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I spent today teaching with Vanak (the one & only English teacher at the school) and had a great time teaching the children 'opposites' ie. long/short, up/down etc, and playing Bingo (with letters & numbers). I'd bought a bag of things from the local market in Siem Reap (pencils, hair bobbles, erasers etc) to use as prizes for the Bingo winners.
A new volunteer started today - Ang - a guy from North Carolina whose mother was Khmer (she died when he was young). He was the only child of 10 born in the US, as all his brothers & sisters were born in Cambodia. When his mother escaped the Khmer Rouge regime she was pregnant with Ang.
Between 11am - 1pm (lunch break), Ang and I walked down to the village Pagoda, and caused quite a stir on the way, with many villagers coming out to see us. When we arrived at the Pagoda a man came across the grounds to speak to Ang in Khmer, but unfortunately he doesn't speak the language and so I ended up telling the man that Ang did not speak Khmer. The poor man seemed quite confused - the white barang speaking Khmer and the young Cambodian-looking man not! Fortunately Vanack (who lives at the Pagoda during the week) saw us and called us over for a drink. We sat and chatted for a little while and watched the monks shaving their heads!
Back at the school many of the children for the afternoon lessons had arrived early and we spent a while playing football. The children absolutely love it.
In the evening I met up with Phil, Conchetta, Laura (who had been in Phnom Penh for 2 days) and Ang for a drink at a place called The Warehouse, before having dinner at Kamasutra (the fantastic Indian restaurant I have previously mentioned). My friend Andy - the founder of The Sage Foundation - came along too. He is based here indefinitely at the moment, working hard on the travel business which part funds the project. He is missing home though (Italy & Singapore) and his family, who he hasn't seen since the middle of December.
Lea Hiy!
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