In this interview, we hear from Talia De Santo. Talia is working as a Peace Corps Education volunteer in Cambodia. What Talia shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Talia talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Talia’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Tell us more about serving as an Education volunteer in Cambodia
I have a very diverse role as a PCV serving in Cambodia, and no day looks the same – I am always kept on my toes, which makes my service exciting and always leaves me wondering what is coming next!
I teach about 20 hours a week with 3 different counterparts at a rural high school in the beautiful countryside. My counterparts all speak pretty good English, making my life a little bit easier while teaching. The teaching dynamic looks very different with all 3 of my counterparts, depending on how motivated they are, how many jobs they have, and the relationship we share together.
I have found my greatest joys in life in Cambodia. Khmer people are among the kindest you will ever meet, and will take you in with open arms and the warmest smiles. They have taught me valuable lessons that I will carry with me for as long as I live, and cherish so deeply in my heart forever.
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Cambodia?
Since a young age, I was always fascinated by the world, other cultures, and what influences people to do and act the way they do. After moving all around the U.S. as a child, I got to experience the nuances of cultures within our large country, which piqued my interest to explore beyond our borders and learn more about what it means to be human across the world. This led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, where I studied human connection, linguistics, cultural development, and the evolution of our homo sapien species and ancestors.
I always had a lifelong dream of experiencing life through a different lens, and looking past what our cultural norms taught us to explore the true foundation of people and how we came to be. I knew that by joining the Peace Corps, I would not only be able to immerse myself in a new culture but also share American culture in a way that would have a meaningful and genuine impact.
With this mindset, I was open to exploring any culture across the world, because no culture holds more importance than any other. I was thrilled when I was selected to join Peace Corps Cambodia, because I didn’t have much knowledge about Cambodia and what it entailed, so I knew I was in for a completely new and exciting journey!
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
I live with an incredibly kind and supportive host family in a rural village nestled deep in the countryside of Kampong Chhnang province. My small village is accompanied by mostly family members, with our house on a shared property with my host grandmother and many other relatives.
In total, there are over 20 members of our family who occupy the house frequently, which keeps things very fun and entertaining, especially as an extrovert like me who loves to chat! There are always activities going on; whether it’s cooking meals, playing sports or games with my host siblings, or relaxing and enjoying the breeze in our hammocks as a family under the house. They are very inclusive and treat me like I am a part of their family. There is never a dull moment.
To me, living with a host family has been one of the most valuable experiences of being a PCV. It gives me the opportunity to truly live and learn about the everyday lives that Khmer people experience. I get to join weddings, funerals, and many other cultural events and field trips with them, learn how to cook traditional Khmer food, and enjoy the pleasures of living in the peaceful and quiet countryside. Cambodia has a very relaxed work-life balance, and you will see this while living at home with your family. People take things slow and find time for relaxation and rest, especially after meals.
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
Natural Flavors of Friendship
Bike rides through the countryside
What started out as my simple daily bike rides through the rural countryside rice fields gradually evolved into something far more significant and valuable than I could have imagined. As the dry season approached, I would bike through the rice fields in the evenings, observing the yellow horizons and the vast changes from lush, green rice fields to golden, sun-baked vacancy. Living in Kampong Chhnang province, I knew palm sugar was prevalent in this region of Cambodia, but I didn’t know to nearly the extent that I know now.
New friends
I came across a farming couple that I would see daily, climbing the huge sugar palms so swiftly and deceptively easily. They would call me over and tell me, “Child, you look so thirsty, drink as much palm juice as you can until you’re full”. They talked with me, their pure and radiant smiles beaming, curious as to who I was and what I had been doing in Cambodia.
Learning everything about palm sugar
Over the past couple of months, those brief stops on my bike for a few swigs of palm juice have since developed into a long-lasting and forever friendship, and have sparked my interest in the palm sugar production in Cambodia.
