Day 13 - Cambodia (31 July 2019)
We started the day driving to a school that Caring for Cambodia (CFC) supports. The drive was pretty, filled with rice fields and glimpses into how people live their lives here.
After our lesson, we helped plant trees on the school property! The trees were provided by the art school we visited yesterday. It was amazingly hot, but a lot of fun to plant trees with these fun students.
After a lot of smiles and waves, we loaded up the busses and drove to the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia for a tour of some of the nine floating villages.
It turned out to be quite an adventure. There were small speed boats that would skip by, spewing water from their propellers. I would imagine that life isn’t all that different living on the lake, though it felt worlds away from how I live.
The river swells to several times its size during the rainy season. It was amazing to discover some of its secrets. Evidently 75% of the people who live on the lake are from Vietnam!
When we got off the boat, there were several young girls who swarmed us, asking us to buy the pictures they had snuck of us while we were getting on the boat, and then made them into plates. After managing to get on the bus, we drove back into town for another school visit. We passed some lotus blossom fields and interesting sites along the way.
When we arrived at the school (nearly an hour and a half late due to the boat mishap), the school had prepared boxed lunches for us.
We then went on a village tour, with students as our guides. It was fun interacting with the students. The girl I spoke with was pretty hesitant to speak English at first, but warmed up to me eventually.
This student shares my name! When I heard someone yell, ‘Kim,’ I turned around. So, of course I took a picture.
We had small discussions with teachers from the school about topics such as classroom management, then finished up in the library. We were even able to see a minute of the end of school day assembly before we left.
We were then driven to the night market in Siem Reap. Some of us decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant before heading over for henna tattoos! A tuk tuk driver hung out with us for a bit while we were getting the tattoos and then drove us back to the hotel.
What a day! I love that all of the experiences we have had with the schools have been so different. It is fascinating for me to learn about the culture of each area I visit. It was a good day today! Tomorrow, we are headed to Angkor Wat. I’m super excited about it!
When we arrived at the school, I was impressed at how different all of the schools we have visited during our journey look and feel.
When our group divided up, and I attended the photography lesson from Trent, our fabulous photographer. He gave the students tips and tricks on how to take great pictures. I think we all learned something new.
After our lesson, we helped plant trees on the school property! The trees were provided by the art school we visited yesterday. It was amazingly hot, but a lot of fun to plant trees with these fun students.
I had the opportunity to walk around the school grounds for a few minutes and imagine what it would be like to teach in this school setting. The students are all smiles with an occasional laugh. What a delight to see students happy to learn!
After a lot of smiles and waves, we loaded up the busses and drove to the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia for a tour of some of the nine floating villages.
It turned out to be quite an adventure. There were small speed boats that would skip by, spewing water from their propellers. I would imagine that life isn’t all that different living on the lake, though it felt worlds away from how I live.
The river swells to several times its size during the rainy season. It was amazing to discover some of its secrets. Evidently 75% of the people who live on the lake are from Vietnam!
At the place where we were going to turn around, our boat got stuck in a shallow spot. It was fascinating to watch the pre-teens and teenage boys running the boat get us unstuck.
One of the boys walked through the waist-deep water and asked a passing motor boat for help. Amazingly, the small boat was able to tug us out of the shallow waters and back to the direction we needed to go. It was hot, and the water sprayed us, but I’m sure we will all remember that experience for awhile!
When we got off the boat, there were several young girls who swarmed us, asking us to buy the pictures they had snuck of us while we were getting on the boat, and then made them into plates. After managing to get on the bus, we drove back into town for another school visit. We passed some lotus blossom fields and interesting sites along the way.
When we arrived at the school (nearly an hour and a half late due to the boat mishap), the school had prepared boxed lunches for us.
We then went on a village tour, with students as our guides. It was fun interacting with the students. The girl I spoke with was pretty hesitant to speak English at first, but warmed up to me eventually.
She kept saying it was hot, and would wrap her jacket around her further. I finally asked why she just didn’t take off her jacket, when her friend explained they don’t like the exposure to the sun. Totally different perspective! We passed rice paddies, the village, and all sorts of interesting things.
This student shares my name! When I heard someone yell, ‘Kim,’ I turned around. So, of course I took a picture.
We had small discussions with teachers from the school about topics such as classroom management, then finished up in the library. We were even able to see a minute of the end of school day assembly before we left.
We were then driven to the night market in Siem Reap. Some of us decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant before heading over for henna tattoos! A tuk tuk driver hung out with us for a bit while we were getting the tattoos and then drove us back to the hotel.
What a day! I love that all of the experiences we have had with the schools have been so different. It is fascinating for me to learn about the culture of each area I visit. It was a good day today! Tomorrow, we are headed to Angkor Wat. I’m super excited about it!
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