Tacky tourists, tie-dying and trapped frogs

We’re now enjoying our last week in Tonle Bati, and we certainly welcomed it in with a bang! Saturday was Helen’s birthday and at last we were all healthy and ready to make the most of Phnom Penh.  The day got off to an ideal start with a trip to the market where we bought waffles and bananas before setting up camp in the best ice-cream shop in town.  Our theme for the evening was ‘tacky tourists’ so an expedition back to the Russian market was in order to buy a selection of very embarrassing (or amazing, depending on your point of view) tourist shirts.  With all of our new personas perfected, socks pulled right up and sandals firmly strapped on, we were ready to make an entrance. Somehow we managed to surprise Helen with a birthday cake which went down a treat, there’s not a lot of cake around here! Through the night we managed to develop some level of fame in the area – on more than one occasion we were approached by people asking if we were the tacky tourists they had heard about.

Sunday already and we piled into Muoy’s sweat-mobile for the very last time.  Despite the normal anti-mosquito routine and the fact that most of us had our faces pressed into someone else’s sweaty shoulder we were all pretty sad to begin to say our first goodbyes to life here.  It’s now Wednesday evening and the week has been going well – it’s been pretty encouraging to see that the children have actually remembered what we have been teaching them.  Lessons are building on each other and it’s so rewarding to hear them improve!  Still every day is eventful – just today we moved on from chicks falling into the pond to having a child wander straight in.  Another student was so keen he turned up to class on a drip while this afternoon saw 30 highly competitive 16-25 year olds rampage the school on a large scale treasure hunt to help them remember vocabulary and places. A big house clean also showed us that Gabby had been holding a frog captive in her bag for the past 3 days.  Every morning we chat about how loud the frogs are, and how it sounds like they are camped out in our beds at night – the unfortunate frog must have snuck in one morning but it had certainly been calling to be let out for a while!

As I write Sophie is cooking rice over an open fire, some of the group are tie-dying clothes, some are playing down at the lake, there is an intense papier-mâché exercise going on and Kat is trying to learn how to ask for 6 eggs in Khmer ahead of a trip to the shop.  We really are settled in here and it’s going to be with mixed feelings that we head off to the beautiful Siem Reap early on Monday morning.  

A day in the life of a Tonle Bati teacher

After the original chaos of all the children turning up, we’ve found it very easy to fall into a comfortable routine here.  Our days are full, varied and always entertaining!

We wake up pretty early – gradually pulled out of sleep by the increasingly insistent cockerel and, occasionally, by a chicken who has successfully found a way to sneak into our room.  The three on breakfast duty are up by 5.45 to put the hot water on, lay out fruit and start grilling bread.  It’s not long before the rest of us begin to spill out into our outside living area – a room which changes continuously throughout the day – one moment it is a bedroom, then a sitting room, then a kitchen, then a classroom.  Usually we are clutching a pile of papers and bright pens, ready to continue drawing our teaching aids for the day. It’s not long before the really keen kids start arriving – many are here before 7am to the distinctly unprofessional sight of their teachers still in their pyjamas spitting toothpaste out of a room soon to be their classroom while the rest of the school continues to be built around them.  The start of school has really cut into the times in which the builders can do noisy work, so any time there is not teaching the builders leap into action around us.   Last minute planning continues to a backing track of frantic drilling right up until the beginning of class at 8.00.

In the morning we run three different classes of 17 students – those aged 5-8, 9-11, 12-14.  All classes follow a fairly similar structure in order to allow the students to practise amongst themselves, the younger ones just don’t go into as much depth.  Muoy has encouraged us to teach around central question words – something that actually makes a lot of sense. Once you can ask a question you have opened communication and answers are often available from your surroundings.  It is really working – as I write we have been teaching for just over a week and the difference in the children is amazing.  The other major change this week is the difference in how the groups interact as a unit.  One of the really good things about Seametrey is that it offers such a high quality education which attracts students from all walks of life.  At the beginning of teaching there was a very evident difference in the learning speeds of those more used to structured education and teacher-student interaction, and those who are not. The space of a week and a half has made the most amazing difference – the children are all interacting well together and have grown in confidence every day meaning there is a more equal contribution from the students in class. 

By 11.00am we are all ready to collapse.  Morning classes end and we are looking forward to lunch.  Muoy arrives bringing the most delicious food and our lovely cook, Srey. We eat at a lot of restaurants whilst in Phnom Penh but we all agree that the best food we have had since we’ve been here has been in Tonle Bati.  Our lunch time lasts until 2pm. Although this seems like a long time, we’re all busy planning for the next lessons, washing our limited wardrobes and catching up on much needed sleep. It’s also a good time for reading and diary writing – things that don’t involve much moving – because we’ve all (just about) learnt to avoid the midday sun.