I have learned an incredible amount of knowledge from them about the fascinating process of making it. They have taught me how to extract the palm juice from the trees, how to transport it back home to filter, and how to boil the juice in order to achieve the palm sugar’s thick texture.
They have taught me how to climb giant sugar palms and how to cut open and extract the palm fruits inside. I have learned about all the purposes that the palm trees serve; they are an extremely versatile resource in Cambodia. From using its leaves for roofing and food wrapping, to fermenting its sap to make palm wine, it only makes sense that these giant sugar palms are Cambodia’s national tree.
A heartfelt connection
Our relationship has quickly developed into a sincere and heartfelt connection, where I have absorbed valuable knowledge about their way of life and insights about living and growing up in rural Cambodia. We talk about the world, our cultures, our families, and many other intimate topics. They graciously open their home to me and provide me with food, doing so purely out of the kindness of their hearts. They plant rice during the wet season and produce palm sugar during the dry season, along with many other farmers in Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Speu provinces.
They work immensely long hours from before sunup to after sundown, yet always greet me with delight and without a single complaint. Their patience with me and willingness to share is something I greatly appreciate. The cultural exchange and the experiences we have shared together show the importance of building such connections in our lives and highlight the impact of how seemingly small interactions can blossom into something much more genuine and meaningful.
My goofy host siblings
My host siblings have become a huge part of my life since moving in with my host family 20 months ago. I grew up as the youngest child in America, with not a lot of extended family. Because of this, I never really grew up or had relationships with younger children. Moving to Cambodia, and all of a sudden living with 6 children under the age of 10 was definitely a change. I didn’t really know how to interact with them or how to build a foundation of trust because it was something I had never experienced before.
Over the span of the last 2 years, it has been incredibly special being able to see myself adapt into the role of an older sister for the first time. I have gotten to witness them growing older; witness their personalities changing and developing into the people they are becoming. I see our relationships growing and evolving more every single day, and I know that the trust we have built together will last a lifetime. This has been an incredibly rewarding part of my service, and I know that no matter where I am in the world, we will always consider each other as family and cherish all of the time that we spent together.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Cambodia?
Comments on appearance
One of the biggest challenges I have come across in Cambodia is the social pressure to adhere to a specific appearance. Coming from America, it is considered taboo to talk about weight or appearance, especially with people you aren’t very familiar with. In Cambodia, that is not the case. It is very common for people to make comments about your weight, your skin, and other external traits that you portray. This isn’t just towards foreigners, but to the greater community as well.
There is so much pressure to have “skinny” bodies and have pale skin, which affects self-confidence and personal growth, especially for the younger generation of women. This pressure causes insecurities, often leading to many women skipping meals in order to reach their goal of losing weight and fitting in with the commonalities among typical body types of women in Cambodia.
6. What challenges did you face while working on Education projects?
Building a mutually collaborative classroom
From my experience, it has been a challenge trying to incorporate my counterparts into mutually co-teaching our classes. Many teachers, when they learn they are getting a native English speaking volunteer, have the impression that the volunteer will do all of the lesson planning and the teaching regarding daily lessons. This has been challenging; many times I have felt like I was not qualified enough to be teaching English without a background or any prior experience in teaching, but there is this pressure considering I am the only native English teacher.
In Cambodia, there isn’t much pressure to show up to public school classes on time – or even at all. There is this social belief that if your family doesn’t have the financial stability to send their kids to private school, they won’t receive a proper education. This limits students’ success and also creates a lack of motivation for teachers to show up to classes and teach a lesson that is effective for all students in their multi-level classrooms.
Multiple jobs and little free time
Most Cambodians typically have two or three jobs, depending on what they do for a living, meaning there is little free time to collaborate on other developmental projects. As a volunteer, this is what we came here to do: making it our first or second priority during our service. But for local community members, they have many other priorities to focus on, like family and earning a livable wage. Because of this, it is difficult to find community members who have the time and are willing to collaborate on projects and other activities outside of their regular paying jobs. Because of this, it can be difficult to get people to commit to projects or meetings.
