappointments and our frustrations with our service as Peace Corps Volunteers. It tends to be an ongoing conversation for many of us. Is Peace Corps what we expected it to be? What did we expect it to be even? Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what MOTIVATED us to SERVE.

I think I found it again.

We K6s just completed our Mid-Service-Training which I now realize is a big accomplishment. Our Country Director told us (paraphrasing) that the volunteers that went home early will never know what we now know and what we gained from sticking it out. The most impactful session during our training for me was appropriately titled "Motivations of Service." It was a candid conversation with all the Community Health volunteers and our Deputy of training. We listed out our original motivations of serving in Peace Corps which segued into our frustrations once in Peace Corps. It was a much needed therapeutic conversation.

The most harmonious take away from the conversation was that "the impact of volunteers is NOT quantitative." We can go ahead and collect our data on how many moms were educated on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding or how many kids were taught how to properly wash their hands but what about the interactions that can't necessarily be tallied in a small composition book?

this is how I track how many babies i weigh. And how many mangoes i eat. equally important.


Just a few months ago, I started helping a lovely young lady named Tum Srey Lish. Srey Lish is a bubbly, friendly, funny, and kind girl. She instantly became my friend. Her name was pulled up on the US Embassy lottery to be awarded an American visa. Srey Lish wanted to improve her English and we found each other through another volunteer. When I first started meeting with her she was not sure when or even IF she would go to America. She was waiting on a phone call from the Embassy to call her in for an interview. She ended up waiting several months for that phone call.

My friend Srey Lish


In the meantime, I met with Srey Lish two times a week for 2-3 hours. Sometimes I prepared information about America like common idioms and popular sayings, she filled out a job application, we talked about interview skills, and read from the book "Half the Sky." But mostly we just talked about life.

While I was in Phnom Penh, Srey Lish called me to inform me that the Embassy finally called her and was giving her the long-awaited visa! I was, of course, extremely happy for her. But sad for me. I finally made a great friend...but she will soon be leaving me. She is actually leaving this coming Thursday. Look out America! That girl is going to do big things. Regardless of how I feel now that she's leaving, I am so grateful for the time I had with her. I think she helped me more than I helped her. I am so proud of her and excited for this big step in her life. And we WILL reunite in America.

Srey Lish & I sporting our high-fash sunglasses (mine are chanel...)


What I'm realizing now is that the personal relationships that I'm creating while here are far more meaningful than weighing babies. While I do want to SAVE ALL THE BABIES, I am hilariously far from doing that and I can't beat myself up about not doing enough baby saving. Finally accepting this, the fact that my impact - my work - won't be AS big as I originally imagined it being has given me peace of mind. I don't have that much control here but I can control the way I feel about my service. I can control my day to day actions and interactions to make small-scale changes and/or differences. And I feel good about this.

Also, regular exercise does wonders! -> I'd like to give a shout out to Jillian Michaels for shredding me. Her bad jokes really keep me going. What's one thing I have complete control over? EXERCISE. Get off your ass and bike-run-jump-dance!!!

I made a card for my host mama - this photo is pixelated!!!!noooo!!!!!


I wrote it in Khmer!!!!! (Thanks tutor!!!)



I love you all my friends!

To Catch a Thief

After living in a country for over a year, it's easy to get overly confident or what some people may call "Cocky." I would never accept such a vulgar descriptive word like "cocky" to define myself but some people may find it applicable. Regardless of what you want to call me - that's not the issue at hand - the issue at hand is safety and security in a third world country.

Peace Corps volunteers enjoy a good celebration every once in a while. The most recent celebration was to honor the newest editions to our Peace Corps Cambodia family, the K7s (AKA - the seventh group of PCVs to enter into service in Cambodia.) We had a very super professional Meet & Greet session at the office, broke up into provinces for dinner, and reconvened at our Country Director's house for hors d'oeuvres and fancy drink (i.e. > $3 wine; it was a big night.) For some of us PCVs our night shan't end simply. The night must also contain an introduction to our most frequented watering holes in the city of Phnom Penh.

A number of PCVs have entered the Mekong River Lounge in the past and cleaned the place of beer. Dancing is also a common happenstance. We often take control of the musical decisions and amaze the other perturbed guests with our quality of dance. We offer a great many forms of entertainment when there happens to be 50+ PCVs within the same establishment.

