Sincerely, Little Girl

July 16, 2008

After about a month, I finally have a roommate! Becca is a student at New York University, working at the Palm Tree Orphanage to fulfill a requirement for her Masters degree in Social Work. She also has a Masters in Art Therapy, so she plans to hold one on one sessions with the mentally disabled children. Through art, she will work with the children to understand more about their pasts and help them cope with what they have been through. Becca is passionate about many of the same social change issues as I am, so I look forward to spending more time with her.

My classes are going well. The students are scheduled to take monthly exams tomorrow, so I look forward to tracking their progress. Their English tests consist of seven parts, including Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Homework, Hygiene and Participation. I notice that my students’ have the most difficulty with reading. I believe they were taught incorrectly originally, because they are usually unable to pair letters with sounds. For example, if I write the letter R on the board, they will not be able to make an R sound. They can pronounce the word apple, simply because they have heard it before and can repeat it. But if I ask them to pronounce the word approach, they would not know where to begin. When they are reading, I tell them to sound the words out, but they do not know what that means. They are accustomed to just imitating the sounds phonetically, without pairing them with the letters. This is a huge problem, because they will be unable to use their knowledge to sound out new words; they will only be able to imitate the words they have been taught. I am slowly trying to correct this problem, but I am not sure how successful I will be.

As Election Day is on July 27, I have engaged many of the staff members in discussion about the government and political process in Cambodia. Though over twenty parties run, it is expected that the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) will win once again. The party has been in power since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime. Many people in the rural areas of Cambodia attribute Pol Pot’s downfall to the work of the CPP, so they consistently vote for them. However, the party is extremely corrupt and does little to help those living in poverty. It is very interesting to see how political campaigns are conducted here. Large trucks representing different parties drive around the city, blasting political messages from loudspeakers and handing out pamphlets.

This dialogue between the staff and I has resulted in a lot of questions about the upcoming election in the United States. When I told them that some people in America choose not to vote, they did not understand. The United States government provides a number of services for their citizens, which is unheard of in Cambodia. The government here will not help its citizens unless they receive some type of payment in return. Police officers accept bribes daily, and are seen as more of a problem than the crimes they are supposed to prevent. To impoverished Cambodians, the United States is seen as an amazing country of opportunity and support. Therefore, they could not possibly see how American citizens would choose not to be involved in the political process.

Even though I told them I agreed with them, I realize that I have often taken our government for granted too. I vehemently disagree with almost all of George W. Bush’s views and the actions of his administration over the past eight years. However, despite who is in office, the United States still provides so many freedoms that other countries do not. Simply writing an opinion article criticizing the President or walking hand in hand with your partner could be a crime in some countries. Though I did not realize it at first, I have taken a great deal for granted in the United States and I am glad that I have this experience to remind me of how fortunate I am.