Between 2pm to 5:30pm another three classes run. At 2pm a class of fifteen 13-20 year olds start and at 3pm a similar class of 14-25 year olds arrives – both last two hours. These classes concentrate on pronunciation errors, sentence structure and furthering their vocabulary. Everyone in these lessons has been learning English for quite some time but never with a native speaker and never with much opportunity for speaking.  This means that we are a very positive addition, helping them transform all the vocabulary they know into useful communication.  At 4pm an hour long lesson starts with seven builders. The aim of the lesson is shared learning and making each other laugh after a long day, so whilst the builders learn useful everyday vocabulary (which they scribble down in their exercise books), they also attempt to teach us the Khmer words. These lessons have really helped create a community atmosphere – the builders have begun to greet us in English day to day and we often exchange the Khmer/English words for things around us!

Once the last student rides off on their moto, we all return to our living area ready to start preparing dinner and tying up any loose ends left over from lunch time. Depending on how smoothly our days go, bedtime can start any time from 7pm – no one lasts much past 8pm though! The main bedtime activity involves zapping the many bugs that have hidden in our mosquito nets throughout the day to ensure a bite free sleep.  Once we’re all confident we’re safe from creepy crawlies we snuggle down with our teddies (seriously, there’s a significant collection) for a long deserved sleep, ready for another 6am start tomorrow.

Preparations, Prime Ministerial Elections and plenty of students!

Apologies for the break in posts! We’ve had one week with little to report, and plenty of time, followed by a week with so much to say and no time to say it!

We spent Week 4 getting our home looking less like a building site and more like a school.  From the 22^nd of July to the 26^th, we were digging flower beds and grouting the upstairs classroom. (We’re practically grouting professionals these days.) Not much else to report from this week of preparations, other than an extremely tense table tennis tournament was held. As is the way in Cambodia, we enjoyed the break, knowing that there would be something hectic around the corner. We were right.

The weekend hit, and after much lesson planning, we all crammed ourselves into Muoy’s sweaty, air-conditioning free car, armed with lists of things we wanted from Phnom Penh for our first week of structured teaching. We were sitting Khmer style, four on seats fit for three, some on the floor, (mercifully none on the roof). The journey did not go smoothly. We definitely weigh more than your average Khmer person and it soon became obvious that Muoy’s  car was struggling to carry ten westerners who have been enjoying (almost) all of the delights Cambodian cuisine has to offer. Things got more interesting as we approached the city; campaigners were lining the streets ahead of the weekend’s general election. The final straw came when we discovered our route home was closed, blocked by campaigners. The car just wasn't going to survive anymore detours so we parked and piled out ready to make the rest of our journey on foot, as darkness came. Luckily we stumbled across some tuk-tuks which meant we arrived back at our hostel, and the welcome luxuries of air conditioning, running water and a flushing toilet, relatively quickly.

The Cambodian general election was a big deal; campaigning has been impressive and widespread. Motor bike rallies of hundreds of people filled city streets, and even in our rural village, flags, posters and a constant stream of projected music made it very clear that this election was important.  Discussions with the locals taught us that the outcome was inevitable: the incumbent party would win.  But the youth of Cambodia want change, and despite the ruling party’s control of all national media, Facebook has allowed mobilisation and a spread of information like never before. There are always things to learn from travel, and one is this; democracy is an exciting thing, and we shouldn't take it for granted. Also, the internet is a fantastic, powerful resource, and Facebook can be for so much more than selfies and procrastination. All of the campaigning, the energy, the hope, was a refreshing difference to the often stagnant politics of the UK.

 The evening of the results turned out to be quite eventful in Tonle Bati. As we began to get ready for bed, we heard the sound of vehicles pulling up.  To vote in Cambodia, you must go to your home province (Nativity style). Through much confusion, we established that our translator Sophorn’s family had been returning to Phnom Penh after voting, but hadn’t been able to get into the city because a small riot had started and people were burning cars. In the dark, it all seemed very dramatic. We gave them food, shelter, and waited as news began to filter through. It turned out that while the ruling party had inevitably won, it had not been by the sweeping majority expected.  The opposition, who are widely considered progressive and far less corrupt, had won a large minority. Progression in action, and a proud day for Cambodia. 

Monday 29^th July was Day One of our English Language Summer School. Expected class sizes had been creeping up throughout our time here, but we never anticipated the onslaught of eager faces and neat uniforms that greeted us that first morning.  The register had been filled, overflowed and even more kids just turned up. We eventually managed to divide all those that we could into five classes, each of 15-17 students. This still meant turning quite a few kids away. (Lesson number two, education is not to be taken for granted.  Anyone watching the disappointed few who hadn't enrolled early enough be turned away couldn't help feel guilty for the odd missed lecture). This enthusiasm is a great sign, as we’re just a free taster session. When Seametrey opens its doors in October properly, they should have no problem finding students.

