Na Ma Le Bu (I don't understand) My most used phrase this week
This week was (not) surprisingly full of adventure. We spent our days learning Burmese language, Myanmar teaching strategies, all of the ways a mosquito can make a person sick and how to manage diarrhea. As exciting as those things are, the highlight of my week was meeting my sponsor family. Each volunteer is assigned a sponsor family who is committed to feeding their volunteer two dinners per week, spending Saturday afternoons together and openly share their home, family and culture.
Our group traveled about 30 minutes by bus to our host school, where the principal and families awaited our arrival. We were placed in a small room, volunteers on one side and sponsor families on the other. We all introduced ourselves, and with the help of Peace Corps staff, were matched with our sponsor family. Seeing each party meet for the first time was such a special moment. After we were all matched, it was time to go!
My mom walked next to me, using one hand to hold the umbrella that shielded me from the sun and the other to hold onto mine hand. My two younger sisters walked next to us. Cliff notes of my day - we went to their home where we sat, quietly in circle, on the floor while we tried to speak to each other. My Burmese is very limited so the conversation was short. After quickly realizing I used all of my Burmese sayings, we started to eat lunch, which was an amazing variety of Myanmar traditional food. We sat there, eating with our hands, making as much conversation as we could. Just imagine me, my mom, 2 sisters, dad, brother, grandpa and various neighbors all sitting on the floor around a table enjoying food trying to make sense of what is being said. After lunch (and a quick after meal snack of a banana and tea) we took off on an adventure to meet the neighborhood.
I visited more houses than I can count and spoke to more people than I can remember -but the gist of each visit was a short encounter of hello, my name is Mallory, I am 27 years old, I ate (insert a long list) for lunch, the food was good, it's nice to meet you. My mom was the best, she coached me through every conversation and didn't get frustrated when she had to help me at every house recall what I ate for lunch. My favorite encounter of the last 3 weeks happened in a house we visited where the dialogue was similar to those before. This house happened to have two very young boys and two chickens. After recalling what I ate for lunch and counting the chickens (in Burmese of course), we walked out the door and put our shoes on, then walked to the street. I turned around and one of the young boys, who couldn't have been more than 1, was rushing out the front door holding something. I walked back to the house and he was holding a small paper butterfly that he gave to me. This small gesture meant so much to me. This family welcomed me into their home, offered me their time and offered me something to remember them by. I know that this small encounter is the first of many I will experience and cherish. Fast forward--- I ran into some other volunteers and we walked a bit only to end up a small celebration. We sat there smiling for a little while, not knowing what was going on, only to find out we were at a wedding. This one day offered me so much, and I cannot wait for the experiences to come.
As I am typing this, I am sitting in my air conditioned hotel room, connected to Wi-Fi while watching Dumb and Dumber. On Monday, we left the ecological center and arrived to our home for the next 2 months. Our own hotel rooms, with air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, hot water, a toilet, a fridge and a bed all to myself - it doesn't get much better than this! I do have to throw out there that I also used my first squatty potty tonight and was I excited (check back with me in 6 months when I am using one everyday - I can imagine the excitement will wear off).
I am so excited for these next 8 weeks, there is so much to learn and so much to prepare for. My mantra for the next 8 weeks - Actually, I can.
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