Provincial Spelling Bee

After finishing the spelling bee at my school a week later we headed into the provincial town to compete with 4 other schools in our province. I felt like my students stood a pretty good chance, they had worked hard, and were really smart. I brought 2 10th and 11th grade students with me into the provincial town, and my co-teacher. We didn't have enough funding to pay for transportation, so we all arrived separately. I was a bit nervous one of them wouldn't show up, but we all made it there

In the morning grade 10 competed. There were 10 students total competing for each grade.

Aren't my 10th graders just adorable?

So...something you should know. Cambodians are SUPER competitive. Sometimes they're terrified to answer  a question, in case they get it wrong and look bad in front of other students, but if they know that answer, they're fighting to say it out-loud first. That's a big thing here, appearance and saving face. No one wants to look or be wrong. Anyway, you could see it on their faces the look of terror when they didn't know the word you said, the utter relief when they got it right, and sheer look of cut throat competition when it was another student's turn.

Neither of my 10th graders placed in the competition, but they both did a great job. After lunch the 11th graders competed. 

And guess what....2 hours later we were down to my male 11th grader, and one other student. Check it out.

Ok, well we didn't win, but we came in 2nd!

It felt so good to be a part of a Peace Corps project and to bring students together from different areas in the province. That is, it felt so good until that night I came down with Dengue Fever.

High School Spelling Bee

I have quite a few posts that I was meaning to make in my pre-dengue life, but was too busy to do. So now that I'm exhausted all the time and have more free time since everyone in Cambodia thinks I need to stay home and not work, seeing as I just got better (how different from America), I figured I might as well take advantage of this time and finally do some of those posts.

I'll start with the most recent. The day I came down with dengue we had a provincial spelling bee in my provincial town, but the week before that I had a spelling bee at my High School to decide the winners who would go to the provincial spelling bee. I could take 2 students from grade 10 and 11 to compete.

We had a massive word list. When I did the spelling bee with my private class I did word list one, which contained a lot of three letter words. They didn't do very well as it was easier to mix up words. For the actual spelling bee at my school, and as a province we did word list two which was mostly 4-5 letter words.

At my High School we did the spelling bee on the last day of a testing week, so most of the students weren't at school. While a lot of students didn't show up, the ones who really wanted to compete were there, so that was a plus. The provincial spelling bee was just for grade 10 and 11, but I had a group of 9th graders want to complete, so I let them compete with the 10th graders.

Here are my 9th and 10th graders who came. I only had 1 10th grader show up since they didn't have school that day, but she did awesome, so I was excited. I later did a spelling bee with my 10th grade class to find another winner.

These are most of the 11th graders. We took SO long to get a winner. We were down to the same 4 students  for SO long. We finally made them do 2 words at a time because it was taking so long.

I was SO proud. Two of my private class students won the High School spelling bee. They did such a great job. Stay tuned to see if they won the provincial spelling bee.

Dengue Fever

Are you ready for a really long post about my horrible experience with Dengue Fever? Dengue Fever is also known as "Breakbone Fever", because as I so intelligently explained to my sister, your bones hurt so bad that your leg could break off and you wouldn't even know it. So obviously I'm not the greatest at explaining the disease, so I'll tell you my understanding, and you can read more here, if you want a more scientific explanation.

Dengue Fever is caused when you're bit by the certain mosquito that can carry the Dengue virus. 7-10 days later you begin to show symptoms. Usually it begins with a sudden high fever and body aches. Both of these worsen as the disease takes its course, and are followed by headaches, nausea, and eye aches. The Dengue virus attacks your white blood cells and your platelets, throughout the course of the disease your platelets continually drop, your blood thins, and your liver begins to work overtime. It can take a month or two for your liver function to return to normal, and it can take a month for you to get your energy back to normal after the Dengue virus is gone from your body.

So here is the story of what happened to me when I got Dengue.

