I have been sick for a few days now. It's an extreme version of a typical cold. I had a sore throat, cough, runny nose, stuffy nose, and watery eyes. I was so lethargic, and I felt so drowsy. The Peace Corps Medical Officer told me that it was just a viral infection and that it will be extreme for the first 3-4 days and will go away after a week or so. Of course, I could have just taken the medications he prescribed me. However, I didn't feel much better even after taking them, so I finally gave in and allowed my host mom to scrape away my sickness. She used a coin to scrape my back, which included rubbing my skin vigorously with a thin mental coin and leaving red marks and bruises on my back. Coining is a common therapy practice used to relieve many illnesses such as colds, fevers, aches, pains, or any other symptoms that makes your body uneasy. In Khmer, it is called Kawk-Khjol, which literally means "catch bad wind". While there are professional practitioners, most people usually do it at home with the help of their mothers, wives, daughters, and other female members of the family. Maybe some men do it too, but I haven't seen it yet. Many Cambodians believe that scraping away the bad wind through coining will increase the blood circulation and also allow us to sleep better. Another traditional practice is called Cupping. In Khmer, it is called Kyoob-Khjol, which literally means "sucking the wind”. In this practice, they use small glass cups and placed them over the back of a person. A vacuum is created by lighting fires inside the cups or suctioning the air from them. Many people believe that the vacuum causes the blood to form in that area of the back and the suction penetrates the tissues through that area and causing them to release harmful toxins. While it sounds appealing, I don't think I will ever be willing to try this. After Coining, did I feel much better? I think I liked the idea that there was a physical treatment to my ailing body. During the treatment, I was focused on the movements on the coin that my mind became more clear. I fell asleep right after coining and slept for 8 hours (in the middle of the day). I don't know if my body was just exhausted or it really helped with my blood circulation and sleep. I woke up in time for dinner and stayed awake for a few hours. Then, I took more medications and fell back to sleep. This morning, I woke up feeling much better. While I still have cold/flu symptoms, I am able to move around with more energy. Is it the coining? Or is it the cold moving on? I guess I'll never know. Either way, coining definitely made me feel better because of my host mom's care and attention! :)
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May 2018 has to be the most memorable month of service for me. This is when my parents from America came to Cambodia! We were really worried at first because it was supposed to rain every day during my parents' visit, but every day gave us the perfect weather for us to tour the cities and meet the families. May 13: A few hours before I went to pick up my parents, it rained heavily. It was the first monsoon rain I saw in Phnom Penh. I was worried roads would be flooded, but thankfully, it stopped in time for my parents' arrival. My parents were arriving pretty late at night so TJ helped me go to the airport and pick them up. Even though it was such a limited time, I'm so glad my parents got to meet TJ. We literally came back to the hotel, grabbed some food, and unpacked the whole night till we passed out around 3am. May 14: We toured a bit of Phnom Penh in the morning. We went to Wat Phnom, Tuol Sleng, Central Market, and Russian Market. We ate Bai-Sac-Cruk (Rice and Pork) for lunch and my parents quite enjoyed that. They didn't like the boiled pork soup though. After that, we went to visit my PST (Pre-Service Training) Host family in Kandal. It was supposed to be a quick visit but it turned into a BBQ party. Everyone was so friendly to my parents. Even though my PST host family didn't know English, and my parents didn't know Khmer... the smiles and the translator (me) was all they needed to get closer. Before dark, they helped us go back to Phnom Penh with 2 cars. It was the King's Birthday so we were supposed to see fireworks together, but it didn't happen because there was so much traffic. One of the cars didn't even reach river front so they decided to go home. The host family members who drove us stopped in front of river front. We invited them to eat Indian food dinner with us, which they did but absolutely hated. After that, we parted ways. I introduced my parents to my favorite nails/massage place before going back to rest at our hotel. May 15: We woke up at the crack of dawn to leave for Siem Reap. Even though it was far, it was such a relaxing ride because we rented our own car and driver for 3 days. The car was a minivan so we get to sprawl out in every row and do whatever we wanted. We stopped for breakfast on the way. We had Way Ti Yo (typical khmer noodle soup) and my parents said it was