Every day when I wake up, I cant believe my life is my life. Right now I am in one of the most foreign environments I have ever been in. Cambodia is so vastly different than anything else I have ever experienced. Each morning, I ride my bicycle down this quiet road as it hugs the bank of the river, tree branches and vines hanging low. After my short bike ride, I turn into the monastery and park my bike under the dormitories. The monks live in big community housing perched on stilts. My classroom sits underneath one of the housing quarters, where desks face the white board. That is where I spend my mornings. Thus far, about ten faithful students show up to learn English from the American guy who talks “funny.” Most of the English they hear comes in the form of BBC radio, so my American accent is very difficult for them.
My students quietly enter the classroom and say “Good morning teacher,” very respectful they are indeed. Little do they know, I am only posing as a teacher, as this is the first time I have ever held that role. But I think I put up the facade pretty well. My students wanted to learn about business. So I prepared several lesson plans, including theories of supply and demand, return on investments, raising capital, stock markets, equity, all the business terms. You know I am pretty excited to actually use my business degree (wink dad)! But I quickly learned that maybe going through all the theories by Adam Smith might not be the best idea. I tried to explain the concept of a market, you know, like the guys on the street selling t-shirts for a buck, and even that seems to confuse them. OK, I think I need to go back to the basics. “How old are you?” and “Where are you from?” have been ol’ trusty and ol’ reliable. I think we need to improve on English basics before I start discussing the equilibrium between supply and demand. Oh well.
I hop back on my beach cruiser bicycle and stroll out of the monastery, amazed at what has become of my life. Then I head back to Funkie’s house and enjoy lunch with the family. We share stories of life on the mission field over a plate of fried squash and become saddened and inspired by the tragic situations of so many people around the world.
I hop back on my bike and cruise through the city streets of Siemreap, enjoying the interesting smells emerging from the vendors along the street, dodging and weaving between motorcycles and tuk-tuks (motorcycle taxis pulling carriages full of people). I head my way into my most prized discovery, the most magical place in all the land…”The Blue Pumpkin.” Notable things about this fine establishment, great Chai Tea and free wireless internet!!! So here I am, listening to Van “the man” Morrison, working on the book project, writing blogs, editing photos, preparing lessons for my evening classes, loving life!