Some PCVs end their night at the Mekong and cheers to those smart individuals who believe in the power of sleep. Others find the dancing options of the Mekong limited and disappointing and therefore take their business to another area of town that offers dance varieties unknown and very foreign to the villages we spend most of our time in. This particular night, I was one such PCV. But I was thankfully not alone. At least 20 PCVs decided to learn about the dance club culture along with me. We also all refused the inconvenient form of transportation known as the tuk-tuk. Why? Because we're cheap; too cheap to spend 50¢ or perhaps 75¢ per person to get to a location in 5 - 10 minutes rather than 30 - 40 minutes by walking.

Not a tuk-tuk, Not even a Taxi.


So we began our trek - me in my $5 high heels - and within no more than 10 minutes of departing the Mekong, my night was flipped upside-down. When I walk around Phnom Penh, I tend to walk in the middle-ish of the street, often times because this is the only option. Sidewalks are for cars, ya dummies! And we own the streets, COME ON! (Here's where cockiness is an issue) And when it's near midnight, there are fewer cars and motos around so it just makes sense to walk in the street, right? Or not. I was walking and talking with some lovely K7 PCVs when suddenly a moto flew by the right side of my body and stunningly, took my purse along with it. SHOCK. I watched as two men on the moto zoomed away down the dark street, completely dumbstruck. "THEY JUST TOOK MY BAG!!" I finally managed to say to the others around me. It happened so quickly and smoothly that everyone was astounded. All I had left was the strap hanging around my neck. The thieves cut the straps and with something extremely sharp because the movement was seamless. There was no struggle, no tension. I'm incredibly lucky that I didn't get slashed in the process.

Never seen this movie before but I'm played by Grace Kelly, duh.


I am so grateful that I was surrounded by my friends, old and new, when this happened. Without them, I would have been completely helpless. Automatically, one PCV called up our Safety and Security officer - Reaksmey. This man is amazing and answers his phone even when it's nearly midnight. He cares a great deal about the volunteers and does his job better than anyone could. He calmed me down and asked me to come into the office the next day so we could write up a police report. I thanked him for talking to me at such a late hour and he told me it wasn't a problem. Seriously, he is the best of the best.

Oddly enough (or maybe I was just being normal), I continued my journey with my fellow PCVs and went dancing. My friend Mike gave me money which he really did not have to do. He just did it out of the goodness of his big ol' heart. Other PCVs joked that he would have baked me a cake right then and there if he had the ingredients (Mike is an exceptional baker.)

Katy Perry eating pizza, everyone!


After a solid couple of hours of dancing, we went to a new PCV favorite - Katy Perry Pizza. It's a pizza joint set up on the sidewalk - baking pizzas out of a large steel drum turned into an oven. Pretty solid marketing they've got going on. We consumed many a pizza and continued the socialization of the K7s. I unfortunately began recounting the items I lost when my purse was snatched. Wallet containing over $30, Cambodian bank card, American bank card, Minnesota ID, phone, small sketchbook, 2 pens, lipstick, and oh no, MY iPOD! This country does not want me to have an iPod. My good ol' classic iPod was buried here after 7 or so good years. My parents sent me a new iPod touch for my birthday last year and a month later it mysteriously disappeared. And now this one rode off on a moto.

Losing an iPod is never an accepted incident. And it especially broke my heart because of my need for music while running and more so, my love affair with Instagram. My Olympus Pen E-PL1 is acting finicky lately so I don't take him out anymore. My iPod became the perfect tool for documenting the most interesting things I see in this country. The iPod camera wasn't the best quality but it was enough to capture the people, the oddities, and sceneries that really make Cambodia stand out. So unfortunately there may be a photo drought for a while.

this little lady regrets the loss of Lauraxamo's Instagram access


On the contrary, upon my realization that my iPod was gone, another volunteer - a new volunteer, named Devin casually offered to GIVE ME his iPod. He said he had two so I could take the extra, at least temporarily. How can someone be so nice? The kindness of volunteers, the network we have within our kooky family is incredible and is only growing stronger. I am forever indebted to Devin for his gift. And I practically just met the guy!

Bike journey Instagrammed



The night of dancing and debauchery ended quite late and once I returned to my room, I was alone to my thoughts and realized there was no way I could sleep. So I decided to Skype with my parents at 4AM. They thought it odd I be awake at such an hour and also thought my face looked particularly cried on. "I am crying" I responded and gave them the rundown of my night. Talking to them put me at ease. I have really awesome parents. I miss those guys like something crazy. And eventually I let them go and thought it was perhaps time to sleep. Sleeping was a disappointment and unsuccessful so I gave up and went for a run instead. I needed to blow off steam. And with the leftover money from Mike I bought myself cookies for an after-run snack. Feeling better already.

