Monkey Fighting and the Rains of Hot Season 2007

Well this week has definitely been a busy one!!!!

Sunday we held our community events (pic above), and my group decided to do a basketball game for the high schoolers. It was a great hit with many kids attending and a basketball given as the prize. :) We had a great time, even in the heat, and enjoyed bonding with all our students! Also on Sunday the girls all spent time with one of our language teachers learning to make doughnuts! (Pic above) She used to be a chef at the US Embassy so knows all kinds of great recipes! We had fun and all enjoyed the doughnuts together later that afternoon.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were interesting days to say the least as we unexpectedly had some great rain storms here. During the hot season it is quite unexpected to have rain....and it poured. I remember waking up around 2:00 am Tuesday morning thinking "ahhh....refreshing rain" and then immediately changing my thoughts to "oh no! The roads!!!" Well my concern was realized the next morning when I slipped and slid on the now muddy roads to school. The roads were so bad that nearly all the students stayed home as even the motos and cars were having a hard time. It made me very thankful that my permanent site home lies on the national highway as well as the school! No muddy roads during rainy season!!! :)

This week also brought a call from some missionary friends in Siem Reap. I e-mailed them earlier this week and was so excited to get a call from them! It's nice to hear a familiar voice that is so close to me! I will be about an hour away from them and already have offers to stay in their home when I come into town for internet/church. :) I'm very excited about seeing them and other people I know from the States VERY soon! :)

Yesterday, language class even had it's own bit of excitement. When we arrived at the wat for class, the four of us found our teacher sitting about 20 feet away from our normal class place....all alone in a chair looking completely frightened. We soon found the source of her fright as a large monkey began cackling from the tree above our whiteboard. Not quite as intrigued by the monkeys as foreigner, Samart chose to stay FAR away....but we pulled our mangos, our breakfast of choice, and began feeding her. The monkey was very friendly and took the mango right from our hands. Well when it was time to start class, the monkey would not leave and Samart would not come over to the whiteboard. Finally fed up with the predicament I took a large, empty water bottled and started screaming like a crazy person and chasing the monkey away. I looked like a complete fool, but it worked!!! I never imagined myself chasing around monkeys before.....but you've gotta do what you've gotta do! :) The monkeys were in a strange mood that day anyway.....the whole family was swinging all over the place and screeching.....at least they were having some fun!

Besides strange monkey antics, things here are still going well! Yesterday in the afternoon we had an "emotional health" session with our Peace Corps nurse which was an uplifter for everyone.....especially because she brought brownies and milk! :) We all did yoga, stretched, meditated....it was a great time to just relax and vent a little.

Well I'm off.....time to get some coffee and find a taxi to head to the provincial town for some shopping and relaxation on our day off! :)

My love to all!