Minerva Fellowship: 9 Months in Siem Reap
Go to the people
Live with them
Learn from them
Love them.
Start with what they know
Build with what they have,
But with the best leaders
When the work is done,
The task accomplished,
The people will say
"We have done this ourselves"
-Lao Tzu
In Ddegeya Village and all of rural Uganda, there is no such thing as running water. People fetch water at local boreholes and lug jerry cans of water to their homes throughout the day in order to cook, clean, bathe, and survive. Luckily, Engeye Health Clinic (EHC) enjoys the luxury of a…
(via shelbycutter)
Source: brendankinnane
it’s semester exam week. which functions sort of like finals. there’s no real class, just exam after exam. i’ve never been on the other side of the table before- where i’m not the one freaking out and studying. all i have to do is watch my little munchkins suffer (until i get to grade 49 different test sections).
i was in the teacher room bathroom, a place i try never to be due to it’s awful stench and usual lack of running water. about to flush le toilet when just inches away from where i had been sitting: one. giant. spider. (the same sized spider that tormented me during my first week of class, which my darling students never forget).
AHHHHHHH. i yelled. eliza laughed, “what?”
“A SPIDERrrrRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!”
eliza kicked open the door, making the spider crawl up and around the wall, jumping up and down i scampered out and we stood there, not knowing what to do.
“get one of the kids” we said in unison.
tiptoeing down the stairs, “who wants to kill a spider?!?”
“me!!!!!!” said four girls.
“well follow me!”
we hurried up the stairs, and off the warriors went… i stood in the farthest corner from the bathroom and we heard giggles, yells, the knocking of sticks, and a whole bunch of commotion. when finally, out they emerged, victorious, with the dead spider.
i love this school.
From world history, to boys, to life decisions, to politics, to food, to culture, to the future, to old and new friendships— I have learned a lot.
Professor Lobe- Union College, Political Science
Two months ago, Tom Lobe arrived in Siem Reap. He hadn’t been back in Cambodia for 30 years. He told us stories of riding through Battambong in an open-air jeep being shot at. How he ripped down a CIA poster and helped a soldier find his Buddha necklace in a mud trench. He asked questions to our temple guide about foreign influence, where the ticket entrance fee goes, and explained Cambodia’s current government.
The questions he asked, the information he shared with us, was illuminating and entertaining as only a professor like he could make it. I learned more about the current and past politics in those four days than I’ve been keeping up with in the past 6 months,
Rachel Warren, best friend of 13 years
A week ago, my best friend returned to the US after a 2-week stint in SR. Our time was divided between school, soccer, sleeping, watching movies, having food poisoning, shopping, bike rides, and discussing the ever elusive FUTURE. Having Rachel here was a surreal; a dream come true.
I was amazed at how Rachel jumped into everything. She wore appropriate clothes, learned all my student’s names in one day, picked up some Khmer, tried lots of food. She was a great houseguest and her excitement for Cambodia was contagious. Her fresh eyes on SR were invigorating.
Marco Jacquemet and Dawn Cunningham- University of San Francisco and Mills College
When my favorite anthropology couple, George and Sharon Gmelch, notified me that their coworker, Marco, would be traveling to Cambodia with his wife, and that I should meet them… I didn’t quite know what to expect.
Dawn and Marco are a lively due: biking, hiking, surfing, energetic debaters/conversationalists, and with big appetites. I was in awe of their friendliness, generosity, and knowledge of well, everything! Conversations through two dinners never lulled. I ate up everything from tales of the Southwest, the Philippines, and Albania. Being able to spend time with them contributed to my future (very future) plans to go to graduate school for anthropology.
Sam Merlin, Union College ‘11
Sam Merlin arrived in SR two days ago. He’s had the pleasure of visiting all Minerva Fellows for 3 weeks to study food and culture. Since October he’s been in Ecuador, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, India, and now Cambodia. Sam and I met in Washington DC during the 2010 spring term abroad with Tom Lobe. Our crude sense of humor and social skills made us quick friends.