decent. Once we reached Siem Reap, we took a long lunch break. We had more Khmer food. My dad had the chicken curry and my mom had the bread and grilled beef. My dad thought it wasn't bad, but my mom said she didn't like it. After that, we went to freshen up and go buy early tickets (for the temples) in the evening. Our driver graciously took us to East Baray after that for some sightseeing and dropped us off at the Old Market for some shopping. We had American food this time, so we ordered whatever suited us. We walked around Pub Street, had some desserts, and did more shopping. My dad couldn't take it anymore so he went back to the hotel first. My mom and I arrived back a bit later, just in time to go to bed for the early morning the next day. May 16: We woke up super early again to go to Angkor Wot, Ta Phrom, and Bayon temples. While we appreciated the architecture and the history, it was far too hot so we didn't stay long at each place. The sun was super strong so we couldn't even get good pictures in some places, especially at Angkor Wot so we resorted to using the photographers there and paid $2.5 for each photo. I though it was expensive but my mom was quite satisfied with it. We were supposed to meet Cheyenne for lunch but we finished early so we had some nice coconut juice and went shopping at Lucky Mall. Once Cheyenne arrived, we had Shabu Shabu for lunch and then headed to Kampong Cham city. I was sooo happy Cheyenne came with us because she will get to know my biological parents better, see my Kampong Cham city, see my village, and meet my host family, health center staff, and students. Once we arrived in Kampong Cham city, my parents passed out from exhaustion so it gave Cheyenne and me time to get some drinks and catch up. We had Kampong Cham's best pizza and more drinks. My parents later joined us to walk around the K Cham City. We took pictures with the K Cham sign, the bridge, and took a stroll to the night market. We called it a night after that. May 17: Thankfully, we were able to sleep in and got a full 7-8 hours of sleep. Sadly, for my mom, she was up since 4am because she was still jet legged. We grabbed breakfast at one of K Cham's finest cafes: Destiny Cafe. My parents and Cheyenne are all coffee nuts so they enjoyed the strong coffee. The breakfast was delicious too. We then headed to my village. On the road, my mom, Cheyenne, and I prepared gifts for all the people I know in the village. It was quite a feat! Once we arrived, we said hi to my host family quickly and then headed to the health center. We conversed with the health center staff for quite long. Everyone was so friendly towards my parents. Later, we walked over to the high school. We greeted some people, and then headed back to my host family's home. My host mom went all out for lunch. She prepared my favorite khmer foods Ban Hoi and Nom Kway Chao. She even bought a table to the living room so that everyone could eat there. Sadly, right after lunch, we had to send Cheyenne off to head back to Siem Reap. Once we've said our goodbyes and she departed, my parents and my host parents sat down together again so that we could hand out gifts. After that, it was time for my host dad to go back to work so he recommended my dad take a nap in the nice cold room, which he did. My mom and I unpacked and repacked my mom's suitcases in the living room. Afterwards, my mom kept me company as I packed my suitcase in my room. It was a nice down time because my parents get to experience my village life and we get to slow down for once during this hectic and fast paced trip. After I was finished preparing my things, we woke my dad up to leave. I remembered my dad being a little weird about using my bucket shower to brush his teeth. My host family was waiting with all the snacks and fruits so that we can eat some and then take them for the road. After we said our goodbyes, my parents and I headed to Phnom Penh. My parents and I had some time to kill so we decided to go to Aeon Mall. I wanted to show them the developed parts of Cambodia too. We had Korean food for dinner and did some last minute shopping before we head to the airport. Finally, we ended up at the airport around 9pm for our 11:30pm flight. Emirates always boards early so we were there in perfect timing. Then, our Myanmar vacation begins! My parents and I haven't been to Myanmar together since we immigrated to the US so it was quite nice to go back together. However, my mom and I stayed with my mom's side of the family and my dad stayed with his side of the family. We only saw each other every few days, but it was good enough. I was able to meet some of my close friends and spend quality time with my cousins too. We stayed about 9 days in Myanmar and soaked in some sun and fun. We went to Ngwe Saung beach and Hpa An state. We also celebrated my little cousin's birthday... and finally it was time for us to leave for the US (for my parents) and for Cambodia (for me). All in all, it was definitely an eventful trip! "It's hot in Cambodia" is an understatement.
