Siem Reap Day 3

So it is the morning of my third day here, and I have finally been able to get online for a moment - service here is up and down. I am sitting in our awesome guesthouse, right downtown Siem Reap, it's 9am and feeling like your average August day at home. By 10 though, it'll be boiling and will stay that way until 4ish when it starts to cool back down. We are really lucky to have aircon in our rooms to help us sleep. Most residents do now have such luxuries as electricity is pretty expensive and as soon as you're a minute or so out of town, power lines disappear all together. None of the homes or schools out there have any power, save the lights they attach to their car batteries.

Things I did yesterday:

I had my first ride in a tuk tuk. This is the main mode of transportation for tourists around here - a cart attached to a motorcycle. It's a bit unnerving at first, with the rocking motion and no seatbelts or walls, but then it's fine. Out on the country roads, we're able to go pretty quickly and it provides an amazing breeze that breaks up the heat.

I visited the school where I'll be teaching for the 3 weeks I'm here. Cambodian kids go to school either in the morning or the afternoon and the PLF runs English classes in between these sessions. At Khnar school, where I will be, there's just one hour in between these sessions and I will teach one of the four classes that study at that time. The classes are open to any age (except really little ones) so I had kids that were 14, 15, 17 and anywhere in between. There is no comparison between our intermediates and the ones here though. First, they looks years younger. One girl told me she was 17 and she looked about 9. They also sit politely in their desks, stand up to ask and answer questions, and bow in thanks when they receive a compliment. They have a Khmer English teacher at the moment, but he is not a certified teacher so I will be helping him to develop more effective ways of teaching English (it's mostly just copying from the board right now).

I was able to talk at length with Lori, the president of the PLF and found out more about their initiatives here in Siem Reap. They have at least 4 schools (all elementary) that I've counted so far that they support. At some schools, they only sponsor individual kids in need. School in Cambodia is free, but to attend each child must have: uniform, shoes and school supplies. These cost $20 per child. At other schools, the PLF has established English programs, as for a student to receive their high school diploma, they must pass an English exam. By getting them started with basics in elementary school, they increase their chances of passing this test after Grade 12.

They also work with Plan, another large foundation that does building, to build buildings for the growing populations at the schools. And they are supported by the World Food Organization getting food supplies for the breakfast programs at each school. Finally, they organize donations of bicycles for every student that graduates Grade 6, because the high schools are much farther away, and students would not be able to walk all the way there.

These are just a few of the things they do, but if you're at all interested check out the plf.org.

Today, I am off to teach my first class at Khnar School, and then I have not yet decided what to do in the afternoon. Most people rest in the heat of the day. We have a large open verandah where people staying in the guesthouse gather and read or share fruit. I have to explore around town a bit, and pick up some more fruit at the market-  stuff we would never see at home.

More later!

J.