July 2, 2012
Hello friends,
I've written this installment over the course of a couple of days due to delays and illness. Yes, I finally received food poisoning. I've eaten food in the province, soup cooked up by villagers in their home and yet, I get sick from an internationally acclaimed burger joint in Phnom Penh. I saved up my craving for a burger to go to this place and now I'm slightly turned off from them at the moment. I was blessed to have a friend back home, Alexa, on skype at the time who was there with me while I was feeling so ill. She also called my parents, and I felt less alone and closer to home even while I was miserable.
I've also heard about the heat, storm and power outages in the DC area and I hope everyone is doing well there.
Here's what I had written up, several days ago.
I'm finishing my fourth week in Cambodia, which means I'm nearly half way there! Wow, it's strange how how four weeks can feel so long and so short at the same time. I've heard reports that the weather in D.C. is more humid and hot than Phnom Penh! I might have some unexpected readjustment when I get back. The Khmer don't believe me when I tell them it is as hot or hotter where I come from. "Hotter than Cambodia? Unfathomable!" Okay, they don't say it quite like that, but the idea is there. I think the difference lies in the number of air-conditioned buildings. We only notice the weather in D.C when we're leaving our AC houses and meandering to our ACed cars and then scooting off to ACed work buildings or shopping centers. In Cambodia, you are wealthy if you have air-conditioning in your home or shop. Therefore, most of the time we feel the heat as we travel travel through the streets with dust clinging to our sweaty skin and clothes only to find respite in the nearest building where the fan is struggling along. (I feel for this in DC heat without power now)
I started my interview process last week and it was as interesting and frustrating as can be expected for my first time. The villages are a bit aways from Kampong Chhnang city and a few are inaccessible by car, so I've been riding on the back of a motorbike driven by an IRD staff member. I was understandably nervous and jittery for my first time out with my translator and asking Khmer villagers about the status of their health care and donated mosquito nets. Cambodians are casual people so when I asked for their consent to interview they would laugh and indicate that that's why there were sitting down with me. During my first week of interviews I faced the challenge of wording my questions so that the villagers I interviewed wouldn't tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. When I asked a question about what benefits they would like to help improve the health of their family, I got answers ranging from vegetable seeds and a hose to 'more insecticide treated nets and larvaecide, of course!' When I show up with my foreign, 'barang', face they think that I'm tied to money and NGOs back home, so I'm hypothesizing that they think by telling me what I 'want to hear' they'll get more aid in the future.
My second week of interviews faced a different challenge, one which I was not expecting. I tried asking more conceptual questions, for example 'What are your opinions or attitude about these NGOs who come in a offer aid', yet this was really hard for them to answer and no matter how many different ways I tried to reword it and my translator tried to explain it, I had to nix it because either they didn't have much of an opinion, which I don't think was the case, or it was difficult to articulate an answer or it was a beyond what they could answer or understand. I say this because I've noticed a certain level in answers based on their education level. Education level among the villagers I've spoken with ranges from 1yr to 11yrs--a huge range! It's difficult for me to explain this, because I do not think that the villagers are in any way stupid and most have had 25 to 38 years of life experience. However, I have noticed that the amount of schooling they've had impacts which health related information they retain and can recall for me or their ability to expound upon answer or questions without having certain things explained to them. I also have observed that those with higher levels of education tend to be more concerned for the health of their children in tangible ways--indicating certain medicines or prevention measures would benefit their children's health.