Day 1:
 I looked like this:

I started out the day totally fine. I was in my provincial town for a spelling bee (more on that later) and we decided to stay the night to hang out with some friends. That afternoon my hips started aching, but I didn't think anything of it as that happens from time to time. That night my whole body started aching. I took some medicine, I was fine. Fast forward to the middle of the night with the worst body aches I've ever felt and a high fever followed by body chills when the fan was placed in front of me. More medicine, finally fell asleep

Day 2: (platelets 230,000)
My friends finally talked me into calling the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer). She told me to go to my provincial hospital and get my blood drawn. Hal went back to site and packed our bags for Phnom Penh. My friend went to the hospital with me. There were 10 medical staff just staring at me while I had my blood drawn and my friend distracted me by telling me a story about Giraffes (Thanks Garrett!).  There were 12 medical personnel standing around us while we waited for the results. He said my platelets were in the normal range and didn't think I had dengue. By the time we made it back to our friend's house my fever was at 102 and I felt awful. Medical officer told me to come to Phnom Penh in the morning to be tested. My friends tried to test to see if I had malaria. I had my finger poked by the most awful poker ever 5 times, and I couldn't produce enough blood for the test. That night was rough, real rough. I felt like my body was being ripped apart. I just remembering saying to Hal over and over "I can't do this anymore." I remember telling my friend, "as much as I don't want to have Dengue, I hope this is Dengue, because I can't imagine having Dengue and feeling even worse than this."

Day 3:
We just missed the 7am bus to Phnom Penh. Boo. I cried in the bus station over the next 2 hours until the next bus came. The Khmer people gave me very strange looks and kept asking if I was OK. I got on the bus. Not our bus, I got off the bus. We were assigned new seas and we got on the bus. Some people showed up and we had to get off the bus. Hal was mad and was practically yelling at them in Khmer. Next bus, got on and was able to stay on. I ate 2 crackers as the bus left at 9 am. That's all I ate due to nausea. 8 hours later we made it to the PC office. Blood drawn. 5 minutes later was confirmed I had Dengue. I kept hiccuping and the PCMO ran into the room thinking I was going to throw up. Nope, I just hiccup, a lot. Lots of Tylenol. PCMO bought me real tiger balm for my aching back, since every medicine she had was also a blood thinner, which you can't take when you have dengue. Hal rubbed it on my back and I had the best nights sleep of all my dengue experience.

Day 4: (Platelets 100,000)
Still in Phnom Penh. I ate 2 bites of papaya before nausea overtook me. PCMO came to the hotel to draw my blood. They came back to the hotel to give me an IV and tell me my platelets were dropping too fast and they had to send me to Bangkok. I cried. I cried about everything that day. Because of the IV I had to use the bathroom, but I was so nauseous. Every time I used the bathroom I vomited. It was horrible. I had eaten nothing all day, but was still vomiting. This was by far the worst day of my dengue experience.

 They came at 4pm to take us to the airport. Hal was my escort. I couldn't walk. I couldn't sit up straight in the wheelchair. Hal was amazing. He took care of everything. He was so nervous we were never going to get through security because I couldn't sit up. We had no problems getting through the airport. We were so blessed. I thought I was going to die when they wouldn't let me lean my seat back until take off.
We made it though! They were really nice on the Thai side and I was able to be miserable and huddle over in a wheelchair the whole way. There was a man pushing it the whole time who knew where we needed to go, which saved us so much time. He got us into a taxi and we were off to the hospital. Bumrungrad hospital is amazing. It felt like America being there. I went to the ER, got my IV and went to the nicest hospital room I've ever been in.

Day 5: (Platelets 82,000)
This is where the days begin to blend together for me. Every few hours I was interrupted for blood pressure and temperature check. They finally put me on anti-nausea medicine. Hallelujah. I ate my first bites of food.

Day 6: (Platelets 76,000)
I ate for the first time in days. I had a few bites of mashed potatoes. I got excited to eat and ate a bit too much. I had a really rough night with my stomach and didn't sleep much.

Day 7: (Platelets 63,000)
I threw up in the wee hours of the morning. Rough night indeed. They finally got the medication right, and my stomach finally settled down, but I didn't eat anything this day either. Hal was supposed to go back to Cambodia this day, as we had a training meeting, but I was only getting worse and my platelet level was getting dangerous so they let him stay. They gave me mouth wash, I was no longer allowed to brush my teeth or do anything that might lead to bleeding. This is when the itching started, just a slight itching in my hands and feet.

Day 8: (Platelets 53,000)
I was so glad that Hal stayed with me. I was so nervous that I was never going to get better at this point. I could still barely walk. Hal still had to help me to the bathroom every single time. I couldn't shower alone either. Thank goodness for that little chair in the shower. He had to help me with everything at this point, I was very unstable. The itching increased and I was constantly scratching at my hands, feet, and legs.