Following the run, I cleaned myself up and made my way to the Peace Corps office but stopped by a cage of puppies for sale and told everyone of them I was going to buy them. False promises. Coincidentally I ran into Mike after the puppy-stop and he gave me a brand new sketch book and nice drawing pencils! I am blown away by this guy. I'm gonna draw him up something real nice. At the office, Safety and Security officer, Reaksmey, and I recapped the theft so he could file a police report. My phone was replaced and the phone number is still the same which is super duper great. Reaksmey helped me deal with my Cambodian bank account and set almost everything right. I could not be happier with how this situation was handled. He deserves a raise!

The theft of my purse was not the first nor the last this weekend. I was one of 4 volunteers that were robbed within 3 days. As I left the office with two other volunteers, my friend Amanda's purse was also taken in the clear of day. It's possible that with increased tension surrounding the recent election is one reason for an increase in crime. This is also true during big Cambodian holidays like the Water Festival and Khmer New Year, when more people are traveling around. But one thing is for sure, these thieves are GOOD at what they do. They have it down to an art, a repulsive art form but practiced and perfected nonetheless.

These thieves do not represent the country Cambodia truly is. Khmer people are the most generous and welcoming people I've met so far and these thieves are a despicable people making a bad name of a remarkable place. Tourism is rapidly building up the economy and it would be a shame to see petty crime ruin the progress of a country that deserves so much love. I am very disappointed and borderline rage-full of the events that took place this week but I'm not letting this experience ruin Cambodia for me. It is by no means perfect here but it is something special and awe-inspiring. I'm taking this as a learning experience; to reduce my "cockiness" while in the city, be smarter about my belongings and myself. Overall, this experience makes me appreciate my life in the village where there is an established closeness and trust amongst everyone and that alone makes me feel more safe and secure. I may not have caught any thieves but I have been graced with the kindness and support of many outstanding volunteers and Peace Corps staff.

This yay is proof of Cambodia's greatness

Cold in Cambodia

Tis the season everybody!

I can feel it in the air! Kids are making snowmen, people are caroling in the streets, Santas are roaming our shopping malls, gift-buying-deal-snagging is upon us. It's the Holidays. And we couldn't be happier!

NOPE. NO WAY! THAT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE! THERE IS NO WAY! IT'S 90 DEGREES OUTSIDE!

Sorry for the outburst. But I'm serious. There are supposed, so-called "SEASONS" in Cambodia but I have yet to be convinced that they really exist. Rainy Season, if that really is it's name, was a straight up joke. Before I left the USofA I was nearly terrified of the "Monsoon" season. I imagined myself biking miles and miles through torrential downpours for hours on end. I imagined all of my belongings being sopping wet upon my arrival to Cambodia. This did not sound appealing to me.

And after living through one Rainy Season in Cambodia, I must say, I am extremely disappointed.

It is so hot here that the rain that comes, when it does come, is like...I don't know...maybe sort of like eating chocolate after giving it up for lent. I don't know if that's exactly what it's like because I've never given up anything for lent (but I did go about a month without eating chocolate last year and it was a waste of my time.) I'm not Catholic (or whatever denomination it is that gives things up for lent) so I don't know if it's at all like this but let's just pretend. Okay?

Other than my disappointing Rainy Season, the weather here in Cambodia has remained fairly consistent. Therefore, myself and many other (sort of winter-loving) volunteers are convinced that it is still the middle of July. Time sort of stopped when we entered the Kingdom of Wonder. And this sensation of time standing still is becoming more apparent and disheartening as we approach the Holidays.

For Example: I had mixed emotions when I heard and saw photos of the big snowfall in Minneapolis last weekend. However, it was really enjoyable for me to see from the outside looking in, how ridiculous Minnesotans' relationship with snow truly is. It began with "Hooray for snow!" Let's take pretty pictures of all the snow and post them on Instagram! And only one day later: "This stop and go traffic is for the birds!!! SO OVER WINTER!!" (This was a direct quote from a friend on FB.)