The first day we walked through Old Market, the same market I buy my tofu and broccoli in. I always go to the same ladies, but when Sam ad I walked through the market, we explored all of it. He knew the names of everything, and when he didn’t somehow I knew the names: wide bean, basil, galangal, tapioca, rambutans, sophadillas. He was so enthusiastic about all the food, I found myself equally enthusiastic- talking about kampot epper, lok lak sauce, prahok, duck fetus eggs, meat buns, etc.
I found where all the desserts are located, and we ate delicious soup in the market. Then we bought lots of food and Sam cooked us a delicious fried rice meal: brown rice with fried egg, mango, cabbage, basil, yellow pepper, carrot, lemongrass, garlic, in a fish sauce with chili, lime, and ginger. It was our second home cooked dinner and it was scrumptious.
Staff English- Teacher Sopha
I teach 4 hours of English to two Khmer colleagues a week. No matter what lesson plan I make, Teacher Sopha ends up dictating what we learn. Countable and uncountable nouns? How about irregular plural nouns instead. This week, his interjections were welcome when instead of an hour of grammar; we discussed an hour of world history.
It all started with “what does ‘ie’ mean?” “It means id est, which ‘that is’ in Latin.” (Thanks Google). That brought us to Sanskrit, what is the oldest language in the world? What/who is Latin America? Why are the US, Canada, Mexico, China, and Russia such big countries? Why is English a worldwide language? How did the US become a hegemony after WWII, how other nations gain control of others, weapons, environment, and to Cambodia’s own internal strife.
In April, we are going on a class trip to Mondol-Kiri. All I ever hear about this province is that there are jungles, animals, and jungle people. Sopha informed me that there are big conflicts between the Khmer government and the people of Mondol-Kiri because so many Khmer people like to visit the “monkey people” and that those who live in MK don’t want to be seen like that. They want to be modern. This is causing a lot of tension and also contributing to a loss of traditional culture and dialect. It was a great lesson, not only because I was able to skip grammar, but also because we both learned something.
Intermediate English- Chamreoun
I teach 4 hours of English a week to Chamreoun. She’s 15-16ish, and she’s a quintessential teenager. She worries about pimples, hair, make up, loves to talk about boys, her body. She’s moody, funny, and always up for gossip. My first hour with her was about the conditional tense- will and would. What would you do if you won the lotto? First we calculated $5,000,000 into riel (20,000,000,000 riel). Then we played accounting- $3,000,000 to her family, $20,000 to travel the world, $50,000 to start her own hotel, $20,000 to start her own restaurant, $30,000 to various NGO’s, $1,000 to clothes… she was having so much fun doling out her money. When she finished she still had $837,500 left over, she just say there with a big smile, truly excited about all her left over fake money.
The second hour it was clear “reviewing” was going to take the backseat. She started telling me about boys who have broken hearts, who she loves, the other students and who they are dating, who is rich, who lives at an NGO. I wanted to be part of the gossip, so I told her I had this friend from who that I love, but I don’t think loves me. I asked her, what should do I do? “Oh, well you should tell him you know a girl who loves him, and then say you can’t tell him who, and he’ll really want to know, and you can finally tell him on his birthday. But you should hurry or he might meet another girl before you come home.” I enjoyed this lesson, because that is the advice I would have given if I were in middle school.
Grade Seven- Sari
I teach 4 hours a week of English to 9 girls in grade seven. They call themselves “S-9” because all nine of them have names that start with the letter S. Class is always a riot. The sillier the better.
Sari is consistently first or second best in the class. She sits in the back row, absorbs 96% of what I say, and I can often look to her to explain something to the rest of the class. She’s responsible, bright, and respectful. She’s the girl who teaches her sister karate at 5am every morning, has a sister who works at karaoke, and had a mom with a drinking problem.
