Khmer You Varmint!!

Hello all!

Well, since I got my news in the mail from Cambodia, it's been all about getting things done. As a volunteer, I will need a special PC passport that I will use while in Cambodia. I will also need a visa to work in that country. I got all the paperwork and photos together and sent them off last week.

Next in line to complete was my "Aspiration Statement". This is a short document meant to be a sort of introduction to the PC Country staff. Details I provided in this statement will help the PC folks to customize my training in accordance with my experience and what motivates me personally. I had a pretty good time going back over my history putting things in perspective for this. It was interesting to see that it looked like events throughout my life have been leading up to this opportunity. Little clues early on that I would enjoy being a teacher, and love traveling. (Many thanks to those that helped me in putting my thoughts together so that they made sense and didn't make me look too much like a nut-case!)

Now, I can turn myself to the challenge of finding Khmer language resources. So far, there have been more than a few hits from my google searches. The big obstacle is that none of the sites is a "one-stop-shop". It looks like I may have to pull bits and pieces from multiple sites.
Khmer is an interesting language. It's derived from an ancient Brahmi script used in southern India. There are 33 consonant sounds and 24 vowel sounds. Their alphabet is arranged according to where in the mouth the sound is formed. In this way, the list of the alphabet is a sort of "map of the mouth" and has the added benefit of giving you a hint as to how to say each sound. Kinda clever huh? I think despite the complications and differences that learning this language is going to be interesting and maybe even fun!

If I get extremely lucky, I'll be able to find a native speaker of Khmer locally that can help me out. I'm not enthusiastic about my chances of finding someone after I move to VA though. Oh well, the way I look at it, I might as well get in the mode of overcoming obstacles now.

As of now, I'm planning to leave Tampa for VA at the end of April. Wish me luck!!

Chat at ya soon!

Meeyatch