Week Two

I just got inspired because some friends and family e-mailed to say that they had read the blog. We've been here about 10 days now and it is funny how things actually start to seem normal quite quickly, eventhough we know that it really is quite foreign to the way we have spent the rest of our lives.

Today we had a Khmer language lesson with a tutor who could speak both English and Khmer which was very enlightening. Our host family doesn't speak any English so we have had to learn bits of the language out of necessity but our knowledge and ability to communicate is still very limited. Last night we got invited out for supper and so we thought we explained to our host family quite clearly that we would not be home for supper. However, while we were out, we got a phone call from our mentors saying that the host family had called them because they were worried that we hadn't returned home and it was 7:30PM. It's such a strange feeling to never know whether what you are saying is making sense and then, when you have been misunderstood, to not even being able to apologize appropriately and sort things out. Anyway, we had a big long list of questions for our teacher this morning and he patiently went through them with us. The bigger feat will be remembering how to say them and actually turning our "words" into communication.

Yesterday we spent the morning at The Little Conquerors program. Generally in Cambodia, disability is believed to be a punishment and therefore kids with disabilities are often not valued. This program has been set up to challenge that belief system and provide support for the families. We will go on a home visit on Friday and we are very interested to see how these children manage in their home envirment. The house that we are living in has a steep ladder into a trap door that is used during the night to access the upstairs. The outside stairs are very steep also. It makes us realize how many resources we have in the Western world. On Monday we were at the school that is associated with this program. The public schools are not able or are unwilling to accommodate kids with disabilities for the most part. The school is especially for kids with disabilities and has 9 students in the morning (younger ones) and 10 in the afternoon (the older ones). The day started off with exercises and a dance which was really fun. There was one little boy who quite enjoyed break dancing. It was beautiful to watch one of the boys with cerebral palsy who could walk, but with much effort, serve a boy who also had cerebral palsy but was not able to walk during their snack time. We saw this type of behavior throughout the morning and it seemed that it was not mandated by the teachers but rather came out a genuine understanding of helping each other. The organization we are with has turned over all the leadership to Cambodian people and it struck me on Monday that as we were talking with them, they kept apologizing that their English was not good. We are in their country and they are apologizing to us for not knowing our language. I can't honestly say that I have ever apologized for not knowing a foreigner's language in Canada. Perhaps there is a general mentality in that English is "supreme" or maybe it is due to historical reasons. I don't know. Something to ponder.

After our language lesson this morning we went back to the house and Om Paun had removed one of the walls. From what we could understand, it is time to clean up. When I left after lunch again, he had a tarp hung, a couple of small logs in place and some sticks. I'm assuming that all of the other pieces (ie. metal cooking oil containers cut and flattened, old boards, corragated iron, etc) will be placed on top. It kind of looked fun, actually, just creating a wall. Who would think of creating a wall in Canada out of pieces of what we would call garbage?

Transportation is a bit of a daily adventure here. There are a few different options. The majority of transportation happens on motor bikes. You bascially can stand nearly anywhere and there will be motodots around coming to see if you need a ride. Our first feat is getting them to understand where we want to go then the price negotiation starts. Bartering is hard because they always say that fuel is very expensive and really, $0.25 doesn't make any difference to us but there is a feeling inside that you want to pay a fair price. After the price is sorted out which can sometimes take a while and necessitate abandoning that driver for another one, then we hop on and hope for the best. Usually ladies ride side saddle on the back but I tried this the first time and found it completely terrifying. Since then Ben and I have been mostly riding together on the back which feels much more secure. Today the driver I had took me around a corner fast enough that my foot went onto the ground and I thought, yep, this is still scary. It is an odd concept to think of just jumping on the back of someone's motorbike that you have never met before and has no qualifications except experience. We were told to just ask them to stop if it feels unsafe and get another driver but it is hard to decide what is unsafe and what is just normal. So far we haven't stopped any. A lot of people don't even wear helmuts here but we are certainly sure to have them on every time.

Well I guess I should go as it is almost supper time. Eating has started to become a bit more difficult for us. We've had a few dishes over the past few days that...well, they weren't anything we would chose to eat. We definitely aren't having to battle overeating so that's good. I never realized how important food is to well being. I'm not just talking about nourishment because I think (not completely sure) we are getting that but perhaps there is an element of comfort in a juicy burger or a pizza or a small square of chocolate....ahhhhhh....time to go and have some more fish and rice.

Hope you are all well. We love to hear stories from home!!