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Soos-saday! Phonetically this is hello in Khmer (the Cambodian language). I'm going to give you a nice, hopefully brief, update of my travels and experiences in the last few days.
The first week of teaching was, indeed, challenging to say the least. As I mentioned in my last post, I was becoming more frustrated with my class as the week went on … the polar opposite of what I thought would happen (cries*). I thought you were supposed to make progress?! I suppose in a backward way, having to take everything back to the basis of the English language, will actually help these kids. I decided that instead of just teaching them the phrases that they have been told to say and learn with zero understanding (their favourite: "I'm fine sanks and yooou?"), I would embrace the wonder of visual learning and constantly test their comprehension. What I, naively, thought would be easy, has become a huge learning curve for me; challenging my own abilities of patience, teaching skill and coping under pressure (plus an extreme climate!). (Seriously, hats off to teachers*).
We had the whole weekend to relax, de-stress and prepare for this weeks fresh set of challenges. I already mentioned how we planned to spend Saturday sunning ourselves and sitting by the pool, but this weather just won't allow for it :(. Market shopping was really fun, and there are lots of things I'm going to go back for (especially little presents for everyone at home!). Amongst our mooching, Anna and I found a beautiful place called the Peace Café. It's organic vegetarian/vegan food… and salads (oh how I've missed you*) washed in filtered water so we won't die after nibbling a lettuce leaf. Their fresh juices and smoothies are the best I've ever had too. There's a fair-trade-Cambodian-made- gift-shop attached to the café, and I treated myself to a bracelet and anklet with a (slightly annoying) bell attached (hehe*).
A new week at work crept up very quickly and we suddenly found ourselves cramming in some preparation for Monday. I began quite pessimistic because my class seemed to be going backwards, but, thankfully, they were actually much better… I think they're just getting used to my teaching style and starting to really get a grasp of the language. I tried some new games with them, because at the end of a 2 hr lesson, both the students and I need a bit of fun: Pictionary and Who wants to be a Millionaire are just two of their favourites. It's great seeing what they've learnt in practice too; I don't let my class speak Khmer in lessons, so they're forced to speak English to each other! Unfortunately, this week is our last week teaching :(. As it's Khmer New Year over the weekend of the 12th-15th, the Monks have decided to take the same amount of holiday as the state schools do: 2 weeks. They resume lessons on the 22nd, when I've left for another country (to be revealed soon)! This is their main holiday, like ours at Christmas, Easter, etc. so it's definitely reasonable. It's a little annoying leaving when all my little disciples are really starting to learn :(
I am adamant that we won't just be sitting around for 2 weeks, waiting for time to pass, like we did whilst in KK. We spoke to Caitlyn about what we could do and we've been given a few options to consider. Anna and I are going to visit Phnom Penh this weekend. It's the Capital City of Cambodia and has all the historic museums, a few temples and, harrowingly, the Killing Fields. Apparently PP is a must-do thing if we're here for a while… and the bus journey's only 6 hours (in the comfort of air conditioning, wifi, etc) so it's not an eternity. I'll obviously do a blog post straight after that trip to let you know what it was like, and how my travels were! We're also going to do a traditional Khmer cooking course next week. We get to shop in the markets for the fresh ingredients and then have lessons in the spices to use, and the methods to make their local dishes (plus lunch and dinner supplied by the things you make!). The following weekend is Khmer New Year and we've been warned that it could be pretty hectic here in Siem Reap… crazy parties in the street (Khmer's love "beer-drinking" - any excuse and they have immeasurable amounts), flour throwing (yes, as in wheat flour) and general mayhem apparently. I guess this is something that we can't miss, so we're going to stick at Happy for the weekend and just see how things pan out - if it's awful, there's plenty of places we can escape to! We're also going to fit in Apsara Dancing, which is one of the top things to do on Trip Advisor (so it seems fitting to do it when we have the spare time). Then… dun dun dunnnnnn… (drum roll please*), mother Juju is coming to join me here in Cambodia and we will follow this by travelling somewhere else too (eek*). The 5-ish days she's here will be filled with temple excursions, amazing food and all the tourist-y stuff that I haven't had the opportunity to do yet which is very exciting.