To overcome these challenges, I have created a baseline of what I want these projects and activities to look like, and really narrowed down on who I am going to work with. Instead of trying to find a large group of people to collaborate with, I have concentrated on and really focused on the select few that really care and are motivated to enhance the learning opportunities for students; this typically includes younger community members who don’t yet have a family to support.
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
Girls soccer team
During my second year of service, I have been helping coach the girls’ soccer team at our local high school while also mentoring the current coach. I was excited to take on this challenge to create a safe and comfortable space for female students to learn, thrive, and get active. My goal is to encourage female students to recognize their potential and realize that they, too, can participate in sports and activities to create bonds with each other and build confidence.
School improvement project
In addition, I have been working on a grant to improve our school’s classroom and library facilities with resources that will strengthen education and access for students and teachers. These resources will build on top of the knowledge the students and teachers already possess and expand their learning and teaching strategies.
The proposal includes a world map mural in the library, adding comfortable study areas in the library, and adding fans, new whiteboards, and other resources into the classrooms and libraries to meet the project’s main objectives. This project aims to stimulate students’ interest in geography, foster artistic skills through color mixing, and provide a comfortable and effective environment for studying and collaborative learning.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Education volunteer in Cambodia?
My biggest piece of advice would be not to sweat the small stuff. Yes, teaching is important, but that’s not the only important and valuable attribute of your service. Don’t beat yourself up if you leave class some days with the thought of “What just happened? Did my students even learn anything?” Instead, learn from your mistakes and assess what failed and why, to later create lessons that work based on experience. Peace Corps service is trial and error, and making mistakes is inevitable during your service. It would be impossible to do things correctly every time, and that is a part of the learning experience!
Something that has kept me afloat has been channeling my energy not just into teaching, but into building meaningful relationships with my community members. By building relationships with not only your students but the broader community, you are creating a lasting impact as a whole rather than just in the school setting. Remember that in 10 years, nobody is going to remember you for a lesson you completely messed up on a random Thursday, but rather they will remember you for the way you made them feel and the experiences and memories that you shared together.
Be patient, open-minded, and observant. Try to analyze things from a local perspective. Take Everything day by day, and don’t forget to find the joy in every little interaction.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
Pre-Service Training
Pre-service training is an incredibly valuable and stressful time. With emotions running high and lots of confusion, curiosity, and excitement, try to make the most of it. It is challenging, so be prepared to be bombarded with information and feelings of uncertainty!
With the little free time you are given, use it to explore relationships with your Khmer host family and other PCV colleagues. I often enjoyed inviting some other volunteers over for a karaoke lunch party on Sundays, where I was able to connect and explore my relationships with my fellow volunteers as well as my Khmer family.
Building a foundation with the other volunteers is extremely important, as they are the only people who will truly understand the feelings of what the next two years will look like. They will be your support system, the people you go to to cry and laugh. No matter how close you are with your family and friends back home, they will never truly understand what it’s like to really be here doing it.
But don’t forget to put yourself first. Do what is best for you and focus on yourself and what you need to do in order to succeed! Prioritize the things that are most important to you; whether that be building relationships, exercising, or talking to your family back home on your one day off. Listen to your body and do what will help you adapt quickly.
Language classes
The Peace Corps has one of the best language training programs in the country, and they will not hold back from throwing out lots of information in one day. Sometimes we would learn Khmer for 7 hours straight in one day. It’s heavy, it’s difficult, but it is worth it.
Two years later, and I still say that the language classes were the most valuable asset of PST for me to succeed. Pay attention, try your hardest, and practice every chance you get. And try not to compare yourself to other volunteers, everyone has their own learning pace and technique. Some people learn better in a classroom setting, while others learn better with firsthand experience and conversation. You will figure out what works best for you.
