language pains

Thida, talking about planting basil.

I am currently a couple hours north of Phnom Penh, at a sort of training-of-trainers for the homestead gardening project. These trainers (also called Model Farmers) receive agricultural materials and training from the NGO where I am interning, and they then facilitate trainings and provide support for 20 community members each. They expand their own gardens, raise poultry, and practice the improved techniques they've learned. With 150 model farmers in this region alone, spread among 3 districts, that totals 3000 households exposed to improved gardening techniques. The idea is that improved gardening will mean more available healthy vegetables and, in combination with nutrition training, will lead to better nutrition, especially for women and young children.


So that's the basic project. Obviously, these trainings are conducted in Khmer, and I currently know how to say only "water," "one," and "thank you." Granted, weather.com predicts 90 degrees and high humidity every day for the next couple months, so these are important words, and my role in these trainings is merely as an observer, so no one is suffering besides me. But I'd forgotten how frustrating it is to be inadvertently left out of almost every conversation. There are so many things I want to ask and so much that is lost when everyone sounds like Charlie Brown's parents to me. Like in that photo above, I want to know how she explained planting the basil. Did she use an analogy? What did she assume that the farmer already knew? Everyone has been very accomodating, and those who know any English smilingly engage me in conversation. This is a hard language to learn, I think, as it sounds nothing like English, French or Spanish, and the alphabet is new to me. Click here for a rather monotone video of a very important Khmer phrase!

UPDATE: I will be starting tutoring sessions Thursday!