We’re happily into a routine now, teaching from 8am to 5pm. Our youngest pupil is 5 and our oldest is too old to ask (we’re teaching an adult class!) For a week and a half, we've been kept incredibly busy by the masses of children waiting on our doorstep every morning before we have even finished brushing our teeth.  We’re very lucky to have drawn such a crowd, and kids and students alike are having an excellent time.

The next post will be a day in the life of a teacher at Seametrey English Summer School, so details on what all the students (and teachers) have been learning are on their way!

A little something extra!

Summer Camp sent us a little crazy...

Rounders, Rain and Emergency Rice

Our first week in Tonle Bati has been a busy one, since our last post we have done a lot more activities with the kids, from singing and reading to sports and paddle boarding.  Rounders seemed to be particularly popular with the children as pleas to play circulated the air from 7am. Throughout the week we have also been in charge of helping the children to make a variety Khmer treats, as a group we found some very tasty such as the waffles and barbequed bananas however the 'snowballs' and cupcakes with chives in were met with less excitement. 

We've been experiencing a lot more of rainy season this week, especially on Thursday where we found ourselves urgently relocating all our beds to the middle of the room as water took over our bedroom. Our great teamwork skills came into use as we created a chain for sweeping out the water as quickly as possible. We're all used to rain halting our plans in England so we adopted the traditional rainy day plan and put on a range of short Pixar films to keep the children entertained.

Friday marked the end of our first week of Summer Camp, to say goodbye to the children we had a party where we displayed all of our handmade decorations, played a final game of rounders and some traditional English party games such as musical statues and pass the parcel - with our own in house band consisting of Helen on guitar, Kat on recorder and Lucy on the bongos. As a group we were given the intimidating task of catering for 30, after a trip to the market to gather as many ingredients as possible a meal of bean burgers, salsa, coleslaw and potato wedges was created with Banoffee Pie to finish. We all broke off in to teams to create the meal with the aid of some children, most of whom looked concerned by what they were about to try and confused by the lack of rice. The rice wasn't far off though as we spied emergency rice being secretly cooked as a back up. The food went down well with most children, the biggest hit being the potato wedges and the most questionable being the Banoffee pie which according to one child was 'too sweet'.

Saturday morning we said big goodbyes to all of the children with promises to visit again and headed off to Kep on the coast of Cambodia. Our dreams of sunbathing on the sandy beaches of Rabbit Island were quickly shattered by the large amounts of rain so instead we found ourselves comfort eating with large plates of delicious fresh crab at $5 a piece! The rain however didn't completely dampen our spirits as we all enjoyed a dip in the Cambodian sea. If anything, it made us all feel closer to home and memories of British wet beach weekends.  We've arrived back in Tonle Bati to a week of more grouting and preparations for the final three weeks of Summer Camp which looks set to be a busy one with over 60 children wanting to sign up! 

Moving in, Mosquitoes and Mad Chickens

It’s day two here at Tonle Bati: I am writing this from our newly constructed bamboo home and it’s all fairly idyllic, it must be said the grouted floors are looking particularly spectacular.  Although we love our new home already, I think our squeals last night as we tried to escape the onslaught of mosquitos, bugs and enormous beetles provided a fair bit of entertainment for the builders.   That’s not to mention our group expeditions to the toilet which 25 of us share, equipped with head torches and buckets of rain water to flush.   Once safely in bed though (8.30pm seems pretty late these days) we are in a fairy canapé of white mosquito veils and bamboo bed frames.  

6.30 starts mean that we are able to do some sport with the children before it gets too hot, but even that wasn’t considered early enough this morning as we brushed our teeth in front of expectant faces and cries of ‘How much longer teacher?’ There’s talk of 5.00am tomorrow which sounds fairly intimidating but the resident cockerel is easily confused and lets out raucous half-formed crows just outside our room long before the sun rises. We hope the resident cockerel will be appearing in one of our meals someday soon.  Our first activity this morning was rounders, something that the children have all taken to straight away, although we have had some difficulty explaining why they have to always run around the outside of the posts. A narrow victory was awarded to Team Dragon, who quickly developed a knack for hitting the ball directly into the ditch making it fairly tricky to retrieve. 

News of our presence here must have spread quickly, as at lunch time a few local children turned up to find out what all the fuss was about and have been included in English lessons already.  The register for when the school opens officially in August is filling up fast and we have three full classes already!  Summer camp with the Seametrey children gives us a great chance to practise some of the activities that we have planned with kids who already speak quite good English and are accustomed to the Montessori method before we start fresh with the new school year. 

