An Orientation to Being a Little Kid

Somehow I made it! After 2 days of travel, I made it to Phnom Penh. It's such a large city that I hardly know what to do with myself, but I'm sure some time with a map will remedy that situation. I've found my way to the first day of orientation, so I'll take that as a good sign. 

Speaking of orientation, there are about 8 people in the program including myself, but interestingly enough no males.  With all of the female energy on this trip, there's sure to be a lot trips to Tuol Tom, the bustling Russian Market, or the other local markets that spot the city.  We almost made a run there today, but the heat and the sheer volume of energy it takes to operate in the Cambodian heat squashed that little idea. Instead, we went through orientation and took in all of the safety precautions and suggestions about living with our host families, like how to greet them properly and that it would take a lot to be able to help our family do chores since we're still considered guests. Then we completed our pretest, which was incredibly easy for me since I don't read, write or speak all but 3 words in Khmer. However, given that everyone else seems to have taken Khmer for at least 1 year prior to this, I know I have a very long way to go. At least all of our spoken skills are roughly on the same level. After the stress of orientation, we decided to go to lunch at a vegetarian place down the street, and it was very nice to get some noodles and coffee into my system.

Afterwards, I returned to my host family's house and began my first unofficial lessons in Khmer. Whenever I'm learning a new language, especially in a country that speaks it, I get the feeling that I'm a little kid again. Learning your numbers and constantly asking "what's this?" and "how do you say...?" reminds me of my little cousins learning English. But no matter how silly I feel, I know that I need to behave like a little kid, at least at that level. By doing so, I was able to learn the Khmer names of the fruits that always make a stay in Cambodia more refreshing. Mangosteen, rambutan, and lychee are some of my favorites, and to make things even better it's fruit season! 

 Though my host mother, whom I will call Mother Nakru, taught me all about my numbers and a few of the names of fruit, I also learned that both her and her husband are teachers! She teaches at a local university and her husband teaches at the same school her 3 sons attend. It's almost a whole household of teachers! I definitely couldn't have been placed in a better home stay situation. My host family's very limited use of English, while difficult to navigate will surely help as I keep increasing my knowledge of Khmer. 

Rambutan: these remind me of anenomes.

An American metropolitan favorite: lychee.

The odd-looking but definitely sweet mangosteen.