Otherwise my interviews have been going really well and they are always interesting and enjoyable. I share laughs with my translator over our own miscommunications and I share laughs with the Khmer when they show me, embarrassed, the IRD net they've just pulled out of their cupboard... A few interview adventures. One time I was interviewing a mother and slowly all of the young girls of the village wondered over to observe, next thing I know I'm conducting an interview with my primary mother, two other mothers and 8 little girls all staring at me with blank faces of fascination. Their eyes are so big and shiny, I can get distracted by their innocent little faces there peering at me. Another time, I had some free time after the interview and the family wanted to know what I thought of Cambodian houses. Well, why are they on stilts? For flooding? No, to store livestock or grain when raining season arrives. Oh. Then they asked me what American houses are like. Well, I described out how we have to deal with winter so our houses are very enclosed to keep heat in. I'm not sure how much justice I was doing our houses, but that's what I came up with at the time. I also ending up taking shelter under the house of the village chief during a rain storm, then still having to motorbike back in the rain.
I also attended a play put on by primary school kids working with IRD for two different villages. They acted out skits on women's health during pregnancy and afterward, also on keeping babies healthy and well nourished. As I sat in the audience, three Khmai girls giggled and sat around me, paging through my notebook trying to read what I had written and glancing at each photo I took. I finally took a photo of them and they became all shy. An older girl sitting near by, spoke English well and translated what the elderly woman next to me had be saying as she pinched my cheeks and grabbed my forearm. 'You are so pretty and pale. Thank you for visiting us, I am pleased to meet you. It is a joy to see you.' I can only blush when the older women do this to me, because it has happened on several other occasions and I'm not used to it.
Meanwhile, each time I bike to my guesthouse and a little Khmer kid says 'hello!' it brings a smile to my face. I've also hung out with the other Notre Dame students who are working in Phnom Penh this summer. We've gone out to dinner a couple times and visited the Elephant Bar during happy hours. The Elephant Bar is located in Raffles Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. The bar serves fancy drinks and has a superb pianist. I've also met up with another malaria researcher who is conducting research on insect repellant use in a pilot program. It's been great to share laughs and conversation with fellow domers and a fellow researcher. In fact, Colin and Crystal, friends from ND, and I are going to Angkor Wat this weekend and I can't wait! I've always wanted to visit these ancient temple ruins ever since I saw them on those old slide projector photographs my parents would pull out for old friends from their Cambodia days.
Cheers,
Margot
I've written this installment over the course of a couple of days due to delays and illness. Yes, I finally received food poisoning. I've eaten food in the province, soup cooked up by villagers in their home and yet, I get sick from an internationally acclaimed burger joint in Phnom Penh. I saved up my craving for a burger to go to this place and now I'm slightly turned off from them at the moment. I was blessed to have a friend back home, Alexa, on skype at the time who was there with me while I was feeling so ill. She also called my parents, and I felt less alone and closer to home even while I was miserable.
I've also heard about the heat, storm and power outages in the DC area and I hope everyone is doing well there.
Here's what I had written up, several days ago.
I'm finishing my fourth week in Cambodia, which means I'm nearly half way there! Wow, it's strange how how four weeks can feel so long and so short at the same time. I've heard reports that the weather in D.C. is more humid and hot than Phnom Penh! I might have some unexpected readjustment when I get back. The Khmer don't believe me when I tell them it is as hot or hotter where I come from. "Hotter than Cambodia? Unfathomable!" Okay, they don't say it quite like that, but the idea is there. I think the difference lies in the number of air-conditioned buildings. We only notice the weather in D.C when we're leaving our AC houses and meandering to our ACed cars and then scooting off to ACed work buildings or shopping centers. In Cambodia, you are wealthy if you have air-conditioning in your home or shop. Therefore, most of the time we feel the heat as we travel travel through the streets with dust clinging to our sweaty skin and clothes only to find respite in the nearest building where the fan is struggling along. (I feel for this in DC heat without power now)
I started my interview process last week and it was as interesting and frustrating as can be expected for my first time. The villages are a bit aways from Kampong Chhnang city and a few are inaccessible by car, so I've been riding on the back of a motorbike driven by an IRD staff member. I was understandably nervous and jittery for my first time out with my translator and asking Khmer villagers about the status of their health care and donated mosquito nets. Cambodians are casual people so when I asked for their consent to interview they would laugh and indicate that that's why there were sitting down with me. During my first week of interviews I faced the challenge of wording my questions so that the villagers I interviewed wouldn't tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. When I asked a question about what benefits they would like to help improve the health of their family, I got answers ranging from vegetable seeds and a hose to 'more insecticide treated nets and larvaecide, of course!' When I show up with my foreign, 'barang', face they think that I'm tied to money and NGOs back home, so I'm hypothesizing that they think by telling me what I 'want to hear' they'll get more aid in the future.
