Prek Pdao

I have survived my first one on one homestay. And not just survived, but lived it. I admit I was nervous going into it. I've never been by myself with a host family. The village is very rural and about an hour north of the capital, Phonm Phen. It is the hometown of our guide and good friend in Cambodia, Mara. In villages that are that rural the workforce consists mainly of farmers. They farm in the rainy season and bascially have summer break in the dry season, which is now. The majority of the time is spent sleeping in hammocks lol. But we did much more than that. Our daily routine consisted of going to language lessons in the morning, as well as discussions about the core values under global citizenship that dragons likes to follow and set as an example to for the students. Then we biked back to our houses on the red dirt road that runs throughout the town and is lined with various stilt thatch houses. After a heavy lunch was the communal napping period. Then some days were spent swimming in the Mekong, or going to English classes with my host sisters. Two days we even taught English at two different schools. It was a very rewarding experience. One class was three hours long, and we were told they were a little past beginners in English, so my partner and I were pleasantly surprised when they were much smarter than we thought. Not only smart, they also participated and loved the games we taught them. The other class was completely different. It was in the actual village, and the kids were shy, didn't want to participate, and quiet. I was actually teaching my host brother. He was in my class. But they participated if we asked them too and by the end of the class were more comfortable with us. I don't think being a teacher is in the cards for me, but I can definitely see the appeal.
My host family was so wonderful. The whole community was. My days consisted of me riding my bike and little kids saying hello in English just to get a hello back. My host mom always made sure I was fed, more than enough lol, and my host sisters always wanted me to participate in what they were doing. My host brother was shy towards me because I'm a girl lol. Such is life. My host father kept to himself mostly because he couldn't speak any English. Cambodians are wonderful. One night our host sisters and the group all got together and dressed up to go to a local dance party. It was the fruit and nut festival, but the dance wasn't really for that. It was funny haring American pop songs in Khmer. And then of course we learned how to dance traditional Khmer when the traditional songs came on. It was so fun. The little kids loved us dancing and were going crazy. It was the best part. The whole community was there just relaxing and enjoying the evening and probably having a good laugh at us foreigners. The last night was the traditional end of the homestay party. I think our host families were most excited for that. They sewed, by hand, our very own traditional Khmer dresses. They are beautiful. And, generous as they are, gave us presents constantly during the week mostly to wear for the party. I got a lot of jewelry. Then they caked our faces in makeup. It was very fun. Then we all went to Mara's house and ate a delicious feast, and danced the night away.
Leaving was harder than I imagined. My crying may have been partially sparked by my homesickness, but I was genuinly sad that I was leaving. What if I never see them again?? So it was a very emotional morning. Lots of tears, hugs, and goodbye waves. I have promised to keep in touch with my host sister that I absolutely adore. She is so sweet. All good things must come to an end I suppose. Now we are headed of to an island on the Mekong to do service work with an NGO called CRDT. It's supposed to be gorgeous. I will blog as soon as I can!