I definitely get it. I've been there. I've probably said similar things except never had to worry about the stop and go traffic because I ran to work. Yeah, I know. I'm a badass. BUT now, in my situation, I so badly want to stick my face in a big snow mound. I want to lay down in the snow until all the snow is melted beneath me. I want to throw snowballs at the cars passing by. My Cambodia house would be perfect for that! I would just sit on the balcony and throw snowballs at the speeding cars all day long.

Beyond the "Lack of Seasons Affective Disorder" or "LOSAD", I'm also missing my friends and family more than ever. This is pretty normal for PCVs during the holidays but now that I'm actually experiencing it, it's really crummy. Thanksgiving was strange strange strange. First of all, Peace Corps happened to schedule our Counterpart conference for Thanksgiving day...HA. HA. HA. There's nothing I'd rather be doing on my favorite holiday of the year than having awkward conversations with my Health Center Director and counterpart. Peace Corps did make up for this huge blunder by serving all of the K6 volunteers an incredibly delicious Thanksgiving dinner two days later. We ate with chopsticks. It was what we like to call "A Shit Show."

This photo pretty much sums up our PC Thanksgiving


Luckily, I was able to Skype with my lovely Olson family during their Thanksgiving festivities even though it was 5AM for me. And as expected, they rubbed it in that they were eating my mom's pie. Thanks guys. Thanks for your support....

Following the craze of Thanksgiving was my Birthday! It was, again, odd not being with my family but it was spent in Kampot town which is a great place to be for one's birthday. And my host family is so wonderful. They gave me Khmer cake from Phnom Penh that said my name and 26-12-2012 on it when I returned. They were, not surprisingly, confused about how old I was turning and put a 26 candle on top. Khmer people never seem to know how old anyone really is. Just a month before, my host brother celebrated his 21st birthday but said that he was actually 23 years old. Huh? What? I'm confused. As always. Regardless, the fact that my Khmer family gave me a cake kind of made it feel more legit for me.

Host brother Vanna & Host sister Srey Neang. They're so sweet.


And now it's December and my mind is blown. The end of the world is next week! I haven't even figured out what to wear for the Apocalypse.

In conclusion, I'd appreciate it if you all think of me at least once while you're shoveling your sidewalk and cursing the Snow Gods. I freaking love shoveling snow! Perhaps fall into the snow while you're waiting for the bus and make a snow angel. Throw a snowball at an unexpecting car stuck in traffic on Hennepin Ave. And then run away really fast!

I've never even been downhill skiing. Whatevs. I'd totally do it with these cool cats.


And most important, Happy Holidays!


Love,

Laurax

I'm very busy

"I'm very busy."

I find this statement humorous after living in Cambodia for a little over 4 months now. Khmer people are very busy all the time. "Busy" is a subjective word and it varies depending on where you are in the world. Well...I'm only guessing this is true. I'm not trying to come off as well-traveled and knowledgable of all cultures because I'm not. I mostly only know my own culture and lifestyle that I lived in the United States.

That being said, I can compare my own idea of "busy" to what I've gathered to be the most common perception of "busy" here in Cambodia. To start things off, here's the definition I thought was most applicable for my analysis:

bus·y [biz-ee] adjective, bus·i·er, bus·i·est, verb, bus·ied, bus·y·ing.
1. Not at leisure; otherwise engaged: He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.
2. Full of or characterized by activity: a busy life.

As many of you know, I landed in my permanent site (permanent site meaning I'm staying with my host family in this village for my two year PC service unless something awful happens which it won't) on September 9th, 2012. From then on, I was expected to wander over to the Health Center at some point, introduce myself to the staff, and explain in broken Khmer that I'd be working with them for the next two years. SUPER!

Initially, I received a sort of "deer in the headlights" response from the first nurse I approached. Slowly it began to sink in to the staff that they were told about 7 months earlier that a Peace Corps Volunteer would be popping in to help with health education.

Since then, I've only slightly made my presence in the Health Center useful. (The word "useful" is also subjective and losing or flexing in meaning for me the longer I live here.) For 60 days following the official swearing-in ceremony to become a real life Peace Corps Volunteer, I was on my own in the village. I was given very little guidance, "tic-tic" khmer language skills, and had nothing to do but "observe" and "integrate" into my community.

I started out fairly strong with my mission to "observe" and "integrate." I went to the Health Center everyday from 7:30AM to 11:30AM and then again at 1:00PM to about 4:00PM only to find out the first week that going to the HC after lunch was not...really...necessary. I either sat by myself for a good hour or with patients waiting for the real nurses to arrive and until then, was stared at with wonder and amusement. Therefore, I made the decision to only go to the HC in the mornings (7:30AM-11:00AM) and save the afternoons for INTENSE integration into my small community.

