First Impressions of Prey Veng Town

Today Larry, Nicole, Elijah, Charles, Seiha (a Cambodian who works for MCC and is getting married in January) and I went to Prey Veng Town. I met 4 other foreigners (2 from England, 2 from Singapore), Charles' host family and my host family. Personally, I think my home stay will go very well and is a perfect match. I have my own bedroom and bathroom...with a real toliet, not a quat-er like most of the bathrooms have! I will live on the bottom floor next to the kitchen, dining room, and storage room. Rest of the family lives on the second floor which has a bathroom, 3 bedrooms, living room and porch. The father worked for MCC in the past in Phnom Penh and is currently working on his MBA. The mother is a second grade teacher and even gave us guava fruit from their trees. They have 3 children- 16, 15, and 10- but they were at school so I didn't meet them. The family owns a few verdant acres which house mango, guava, and other trees.

Prey Veng is a cute little town. It's next to a river (I think Mekong, but don't quote me on that) and is quiet and peaceful. The picturesque rice feilds along with the palm trees swaying in the cool breeze is relaxing and the homey atmosphere of the town excites me about living there. I am enjoying Phnom Penh, but I'm not used to living in large cities, Prey Veng Town is much more my style. And I must say there was a wave of relief on my part as the day progressed. The family seems wonderful and the place is clean. Sometimes it seems like dust and dirt can travel anywhere, despite your strongest efforts to contain it.

I will move to Prey Veng on Nov. 21. Language tutors are still being set up and I will get a bicycle when Sherry brings us to Prey Veng. I took some pictures today and hope to have them up on a website soon. I'll let you know when this happens.

When I left America I was still very apprehensive about this whole thing. I felt too many details weren't settled yet and basically didn't know what my purpose here would be. But as I meet my host family and see truly how beautiful Prey Veng is, I know I can success and flourish here. I'm learning the language and was able to greet my host parents in Khmer and thank her for the guava. I'm taking small steps, but I know I'm headed in the right direction.