For the past six weeks, I have been living with an indigenous Tampoun family in Chiry village situated on the outskirts of Banlung with my two counterparts, Anna Hollis (UK VSO ICS volunteer) from Stafford UK and Ly Linden (Khmer VSO ICS volunteer) from Kampong Cham province in Cambodia. My host family consists of Mae and Vimoo local farmers, with their children Chenda (21) who works for a mine disposal NGO, Poi (17) whom is still at school and Sakore (24) a trainee doctor.
Anna and Linden with my host sister Poi
Despite the parents being shy and spending most of their time at the farmhouse, the sisters are a lot of fun and whom I have really begun to bond with. Most nights after having a shower; throwing ice cold water over myself with a bucket from a container outside, my sister Poi plaits intricate designs into my hair.
The house is the traditional khmer wooden style raised from the ground and supported by large stilts. The ground floor has the kitchen outhouse for cooking and is the dwelling of many chickens, kittens and Boi; the dog afraid of everything. Upstairs is the living area and the space we use to teach our weekly English lessons from Monday-Thursday for the village. We have been very fortunate in that we have electricity, this has not been the case for other volunteers placed in different villages.
My host home
Upstairs balcony
Most evenings after teaching Anna, Linden and I chill out on the upper level of the house, cracking out sarcastic comments, jokes and asking questions about each other. This time has been critical in really getting to know more about my counterparts and form a closer bond with them.
Posing outside the indigenous Tampoun house
Over the last few weeks Anna has been like a sister to me and that one person I can share my feelings with especially when feeling homesick, her sarcastic and dry sense of humour bringing a smile to my face. While Ly Linden my khmer big brother from another mother and selfie enthusiast (seriously his ipad is full of them) has been vital in helping bridge the cultural and language barrier in our host family.
