There have already been a lot of posts from me this week but I wanted to add a fun one that just had random information about my week in it.
The biggest thing – minus the situations with the shelter and resignations (see my earlier blog) – is that we have really been able to step into our roles as teachers because we now understand what is going on. This week, I have been teaching on U, V, W, X, and Y. Did you know that X-mas is a thing all the way in Cambodia? In my 4-year-old class, that was the word we learned to spell when learning about X. I guess it makes more sense than xylophone to 4-year-olds. All three of my classes are beginning to relax around me and are starting to laugh and have fun when I am there. They really enjoy it when I mimic them and do other things to mess them up. They are kids who like to have fun just like every other kid! There has been a lot of laughing which has made this week even more enjoyable than the last.
Another big happening from this week was the fact that we saw our first scorpion. We didn’t know that they had them, but we swept one out as it was trying to come inside our living area. With its tail over its head, it would have fit on a half dollar coin. We have now collectively decided that we will be a little more careful to check for critters when we turn in for the night. Oh! And did I mention the spider the size of a softball with big thick hairy legs that was in the bathroom? (He crunched when I smacked him with a shoe! Not sure why my teammate decided I was the one that should kill it, but I used her shoe!)
Our other big task for the week has been decorating the classrooms for the teachers and painting some classrooms that have just been built. We started decorating the classrooms on Thursday and finished most of them on Saturday (10/22) with the help of the teachers. It has been a lot of fun trying to figure out what they want while putting our skills to the test. The biggest thing we have done has been to take down old decorations that have seen better days and refresh them with new and/or updated things. They are coming together! It has also been a really great opportunity to talk to the teachers for a longer period of time and just pour into them. They are really cool people that love Jesus!
Lastly, we have gotten to try some interesting food this week! The two main ones have been fried sweet potatoes that have a breading made of some kinds of noodle stuff and dragon fruit. Both have been very good! The dragon fruit tasted like a cross between a kiwi and a honeydew melon. It was interesting but very yummy! My teammates didn’t care much for it, so I got to eat most of it!
Cultural guide for the week: If you ever come to Cambodia you have to realize they are a very helpful culture. They want to help you do things. Every time we start painting or have said we will work on the classroom decorations they jump in and insist on helping. Let them help! They enjoy it. Another thing, don’t pat anyone on the head because it is considered the most holy part of the body in the Buddhist religion which is the main religion in Cambodia. Lastly, make sure you take off your shoes when you come inside. Everyone does it, and it is considered polite. You don’t have to take them off when you go into stores, though.
