Today was just another normally abnormal day...again. The morning is usually pretty predictable...maybe a meeting, Khmer language class for an hour, then to the floor of the Out-Patient Department to play with the kids who are waiting to get in to see the doctors.
(It is worth noting that while I was outside sitting with the kids, one of my favorite long-term tenants at the hospital, Dah, walked up with her little brother, whom she cares for solely, on her hip and told me in English that she had missed me over the weekend. Pretty amazing considering that this girl is around 13 years old and doesn't speak much English save for "hello". It touched me because I knew she had asked someone how to say it so that she could say it to me. And it sounded perfect. It was clear English. And when I said it back to her, she had this look of triumph on her face that I'll never forget.)
Then lunch time came. My partner in crime (and volunteer housemate), Kaoru, and I walked to the Center Market to see what we could get for a dollar, then moved on to Viva Mexico! for some eats. On the walk to the restaurant, I thought of how funny it was that we were about to eat Mexican food in Cambodia. (And let me tell you, the tostada was one of the best I've ever sunk my teeth into!). After the two-hour lounge and lunch, I walked back to the hospital for the afternoon shift of paper-folding and coloring-book tracing. (However, I have to say, the bulk of the interesting stuff that happend to me at the hospital takes place during the afternoon session...and today was no exception).
I spent the day working with "the other" play specialist. Sinaath, the woman I normally work with is currently away for the week undergoing some AIDS education training in Phnom Phen. So today, I worked with Seekaan (sp?). She's a good amount of years younger than Sinaath and her face and attitude both show it. She is lovely! LOVELY! She didn't force me to fold any number of birds in any amount of time...she just smiled at me. Speaking to each other was limited as she is unsure of her English and I am more than unsure of my Khmer. However, as the afternoon progressed, we found it easier and easier to trust each other and began small conversations....mostly about how to say a certain word in either English or Khmer. We were learning from each other. Then came the mothers. I love the mothers of the children at the hospital. They are funny. They love to laugh (I think a lot of it is at me, but the Khmer people have this beautiful way of making you feel as though you can laugh along with them....even if it's at your expense). So, we laughed. We began speaking to each other...in Khmer. I was workin' it! I even knew what I was saying...and more impressive than that, I knew probably about 80% of what they were saying to me. I photographed and the mothers were all very receptive...very accepting of me taking pictures. I promised to bring in prints to them tomorrow afternoon. Then I turned around and in the corner of the In-Patient Department, laying in a bed, I recognized the largest smile I remember seeing since walking into the hospital a month ago. I have no idea of the woman's name, but I recall her face perfectly: round and jolly with eyes that smile all on their own. And beneath her, one of the smallest babies I had seen come into the hospital. Her son was suffering from malnutrition. But today, he looked healthier, and was having his lunch just as I was walking by. She shot me that 1,000 watt smile and i stopped in my tracks. I smiled and said, "sua s'dey. suk sa bei? jah. k'nhom mean ruup. tngais sae'ek awi ruup muy. ban?" .......that's right.... and in between all of that, she was talking to me, and I was answering her. And we understood each other! Her smile got bigger and bigger as the conversation continued, because the last time I saw her (in the LAU with her son) we failed at any and every attempt to communicate. She was impressed! I impressed a Cambodian woman....and not just any....but one who speaks no English and has only dealt with people in and around her village. It was amazing! A totally captivating moment. And because it was right as I was leaving the hospital for the day, I walked out of those double doors feeling like I was walking a mile above the clouds. I can't believe I made it home on that bicycle in the traffic with my head so far in the clouds...then again, my feet are never really completely on the ground.
