Working With PEPY

Expectations and Attitudes

We want to take a few moments to set expectations for your upcoming time as part of the PEPY team.  We believe that if your expectations are in line with an understanding of our expectations, we can mitigate some miscommunication and problems.  We also think you probably want to know what you are about to get yourself into!  So here goes…. Here are some ideas of what you can expect, what expectations we have of you, and some other insights and tidbits about the PEPY culture.

“IT’S NOT PERSONAL. . . IT’S PEPY!”

At PEPY, we have a culture of criticism.  No, we don’t mean that as a bad thing!  What we mean is, we ask that people be honest, speak up, and say when they see something wrong in how we work or how we act.  We want people to view themselves as part of the PEPY “we”, and take pride in making PEPY as great as “we” can make it.  As such, we appreciate a culture where people point out problems and work towards improvements.  Pointing out problems without the complementary commitment to ameliorating them doesn’t jive with our PEPY culture, so we tend to keep people who are proactive, hard working, self-starters, and who are not afraid to jump into the midst of a problem and make it better!

OK, FINE.  SOMETIMES IT IS PERSONAL.

You’re right.  It can’t ALWAYS be about PEPY.  Sometimes we have to work on improving ourselves.  In fact, we believe you CAN’T improve the world directly.  Instead, you can improve yourself, your attitudes, your thoughts, and then your actions, and guess what?  THAT improves the world.  We want to work with people who are working to make THEMSELVES better people, who take on personal challenges to reach their own goals, and who are willing to have the hard conversations which start with “How could I have done things better?”  We can remind each other that if we are always blaming outside forces for our own problems, WE are never going to be able to find a solution.

THERE IS A LOT OF “I” IN “THIS IS MY IDEA!”

In the same vein as a willingness to give and receive criticism with PEPY’s interest in mind, we want people who are going to work well in a team – a multi-organization collaborative team, that is.  We don’t think development work can maximize effectiveness with a myopic one-organization approach to saving the world.  We need our team to be good at reapplying ideas as great collaborators, willing to take the time to learn about what other organizations and people are doing.  We believe in sharing our ideas as well as the lessons we are learning with others.  We view mistakes as opportunities to learn, and by sharing and reflecting on them, we can not only improve our own work, but help others maximize their impact as well.

WORK HARD. PLAY RESPONSIBLY.

We have high expectations of our staff and our interns. We make it clear to all foreign staff that:

a)     You are a foreigner and therefore represent not only your country, but all of the outside world to any Cambodian you meet or work with. Think about that before you do something which might put you in a bad light.

b)     You are expected to follow all local laws, of course, but you are also expected to act as a role model to our local staff.  Most foreigners are accustomed to more social environments and social norms which differ from local Cambodian traditions.  The majority of Cambodians marry their first boyfriend or girlfriend, many never even kissing until they are married.  Most women do not drink, and drunken behavior is associated with the very prevalent problem of domestic violence.

c)     We will not tolerate any PEPY foreign staff breaking the trust installed in you via our PEPY supported Cambodian visa. Involving yourself with drugs, prostitution, or violence is cause for immediate dismissal. 

DRINK UP!

Or, not. Due to social norms and in order to keep a very professional environment, no PEPY foreign staff is allowed to drink at all in Kralanh.  In Siem Reap, moderate and responsible drinking is allowed for staff, but not allowed at all when wearing a PEPY t-shirt.  While leading trips, a drink at dinner in a responsible manner is allowed, but trip leaders must remain sober to take care of the group, even when guests are drinking.

LIVING IN A SMALL TOWN

If you have done it before, you know how it goes.  Everyone in the English speaking expat community knows everyone.  Everyone judges everyone.  This can get frustrating, but it is also nice to know that there is a community of people around with whom to connect.  It means you need to make smart choices and always be aware that you are representing not only yourself, but PEPY and your country at all times. You should make the most of the opportunities presented to make friends with local people and communicate in Khmer as a way of opening up a whole new network of friends.

