Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Om Loon's House in Phnom Penh
8:40 PM
After a solid three weeks of touring around Cambodia, reality settled in and I was reminded the reason why I came here in the first place. Today I began my internship with RACHA. I was excited and nervous all at the same time because I wasn't sure of what I was going to encounter in the office.
I got an early start. I woke up at 5:40, cleaned up a bit, did some scripture study, and ate breakfast. Tuni met Lauren and me outside on the street and we rode our bikes to the RACHA building, about three minutes away. I had to make the journey in a skirt, and as any girl knows, this is no easy task. No matter how hard I tried to keep my skirt from riding up, it still managed to go to great heights. I finally gave up and just embraced the fact that the whole neighborhood could see what color spandex I was wearing.
I walked into my unit, Child Health and Nutrition, and introduced myself to some of the employees already there. I noticed that the woman in charge of the unit, Dr. Chan, wasn't there, so the other people told me to take a seat until she arrived. Less than thirty seconds passed and she was there. I introduced myself and, in a very thick Cambodian accent, she asked me if I had been assigned anything by Thearry, the executive director of the organization. A little confused, I said no. She continued to ask me what sort of things I was interested in and then led me to a desk where Chris, an English woman who is also an advisor to the unit, normally sits. Then she showed me a shelve full of files that I could use at my discretion.
And … That's about it.
I wasn't given any direction on what to do. I was left to my own devices as I sat at the desk, glancing at the people around the small office. Two men to the left. Two women, one of them an intern, in front of me. Dr. Chan's desk to the right. I wanted to look capable of doing something other than just sitting, so I got my computer out of my backpack and attempted to get on the internet. Dr. Chan came over and, after I asked for the passcode for the wireless, she promptly showed me the cable I was to use to access the web.
Ok, Andee. Think. Think of what you could do to not make yourself look completely useless.
I grabbed the RACHA reports that Sathardith had given us during our orientation out of my backpack and set to work. I read up on all of the current projects going on in the Child Health and Nutrition unit, tried to orient myself with all of the acronyms, and put my highlighter to good use. I looked up a few words I didn't know and wrote notes in the margins. It was a good start.
Unfortunately, all good starts must come to an end. A few hours passed and I was finished with the material. I racked my brain for ideas of what to do next.
Ok, Andee. You're done with the reports, now what are you going to do next? Research. Think of some research you could do for RACHA.
I thought the aspect of using nuns and Wat Grannies as sources of health education and diagnosis in rural villages was an interesting topic. The more I looked into it, though, the more I found that a good amount of research had already been applied to that specific program. A little frustrated, I struggled to think of other topics that would be of particular interest to me.
Time passed and I felt defeated. I still wanted to make good use of my time, so I got caught up on some journaling before our lunch break rolled around. Oh man, was I excited when it was lunch time. My stomach was feeling exceptionally empty, but Om Loon's cooking hit the spot, as usual. I retired to our room for a quick nap before we had to return to work at two.
I returned to work to see Spencer and Rob talking to Dr. Chan at her desk. Rob is conducting his own research about developing some sort of study abroad/internship program in South America that would be similar to ours. He was asking questions that I especially wanted to know the answers to, so I tried my hardest to eavesdrop, but unfortunately my hearing isn't quite as good as it once was. He filled me in later, though.
Compared to the morning, the afternoon session proved to move at a glacial pace. I was burning through stick after stick of gum, feeling a little uneasy about how I would be spending my time with RACHA. I continued to glance around at my new co-workers, wondering what they could possibly be so busy with. The guy to my immediate left seemed to be particularly busy, leaving his computer frequently to refill his glass with water. He also seemed to enjoy clicking his mouse in excessive increments.
There is no doubt that he's playing Minesweeper.
Finally the clock struck five and I was ready to be out of there. Thankfully, Dr. Chan took the opportunity to talk to me before I left, apologizing for not having had time all day to really sit down and talk with me about the opportunities available to me in my internship. Hopefully next week on Monday or Tuesday I'll be able to really get an idea of what I want to do and get to work...
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