I’ve loved everything about Siem Reap, Cambodia; the little
village we’re living in about 20 minutes outside of the city, our contacts
we’re working with, teaching English, singing songs, playing games, riding tuk
tuks and bicycles. Most of all I love all of the kids I’ve met.
There is one thing I haven’t liked though- all of the bugs,
everywhere. Crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, moths and a ton of ants. I’ve
found ants in my purse, on my clothes, in my bed, in my food. Even though the
bugs can be annoying, every time I see a smile on one of the kids faces the
bugs don’t matter at all.
This month we’ve been teaching English to kids and teens,
teaching Sunday school, and visiting some other villages nearby.
They have six English classes each day, Monday through
Friday, at the school here for all different levels of students. My teammates
and I are all paired up so we each teach 2 classes each day. Courtney and I are
paired up for both classes. Our first class is beginner English for 5-12 year
olds, there’s about 50 kids in the class. We’ve been teaching them the alphabet
and different words and sentences that start with each letter, we’ve gotten
through the letter ‘O’ so far. Our second class is elementary English for 13-19
year olds, there’s about 15 to 20 students each day. We’ve been teaching them
about time and numbers and how to read a clock. It’s been a good review for me
since I usually only use digital clocks.
On Wednesday each week, all of the English classes have
Christian Values day. So instead of teaching English we share our testimonies
or a story from the Bible and teach them a few songs and then they’re able to
ask any questions they have about God or Christianity.
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings we ride our bikes to
another village for a couple hours. We gather all of the kids and then share a
Bible story like David and Goliath, or The Lost Sheep. Then we play some games
and sing some songs. We also cut their nails and wash their hair. It’s been fun
being able to visit so many places in the area.