It was hot in the rainy season. It was also hot in the somewhat cold season. Now that we are in the hot and dry season, the word "hot" isn't going to cut it. It is hotter than hot and dryer than dry! I wear light color clothing. I drink lots of water. I try to stay in the shade or try not to sweat. I shower 4 to 5 times a day. I also always have the fan on when I'm in my room. Even then, I couldn't sleep well most night.s Sometimes, it would take me hours to fall asleep. Sometimes, I would wake up often throughout the night from the heat or sweat. Sometimes, I would wake up with my pillow and mattress soaking wet from my sweat. Some nights, it is SOOO hot that, I leave my safety mosquito net, take my fan, and go sleep on the tile floor where it's slightly cooler. I'm also breaking out in rashes and dermatitis because How do I fix this? I don't. I can't. All I do is give up... or cry... or both. I also complain about this a lot. Either way, the heat is hard to beat. Food Security Training, a.k.a Garden Training, is a hands-on training provided by the Peace Corps to all the Community Health Education Volunteers. I was pleasantly surprised by how I enjoyed the training, because I usually dislike gardening. I'll admit, I still don't know much about gardening, but I am glad for this opportunity because I was able to bring my counterpart who loves gardening. Through this training, we learned the importance of the role of women in agriculture, the importance of vegetable gardens, and the ways to successfully create and maintain one. I went to Siem Reap for the first time in March 2018. It was kinda cool and stressful for me. I casually rode my regular tuk tuk to a nearby town I've near been before. We literally waited for an hour to track down the right bus going to Siem Reap. The tuk tuk guy helped me bargain the bus price so I was able to get there with $5. It was stressful because the bus stopped way too much. Every time someone needed to use the bathroom or buy some snacks, they would stop. Once we got to Siem Reap, the bus wouldn't go into the city so I had to use a tuk tuk to get to the hostel. Thankfully, the guy knew exactly which hostel I was going to. By the time I walked into the hostel, I was exhausted from the week, heat, lack of sleep, and bumpy and multiple rides. The One Stop Hostel staff warmly welcomed me and showed me to my room. I got there one night before my friends did so I reserved a bed in an all-female room. It was my first time staying in a hostel by myself too. The second I walk in, I met a very friendly roommate who's from Slovakia. We got along very well and talked for an hour before I headed out for dinner. She told me that we have another roommate who was from Australia. When I got back from dinner, our Australian roommate greeted me eagerly and started asking me questions. She felt bad after realizing that she's been asking me questions nonstop as soon as I walked in. but I totally appreciated it because it gave me a sense of familiarity. I enjoy chatting about traveling and volunteer work, which I haven't been able to do as much these days in the village. Moments later, our Slovankian roommate came back and joined in on our conversation. We started talking around 6:30pm and continued til almost midnight. Before we went to sleep, I told my roommates that I would be in the city for the weekend and that they're welcome to join my group of friends. Our Slovakian roommate unfortunately had a bus to catch the next day so we parted our ways. However, our Australian roommate, Kat, said she'd be interested. Once my friends arrived, we just hung out and chill in the morning and early afternoon. Kat joined us for the afternoons, evenings, and late nights. It was super fun and exciting to have Kat around. She got along with all my friends, and it didn't even feel like she was tagging along. It felt like she was already part of the group, so it was just so easy and nice to have her spend time with us. On our last night, we were having a group dinner, and it goes something like this (paraphrased, of course): Kat: I loved hearing about your work! Me: Yeah, I loved sharing too. I'm so glad you're so interested to hear about it. If only there was enough time to plan, I could have asked you to come visit my village. Kat: Yeah, that's a shame. Dallas: No, she totally has time to go to your village. Me: *rethinks* OMG, yeah, she actually does! Kat, if you're done touring Siem Reap, do you want to come to my village with me tomorrow? You'd be coming back to Siem Reap alone but I'd help you with lodging and transport of course. Kat: REALLY? Me: YEAH Kat: That would be awesome! The next day, Kat literally woke up and bought the bus tickets. The entire process was so easy! We rode a tuk tuk, bus, and another tuk tuk to get to my village. I also went into my tour guide mode and randomly keeps showing and explaining things to Kat as we pass by different sceneries or stop at a couple of places. Once we got to my village, I showed Kat my health center, high school, favorite Tuk Umpow (Sugar Cane Juice) place, and the rice fields near my home. We also went to eat some grilled pork sausage at my friend's house. Being able to show someone my village around and the work I do to someone is such a rare opportunity that I am also so appreciative of Kat's genuine interest too! Later, my students came by and met Kat at my house too. They had a great conversation about Kat, Australia, and the kind of work Kat does back home. This was their first time seeing an Australian, and it was Kat's first time seeing rural Cambodia. Their excitement to see each other was sooooo apparent, and I felt so happy being able to be this bridge for them. Unfortunately, the meeting was cut short as the tuk tuk driver arrived to pick us up to take Kat back to a bigger town to sleep the night. Unfortunately, the guest houses there was fully booked so we tracked down a torry (public minivan) for her to ride to Kampong Cham city. She spent the night and the next morning there before heading back to Siem Reap. It was such a whirlwind visit, but it was sooooo much fun! It feels as if I've known Kat for a long time even though we literally just met. My mind was so blown on how well receptive she is of everything I was suggesting for her. She not only went with the flow, she did it with a smile too! She's currently in Myanmar exploring the country in ways I haven't even done so myself even though I am Burmese. I'm just still soooo touched by her visit, the way she treats everyone, and how we were able to get along so well! Even though our time together was brief, I can feel it in my heart that we will meet each other again in the future! Until then... <3 |
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Christine can be reached at [email protected].
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