2015
Sunday Dec 13
Friday Dec 11
Saturday Dec 12
Thursday Dec 10
Wednesday Dec 9
Welcome to the life of a teacher - Sam correcting exam papers, Sunday evening.
Tuesday Dec 8
Today we filmed all the students and teachers dancing to the song happy by Pharrell Williams. This meant an early wake up for Adsie (Mr. Adams) and Ryan as they headed to the salt fields to film the sunrise. For the rest of us we had a normal day teaching, gardening, salt fields and night school; but still using our breaks for dancing in the video clip. Hopefully the music video will be edited by Friday so we can show the students and teachers the finished product. Today was Jessie’s and my last day teaching at the salt fields so it was nice to have fun with the kids and do a lot of dancing even though it was sad to leave them.
Chloe
Sam - so tired he fell asleep at the dinner table.
Monday Dec 7
Our weekend relaxing by the pool in Kep was definitely missed as we returned home on Sunday night but we were (or thought we were) ready for a full day of teaching and gardening come Monday morning. Turned out that we were all completely zonked by the time we saw our beds on Monday night. This week we swapped it around so we all had a go at teaching in the afternoon and in the morning. Sam made up a song about hygiene that we then taught our class with the help of some ukulele’s! Fair to say it was an interesting but very amusing day.
Anna
Sunday Dec 6
A young boy taking out the crab pots.
Getting to know the people of Kampot is constantly fulfilling. They are all so eager to please and welcoming. Mr T has been so inspiring in just the first 4 days to all of us. Never loved a cold shower so much in our lives. Everyone sleeping like logs after big days.
Lucy
Monday Nov 30
Visited the salt fields today and what an eye opener that was. Seeing the way these kids live and what their parents have to do to put dinner on the table every night was a big wake up call for all of us. Along with seeing how the school ran during the day and gaining an insight into the evening school, it proved to be a very big day. Although we may have been very grateful to see our beds that night (11 hours kind of takes it out of you) we are all looking forward to a full day of teaching and gardening tomorrow.
Esse and Anna
Tuesday Dec 1
Today was our first full day of teaching at Chumkriel Language School. From 8.15 to 11.00, Anna and I were assigned to work in the garden with Mr. Sony. We were put hard at work and built a construction designed to grow cucumber and shade the lettuce underneath. What a magnificent final product it was! For the last half of the day (2.15 to 4.00) I spent most of my time making laminated flashcards and preparing various teaching recourses. From 4.00 to 5.00, Anna and I were then in charge of running an activity for the 25 children in our assigned class. We got them to colour and label big maps of Australia and passed around photos of where we’re from. After that class finished I went straight to night school and taught two different classes over the period of just two hours (5.15 - 7.00). I had to take the role of a teacher and guide both classes through various activities to help them learn English. By then end of the day I was a walking corps and enjoyed a well-earned sleep.
Sam
Thursday Dec 3
This morning we began our third day of teaching. The morning composed of helping in the garden, teaching English, and doing some reading. Epic Arts, a local organisation that assists disabled people, came to CLS and ran a drawing activity with us. The lunch break consisted of a tour at Dorsu, a social enterprise based in Kampot, more dumpling eating, and a nana nap for some. We taught again at the evening school, and right now, we are all absolutely exhausted.
Luke
Friday Dec 4
So, turns out the heat and I don’t get along too well…. Lucy and I kept each other company as the two sickies in bed yesterday but parents be rest assured as we are alive and both feeling much better now. These 30+ degree days are taking it out of all of us but I’d say that a weekend relaxing by the beach in Kep couldn’t be more welcomed by everyone here. Hope you are enjoying Adsy’s artistic photographs, he’s done a pretty alright job and capturing what a beautiful place we are staying.
Anna
Saturday Dec 5
At the end of the first week of our eye opening adventure we visited the lovely sea side village of Kep. The town, although small was absolutely beautiful! After settling into the beautiful resort, a swim, and a trip to the local market we finally relaxed into our long earned brake. Sitting in the cool breeze, next to the pool was a very different experience to that of which we were used to in this lovely country. Our little holiday felt well earned, but we are all itching to get back to the beautiful people at Chumkriel.
Jessie Jones
Sunday Nov 29
After a long, hard day the last thing I want to be doing is a written recount, but Mr Adams is as stubborn as he is bald so here we are J. We started off with an authentic Khmer breakfast of scrambled eggs and muesli in preparation for sport with the children at Chumkriel Language School. To make a long story short, they whooped our a#*^s in both soccer and hacky sack. Afterwards, many of us treated ourselves to massages and then a boat trip on the local river. Both were great ways to finish off a great day.
Ryan
Saturday Nov 28
We made it! After 21 hours in travelling we finally made it to the Paris Guest House in Kampot. A little weary yes, but we managed to get settled in and had a lovely stroll around town and the waterfront. After some scrumptious dumplings ($2.50 for 12 – talk about a bargain) we were refreshed with ice cream and had a few hours to ourselves. A lovely day to start off our adventure in Cambodia!
Anna
