There are always so many things to talk about that it is difficult to know where to begin when I sit down to blog. Each day, Kate and I have random encounters and mind-altering experiences that make our lives in America seem truly dull (and they were).
Simple things like going to bed under mosquito netting (after removing the foot-long lizards from the outside of our net) each night, biking to classes every day on one of Cambodia's busiest roads, or teaching a class of Cambodian students or teachers provides input to ponder for hours.
For the most part, our lives are fairly static from a week to week perspective. We either teach or study every day for eight hours, taking a few hours break during the sweltering mid-day heat to go home, shower, eat with our family, study and rest. We ride our bikes everyday, typically around 10k or more, down red dirt roads like the one we live on and on National Highway Number 3, which is just about 200 meters from our house. Sunday is our day off, and typically reserved for trying to find American food, socializing with other PCTs by playing volleyball or something, studying, cleaning, and of course...doing laundry.
Laundry is one of the biggest things that makes me realize I am not in Kansas (or Maryland) anymore. Here is how it work:
1. Realize that I have too few clean clothes left and tell myself to do laundry
2. Nap instead because its hot - tell myself to do laundry on Sunday (wear smelly clothes the rest of the week)
3. Wake up early on Sunday and realize I need to do laundry or continue to smell like a foot
4. Do laundry: get the large metal laundry bowl, fill with water from our rainwater cistern that is usually crawling with giant red ants (they bite with their pincers, they don't sting like the smaller ones)
5. Put in soap and soak first batch of clothes in soapy water then scrub and squeeze clothes for a few minutes
6. Rinse in a separate bucket of clean water until the soap is out - by this time you will be very wet, a combination of sweat and dirty laundry water. Be advised, ants seem to like this better and may begin biting you now.
7. Soak back in first bowl which of course you remembered to empty and refill with clean water and fabric softener, else your clothes will smell terrible even though you just washed them
8. Wring clothes out A LOT or else they won't dry and might mold over
9. Lay out on fence to dry, being careful to avoid the small red ants (that sting)
10. Repeat until no more dirty clothes
11. Enjoy the rest of your day
5 hours later
12. Freak out when you are playing volley ball when it starts to downpour and know that your clothes are still outside
13. Come home, thank host sister for bringing in your clothes
14. Realize clothes are still wet
15. Rig up high-tech MacGiver clothesline system in house because its still raining
16. Wait two days until dry...
17. Realize it took too long to dry your clothes and they now smell like mold
18. See step 1
Needless to say, I won't be complaining about doing laundry in the US ever again.
This week also marks our midway point of PST. We are halfway done with what we are told is the most grueling part of the Peace Corps experience. Next Saturday we will find out our permanent sites - where we will be the next two years - and almost immediately thereafter leave to visit them individually. We will regroup together in Phnom Penh for a night. Kate and I are already planning on gorging on Western food whilst there, as well as hitting up the grocery store for some essentials during the last month of PST.
ALSO! Thanks to Mama Watts for the care package! We have been enjoying several jars of peanut butter this week as well as some other goodies. Just in case anyone is wondering....you can find the address of where to send letter or packages to us on Kate's blog, but here it is:
PCT Chris Marsh
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 2453
Phnom Penh 3
Cambodia - US Embassy
Asia
I know the "Asia" part at the end seems a bit much, but we have heard stories of packages going to Columbia or Cameroon as Cambodia is not the most well-known country in the world. Also, make sure the declared value is VERY low or else someone might go through it and we are also charged a fee based on that amount here. The flat rate international boxes are not overly expensive and you can make those as heavy as you want.
Just in case you are wondering (further)...a running list of things that we would love to see when opening up a package might include:
-Candy from the states (usually hard or individually wrapped candy is best because of the heat and long journey of the package, we are not above eating melted chocolate though, just be sure to put it in a bag)
-Nutella (lack of chocolate here is astounding, but this stuff won't melt/spoil)
-Seasoning packets (we will be cooking on our own soon and want to stock up on some things that taste not like rice...like taco or faijita seasonings...etc.)
-Individual drink packets - crystal light or any kind of tea in those packets are great!
-A decent pack of pens
-Crackers like wheat thins or whatever...
-Granola bars, Cliff bars, fruit snacks...all are craved
-Marconi and cheese...that would rock...
-Dr. Bromners peppermint soap - so good for so much here, just be sure to put it in a bag and duct tape the top in case it leaks
-Also, for me, undershirts are a lifesaver with all the sweating, any kind will work and typically a medium fits me
-It would help to pack things in sealable plastic bags or hand towels as both are needed here
-Anything else you are so kind enough to want to send...
I have not written much about the food yet, so I wanted to write something in this update. We eat with our host family almost every lunch and dinner. We get breakfast on our own before classes. Typically lunch and dinner consist of similar kinds of foods - our family knows what we like so they cook us all kinds of pork , beef, chicken (our favorite here, but very expensive), and fish dishes - they are usually with many other veggies or in a soup of some kind. Did I mention rice? We eat that a lot...rice in Cambodia is pretty much tantamount to Jesus Christ in the Vatican...its really popular. Our family, and in particular our host sister, cooks amazing foods that we eat happily every day. A few curve balls are sauteed ants and frog dishes that we get with some regularity. I like both, but the frog is great - identical to chicken except for the bones which you need to spit out constantly. They even gave us stuffed frog one night that had chopped up frog, curry and veggies all ground up - it was just heavenly (I know it sounds odd or even repulsive, but it makes my mouth water...). Own family also gives us fruit after almost each meal, which is just awesome. It has become a running joke in our house to give Kate bananas (because she hates them, but ate them out of respect at first) and watch her say how full she is and can't eat anymore - our sister loves this.
On our own at restaurants, we order noodles a lot to change it up from the rice. For breakfast we have a few options - when we have time, we go to the market and grab a bowl of noodles with pork, a fried potato muffin that has veggies and meat inside, or a sticky rice and sugary crepe that my friend Kelly (thanks!) turned me on to. The market atmosphere is really bustling in the morning - since few people here have electricity, let alone refrigerators, all food is usually bought and prepared the same day you eat it. That means that you need to go to the market every morning and only buy what you need for that day. This is fantastic for freshness, but not so much for convenience.
Just this weekend we have had some real treats. Saturday night our training village all got together to make an American meal - pasta with homemade red sauce, garlic BREAD and grilled ribs were on the menu. You will never see 24 happier people than we were that night. The food was amazing, but the occasion allowed us all a chance to unwind, relax, laugh and be with the people that have become nearly family to us. It was my favorite night in Cambodia so far.
Today we were treated again by a friend in a neighboring village who made some fantastic Jambalaya. The dedication of this guy to bring his cajun spices all the way to Cambodia and cook for us is commendable and totally delectable. Thanks, Ace!!
Well that about covers my fairly extensive update. Look out for my exciting conclusion to The Rat Saga later this week!
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