As I write, the rest of the volunteers are helping the children write diaries recording everything that they have been doing here, both to help them practise their writing and so that they will have something to take away with them at the end of the week. Our summer camp tie-dye T-shirts are currently drying out in the sun, although it seems like us volunteers are even more excited to see how they will turn out than the children!

I realise that this blog leaves a gap over the weekend but our main activity was a visit to the killing fields and genocide museum which we think deserves it’s own blog post that will follow shortly. 

Grouting, Gritted Teeth and Great News.

Team Leader Sophie here, reporting on what could only be called a ‘messy’ sort of week. After the excitement of week one with all the cultural excursions, kids and beard making, this week has been a little less engaging. Despite caution, some group members found themselves struck by fairly inevitable stomach bugs. You’ve all heard of Delhi Belly… well unfortunately we had a bout of the Phnom Penh P**s. Nothing serious, but equally, not very fun.

So the week saw the group split, with some staying back at our hostel, soaking up the air con and battling their bugs and boredom. Some intense games of scrabble have been played, and the local coffee shop frequented. Not how we’d hoped to start the trip off, but everyone has gritted their teeth and got on with getting better. The weekend is in sight, and everyone is up and nearly well, which is excellent to see! 

The real troopers of the week have been those who have been well. We started volunteering this week, and this meant building. The new school where we will be living and running activities was lacking some essentials (e.g. floor, roof, walls… you know, the little things). To get it ready for our arrival it was all hands on deck, with the healthy volunteers sorting tiles, nailing trellises, and generally pitching in. They've been commuting back and forth from Phnom Penh, and suffering some pretty early starts. The biggest achievement is the tiled floor which has been completed by our wonderful team. First major skill learnt on this trip? Grouting. The group’s enthusiasm and energy has been impressive, and I’ve been very proud. The amount of building they’ve done is more than they expected, but there have been no grumbles. We have even managed to do some English lessons with the Khmer building team. Nothing quite like seeing a group of grown men doing heads, shoulders, knees and toes!  

The positive attitudes have paid off, as the week ended with some great news. Due to the volunteers’ hard work, we’ve finished some of the building ahead of schedule. So, not only will we be moving to the new school on Monday, but so will nine kids. The kids are from the city school, and will be staying with as we run a week long activity camp for them. This is truly what we came here to do, and everyone is excited; the perfect way to end a fairly grim week. Roll on Monday! 

Football, fake beards and forced alliteration

So it’s been a while since our last post and a lot has happened since then! Sorry for the time lag on the updates, but we've been pretty busy!  

We’ve been spending time at Seametrey School here in Phnom Penh, which has been a great way to really find out what we are working towards in Tonle Bati. All the children were a bit shy at first but the ice was quickly broken as they helped us make our name badges.  We even learnt how to write the phonetics of our names in Khmer!  Before we knew it Charlotte had four children hanging off her and Kat was giving piggy back rides all over the place. Football was a massive cause of excitement –the children came in extra early, some in Chelsea football colours, ready to walk to a nearby park as the school doesn’t have a lot of space.  The number of volunteers at the school decides how many children can safely go, so we were a very welcome addition.  Football under the sweltering sun was a challenge for all, but everyone came away happy with a strict rule of no crying if your team loses, and very ready for nap time!

It’s the end of term here, which means one thing – the school play!  As if English and Khmer aren’t enough, the children are also learning French so this term the play was ‘Astrix and Obelix’.  Rehearsals have been going on intensely since we got here, often with us in the background making props (newfound team skill: beard making).  Friday was the big day, and the kids seemed mostly more excited than nervous and with good reason – their performance was great.  Muoy spoke at the end, reintroducing some of her staff and students who had recently won sponsorship to study abroad.  One of the focuses of Seametrey is to qualify Khmer staff, and so we were able to welcome one teacher back from gaining a Montessori qualification in America and wish another good luck. We were also able to congratulate a student on being talent spotted for guitar playing and being sent to study in Paris for the summer, with another studying in America! 

Everyone got pretty emotional, as all the kids cheered each of their teachers and peers successes; team leader Sophie failing spectacularly at keeping it together and crying at the happiness of it all. All a little humbling, and a good reminder at how lucky we are at the relative ease of our trip to Cambodia. The reverse, Cambodians working in the UK and elsewhere, is a genuinely life changing experience and a rare one at that. All in all, a very proud moment for Seametrey and a testimony to Muoy’s excellent work.

This weekend some of us have been a bit unwell, so we’ve been taking it easy but most of the group are currently Tonle Bati helping set up the new school! More info soon!

PS Check out our flicker for all the pictures! http://www.flickr.com/photos/98326534@N02/