First Week of Teaching

            Well I survived my first week of teaching!! It is quite a bit more work than I originally imagined. But you know what happens when you think life is all fun and games?!  It smacks you right between the eyes with a class of rowdy prepubescent boys. Of course I am being overly dramatic, but I kid you not when I say teaching is not for the faint of heart.  I now understand why there are so many terrible teachers out there. It is hard work and easy to just give in to not caring.  I also now have a strong compulsion to write to every teacher I ever thought was even slightly good at his or her job and thank him or her for not murdering us all right there in our seats.  So Mrs. Sylvis, Mrs. Englbright, Ms. Dine, Mr. and Mrs. Reddick, LT, Mr. Smith, and anyone else I forgot: Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

            The past week my mornings are taken up with lesson preparation before I teach for 1 hour at the Korean Center.  In my class I lord over ten boys ages 10-13 years old…that’s right, not a single girl in sight but me…and I get them right after lunch and recess…joy.  They are energetic to say the least, but all of them are sweet and if I can get them excited about English are happy to apply themselves.  On Friday I had them do country reports. Since it is a beginner level class, instead of doing written reports, we made collages and each boy got a different SE Asian country.  It was actually super fun although they spent half the time giggling over the magazine photos of women and cutting out pictures of motorcycles and racecars…some things never change… ;)

            In the afternoons I co-teach the hotel bar staff with another teacher in training and that is a real hoot.  There are about six women in the class and we really have a ball together.  They are all really sweet and goofy and eager to learn which is nice.  Also because they work in a hotel, they actually get to use their English skills often and it’s very rewarding to hear them improving outside the classroom.   In the late evening I have Chinese class, which is basically a two-hour painful reminder of how much I have forgotten in three years. It’s shameful really, but it’s coming along quite nicely.

            This weekend was the first weekend since I’ve been here that was all mine!  On Saturday my friend Matt and I had a day out on the city exploring and visiting friends of his. We had a great lunch at a local market and that afternoon we went to Tuol Sleng Museum.  It was quite a sobering experience. For those of you who are a bit rusty on your history, in the mid 1970’s Cambodia was thrown into somewhat of a civil war. 

The government in power made the decision to reform the entire country into an agrarian society. They liquidated the all the cities, relocated the people to work camps, killed anyone educated or with ties abroad, and indoctrinated the countries children into what was to be the “new society” where education was abhorred and only hard work was of any value.  The name of this group was called the Khmer Rouge and the head honcho went by Pol Pot.  Sound familiar?

            Tuol Sleng was a high school built in the in the heart of Phnom Penh in the early 1960’s and when the Khmer Rouge took over the city, turned it into a prison that went by the name S-21.  Over a period of three and a half years thousands of Cambodian citizens were held there on mostly fictitious charges, tortured, and eventually killed. The Khmer Rouge went to great lengths to document the intake, torture, and disposal of every inmate, whose photos now line the walls. This school turned prison turned museum is a bit much to describe on a blog, and you probably wouldn’t want to read it if I did.  All I will say is that the place has an indescribable presence.  Chalkboards still hang on the walls where you can see writing never fully erased along side bullet holes.  It is surreal. 

When the Vietnamese overthrew the Khmer Rouge and took control of Phnom Penh, the first images of Tuol Sleng made their way into the media. Of the thousands who passed through the prison there were only seven survivors, and only two are alive today.  Yes, those are human skulls. Dear God, forgive us for what we have done to each other in this world.

The truly staggering thing about it all is that conflict between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge went on until 1992.  Not only is that within my lifetime, but also means this county has been at peace for only roughly 11 years.  I try to remind myself of that when I get frustrated with the infrastructure, flooded streets, unreliable cell towers, and power outages.  They are rebuilding a society from the ground up so cut them some slack.

            Ok, enough with the heavy. If you are like me and have an interest in history I recommend renting a movie called The Killing Fields. It is about the genocide here and is not as gory as the title suggests, but is very informative.  We took a tuk tuk from the museum just in time to get caught in a serious rainstorm and arrive at to our hotel to find the whole place flooded!  All the rain overwhelmed the roof drains so the water just poured into the 7^th story stairwell and subsequently all the way down to the lobby.  Along with the hotel staff, we spent the evening pushing mini title waves down the stairs with brooms, towels, and squeegees. It was actually kind of fun to be honest. We got all the mess cleaned up and now you would never even know. ;) It's hard to see in the pic, but that is a waterfall on the 5th floor stair well!!

