I am writing this on October 27th. It’s a Friday and after today I have one week left in Cambodia. And I’m exhausted.
Teaching beginners English to 12-15 four year olds a day feels like I’m constantly running a daycare. There is constant yelling and fighting but I love those kids.
When I first came to New Hope that was the only class I taught. About a week into ministry Lexi and I got asked to teach a grammar class for kids 12-16.
ME TEACH GRAMMER???? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I don’t remember any grammer…. (sorry to all my past English teachers)
I dreaded that class. The students didn’t really want to talk to us and the kept getting all the answers to their homework from the back of the book they did their work in.
But soon Lexi and I started to get to know the kids and dedicated a day each week to just talking to them. The class quickly became the highlight of my day besides Lexi and I’s bonding sessions with each other or Chanti our ministry host (SHES AMAZING)
We got to really know these kids. And it all happened because we finally decided to give them American names.
On the 25th, Wednesday, we found out that since the public school they go to starts next week that we will no longer have class with them. I was shocked. I was mentally preparing myself to say goodbye next Friday not this Friday. So of course we decided to have A PARTY!!!
So today finally arrived and at 12:30 when the party was supposed to start no one was there. 15 minutes later they all show up and Lexi and I along with Mikayla started dancing crazily and tried to get them to dance with us. It was pretty much a middle school dance. The boys in one corner the girls in another and the random crazy people dancing in the middle (aka the world racers) and no one wanted to dance with us.
Around 1:00 our ministry host walked in with a cake and started singing happy birthday! My students and I had talked about my birthday being in November and they were sad that they couldn’t celebrate it with me. Somehow I didn’t end up bawling… I really don’t know how. I received notes from every student all saying they don’t want me to leave and in all honesty I don’t want to. ( mom, dad this is me telling you I’m not coming home…) About halfway through the party a cake war started… and I may have started it by smashing cake into lexis face… whoops.
Today was the best early birthday I have ever had and I’m so grateful that I got to celebrate my birthday in Cambodia.