LIVING/WORKING/EATING/BREATHING TOGETHER

Yes, this can get difficult.  But, as with many things in life, the more challenging something is, the more rewarding it is when you make it work.  Even for those staff members who choose to live outside of the office, there is a LOT of overlap with work and play.  If that is something you are ok with, then you’ll love this environment!  If it is NOT the ideal situation for you, then you need to make sure to make a concerted effort to take the time on your own, away from the group, that you need.  We are each responsible for our own happiness, so take the actions you need to take to make our team work!

WHERE SHOULD WE EAT?

Our staff will show you around, but we’ll highlight this…. Remember: You are in Cambodia!  Living in Siem Reap, it’s sometimes hard to remember that!  Some foreign staff have ended up eating at relatively expensive international hotels on a near daily basis.  While of course that is posh and fun, if you are looking for a more authentic experience, it’s not a very “Cambodia” choice.  Furthermore, while eating at the more expensive places may seem cheap to you, it excludes Cambodian staff from joining in meals, as they can not afford these grand expenses on a regular basis.  We are lucky to live in a place with many modern luxuries, and while indulging in those is not frowned upon, we encourage staff to consider or at least try the $1 fried rice shops, the Ban Chao places, and of course fried vegetables with noodles…. Yum!

I ENJOY LONG BIKE RIDES IN THE SUNSET. . . AND COCONUTS

The PEPY vibe changes depending on who is on the team, but there are always at least a few bike-happy people.  We have 14 mountain or hybrid bikes upstairs, which belong to PEPY Tours.  These bikes can be used for day rides around Siem Reap for free, with permission from PT management, for PEPY staff.  If anyone, staff or not, wants to take the bikes on a multi-day ride which will include bus or plane use, the PT staff will likely suggest that they rent a bicycle elsewhere (can be rented from Mr. Lucky in PP for $5 per day), as non-cycling transport can be very damaging to the bike.  Even if you are not an avid cyclist, you might want to consider bringing a pair of bike shorts along with you to try out some riding!

We encourage people to purchase their own basket bicycles to get around Siem Reap (typically $25-$50) as sharing the communal bikes at the PEPY office leads to “fallacy of the commons” situations: the bikes are not well taken care of and not always there when you need one.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP (not just play!)

Sometimes that is easy to forget when we are in the cities, when there are fun things to get involved in, and when the rest of South East Asia is at our doorsteps.  We have a lot of holidays at PEPY (we observe 22 national holidays), as well as one discretionary vacation day per month.  As such, we ask that foreign interns consider their six-month (typically) commitment as such, a commitment to filling much needed roles at PEPY.  It is hard to plug staff into roles when they are often coming in and out of those roles, so we ask that if you are looking to travel extensively throughout the region, you try to plan that travel before or after your six-month commitment.  This will allow you to be more fully present to the team while you are here and will provide more consistency in our staff roles.

In the same vein, some tasks are not that glamorous.  Our management has to sign accounting sheets, review budgets, and clean data in our donor spreadsheets, so we are in the same boat.  If you signed up for this job thinking you would be playing with kids, working with teachers, and riding bikes, then please turn around.  This is a job, and jobs have boring tasks as well as interesting ones, but ideally the reward of being part of something you believe in will be a motivating factor to get even the most boring filing done!  The job also includes some weekend work, as we often have trainings, meetings, or tours on the weekends.  Jump into these opportunities when they are presented to you, as by showing our team that you are willing to help out wherever needed, you are showing your commitment to helping PEPY reach its goals of empowering people to create the changes they want to see in their lives and the world.

MISSION ALIGNMENT

We recognize that stone soup doesn’t taste like much at all when the soup is only a stone.  With each ingredient we add, the soup changes flavor; sometimes spicy, sometimes salty, but almost always delicious.  This is a recap of some of the PEPY culture and expectations in their current form, but we know that you, and each new spice we add to the PEPY soup, will continue to make us better and add to the taste that defines us.  We look forward to the flavors and new ideas you will bring to our team and are ready to welcome you with open arms to PEPY!