Post on 13-May-2015
Welcome K6s to Peace Corps Cambodia
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Hopefully by now you’ve read through all the documentation Peace Corps has sent you about Cambodia, and your job here. You’re probably really overwhelmed. Don’t worry, that feeling won’t leave you, even after you reach Cambodia. No amount of research about Cambodia will prepare you 100% for your time here. Don’t worry that you can only say “hello” in Khmer when you step off the plane. Don’t worry that you’re probably still pronouncing “Khmer” incorrectly. Peace Corps is all about learning. The Peace Corps staff, your teachers, and even us fellow volunteers are here to help you learn how to make it through the next two years successfully.
All Peace Corps countries are unique, and Cambodia is no different. Cambodia has a fascinating, ancient culture with which the people living here today still identify. Cambodians are warm, loving people who are nice enough to open their homes and houses to volunteers for two years. Many volunteers feel like a member of the family by the time they leave. Through interactions and building relationships with your host family, counterparts, friends, and community members you’ll be able to get to know not only your area, but Khmer culture as a whole as well.
Cambodia is still just beginning to open up to the world after the horrors of the Pol Pot regime. As a country Cambodia has only recently been able to start down a long path of growth and development. Through working with other volunteers and counterparts you can help Cambodia continue down this path of development. Some days volunteering in Cambodia will be almost unbearable, but it is important to recognize even the most subtle impact in your community means you have made a difference.
Peace Corps Cambodia is still a very young program. This means you have the great opportunity to help a country that really needs help continuing down the path of development. From all of the K4s and K5s, we congratulate you on your invitation, and are excited to see you in a few short months.
-Sam Morgan and all of the K4s and K5s
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Training will last 8 weeks. Your life will be very busy during this time; dedicated to learning the language, technical, and cultural training. You will be split into two villages, but will get to see everyone once a week. You’ll get to know your fellow volunteers very well during this time. Training is a great transition to life at permanent site.
Top L: K5s upon arrivalTop R: K4 greeting party at the airportBottom: Traing village at the wat before meeting training host families
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K5s during “hub site day”, this is once a week when all trainees come together during training
K4s relaxing during training
K5 trainees in Tram Kok during a Khmer language lesson
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Kirivong trainees before competing with the local high school in a soccer game…they got schooled
Tram Kok trainees after playing volleyball
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Villagers in Traing at the wat for cultural training
Trainees enjoying some snacks at a little stand in Takeo
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Arnolodo learning how to fish
K5s waiting for site announcement
At the wat at 4 am for Pchum Ben holiday
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K5 swear in
K4 Erin and Chris preparing to move to site
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Top: Tim’s school in Kampong KdeiBottom: Stewart’s school in Angtasam
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During training you will spend a week teaching students in your village to gain practice teaching and altering lessons out of the Cambodian English textbook
Charlie with his class during practicum week
Vaughn, Latoya, and Kate with their practicum class
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Students lined up for the morning flag raising and announcements at Joyce’s school
The inside of a typical classroom
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Kate giving a presentation at the RTTC in Takeo
Kirsten’s co-teacher signing off on the attendance and lesson
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Trevor leading a computer class
Sam’s 11th grade students competing for a spelling bee
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Kirsten’s student answering questions on the board
Trophie teaching a class at an NGO in Banteay Chmar
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Health Center
Katie’s Health Center in Kampong Kdei
Hal at his Health Center in Preah Net Preah
Community Health Volunteers spend time at their Health Center, working on outreach and educating people against common health myths. Many Health Volunteers also partner with NGOs to help with health related projects in their site or provincial town.
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Kop Health Center in Banteay Meanchey
The midwives room at the Kompong Kdei Health Center
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Above: a midwife talking about how to make healthy rice porridgeBelow: families tasting the healthy rice porridge
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Andrea D. with the students who helped paint her Health Center with positive health messages
Students practicing their drawings for painting the Health Center
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Women participating in exercise classes in Boribo
Kids playing board games about Health in Preah Chor
Mothers learning how to make healthy weaning porridge in Nimitt
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There are three types of homes in Cambodia: the top is a half-cement and half-wooden house, the bottom left is an all-cement/newer house, and the bottom right is a typical all-wood house.
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Peace Corps issues you a mat to sleep on, and you’ll get used to sleeping in the mosquito net. It will hopefully keep out all of the mice, spiders, and insects.
A bedroom in a cement house. If you’re lucky, your host family will give you a real bed.
A bedroom in a wooden house.
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Most volunteers who cook use small single burner propane stoves
Some wealthy families use double burner propane stoves
Many Cambodian families use traditional stoves and cook with charcoal
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A typical Khmer bathroom, with a squat toilet and cistern of water.
If you’re lucky enough to have running water, you may have a western toilet seat and a sprayer.
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Peace Corps will give you a water filter to help keep you hydrated because you’ll sweat, a lot.
All laundry is done by hand with a large bucket, some soap, water, and a scrub brush. We promise you’ll never take a washing machine for granted again. We’ll teach you our own techniques, and eventually you’ll develop your own methods to getting your clothes clean with the least amount of sweating involved.
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During training, and when you move to site it is the rainy season (May – October). The sudden monsoon rains are probably unlike any rain you’ve ever experienced. All of your staying dry methods are useless. It’s better to stay inside wait the storm out.
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Your host families are your link to integrating into the community. They will naturally be curious about the things you do and own. Let them be a apart of what you’re doing, and share experiences with them. The children will especially keep you smiling on a hard day.
L: Hal’s host brother in training wearing his pantsR: Kirsten’s training host family
Erin’s host sister’s first Christmas Kate with her host niece and nephew
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Are you ready to eat rice? Cambodian meals are served family style usually with multiple dishes which you take a spoonful at a time to put on top of your rice. Although Cambodian food is sometimes hard to get used to, the fresh fruit helps make up for it.