Intense is also a subjective word. And believe it or not, I'm shy (GASP! WAH? HUH?!NO! Impossible!!) I'm particularly shy when I don't speak the native tongue very well and I'm funny looking to the native people. Integrating became a challenge for me. It was almost an everyday battle, actually. My bedroom became a protective shell for me that included a fan and unlimited internet access. The best way to get myself to crawl out of my shell was to think of something to buy at the market.

I needed a laundry basket one day and a garbage can another day. And then I needed a broom!
Let me tell you, going to the market is an amazing way to integrate. It takes very little effort on my part. I just walk across the street and automatically have 20 people asking me what I want to buy. "Laura, ting ai?" This is where the charades often come in.

"How is it not obvious that I'm sweeping with an imaginary broom?"

...is what I thought to myself as I stood in front of the 10 vendors trying to play along with my game. One woman handed me a can of Raid (which coincidentally became an imperative purchase the next week.) I was then chauffeured through the market with my new yay friend on a search to find a broom. I finally found one for about 75 cents and proudly showed it off to the ladies at the market afterwards.

It's the little things.

These folks chat with me in the morning before I "nyam cafe takah. I have yet to buy a piglet but it's offered to me everyday.



When my comfort level increased a bit, I started to go to the market with no predetermined purchases to make. This didn't usually get me far. I'd be asked to "on-gooee-layng" or hang out at my coffee place to chat. Doing this would often get me free green Fanta drinks or even slightly alcoholic desserts (that one was weird...)

It also didn't take me long to realize that this chunk of time I dedicated to "integration" was also UNGODLY HOT. It's really. really. really hot in Cambodia. And I'm frightened for my future because it's not even the hot season yet! Hot season begins in April! Holy geez, are you KIDDING ME?!

In turn, it's not unusual for me to cut my "integration" time short and retreat back to my protective shell to nap in front of my fan.

I'm very busy.

My Host dog, Sokee, demonstrating how to appropriately take a "som rak"


It's hard to find things to do at times when structure is nonexistent, as I explained in my previous post. I found this to be ubiquitous amongst my fellow K6 CHE volunteers. We were all fighting constant boredom and feelings of uselessness.

The excessive amount of free time allowed me to read books, write my incredible blog posts, and observe Khmer culture in all it's oddities. And this is where I realized that Khmer people have a very different idea of what "busy" looks like.
Americans are generally overworked and always multitasking. In America, if you're sitting around at home watching Maury in the middle of the day, you are generally considered a lazy slob and need to get off your ass and find a real job. Time is money and if you're not back from your lunch break within the hour (or half hour) you may be penalized!
In Cambodia, everyone basically has a built in 2 hour lunch break/nap time. And that time frame is flexible and definitely not monitored by anyone at all. If you don't show up in the afternoon...it's not really a big deal.

Busy is having more than zero people in the HC at a time. Busy is having perhaps one transaction within a given hour. Busy is taking a little nap in the hammock after eating some sort of root vegetable as a snack. Or as Forrest Gump said it "Busy is as busy does."

The HC getting an overflow of patients.


My 60 days alone at site have passed me by and I am once again reunited with all my fellow K6 volunteers in my provincial town, Takeo. We're currently in the middle of our 14 straight days of in-service-training. In said training, our days are completely scheduled out from morning to evening with language lessons and technical training. It's difficult to find time to even wash our clothes with so much structure! Our brains cannot compute the amount of busy-ness that is now being thrown at us.

"What? No afternoon sweat-nap in front of the fan? But I need my nappy!"

It appears that integration into our communities may have been too successful and may have negatively effected our ability to absorb obscene amounts information in a small amount of time. That's at least how I'm feeling at this moment. It's great to be reunited and all, but why under such dire conditions!?!

Why work gotta be so much work?!

A cow, hard at work.


On the plus side, the K6 volunteers are no longer on "lockdown" and we are now free to travel the country! As long as we TEXT THE DUTY OFFICER. Hooray! I'm a human again! I really wasn't intending on writing so much in this post but word vomit took over. So here's a sunset:

Oh, that's a pretty sunset!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Peace, Love, Dove.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Chump Reap Sua (wuzzup wuzzup homies!!!!!)

