Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Late night teaching under the stars with the cows....and the bugs
In addition to the regular schools, in which students learn English in extra classes, we have been invited to help teach at an evening class under a house in an outer village. These children come to this house each night after working in the fields, they too want to learn English but cannot afford the time during the day, nor do they have the money for English classes in a regular school. Their classroom is in fact where the cows live. They are gorgeous and enthusiastic.
Lynne
Lynne
The King and Us....at the Zoo
Day 4 - Cambodia Trip 2014 - Takeo
Awake at 6 am, no one could really get too excited about the fact that we were supposed to be meeting the king today. After breakfast we all piled into a bus and picked up some of the kids from NFO, it was really good to see them opening up and becoming more comfortable around us, we even had a singing competition with them! After a 40 minute bus ride we arrived at Phnom Tahmau zoo and we received some very attractive hats and t-shirts, as we got out of the bus we realised we weren't the only ones. Standing out like a sore thumb we were escorted to our shady front row seats (which was when we realised we were in the VIP tent) where we listened to speeches in Khmer which seemed to go on forever but it didn't matter because we were all in awe of the amazing 'production' right before our eyes. The King came out and walked round the whole arena, blessing and being as close to everyone as possible (at least those who were invited) which was an eye opening thing to witness. After the King had left we had the opportunity to plant our own trees, with our names on, Natalie got to plant two, which she was extremely proud of and the NFO kids got to help us as well. The fact that we were the only Europeans invited to meet the king was fantastic. Ciaran even got to present the king with a pen from our school and boy was he feeling great about that. We all hope the king at least likes the idea that it is Arbor Day and our pen has a jarrah case and box....ironic maybe?
After the whole ceremony was over we decided to have a look at Phnom Tahmau zoo, with our 'tour guides' (some of the NFO kids who thought they knew their way round) in tow we spent an hour walking round the zoo. Hot and tired we all clambered onto the bus and enjoyed an hour in the cool air con.
When we got back to the guest house there was no time to rest as we had over 1000 donations to sort through (that amounted to a record 578 kilos,) Surprisingly we got through it all in an hour which we thought was a record time. Some of us went to drop the donations of clothes off at NFO while everyone else had our usual card game. Dinner was amazing and much appreciated and an early bed was in store for everyone.
Sent from my iPad
Awake at 6 am, no one could really get too excited about the fact that we were supposed to be meeting the king today. After breakfast we all piled into a bus and picked up some of the kids from NFO, it was really good to see them opening up and becoming more comfortable around us, we even had a singing competition with them! After a 40 minute bus ride we arrived at Phnom Tahmau zoo and we received some very attractive hats and t-shirts, as we got out of the bus we realised we weren't the only ones. Standing out like a sore thumb we were escorted to our shady front row seats (which was when we realised we were in the VIP tent) where we listened to speeches in Khmer which seemed to go on forever but it didn't matter because we were all in awe of the amazing 'production' right before our eyes. The King came out and walked round the whole arena, blessing and being as close to everyone as possible (at least those who were invited) which was an eye opening thing to witness. After the King had left we had the opportunity to plant our own trees, with our names on, Natalie got to plant two, which she was extremely proud of and the NFO kids got to help us as well. The fact that we were the only Europeans invited to meet the king was fantastic. Ciaran even got to present the king with a pen from our school and boy was he feeling great about that. We all hope the king at least likes the idea that it is Arbor Day and our pen has a jarrah case and box....ironic maybe?
After the whole ceremony was over we decided to have a look at Phnom Tahmau zoo, with our 'tour guides' (some of the NFO kids who thought they knew their way round) in tow we spent an hour walking round the zoo. Hot and tired we all clambered onto the bus and enjoyed an hour in the cool air con.
When we got back to the guest house there was no time to rest as we had over 1000 donations to sort through (that amounted to a record 578 kilos,) Surprisingly we got through it all in an hour which we thought was a record time. Some of us went to drop the donations of clothes off at NFO while everyone else had our usual card game. Dinner was amazing and much appreciated and an early bed was in store for everyone.
Sent from my iPad
"duck for dinner?"
Nominations
Awkward moment: picking up rocks - Lynne needs to be more clear on her instruction when saying "grab a rock" - the NFO kids took her literally
hero of the day:Connie for helping Nat
It was the first of many early morning wake ups to get down to the docks for our boat ride to Ankor Borei. We were met by the familiar faces of the NFO children who would join us on this exhibition down the oldest functioning canals in the world!! We were strategically seated on the boats to ensure that our weight was evenly distributed, and then we were off. We all split up and the race was on to get to our destination first. Sadly the duck population suffered casualties today in the form of motorboat accidents, and a couple of groups got lost on the way to Ankor Borei. As we were subjected to the sun for the entirety of the trip we all wore our newly acquired kramas and slip, slopped, slapped to provide protection. The adventure started with a trek up two flights of sub standard quality stairs, halfway we stopped to inspect a fertility offering in a bat cave covered in guano. We caught a glimpse up on the rocks of Vietnam that was situated behind the magnificently designed temple which we later posed for many photos. The archeological site displayed many strategical features including false doors used to deceive incoming enemies. We walked to another temple and then back down to get a long awaited drink, which was way too short for our liking as we were off again to the Museum. An interactive museum is two words you will never hear in the same sentence, with an exception for today, anything in sight could be lifted from its position, felt and inspected, and everybody got to lift a 2000 year old (dead) Rhinoceros statue. The curator at the museum provided insightful information on the American, Cambodian and German archeological digs which was translated into English by the NFO children. After a delay in transportation we all had lunch and made our way to the centre, where we finished our game of soccer, (Cambodia claiming the win) and the girls made intricate friendship bracelets and art which was perfected by the NFO girls. Off to bed early after a delicious dinner for an early start tomorrow.
Chaz
Awkward moment: picking up rocks - Lynne needs to be more clear on her instruction when saying "grab a rock" - the NFO kids took her literally
hero of the day:Connie for helping Nat
It was the first of many early morning wake ups to get down to the docks for our boat ride to Ankor Borei. We were met by the familiar faces of the NFO children who would join us on this exhibition down the oldest functioning canals in the world!! We were strategically seated on the boats to ensure that our weight was evenly distributed, and then we were off. We all split up and the race was on to get to our destination first. Sadly the duck population suffered casualties today in the form of motorboat accidents, and a couple of groups got lost on the way to Ankor Borei. As we were subjected to the sun for the entirety of the trip we all wore our newly acquired kramas and slip, slopped, slapped to provide protection. The adventure started with a trek up two flights of sub standard quality stairs, halfway we stopped to inspect a fertility offering in a bat cave covered in guano. We caught a glimpse up on the rocks of Vietnam that was situated behind the magnificently designed temple which we later posed for many photos. The archeological site displayed many strategical features including false doors used to deceive incoming enemies. We walked to another temple and then back down to get a long awaited drink, which was way too short for our liking as we were off again to the Museum. An interactive museum is two words you will never hear in the same sentence, with an exception for today, anything in sight could be lifted from its position, felt and inspected, and everybody got to lift a 2000 year old (dead) Rhinoceros statue. The curator at the museum provided insightful information on the American, Cambodian and German archeological digs which was translated into English by the NFO children. After a delay in transportation we all had lunch and made our way to the centre, where we finished our game of soccer, (Cambodia claiming the win) and the girls made intricate friendship bracelets and art which was perfected by the NFO girls. Off to bed early after a delicious dinner for an early start tomorrow.
Chaz
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