Just in case some of you didn’t know, I am on a new team for the last two months of the Race. I introduce you to Team: U!
We have had such a great month in Siem Reap, Cambodia working with Cambodia Ministries for Christ (CMC). As the Race is coming to a close, each day we have is a treasure. In honor of that, here is just a taste of what our life looks like every day.
{8:30 AM} Time for breakfast! This can consist of anything from noodle soup, to an egg/pork mixture, to salty toast with egg cooked into it and French fries on the side. It is guaranteed that there will always be very strong coffee with a can of sweetened condensed milk as creamer.
We have mornings off so we use this time for team time and planning for the classes we teach.
{12:00 PM} Lunch time! For this meal you can count on having rice, fried pork, and some sort of green vegetables. Usually, there is some sort of fruit as well.
During the afternoons, we are able to go to two orphanages. Four people from our team go teach English at one orphanage while three people go to a different orphanage.
{1:30 PM} Andrea, Laura, Kim, and Nicole ride bicycles to their orphanage. It is a 2.5 mile ride one way so they are getting plenty of exercise this month! They teach English and play games.
{1:45 PM} Tara, Aly, and I are picked up by a tuk tuk (motorcycle with a carriage attached to the back) to take us to the orphanage (the one we go to is farther away). Tara and Aly take the older children and teach them dance. They are learning dances for Christmas songs.
While the older kids are learning dance, I am with the younger ones playing outside. Football (soccer) is a favorite as well as the tire swings and just chasing each other. The kids have also taught me many new games as well! Most of the younger kids don’t know English so this makes things much more interesting.
{5:30 PM} We begin teaching English classes! CMC offers free English classes for many different ages at night. There are three classes from 5:30-6:30 and 2 classes from 6:30-7:30.
***At this time I would like to say a massive thank you to all teachers (especially English and ESL teachers) who might be reading this. This month has made me realize how hard it is to teach English, specifically ESL. It has been a very humbling experience. Many times I have to go back and try to relearn things that I have forgotten or don’t know how to explain.
{7:30 PM} Time for dinner! We have rice, fried pork, green vegetables, and fruit! Occasionally they will try cooking us something new to see if we like it. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes not so great. But rice is always a staple no matter what else is on the table.
Many nights after dinner we watch movies or TV shows before going to bed.
"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15-17