Hey, guess what? I'm still in Cambodia. I've been here for....hold on let me get my calendar out....82 days. Wait. Seriously?! That can't be right. I counted the days in my calendar (actually several different calendars, just in case) about 10 times and I still don't feel like that's right.

That's a really long time! That's close to 100! And I'm trying to figure out what I have to show for it. There are some days here in which I feel as if no progress is being made. "My language skills are plummeting! I don't understand anything! How am I going to initiate any projects! I can't even take a successful trip to the bank!"...is often running through my head. Especially in the past couple of weeks.

I'm going to give myself some credit. I think I'm underestimating myself. I can't help but compare my "first month at site" experience to everyone else's. My comparisons are based off of very little evidence, as in 2 sentence Facebook status updates worth of evidence. But some days I still read another K6 volunteer's status and think "OH MY GOD!! I'M A FAILURE! Why am I not teaching English to monks yet??" or "Why haven't I measured a pregnant woman's belly yet?!!!!"

This is where reality checks are important but the banks in Cambodia will charge you 3 dolla for those and they won't process them on Saturdays so you have to go back to the bank on Monday.

I needed to (and still need to) remind myself that every volunteer has their strengths and weaknesses. And that I need to use my STRENGTHS to compensate for my WEAKNESSES. How do I use my strengths to compensate for my weaknesses, particularly in Cambodia where I don't speak the language very well and seem to terrify children? Thanks to my previous job at TBI Metro Services (shout out to my homies at TBI! wut wut!), I know how to answer that question very well if it ever comes up in a future job interview.

I spent many hours at the health center "observing" and "taking notes" until I decided I understood that in this room we talk to ladies mien-p'tay-bpooah (preggers) and in this room we talk to people with chu-g'bal (headaches) and chu-bpooahs (stomachaches.) Now, how do I fit in?

Oh, duh. I can draw.

And then you're all like "Wait, Laurax, I don't get it. Where's drawing going to get you in a health center?"
And then I'm all like "Whatever, dude. BE CREATIVE! I love little children and I need to some how lure them into my trap and make them love me back."
And then you're all like "Wait, Laurax...I still don't get it. You make no sense, yo. You can draw and that's great and all but that won't get you anywhere in a health center."
And then I'm all like "Whatever, dude. I ain't no gruu-bpait (doctor) and please remind everyone in my village of this because they keep approaching me with their ailments. I'm a Community Health Education Volunteer! Yay! So I'm gonna educate me some k'mayng-k'mayng (children) that be chillin' at the HC with some coloring pages that have secret HEALTH MESSAGES! Wash your hands you silly billy! Eat yr veggies or else!"
And then you're all like "Huuzzahhhhh!!!! Now I get it!"

END OF DIALOGUE.

Insert relevant photo here:

Learng dai before you eats and after you poops!


And this one:


Eat more than just rice, for serious.


And now I'm working on my "Exercise" drawing which entails bears doing different physical activities. Will people actually consider said physical activities? Now, that's another story. We'll not get into that right now. Nonetheless, I enjoy doing stuff like this.
The first day I brought the coloring pages to the health center, the HC didn't seem to understand the point. Some of the staff started coloring and eventually one of the staff members took the drawings and markers out of the lobby. "Ummmm...no...those aren't for you. Those are for the kids...and don't put it away...noooo....please? Okay. Whatever."
But then I brought them back out the next day and had little children scribbling all over them, front and back. I think these coloring pages are more of an introduction to coloring than to my secret health messages. Either way, I will carry on.
Even if the HC staff still don't really completely understand me, at least they find me entertaining when I draw. And now they're commissioning me to draw rabbits, tigers, etc.



And now, to completely change the subject!
Today is my father's birthday. He is super duper old. And since I'm on the other side of the world from him, I was unsure what to get him for his birthday. The other week I was talking to my mom and she mentioned trying to get my dad to start a Facebook account. I knew my dad wouldn't do it himself so I took it upon myself to get him going on the Facebook.

Go ahead and be his friend if you're not already. The more the merrier! He's a really cool dude. He enjoys The Carpenters and anything related to motor oil...or Bob's Oil Blog...or something like that.

Speaking of, here's a photo of my seriously cool dad:

Here's my cool dad being a cool dad! ohmigawd there are cookies on the table!


Oh yeah, and photo courtesy of my lovely aunt, Barbara Olson.

