The Light - An Alumni Publication Winter 2014/2015 | Page 21

FACES OF YFU

“Here’s a coconut.”
The van from the provincial town took all day
to get back to my village, much later than I had
told Mai Toat I’d be back; “No problem,” Mai Toat
declared as she told the driver over the phone that
she would wait for her daughter at the stop until she
arrived.
I tried meeting my co-teachers at the local high
school where I would be working for the next two
years, and, day after day, no one was there; “No
problem,” said Mai Toat as she beckoned me to
come eat dinner. She immediately introduced me
to the entire teaching staff with whom she and my
father are good friends.
My Cambodian family provides for me. They are
my safe-haven. They connect me to my community.
All are lessons learned with YFU and are equally
important to my work in the Peace Corps.
My host family and language training are
both resources I rely on to do my job, teaching
English, as effectively as possible. At the same time,
unde