katieinmyanmar

[katieinmyanmar]

Taking an Intermission

Hello. 

As you can tell, this is not part of our regularly scheduled content. 

On March 16, Peace Corps made the incredibly difficult decision to temporarily suspend all global programs and evacuate all Volunteers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and related concerns about international travel. As a result, I have been evacuated back to America and will not be returning to Myanmar for the foreseeable future. I am very sad to have left Myanmar and all the friends I made there, but I know I’ll be returning. 

In the meantime, I have a couple of posts that I wrote before the evacuation notice came out. Since I am currently quarantined and have noting to do, I will try to work on those posts and have them up in the next few days. 

Thank you for following this blog even though I didn’t post very much, it has been a pleasure to write this. Thank you for being interested in Myanmar and my service. I will be able to return to Myanmar when Peace Corps resumes programs, and I hope you will continue to follow my journey on this blog when I do.

[katieinmyanmar]

(January 18-February 14)

Min gă la ba! Welcome to my blog! Sorry this took so long to get up, I’ve been incredibly busy these last three weeks.

A quick note before I start: I use Myanmar (people here pronounce it “mee-an-mar”) and Myanmar language rather than Burma and Burmese because that is how people here refer to the country and language. I also don’t have a Myanmar language keyboard for my computer, so for Romanization of Myanmar script I use the system designed by Aye Su Mon.

Some background information on how the Peace Corps (PC, they really love their acronyms) works: for about three months we are in training (called Pre-Service Training or PST), then we move to our individual sites after swearing in as Volunteers. We will serve at our sites for two years, integrating into our communities, teaching English, training teachers, and working on community development projects. During PST, we learn about the Myanmar language, culture, and education system, as well as have technical training on how to teach English as a foreign language. They days are long and exhausting (all day six days a week), but I’m enjoying what i’m learning and it’s not too bad for the most part. I’m learning a lot, especially about Myanmar culture and language. We’ve all gotten used to being really tired and super busy. I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I arrived—it feels like I’ve been here way longer.

The people of Myanmar are truly the kindest, most generous people I have ever met. Whether it’s a hot meal, a tuktuk ride, or simply being patient as we stumble through Myanmar language phrases, everyone has been unbelievably kind. Most people in Myanmar have rarely (if ever) seen a foreigner before, much less an American. Because of this, we attract a lot of attention whenever we go out into the city, which is perfectly fine, even though it does take some getting used to.

One of the highlights of being in Myanmar is the food. Myanmar food is very oily and sometimes spicy, but it tastes very good. Rice (htă miǹ, pronounced like “ta-min”) is served for three meals a day, usually with some meat (the shrimp curry is my favorite) and vegetables and tea. I think one of my favorite breakfasts so far has been mohinga, which is essentially a fish-based soup that you eat with green onions, cilantro, noodles, and chili peppers. Every region has its own version (and every region thinks theirs is the best), so there are many varieties.

Myanmar people don’t really do dessert, usually for dessert there is fruit or jaggery (palm sugar cubes). The other day, one of my PC friends taught the hotel staff how to make pancakes (they were very improvised but mostly worked, and the staff was pretty into it), so we had pancakes (of sorts, they weren’t really “pancakes” like Americans would think of them) for breakfast the next day. It was extremely exciting, there is a version of French toast here but so far no pancakes. Since we don’t have maple syrup (I’ve been told you can buy it in Yangon, but it’s super expensive), we ate our pancakes with honey and bananas.

On my days off, I have been going into Bago city with some of my PC friends and exploring the pagodas. Bago is not like an American city: there are not any skyscrapers or tall buildings, but there are plenty of motorbikes, trucks, and tuktuks rushing by. Crossing the street can be quite a challenge! There are also way more dogs and cats here than in America. So far I have been to the Shwemawdaw Pagoda and the Shwe Thalyaung Buddha (Reclining Buddha), as well as several other pagodas that I don’t know the names of (one had a massive Burmese Python in it, which was really cool). I have also been to the Kanbawza-thadi Royal Palace (Golden Palace) outside of Bago. All the pagodas are beautiful and the Kanbawza-thadi Royal Palace was breathtaking. Everything was golden and extremely ornate. I am really interested in Myanmar history, and I hope to learn more about it while I am serving here. I can do another post on pagodas later if there’s interest, I don’t want to make a long post even longer. 

To help us learn about Myanmar language and culture, each of us has a sponsor family who lives in the community near where we are staying. In most countries, PCVs live with a host family during their service, but for various reasons we cannot do that in Myanmar. The sponsor family program is Peace Corps Myanmar’s adaption of the host family program: we eat dinner with our families about twice a week, and on Saturdays we spend the afternoon with them. My family and my friend Liz’s family are friends, so we spend a lot of time together. In my family (mí thà zú, pronounced “me taaa zoo”) are my ă meì (mother, pronounced “ah may”), ă phei (father, pronounced “ah pay”), ă ko (older brother), ă má (older sister), and nyi má leh (younger sister, pronounced “ni ma ley”). My family is loving and amazing, though it can be hard to communicate because they speak very limited English and I speak very limited Myanmar. I am learning so much from my family regardless, especially about Myanmar language. The other members of my group (cluster) and I have started bringing our language homework because our families always like to help us and teach us new words. My family is kind, loving, and generous; my ă má even took me to a tailor to get a longyi (traditional Myanmar wrap-around skirt worn by both men and women) and shirt made for me!

A few days ago we had our first English Club session. English Club is an opportunity for us to practice our teaching with Myanmar schoolchildren (sixth-eighth graders) in a Myanmar classroom. English Club is very different from the regular classroom because there are only about fifteen students (regular classrooms usually have up to 60 students) and it focuses on speaking. We were co-teaching with a partner (though I was in a group of three because we had an odd number) and had to plan a ninety-minute lesson. It was really cool to be in front of actual students, especially because before this I had only practiced with my cohort. The students were really smart and engaged, we actually felt that we had made the lesson too easy. It was difficult because we had never taught in front of students before, but we were able to improvise when our lesson finished early and the lesson as a whole went really well, so I consider it a win. I’m looking forward to doing it again, even though lesson planning is stressful I really enjoy teaching.

Now, you might be wondering how Peace Corps Trainees in Myanmar entertain themselves when there is limited Internet (except at this hotel, which has wifi!!!). The answer is lots and lots of cards (everything from President to Oh Hell), Uno, karaoke, group study sessions, and chiǹ louǹ (pronounced “chin loon,” but with a very soft n). I can’t really explain chiǹ louǹ except to describe how it’s played: everyone stands in a circle (barefoot) and tries to keep a special wicker ball in the air. The catch is that you can’t use your hands, so you have to hit the ball with your legs, feet, chest, or head.

The second thing you’re probably wondering about is the climate in Myanmar. Myanmar is tropical and has three seasons: hot, cold, and rainy. It’s the end of the cold season right now (hot season starts in March/April), and the average temperature is about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. In the hot season, temperatures can reach up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit, and the rainy season is, well, rainy. Not “rainy” like “Oh it’s pouring for a few days”—actual monsoons, especially in Mon State. There are lots of geckos (which are the best because they eat spiders and mosquitos), snakes (though I haven’t actually seen one in the wild), dogs, cats, chickens, cows, and other various creatures. The mosquitos can be pretty relentless, but I’ve learned to accept it and wear a lot of bug spray when I go out.

(click on the pictures to see the captions)