So, here we are a week into our Cambodian stay, which also
happens to be our 5th month of the race! I can’t believe we are
almost halfway through! But since the thought of home and what path my life
will take in 6 months is not something I want to focus on right now, let me
just explain my daily schedule here in Cambodia and let the future take
care of itself!
Jane and I get up early and are out the door by 8 am. We
bike about 10 minutes up the road (sometimes I use the word “road” loosely and
really mean rocky, muddy gravel paths) to the church where we teach. We walk in
and are greeted by twenty 4-12 year olds (yes, I did say that we teach a class
that has 4 year olds as well as 12 year olds!). We take turns teaching with the
woman who is their normal teacher. She teaches in Khmer (Cambodian language)
and we teach English. Right now we are finishing up the ABC’s. Oh, and it must
be said that the teacher there doesn’t know English and is learning along with
the students! Jane and I have gotten pretty good at talking with our hands and
pointing at things due to the language barrier! We’ll be amazing at charades when we get home!
We teach until 11 am, and bike home for our usual afternoon
nap until lunch. We have been spoiled here with the food…it is always amazing.
After lunch, I usually head into town (a risky task in itself, especially if I
get stuck with the bike that doesn’t have brakes! We literally ride in the
street along with the traffic, as there aren’t really sidewalks! Always an
adventure…thanks, dad, for teaching me to ride!) My destination is usually the
Blue Pumpkin, our little diamond in the rough that has free wireless internet!
So, I settle in to check my mail and sip some green tea. Afterwards, if I’m
feeling adventurous, I will take a dip in a nearby hotel pool that I found out
about through a lady from the States who was staying there.
I head home to get ready for my 4 pm class: Service and
Hospitality! That’s right…I’m teaching a class on waitressing! It was my idea,
because our contacts (Fonkie and Hiya…a great couple with incredible names!) we’re working
with suggested we teach a life skills class that would help the students to get
jobs. I volunteered my expertise (really, it’s kind of sad that my life skill
is waitressing, but I try not to think about it!), along with Cristie, and so
we are now tag-teaming the Service and Hospitality class! Our first official
class was today, and it was so much fun! We have three students…all boys! We
taught them about the different jobs they could get in a hotel or restaurant,
then went over the correct way to serve
a customer. We even had a little role-playing session, which went really well!
Now, if you would have told me 6 months ago that I would be teaching three
Cambodian guys how to wait tables, I would have laughed in your face! Now it
actually doesn’t seem that weird!
We all have dinner together after everyone is done teaching,
and then we as a team head upstairs and usually end up all hanging out together as a
“family”. The seven of us have gotten so much closer and I am so grateful for
them.
So, that is a day in the life of an American posing as a teacher in Cambodia! It
doesn’t get more random than this…or does it?
Some of our students…aren’t they so cute?
Imparting wisdom…sort of…really just playing a game
This is the portrait she drew of me…spitting image!
Letting our tuk-tuk driver listen to Van Morrison for the first time…he’s a big fan now!