Day 9: (Platelets 75,000)
Platelets went up. YAY!! I was so excited that my platelets finally came back up that I celebrated by washing my hair for the first time in over a week. I still couldn't sit up straight at this point, so seriously Hal and that shower chair were life savers. I could slowly feel my strength coming back. The itching was really bad this day. I tried not to scratch, but it was driving me nuts.

Day 10: (Platelets 112,000)
I walked to the bathroom for the first time by myself this day. Pretty exciting stuff. My IV came out. I had that IV in for over a week and my hand was hurting and swollen (if you see my hand in the light you can see it is still like one big bruise) I could hold down food and water pretty well at this point. Hal had to go back to Cambodia, which made me really sad. I kept waking up that night expecting him to be asleep on the couch. The itching finally stopped, but because my blood was so thin while I was scratching my legs started to look really gross, the blood had come to the surface of the skin and my legs were splotchy red for days.

Day 11:
I was finally discharged from the hospital this day. I was so emotional this day. I couldn't handle anything without being on the brink of tears. Checking out was real rough for me. They moved me to a hotel across the street from the hospital. It was more of a tiny apartment. When the man led me in, and then left I just bawled. I felt like they were never going to let me leave. I didn't want to be alone. The hotel didn't have wifi, but from my bed, with my hospital internet code I was able to get a tiny bit of internet. Hal told me how to make it to the 7/11 around the corner. Just walking to the 7/11 and back I was exhausted. They weren't lying when they said it takes a while to get your energy back. I spent a really lonely night there, and thanks for Harry Potter 7.1 on the TV I was able to sleep.

Day 12:
I hatched a scheme to try and get home to Cambodia. It didn't work. They wouldn't let me go back. Good thing the movies on the 2 English channels were ones I hadn't seen. The PCMO of medvacs (medically evacuated volunteers) told me there were 2 other medvacs in the hotel. I went to dinner with a volunteer from Mongolia. It was nice to have some company after a lonely day.

Day 13: (Platelets 300,000 finally back in the normal range)
I had my check up with the Dr. at the hospital. I was weighed for the first time, holy cow I had lost 10 pounds. The Dr. cleared me to go back home. I wanted to go back so badly, but PC had to write a report and they thought there wasn't enough time for them to write it and me to make it to the flight. Boo. I met the other medvac from Ukraine, and went to dinner with her and two COSing (close of service) volunteers from Thailand. She was super nice and showed me how to use the sky train.

Day 14:
I went to the PC office in Thailand to pick up my medical record with the medvac from Ukraine. We met another COSing volunteer there. We went to the biggest most fancy mall I've ever been in. I got subway and dunkin doughnuts. Holy cow, we don't have anything like this mall in Cambodia. Good thing, or I don't think PCVs would have any money. I took the sky train to the airport and finally made it back to Cambodia. It was hard not to dance in my seat on the plane when we landed. I was exhausted by the time I made it to the hotel.

Day 15:
I had a check up with the PCMO. I was cleared to go back to site! She and everyone told me I looked so much better, but I just felt exhausted.

So there is an overly long explanation of my experience with Dengue Fever. My case was definitely not the normal. Most volunteers aren't medically evacuated to Thailand, I just had a rather bad case of it. I was seriously so blessed through this whole time to be surrounded by people who were so helpful, and so willing to help me. Hal was superman, and took such good care of me while I was delirious. The staff at the hospital and the PC staff in Thailand were so helpful and took really good care of me while I felt like I was dying.

Absence

Sorry I've been absent for a little while. As most of you know I've been really sick. Last weekend I was medically evacuated to Thailand with a bad case of dengue fever.

I've been surviving with my phone and wifi while I've been bored out of my mind, recovering. Tomorrow I finally get to go back to Cambodia! I never thought I would miss it so much.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me, that I can make it back tomorrow. I've been trying to get back for three days. Peace Corps has finally deemed me healthy enough, and bought my ticket, so keep your fingers crossed that it happens because I have a husband I'm dying to see!

Valentines day in Cambodia

Hal and I had a great valentines day. Our Valentines experience really started almost 2 weeks ago when we went on our first date in 6 months to Siem Reap (more on that later). What makes a date for me...a little shopping! I've never gone shopping in Siem Reap outside of the Khmer market, so this time I wanted to boutique browse. It was a sad day when I stumbled upon this beauty, which ended up being way out of my poor PCV  price range. So we took pictures and I hoped to get it made.