And did I mention that I have a really cool dad that I miss and love a lot? Hi dad. I love you. Please accept that e-mail from Facebook, now.

Okay, bye.


Much love,


Daughter Laura

Peaze Corpse Danze Mix

I made a playlist. Primarily to share with my fellow K6 almost PCVs. But maybe others will enjoy it also?






Now the world can dance.


and by the world I mean...



myself.

It's been, like, two months already. RIGHT?

Sua-s-day!
As you can see from the subject of this blog post, I've been in Cambodia for two whole months now!!! wooooooo!!!!...pause...awkward silence...
Okay. Scratch that. It's been one week. We officially arrived in Phnom Penh last Sunday. I am now in Takeo Province which is about two hours south of PP...I think. Well, know it all Google maps says it's 1 hour and 22 minutes south of PP but that's only true if you are traveling by Delorean or something. And not on Peace Corps Cambodia's watch. Eeek! Say what? I didn't say anything...

All of the K6 trainees are now with their host families as of Saturday, July 21st. My host mom's name is Sophany (Goa-ut chmoo-aw Sophany. Pronounced: Soap-ann-ee...I think) She lives on National Highway (very busy with absurd Khmer drivers), in a nice house with her husband (I can't remember his name....?) But he's a policeman and I finally saw him in his uniform during dinner tonight. He's legit, yo. No one gonna eff with us!
My host mom was a teacher but retired from that two years ago and is now a vendor. She sells bulk rice so there are huge bags of rice in the garage-type-part of our/their house. They also have a very sweet (English speaking) daughter who's 21 years old. She usually just visits on the weekends. Thanks to her I have internet! She's letting me use her internet USB stick thing. I hope to get one of my own tomorrow maybe and UNLIMITED monthly internet. Cuz I loves me some internets.

DO I LOOK LIKE A TERRORIST? THIS IS WHAT I WEAR TO KEEP THE BUGS OUT OF MY HAIR


Tomorrow we begin our day at 7:30AM with language and cross-cultural class with our LCF (Language and Cross-cultural facilitator) Linda. He is strict but I think he will be a good teacher. We have approximately 4.5 hours of this in the morning. Break for lunch and then go to the Wat for our first day of Technical training for our actual assignment, Community Health Education (CHE.)

Things I've noticed that I like/find funny/weird/silly/interesting/(or none of those):

- Host mom eye-rolling. Is this a good thing or bad thing in Khmer culture? Don't answer.
- I'm always tired! I take mid-day naps which, if you really know me, is not something I like to do. Naps often make me feel worse than before the nap took place. I am crabby after naps. And today it DIDN'T RAIN, so when I woke up from my nap I was covered in sweat. Iiiiick.
- My sleep schedule is odd...I go to bed around 9PM or 10PM and wake up several times throughout the night because I'm too hot or too cold (sometimes!) I then wake up before my "just in case" alarm anywhere between 5-530AM. And this works out fine for me since I can go running before it gets even hotter out.
- I love rain now. When you visit me in Cambodia, you will understand. Back in Minneapolis, whenever it rained, I would be pissed because that usually meant I would be soaked by the time I got to work or wherever. But NOW, I'd rather be soaked by the cool rain, than my sticky sweaty self. Sweat is a constant disgustingness sticking to every Peace Corps trainee.
- Little kids, everywhere I go, say "Hello" to me because I'm obviously the coolest person they've ever seen in their lives. (This is not a unique to me, BTWs. Every PCT gets this kind of attention.)

I'm glad I have this:

M and Ms; Boy am I glad I kept you guys to myself...


When I'm not by myself eating pretzel M&Ms, I'm eating delicious (seriously, pretty good) Khmer food with my family. We sit together on this wood-deck-type-thing with our legs crossed uncomfortably (and my feet cannot be pointing toward my host dad...) There's rice (obviously), some type of vegetables: today it looked like sprouts?(yum!), Som-law (Khmer Soup), potatoes (dom lowm barang), and green tea.

I talked with my LCF about running and he discussed this with my host dad. Neither of them wanted me to run on the National Highway...which is the road I HAVE to take if I want to go anywhere, BTW. So my dad suggested crossing the street and hopping the fence of the school to run around the campus. I followed said advice like the good daughter I am...and BEWARE OF DOG has never been more real to me (although that sign does not exist here.) I was able to run for about 5-7 minutes until the dogs that "own" the campus when kids aren't around on the weekend spotted me from their Dog throne. I could feel the three or four dogs tailing me and I tried to "confuse" the dogs by running around the building a "different" direction. The dogs were very angry with me and I've never been more afraid of any animal. I decided to stop running (as advised by the Peace Corps) and walked to the gate "with confidence."
Let's just say...I'm never doing that again. And for the record, this was not one of the dogs trying to eat me.