Back to the things I've done this week. Chris is sick (she has flu or something) so she stayed at the guest house all day to recuperate. I finally got all my offers from unis (hurrah*), and I've accepted one now (ask mum if you want to know). This sort of threw a spanner in the works in terms of teaching, so on Thursday Anna and I only did half a day because we needed to organise both my university things and also PP accommodation. It was just as well that we did only do half a day too because there were barely any students; there were big celebrations at the state schools as it is end of term, so there were only enough for one class. We taught a very mixed ability class in the morning, but had to resort to playing "educational games" because some of them already knew what we were trying to teach whilst other's had absolutely no idea what we were saying (gah*). We had a Khmer lesson too that night. I had, unwillingly, taken a nap so I was a bit ropey at the start of the lesson. Despite my nonchalance to begin with, the lesson was actually really fun and we laughed quite a bit at each other's pronunciation. With Khmer, the writing just looks like a bundle of squiggles across a page (google it!), so you have to write the words phonetically in order for you to understand them. We learnt useful phrases like: "that's too expensive" - "tlai pay" for the markets, and "could I have the bill please" - "sam git loi", "thank you" - "or-kun", "sorry" - "som-toh", "I want to…" - "Knyom chong…", etc. All very confusing but interesting to see another language in use, and actually understand some things that people are saying.
It was our last day teaching today :(. All our classes combined together so there were 60 or so kids all in one classroom. We played a few games, splitting the class into groups of 6 for pictionary, individually played Heads Down Thumbs Up (a primary school memory*) and into groups of 4 for the final game - sit down volleyball. Everyone was screaming and having so much fun; it was really loud but the ambience was amazing. I'm going to upload a video, fingers crossed, of the sit-down volleyball just to show you how excited everyone was.. and just how competitive it all got! We all got an amazing send off from everyone. They all said "good luck" and "sank you" along with inumerable high-fives and hugs. One girl from my class, Channy, wrote me a really cute letter/postcard/thankyou. I'll take a photo and upload it :). Our last goodbyes from both the monk and the children were lovely; what an incredible experience that has been! (we also have a formal reference from the school too!).
There's lots to be explored here, and it's exciting to have the time to do it. Perhaps, once again, I should grasp at the extra time that we've been given to see the real Cambodia. I'll update you, perhaps on Tuesday, after my weekend in Phnom Penh because there's, undoubtedly, lots of things to tell you all about. Excited for the weeks coming, stay posted.
Love,
Jordanna xx
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A note to something more serious. (I just think I need to express what I've really learnt so sorry if this gets a bit deep!*). The stark difference between the Western world and here is unfathomable. The kids that I teach wear the same clothes pretty much every day. Those that have a bit more money you can instantly recognise; they may have a fresh (still not clean) set of clothes per day, nicer exercise books and stationary (merely the simple things, but it sets them far apart from some of the other students). What's so inspirational about Cambodia is these people's resilience. In the face of such a traumatic war and tyrannical regime, everyone here seems so welcoming, peaceful and, remarkably, happy in their way of life. I've seen only a fragment the brutal and gruesome reality of their war: disfigured people as a result of the land mines, conflict-aged faces and the scars of battle on the landscape. Having barely travelled far through Cambodia, this must just be the tip of the iceberg. And still, these people are working, are smiling and are always welcoming despite having very little, usually just their piece of land they use mainly for subsistence farming. I cannot express how moved I have been by everyone here; and how fantastically un-materialistic they are. I am finally, fully understanding why I should really appreciate home.
- comments
Jo Houston Hi Jordi - have really enjoyed reading this blog - although we didn't teach, India and I experienced similar feelings when we worked on a voluntary scheme in Kenya 3 years ago, building a computer room at a school. I bet you can't wait to see Mum!! Take care, congratulations on your offers and carry on enjoying your wonderful, life-changing trip. Lots of love, Jo and India x x x x x x
bumbling-through-borneo Ahh thank you Jo! Yeah it's an amazing experience; and thank you glad everything with uni is finally sorted :) xxxxxx
Hannah Bungey Beautiful Jordi, I wish I could be out there with you! Mum told me about the drama and the changes, hope you are well and can't wait to see you when you are home. I'm sure you are making a wonderful teacher! Skype soon? Love Han xxxxx
Julie Wetenhall I had read this before! Can't wait to see you!