Sua-s'day! (Hello!)

Today is a hub-site day, where all of the volunteers in the three training villages meet up in Takeo where we have training sessions together, and then get an hour or so of free time before we go back home. Four days living with my host family has seemed like an eternity, and like no time at all at the same time. My family is really sweet; they are rice farmers, so I live basically in the middle of a rice paddy. The sunsets are incredible! I have an older host sister who is 24, a "bong sarai," whose name I won't write here because phonetically, I wouldn't know where to begin with it. A little shy at first, but she's starting to open up more to me. She's is very patient with my Khmai, especially when I ask the same thing multiple times! She's also helped me a lot when I've been having a rough time with something. I've never before known the extent to which eye contact, miming, and intention to understand can help convey a message. Also, I'm pretty sure she speaks more English than she's letting on... Sometimes when I am really struggling with something in Khmai, she'll softly say it in English with a coy smile at which point I cock my head and remark that I think she's holding out on me... She doesn't reply to that. My host brother is kind of crazy. He's three and has a few very sharp, pointed teeth, which he uses to mash up tiny bones in the chicken we're eating, or fruit with a hard shell... At first he kind of terrified me, and I'm pretty sure I terrified him, but we're starting to warm up to each other. We bonded over gummy worms the other night, and playing catch with a fruit in the living room. I think he still doesn't quite know what to make of me, which is totally understandable- I am a giant barong (foreigner) with pale skin and very white teeth. If I were in his position, I'd probably be a little skeptical too.

My host mom and dad are great. At dinner, I'll point to things we are eating, or mime something and ask how to say it in Khmai, and after they tell me, they'll ask "Anglais ta-mai?" (How in English?) It's a nice exchange. Often my pronunciation in Khmai will be way off, so they'll say it multiple times for me to repeat, or their pronunciation of the English word will be way off, so I'll say it multiple times for them to repeat in English, and when they finally get it and I respond with a "Good!" or "Perfect!" the dad will get this self-satisfied look on his face and nod his head with his eyes closed as if to say "I knew it all along." I love it.

The food so far has been interesting. I tried to say that I was vegetarian when I first met my host sister at the Wat, where we had our welcoming ceremony, but something was lost in translation because the first meal I had with my host family had ants and someone's lung in it. (By someone's I mean a chicken's, I think, not a person's, I hope.) Unfortunately, I was really hungry when I started eating, so I didn't really notice until about four bites in that what I was eating actually had ants in it, so I had to recognize that it really wasn't that bad. When I did notice, I was sort of horrified at first, of course, and had to struggle to keep it down, but I tried to not make a fuss and just eat around the parts that were less palatable than everything else... The fruit here is great! And the veggies are good too. Luckily, I have not had to eat a fertilized chicken/duck egg yet, which some of the other volunteers have, nor have I been served up a fried tarantula....

There is, however, a tarantula in my outhouse, which has been interesting. He mainly comes out at night, so when I go for the last time in the evening, I'm usually nervously looking over my shoulder at the corner he inhabits. He was out this morning, which was sort of unusual, so I took my bucket bath with one eye on his corner. Tarantulas are actually thought to be pretty docile here, but I'm not yet convinced. Maybe eating one will help me get over my fear of spiders?

So despite all the trials I've encountered thus far- being uncomfortably hot and sweaty the majority of the time, not yet knowing the language, spilling my chamber pot on myself on the way to the outhouse on the first day (yeah, that happened), and everything else here and there and in between, I'm having a really great time, and am enjoying getting to know some of the other volunteers, and starting to learn more about Cambodian culture. People really are so kind here, and eager to know you and just spend time with you.

More soon! Li hai :) (Bye!)

XO