I'M DANGEROUSLY CUTE, BACK THE EFF OFF.


Today I did myself a favor and just hopped on my sweet mountain bike and road toward people. I was feeling weird because it's difficult to be surrounded by people that don't recognize your "mad-awesome" pantomiming skills. I tried to explain "mosquito net" to my mom yesterday with buzzing noises and waving my hand around my face...She just walked away. I'm making even more weird noises than usual to communicate with my host family.
Anyway...I got on my bike, and called my friend Willia. I knew I was somewhere near her house and that she wouldn't mind me just stopping by somewhat unannounced. She's amazing. I love her. She was napping when I called her and woke her up. The second time I did that to someone today (oops!) We gathered on the side of the road along with two other PCT friends, Miriam and Melissa. Then we visited one of the married PCT couples, Kayla and Kevin.
Long story short, I am going to make it my rule to call someone when I'm feeling weird/sad/lonely and meet up with them. I hope Willia doesn't mind being the first one on my list.

Willia: My Saving Grace


I should probably go to bed soon and before I go to bed, I have to go pee and that is also a scary ordeal...I'll spare you the details for now. This was a LONG post.


Love,
LoRAAH, PCT

Up-dizzle...

TWO MORE DAYS!

And by that I mean I have two more days EXTRA in Minneapolis before I leave FOREVER (not.)

We (the Peace Corps K6 crew) finally got word from the Peace Corps, at 4PM (Central Time) on Friday June 15th, as to when we'd officially be gathering for staging in DC. Unfortunately for some, the e-mail was too late for them to book on Friday so they had to wait until today (Monday June 18th, yo.) 

I leave Minneapolis on July 12th in the AM and fly to DC via Delta Airlines (Flight 5708 if you feel like tracking it??Like Rain Man. False, he memorized all airplane crashes in history. Sorry.) 

I arrive in DC around 11:38AM and zoom over to check into the Holiday Inn Georgetown. From there I will endure a series of tests in which I will be poked and prodded my men in white space suits i.e. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Or maybe it will be more like the welcome tour at Jurassic Park. We'll be locked into a rotating movie-theatre in which we'll watch a documentary of the history of PC, and then meet the dinosaurs that will eat us at the end of the movie. I HOPE SO!!!!

My next tattoo. 

Anyway, after the brainwash-sesh, I get to sleep in a comfy hotel bed until I wake up to the bullhorn and we're all lead out of the building like cattle on our way to the slaughterhouse at 7:30AM. Our flight doesn't technically leave until 1PM. Why so early to the airport? I don't know. But I really like airports so whatevs. 

Then I'll be on a flight to Bangkok for the next 23 hours.......................................................................

Then we spend One Night In Bangkok. 

We leave Bangkok on Sunday, July 15th and arrive in Phnom Penh around 7:25PM (their time?)

My mom asked me if it felt real now that I have my official staging dates, flights booked, etc. And no. It still feels pretty not real. Also, I've been keeping tabs on the weather in Cambodia and it appears to be about 80ish degrees at night time. For the whole night...and top that off with at least 75% humidity. And this is monsoon season we're talkin'!! I'm sure no one will want to ever touch me once I'm there as I will be sweating nonstop. I will be sweating while I'm sitting. Sweating while I'm thinking. Sweating while I'm taking a cold shower. 


For all you Minnesotans out there I will do a weather comparison for you:


Today in Minneapolis it is humid as hell. Standing in one place for too long with the sunlight anywhere near you will create droplets of sweat in your elbow-pits and on your brow. According to weather.com our current humidity is only 43% and it is decreasing as the day moves along. 


Now, travel by teleportation or jet ski to Phnom Penh where there is a 12 hour difference. It is 84 degrees. It is nighttime. It is 70% HUMIDITY. 


Just saying. I hope I can adapt to this weather. But by the power of Grayskull, I will overcome! By golly, one of my 5 strengths according to the Strengths Finder 2.0 is adaptability! Come hell or high-water, I will adapt! 


And now I am done. 


Love,


Laurax