Next week will be just like the last and on Friday I will be a certified ESL Teacher!! O boy!! I know I told some of you I was planning a trip to Thailand for a few days after the course, but instead I have decided to stay here in Cambodia and explore some other regions of the country. I have been so busy with school, that in my four weeks here I have not gotten to explore the world around me as much as I’d like.  Cambodia, I am just not done with you yet.  So that is the plan, and next time you visit the blog I will be graduated and on my way to becoming a real teacher!!! I love and miss you all dearly. Extra kisses to Mr. Charlie Pants. xoxo

Sihanoukville

  Well, here we are two weeks into the teaching course and I am so terrifyingly nervous I could just die right here at my computer. Why? Because tomorrow I start teaching real students…like with brains and faces and names and such. AHHHHHH!!! I’ll be teaching two classes a day for the next two weeks. In the morning I will be teaching at a place called the Korean Center, which is a local orphanage consisting of about sixty kids ages 8-18 years old. Of the sixty, I will teach about thirty 8-13 year olds very basic English.  Then in the afternoon, I have been assigned to teach the bar staff at the hotel where I live.  I am to focus on conversational English as well as good customer service skills as most of them are new to the hotel and never worked in the tourism industry. Holy. Moses.

            Like anything else, this is a process: meet students, assess students, make lesson plans, be prepared, dress nice, be on time, be professional, and have fun.  Yeah…I don’t know if I have all those skills at the current moment but I suppose I will acquire them soon enough. Keep breathing Madi… This will be a ball! Right?!

            On a different much less panicked note; this past weekend the whole group took a trip to Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s most famous beach town.  It is a backpacker’s haven, with bar lined shores, a water trampoline, endless seafood barbeque, and no shortage of ways to waste your hard earned money. We spent Friday afternoon lounging on the shore and playing in the waves while swatting away countless saleswomen offering message and manicure services along the beach. They are truly relentless! That evening we all gathered up for dinner after which I fell asleep immediately full of shrimp and mashed potatoes.

            Saturday was a real hoot! Three other students and I were collected from our hotel at 8am and whisked away to boat where we spend the rest of the day island hopping off the coast and snorkeling. I heard rumors of three whale sharks in the area, but never saw any signs of them.  We shared our boat with a British couple, six Estonian men, a Swede, two German backpackers, a group of four Vietnamese travelers, and two Cambodian guides/boat drivers. As you can imagine we were a lively bunch all trying to communicate and have fun together.  It was really a blast.  We got back to our hotel at about 3:30pm oceaned-out and utterly exhausted. Our full day boat tour included breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, and snorkel gear for $15/person!! With prices like that, I may never leave… ;) We ended our lovely day with a supper of Pho soup and fresh coconuts.  What a dream!!

I should pause here and be honest about one major roadblock, which brought my enjoyment level down about 10%.  I was mercilessly, unfairly, and irrevocably scalded by the sun. L I reapplied SPF 50 about every forty minutes all day, and still look like a lobster.  I think I have come to the conclusion that I just don’t get to wear cute bikinis like everyone else. Instead I should rely primarily on an XL male t-shirt to keep the sun off.  Attractive.  So I spent Sunday showering myself with aloe vera and cursing the day I was born with ivory skin, but what’s done is done and I am over it now.  If nothing else, tomorrow I can demonstrate how the colors red and purple look. Joy.

            Also, I know you are all dying to know how Mr. Charlie Pants is, and I am happy to report he is fabulous. Mom sent me this picture of him the other day and says he is happy and healthy and looses no sleep over my absence. Little rascal!!! Well, I think that is all to report for now!! I will let you all know how the teaching goes next week (assuming I am not eaten alive by my students), and for now I’m off to make my lesson plans. Wish me luck!!! (I really need it :S ) xoxo

Angkor Wat and Siem Reap

            Hello again from the land of heat and humidity!!!  Last week was my first week of teacher training, and I must say I am so incredibly glad I decided to go through this program.  Besides offering a wealth on invaluable information, we have addressed a number of issues that never would have crossed my mind.  What if a student asks about a dirty word? What if there are special needs students in the class? What if someone is injured in the class? And the list goes on… Besides scaring me nearly out of the profession, it better prepares me to be a better teacher. 

            The staff has kept us all very busy with 8 hours of class a day on top of homework, tests, and various group projects; however, I have managed a to learn a few Khmer words (Khmer is the language of Cambodia pronounced Kamai). I can now say hello, thank you, how much?, and count to 5, which is to say more or less that I can communicate effectively with a two year old…if even then. It’s a work in progress.  Besides the language I have been able to explore the city a bit mostly to find places to feed myself (of course), and have decided Cambodian food, is really not that spectacular.  It involves a lot of rice and rich baked goods, which I enjoy, but is typically very bland and low in nutrients.  But it’s only been a week, so I am still on the hunt. 

            Now, I know I keep bringing up the heat, but only because it continues to amaze me.  Walking out of an air-conditioned room is like receiving a bear hug from William Perry after the Super Bowl. It hits you hard, fast, covers you entirely, and makes you immediately wish you had worn something to absorb the sweat.  I am getting accustomed to it rather quickly and find now when I turn the AC to low I get too cold!