My second week of interviews faced a different challenge, one which I was not expecting. I tried asking more conceptual questions, for example 'What are your opinions or attitude about these NGOs who come in a offer aid', yet this was really hard for them to answer and no matter how many different ways I tried to reword it and my translator tried to explain it, I had to nix it because either they didn't have much of an opinion, which I don't think was the case, or it was difficult to articulate an answer or it was a beyond what they could answer or understand. I say this because I've noticed a certain level in answers based on their education level. Education level among the villagers I've spoken with ranges from 1yr to 11yrs--a huge range! It's difficult for me to explain this, because I do not think that the villagers are in any way stupid and most have had 25 to 38 years of life experience. However, I have noticed that the amount of schooling they've had impacts which health related information they retain and can recall for me or their ability to expound upon answer or questions without having certain things explained to them. I also have observed that those with higher levels of education tend to be more concerned for the health of their children in tangible ways--indicating certain medicines or prevention measures would benefit their children's health.
Otherwise my interviews have been going really well and they are always interesting and enjoyable. I share laughs with my translator over our own miscommunications and I share laughs with the Khmer when they show me, embarrassed, the IRD net they've just pulled out of their cupboard... A few interview adventures. One time I was interviewing a mother and slowly all of the young girls of the village wondered over to observe, next thing I know I'm conducting an interview with my primary mother, two other mothers and 8 little girls all staring at me with blank faces of fascination. Their eyes are so big and shiny, I can get distracted by their innocent little faces there peering at me. Another time, I had some free time after the interview and the family wanted to know what I thought of Cambodian houses. Well, why are they on stilts? For flooding? No, to store livestock or grain when raining season arrives. Oh. Then they asked me what American houses are like. Well, I described out how we have to deal with winter so our houses are very enclosed to keep heat in. I'm not sure how much justice I was doing our houses, but that's what I came up with at the time. I also ending up taking shelter under the house of the village chief during a rain storm, then still having to motorbike back in the rain.
I also attended a play put on by primary school kids working with IRD for two different villages. They acted out skits on women's health during pregnancy and afterward, also on keeping babies healthy and well nourished. As I sat in the audience, three Khmai girls giggled and sat around me, paging through my notebook trying to read what I had written and glancing at each photo I took. I finally took a photo of them and they became all shy. An older girl sitting near by, spoke English well and translated what the elderly woman next to me had be saying as she pinched my cheeks and grabbed my forearm. 'You are so pretty and pale. Thank you for visiting us, I am pleased to meet you. It is a joy to see you.' I can only blush when the older women do this to me, because it has happened on several other occasions and I'm not used to it.
Meanwhile, each time I bike to my guesthouse and a little Khmer kid says 'hello!' it brings a smile to my face. I've also hung out with the other Notre Dame students who are working in Phnom Penh this summer. We've gone out to dinner a couple times and visited the Elephant Bar during happy hours. The Elephant Bar is located in Raffles Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. The bar serves fancy drinks and has a superb pianist. I've also met up with another malaria researcher who is conducting research on insect repellant use in a pilot program. It's been great to share laughs and conversation with fellow domers and a fellow researcher. In fact, Colin and Crystal, friends from ND, and I are going to Angkor Wat this weekend and I can't wait! I've always wanted to visit these ancient temple ruins ever since I saw them on those old slide projector photographs my parents would pull out for old friends from their Cambodia days.
Cheers,
Margot