The more Khmer you learn, the easier your life will be at site, and the more meaningful relationships you will build throughout your service! Cambodians are very warm-hearted and encouraging when they hear foreigners speak Khmer, which has motivated me immensely since I arrived in Cambodia.
Most importantly, embrace all the knowledge you absorb and don’t forget to give yourself credit. You will learn at an extremely fast pace, and you will likely finish the 10 weeks of PST knowing more Khmer than most foreigners who have been in Cambodia for 5+ years. Be gentle on yourself and embrace the new and exciting world around you.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Cambodia volunteers?
PST appropriate business casual clothes
Definitely pack enough clothes to last you throughout PST. You likely will not want to spend your one day off biking in the heat of the day on the national highway to the nearest market when you are already over-exhausted. But don’t overdo it! I definitely over-packed with many things I didn’t even wear once. But I did regret not bringing more long, flowy skirts. Pants can get really uncomfortable when you’re biking in them and sitting down for 8+ hours in the intense Cambodian heat.
There is no need to buy expensive new clothing for training, as it will get dirty, sweaty, and stained to the point of no return. But if you desperately need something, there is always a way to obtain anything you need at the local markets. So don’t sweat it if you forget something.
Tattoos
If you’re someone with tattoos, bring some clothes or material needed to cover them during training (staff will most likely tell you to cover them up, but the more time you spend getting to know the staff, they will usually be a little more lenient towards the end of your PST and future meetings and trainings).
Once you get to your permanent site, I suggest covering them for the first couple of months to the best of your ability so people can get to know you and who you are before they associate you with what is permanently on your skin. Usually, people don’t care, I am someone with many arm tattoos, and people are more curious than anything. But out of respect, I would spend your integration period covering them and slowly start to show them more and more once you’ve built connections and people are more comfortable around you.
11. How has learning the language been?
Learning Khmer has been one of my overall favorite parts about my Peace Corps Service. It gives you the ability to thrive, build connections, and understand the roots and history of Cambodian culture. Being able to learn about a country, its people, and culture through their own language is so rewarding and something that I had never been able to experience before.
I am currently learning to read and write, and I never knew how much fun that would be. I’m only at a beginner’s reading level, but it’s something I am extremely motivated to learn and master! It’s like solving a puzzle in my head. It is truly such a cool feeling when I am able to piece together what words mean in front of me. I feel when I speak Khmer, I am able to show this softer, more gentle version of myself than when I speak English. I literally feel like I am a different person when I speak Khmer, and it’s been really beautiful seeing that version of myself blossom and thrive.
If I’ve discovered anything about language development while I’m here, it’s that it is truly such a long process. You will not get there overnight. You will have to work hard. You will have hard days, and you’ll have your days where you feel fluent and can accomplish everything. I’ve learned that you can’t be shy with what you know. Confidence can go a long way, and if you carry yourself with confidence, people will understand you and engage with you more.
I use my Khmer all the time, even when I don’t have to, and I feel comfortable doing so because, like I said, Khmer people are the friendliest and most welcoming people I have ever met, who loooove to yap and chit chat forever. These chats and brief conversations have led to some of my closest relationships here. They are so patient and always say they love to hear foreigners speak their language and learn about their culture, whether it’s grammatically correct or not; all they care about is that YOU, a foreigner, are showing interest and respect for their culture and their language. It’s the effort that goes the furthest.
Final Thoughts
12. Any last comments or observations you’d like to pass on to future Cambodia volunteers?
It is okay to feel nervous and scared of the unknown, but I promise you will find the most beauty inside that unknown. Over the past two years, I have grown into the individual I always aspired to be, and I feel so much more welcomed into this community than I ever have anywhere else. I remember when I first got here, I felt clueless and curious. Now I feel confident and connected. I have really discovered my full potential here, and I plan to continue that growth in the coming years. If you’re willing to take on this challenge, you will discover so many things about yourself, the world, and the beautiful people surrounding you!
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Talia’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Cambodia Government.