Two weeks ago, Sari’s mom passed away. Sari was at school the next day. Visibly in her own world when left alone, she kept a brave face and was still smiling and laughing. Though she fell asleep with her head in my lap when we watched a movie, I was struck by what show she was putting on for the whole school.
I made her a bracelet because I didn’t know what else to do- my attempt at saying something turned into a hand squeeze where she couldn’t meet eye contact. Four days later, I sat next to her at soccer practice. She was silent and finally turned to me and said, “what would you do? If you were me. Would you live with your sister or your aunt?”
The predicament is that the school wants her to live with her aunt and uncle, but Sari wants to live with her older and younger sister. Her older sister works at karaoke (not good) and works at night. I told Sari, the easy choice would be to live with her aunt, and the hard choice would be her sister. When Sari started to defend her position, I continued, “But, sisters are sisters, and that’s your family. I think you have made your decision and no one can change it for you. You’re a very smart girl, you’ll make the right choice.”
FIRST SOCCER GAME!!!!
Team’s shake hand; Group shot; Savonn playing great defense; Girls watching a game; Young Chi and Lida; Srey Sdang, Sari, and Srey Khouch riding around.
Lotus flower at Bantey Srey; Sunset on Ella’s roof; Moon rise at Angkor Wat; Cow grazing on rice paddies, en route to Tonle Sap
New Years is my favorite holiday (narrowly beating July 4th, who has weather and food going for it). New Years is consistently the best- not only because I have a wonderful group of friends to celebrate with, a family that calls at midnight, and the opportunity to have spent it on four continents, but also because New Years is, for lack of poetic phrasing: the end of one year and the beginning on a new one.
As many people find it to be: a time to reflect and a fresh start. Figuratively. The cross over from December 31st to January 1st doesn’t instantly make me a better person. I slept most of the 1st and ate a whole loaf of banana bread after deciding to work on my health.
Regardless. 2011: I graduated. My brother got engaged. My mom kicked cancer’s ass. I was offered and took the opportunity to go to Cambodia. I ran a half marathon. I made a home in Cambodia. 2012?
Amongst warm wishes from friends, family, and professors came two emails from Tom and Hal (founders of the Minerva Fellowship). Both came with same same but different messages. 1) Think about what projects you want to do. 2) Enjoy every sandwich because the next 3.5 months will fly.
A few nights ago I turned to Eliza and said, “I don’t have any ideas for school. I did the swimming and the art, now what? You’re doing the health class. What else can we do?” We sat there for about 15 seconds and then the juices started to flow; trip to silk farm, cricket farm, digital art class, theater activities, dance, student extra help, Joe to Go sticker/t-shirt designs, etc.
Rest assured, ideas are not lost. Sometimes all we need is a little brainstorming. As for Tom’s advice on cherishing every moment, well, much to parent’s dismay, I can already tell that I’ll come home both happy and depressed. They remember well what I was like after I finished sleepaway camp, and oh after graduation when I cried at lunch (overtired). But, Cambodia really has become my home. Every day I go to school and Srey Sdang tickles me, Srey Keow hugs me, Srey Saw pokes me, Sari and Sophoas practice fake laughing with me, Sophan writes me notes, Lida and Teary say “Hello Carolyn, what is your name?” Ratha asks me what’s up and I say the sky, Marot and I high-five, Numheang and Chamroun share snacks with me, and Pisey and I speak like Gollum from LOTR to each other.
So, with that, letting out a giant sigh: it has been an unbelievable year and I can only hope 2012 can top it.
Young Chi; Nari; Srey Am; Kanya; Srey Keow; Marot; Ratha; Srey Sdang
I followed Dara and Sopha’s moto off the main road and onto a sandy path. On one side, cows grazed on litter, and on the other side were piles of garbage aflame. I was on my way to visit the families of my students. Arriving at the house of one of my top students, I wasn’t mentally prepared to see that she lived in a 20ft x 20ft shack, haphazardly covered in palm leaves and home to 9 people. Or, meet the drunken mother of my other top student, or watch a child snot-rocket heaps of boogers out her nose, or meet the orphaned children of divorce, or to re-learn that multiple students have violent fathers or abused mothers, or no parents at all.