I even made my friend go back there with me and take more detailed pictures so I could get it made exactly like this. I remember saying 'Oh Dang, the XS has already been sold." Little did I know it would be hanging in my bathroom waiting for me when we came back to site :) I was so shocked. SO shocked. Then I felt real dumb because everyone we were with knew that he had gone back and bought the dress and I just kept blabbing about it all weekend long.

 It was nice to be reminded that Cambodia doesn't have to suck all the romance out of a relationship. It's so easy to not feel romantic when you spend so much time with each other, and when half of that time is spent sweating your brains out or being sick.

The second half of our Valentines experience was so sweet and unexpected. I was surprised how many Khmer  people already knew about Valentines day. I decided I wanted to teach my students how to make valentines. The day before I taught them how to make some cute ones, and then they all brought colored paper, glue, scissors, and their array of colored pens and went to town. They made valentines for each other, but they were so sweet and made valentines for me, and even one for "Teacher Hal" Here are their versions of the valentines I showed them. I was SO excited to see how creative some of them got. If you know anything about Cambodia, creativity and critical thinking is hard to come by. One of my students made the coolest angry birds valentine. I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed when he didn't give that one to me.

And for my favorite two valentines that my students made me, who both get points for being extra creative.

3-in-1 valentine, how's that for creativity?

After spending an hour and a half making valentines with my students I came home so a great surprise. Hal had taken down the mosquito net, made the bed, and set out our Valentines Day treat. Back in the US that may have been a small gesture, but for me, here, it was huge. Sometimes you just can't handle laying within the confines of the mosquito net anymore. Oh and he loaded one of my favorite movies, Young Victoria, which I wish I had brought with me, and was so glad to be able to watch it again. Oh and he made a yummy pasta dinner. This made my valentines to him, which I had spent most of the class period making, seem small in comparison. Twice this month Hal has spoiled me and reminded me of how sweet he is, and how lucky I am to have him here with me.

So we ended our night with our special treat and a great movie.

Happy 60th Birthday Dad

My dad celebrated a big birthday last weekend. He turned 60...shh don't tell him I told you that. Well I was bummed that I wasn't home to celebrate such a big birthday, so I decided to do something a little special for his birthday.

I've been making everyone birthday cards and e-mailing them, using Picnik (which I'm SO sad is going away in April, but I'll take advantage of the all the free tools until then.) So I made him a lovely little card, but I wanted to do more than that for such a big birthday (can you tell I like to celebrate birthdays?)

Well I lucked out and got an amazon gift card, so we bought him a web cam. I've been in Cambodia for almost 7 months and have hardly been able to actually talk to, or see my family. Hopefully now that will change. Well, we didn't know if it would arrive on time, so I thought I'd do a little something here in Cambodia, and got some of my favorite people involved.

First my students offered to sing to him. I was so glad, I was my day off from teaching them, but they asked me to come anyway so they could sing for him. How sweet is that? (Ignore my loud, not so nice singing)



Next I told my host family  it was my dad's birthday and asked if they knew how to sing Happy Birthday in Khmer. I had just learned it a few days before, so I was excited to sing it. They were so nice and gathered around  the table to sing with me.



I already shared these videos with my dad, but I thought maybe everyone else would like to see what great students, and what a great host family I have been blessed with.

And Happy Birthday to my amazing dad. You've been such a great father and example to me. I'm sorry that I missed your birthday, and hope that these videos help make up for it at least a little bit.

The luxury of running water

"Bookie, why is there no water?"
"There's no water? Oh, there's no water. Your soup is burning. Here call this number and ask why there's no water."
Hands me the water bill for last month, almost entirely written in Khmer.

Having running water in Cambodia is a luxury. I realize that after having no running water all through training. It's amazing to have a real shower, even if it's freezing. It's amazing to be able to really was my hands and do my dishes. And it's even more amazing to have a toilet that flushes without the use of a bucket full of water.

Having running water is also a big burden when it's not working. That means no water at all. Like no water. That means no hand washing. No washing our dishes after dinner. That means no filling our water filter that's empty. That means no showering after a long hot day. That means that you can't go to the bathroom....at all.

Bookie brought out a small bucket of water from the small cistern of rain water they have, and did our lunch dishes (I know, we're spoiled) and told us to do dinner dishes in the morning. I laid in front of the fan in my underwear until my sweat dried and I was left feeling as sticky as a little kid's hands after eating a sucker.

Two hours later...

HUZZAH, the water's back on and I shall end my night with a freezing cold shower and use of the toilet.