            Anywho, this past weekend, we all got to take a trip north to Siam Reap, where the famous Angkor Wat temples hide in the jungle.  The six-hour drive was itself quite an adventure. The general rule of the road here seems to be: If you can dream it, you can do it.  To us Westerners, it seems like chaos as horns are blaring, brakes are slamming, and tailgating is taken to a whole new level, but accidents seem to be few and far between so I suppose in a reality, it is organized chaos.  We arrived just in time to bring in the Khmer New Year and spent two days climbing around some of the oldest functioning Wat’s in the world. It was a real treat.

            It’s amazing because the vibe of the entire place is completely surreal.  Knowing that beneath your feet lies more history than you could ever possibly comprehend is quite a humbling experience. The temples themselves have been lived in by royalty, burned, robbed, raided, rebuilt, lost for 200 years, rediscovered, and are now a nation treasure once again.  We had a fabulous tour guide named Hour (OOOr) who did a great job of telling us fun facts, keeping us together, and getting us to hike the temples despite the crippling heat.  We visited about six temples in total (including the one where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider) and oogled countless scenic views.  We all received prayer bracelets at various temples and by the end of the day, we were utterly exhausted, but spiritually full to the brim. I apologize I am not the best photographer, and my pictures do not do it justice.  That is all to report for now, as I have to run back to class!! xoxo

Goodbye USA, Hello Cambodia!!

       Ok ok, so I know I said only the blog title would change but I decided to just create a whole new look and return to the old one when appropriate.  For those of you who don't know, the Mandarin word laowai, means "silly foreigner" (no bad connotation). When I studied in China, I sometimes  forgot what my real name was because everyone and their dog just called me laowai, so I found the new blog name appropriate.  Also, I won't put my Cambodian phone number and mailing address up here, but if you would like it, just shoot me an email and I would be happy to give it to you! Just remember calling is for emergencies only as it is expensive!

Ok so here we go:

            Leaving loved ones is never easy, nor is it an exactly pleasant experience.  However, in order to accomplish most oversized goals and adventures, it must be endured.  Wednesday and Thursday were filled with a flurry of exchanging phone numbers and emails with everyone I know and many  many….many  goodbye hugs.  Luckily my good friend Patrick had come over from out of state had come for a last minute visit and was very good at keeping me busy and my spirits up. Thanks bud!! We all had a fantastic Easter together in Riggins by the river and what better send off than dinner with the girls and late night viewing of Jurassic Park.  It was great.

            Thursday morning was very hard for me, as I had to drop Charlie off with my friend Angela, who will be the first in a long line of doggy sitters. I won’t lie. I bawled like a baby. It was awful.  I told myself he was in good hands (which he is) and dove with Mom and John to Boise where we had a fabulous dinner at Barbacoa. I was at the airport at 8am on Friday. I made a few last minute phone calls from the SEATAC airport on my layover, painted may nails, did some preflight yoga (odd looks be damned!) and mentally prepped myself for a 12 hour flight, a tight layover, and another 6 hour flight. 

As I was getting settled in my little seat thinking of how glad I was I brought snacks to save me from the airplane food that most of my companions would soon be consuming, I remembered something I had forgotten since my last trip to Asia.  Asian women are lovely. Does that sound creepy? I hope not, because I mean it in the most graceful and becoming sense of the word.  Cross my fingers, hope to die; I swear those stewardesses glided through the air down the airplane isles.  I was suddenly ashamed of my wretched posture and slouchy clothes. Note to self: try it their way once in a while.

Well, as expected, the flights were long and the layover was rushed and I was in Phnom Penh before I knew it.  I was collected at the airport by a Khmer man named Smith in one of my personal favorite modes of transportation: tuk tuk.  It was 11:30pm and still 90 degrees out but the open air ride felt amazing after so much plane time.  It was a sketchy (nice way to put it) 20 min tuk tuk ride to my hotel/home for the next month as we regularly drove on the other side of the road, viciously abused the horn, shouted at passing motos (also going the wrong way) and ran at least 3 red lights.  It was spectacular.

My room is small and neat with a tiled bathroom, lovely buttercup yellow walls, and 5^th floor view of the surrounding city.  There is a darling little gym downstairs and a pool out back where I intend to regularly beat the heat! On our first day in the city my group ventured out into the sweltering heat in a caravan of tuk tuks to see the Royal Palace and a nearby temple. It was all very exhilarating except for the very large blister I got on my foot . That evening we had a delicious welcome dinner at the hotel, which I followed up with the best cold shower of my life before hitting the hay utterly exhausted.  First day of school on Monday!! Hip hip hurray!!!

You know, it’s interesting, when I begin a trip I can physically feel something stir inside of me.  It is a feeling of awakening that seems to be dormant when I am stationary at home and comes to life in me when I am abroad.  It is what makes me ask strangers at the market how to say things or for directions, or play charades with taxi drivers and airport personnel.  Perhaps it is my body’s chemical reaction to my new surroundings, but it feels like more than that.  It feels like wonder.  Not to say I never have bad days or experiences, I just think it allows the very best version of Madi to come out and play.  More to come soon!! Love and miss you all! xoxo