The purpose of the family-home visits is fairly new, and started when TGC got the last “batch” of 9 new students. Dara began the project so TGC could go and see the families twice a year; see if their situations are improving, see if there are any problems at home, how the student acts at home, tell the parents of their child’s accomplishments or issues, get feedback, and see if the parent(s) is taking any initiative to improve their lifestyle.
What I hadn’t been told before was that there’s a new project amidst for TGC and the continuation of making the NGO self-sustaining. When the students get $1 a day to come to school, half goes into a saving account for emergencies/future (life during employment). There’s a new business plan though, that is more than just giving the families 50 cents every day, it’s to help the parents “find their dream” and provide them with funds or vocational training so they can gain control of their lives.
At the end of each meeting, Dara would ask them about their dreams. At the first house, Dara said to me, “He (the father) has no dreams yet. The older sister works at karaoke, this is very bad.” The next house, he said of the drunken mother, “She has many dreams if she is willing to follow through, maybe she will sell crickets or buy a bike.” One mother wants to get a wooden cart and sell fruit, another already sells peanuts though she must support a family of ten with those earnings.
Though, I think the best dream I heard all day was at the house of one of my girls. A quiet, calm, thoughtful, creative student who cracks jokes and smiles wide when I laugh at them. She lives with her older sister who is in grade 11. The two of them live alone, her parents died 8 years ago. Her sister wants to either become a cook, or work at a hotel. TGC has a partnership with a tourism school and next year they hope to help her sister get into the program.
At the end of the day, 8 visits gone by, all had gone by smoothly- even when we had to abandon my bike and ride 3 on a moto, a clear pattern had emerged to me. We had met 7/8 mothers who were divorced or had husbands that work in construction. All the mothers had no skills, no training, and anywhere from 4-8 children. Extreme poverty. But with the new project, TGC could help the women gain power and freedom to control their lives. Instead of waiting for their children to grow up so the kids to support the parents, they could work too. Many of the student’s older sisters work in karaoke clubs. According to Dara’s explanation, this basically means prostitution, and publicly shames the girls. On many occasion, Dara made sure I knew that if we hadn’t taken some of the girls, it was clear their path would be to the karaoke club.
It was an eye-opening day, and made me feel even more proud and awed that my students are so beautiful, bright and energetic every day. Even in the bad environments that the parents were not ashamed to admit, I did see hope and beauty. For example in the first 20ft x 20ft house hung the graduation diploma from TGC, and the drunken mother told us that our TGC student teaches her younger sister karate every morning at 4am, and my favorite student’s mother offered us lunch, even if it meant they wouldn’t eat anything in return.
Also, every parent had only positive things to say about TGC and the effect on their child. Each kid came home, helped to clean and cook and then stay up until 10 and student. Or, that they teach their siblings what they learn. Or, their student is much healthier looking just after a year with TGC. Maybe the best was when Sopha would give the mother’s a photo of their child at graduation with their diplomas. In their dirt-caked faces, hard and wrinkled hands, I watched their faces light up at the site of their kid at school. They each stared at the photos for 10 seconds, and would glance down every time the conversation lulled.
At our last visit, a little girl sat with us and listened intently as we talked about the student (she’s her cousin). She sat there with big brown eyes and chipped in seemingly intelligent comments from time to time. She would look at me and smile, she wouldnt’t even giggle or act shy like most of the other kids would do to me, the “barang” (foreigner). Since I’d gotten tired of taking notes, I started to doodle flowers and hearts. When we left, I gave her the paper and turned to Dara and said, “That girl is smart, she should come to TGC.” And Dara with a chuckle said, “Yes, I think so too.”