Rtop: Fish soupRmiddle: food at a weddingRbottom: fish and fried eggs and something that tasted like cat foodBottom: Rice porridge being made for a wedding or funeral
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Rtop: rice with pork, a common breakfastRmiddle: Cambodian noodles and tapioca puddingRbottom: dried fish for sale at the market
It’s great when you have time to prepare western food. Below Travis prepared sloppy joes and french fries, and shared it with a Cambodian friend.
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Cambodian weddings are a real party: expect a lot of food, drinking,
and dancing.
K5s at an LCF’s weddingK4s at a wedding
A wedding in Kompong Thom
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You’ll find lots to do around site as you make friends with the people in your community.
Erin at the wat with her family for Pchum Ben festival
Andrea P. and Erin helping with the rice harvest
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Secondary projects, working on projects with other PCVs, and making friends will help keep you sane when work at site is slow.
L: a friendly soccer game M: men playing Khmer chess R: Andrea P swimming with children
A student during a field day project in Kampot
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Market
Every town has an outdoor market that is open every day, including holidays from dawn until at least 11:00. Markets in smaller towns usually shut down after 11:00, but markets in bigger towns are often open until dark. Markets in provincial towns are much larger and offer more selection. No matter your market, be prepared to bargain, they price they tell you is always higher than the actual price.
Clothes at Takeo Market
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There are definitely areas of the market where you may not want to frequent, they usually emit a certain…
smell.
A meat stall in the Kompong Kdei MarketThe fish section of a market in Pursat
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Hal buying vegetables at Preah Net Preah market Fruit section of the Takeo market
A tuk-a-luck (smoothie stand) A girl selling insects to eatDon’t worry, you can still find bread
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Clothing
Packing clothes for 2 years is very difficult. Hopefully showing you clothes that most PCVs wear every day will help you pack appropriately.
What male teachers wear
What female teachers wear
Tim teaching a private class
Kirsten with her co-teacher
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Sean with his Health Center Director
Erica with her OD Director
What male Health Educators wear
What female Health Educators wear
Clothing for working at the Health Center is usually Business Casual, and is very relaxed at some Health Centers.
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What to wear out in Phnom Penh
What PCVs wear when they’re not at work
Don’t forget to bring clothes to relax in, or to dress up for those times in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, as that’s what you’ll be wearing most of the time in the big city.
What Khmer people wear to relax
Relaxing after hiking a mountain in KirivongSam’s host mom in a sarong
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Animals
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A Traing market pig enjoying his meal of garbage
Watch out, monkeys may bite!
A Traing farmer with his cows, which are Cambodia’s lawnmowers
Lizards are every where in Cambodia. Don’t scare them away, they’re a natural mosquito repellant
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Tied for public enemy #1? Is it worse to be woken up by a pack of dogs barking in the middle of the night, or a rooster crowing very early in the morning?
You may think roosters crow only in the morning, but be warned, they crow all day long
Animals in Cambodia are usually not pets, they serve a purpose either killing mice, laying eggs, or protecting the house, and are therefore not really taken care of. Don’t worry, this dog has since recovered.
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If you’re lucky you can make friends with some of the animals, or people who own them
Irene riding a water buffalo
Ace’s frog Chester who lives in his roomBaby birds living in Ace’s bathroom ceiling
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You WILL see these everywhere
Check your shoes for squatters (worse things than toads will take up residence)
Scorpion in a PCVs bedroom A decapitated cobra in a PCVs backyard
Remember geckos are on your side, this one caught a scorpion in a PCVs bedroom
Of course Cambodia also has its share of creepy crawly things too.
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Transportation
Transportation in Cambodia can be a little bit crazy. They are constantly trying to fit as any people in any “vehicle” going in any direction.
A Cambodian family fitting 9 people in their tuk tuk
30+ people in the back of a truck is a common mode of transportation for Cambodians
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A touri, a 12 passenger van usually filled with at least 20 people
Toyota Camry = taxi
Why wouldn’t 4 grown men share the front seats in a taxi? Can you guess which is the driver? –On the road to Banteay Chmar.
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Kate riding around Takeo town
Right: a roma--a hay cart pulled by a motoBottom: a moto pulling an average load
The envy of every volunteer arriving to work dirty and sweaty, the Peace Corps car
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Motorcycles, tehcnically mo-peds are the most common method of transportation in Cambodia. They often ride with up to 5 or 6 people on them
Be careful of motos when riding your bike. L: Sam, the first k5 to get hit by a moto R: Garrett, the first k4 to get hit by a moto
Heather captured 6 people getting ready to leave on a moto
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ScenicCambodia has some of the most stunning views of any country out there. Some pictures that PCVs have taken could give National Geographic a run for their money. You’ll arrive in July, during the rainy season when everything is wet every day and a brilliant green. This gives way to the dry season when everyone becomes a farmer. No matter the season there is always something blooming and some fruit ready to eat.
A girl in the salt farming community of An Gold, Kampot
A pier in Sihanoukville
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Sunset at Angkor Wat, if you go after 5, you can watch the sunset from inside for free
A sunset in Takeo province
Cambodian sunsets and sunrises are commonly a spectacular site.
A sunset in Angtasam, Takeo
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Chris riding through rice fields
Caves in Kampong Trach, Kampot
The pier in Kep
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Rice harvesting A floating village
Monks walking around Independence Monument in Takeo town
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TransportationScenic Thanks to everyone who lent their pictures for
this project: Erin, Garrett, Andrea P., Jill P, Jill L, Stewart, Danielle, Irene, Kate, Katie, Sean, Erica, Joyce, Heather, Trevor and Kirsten.