Today has been amazing! I got chucked in at the deep end, still don't have a clue what I'm doing but it was fab! It was a very early start on only four hours sleep, thank god there was water so that I could shower, otherwise I would have been half asleep. I took a tuk tuk to ABC's and Rice where I was to teach. As I've done this off my own back and not through a company I've had to create my own contacts and find my way aroud, unlike the usual 'here's where you're staying and someone will come and collect you' type of thing. I like to pick the harder way to go about things ha! I arrived at the school just before 8, feeling slightly queezy from the tuk tuk ride, but that soon vanished when I saw the kids running around. I was overwhelmed, my heart beating away like mad. This was the reason for being here! Their innocent smile instantly mirrored what I was feeling, high fiving them as a walked in to meet Tammy and Matt who run the school. Paperwork had to be left until tomorrow as I was flung right into teaching...teacher bet'tt' they called me as they can't pronounce 'th', but its better than bath haha! I am now known as the music teacher, teaching all music slots on the classes timetable as well as doing the priamary school teacher teaching. They have a specific chant. When the class bell rings they stand up and chant good morning ,may I sit down. I read them a cartoon story about monkeys, involving them with actions and sounds such as making a 'knock, knock' sound on their desk etc etc. Athough I had a khmer teacher shadowing me I did it all on my todd which made me feel like I had already achieved something in being here. Then there was a quick break and a game of foodball (which resulted in having to deal with my first injury, I had only been here an hour). As I got the medical kit out and put gloves on (as there are a few hiv positive kiddies) to treat the boy's cut a little one came up to me and said 'you the new doctor teacher bet', aw they are so cute! After break it was time for grammar, I thought oh god now I really can't misspell words as we all know how terrible my spelling is. I did a number of exercises with them, I got them to write sentences on the board as well as some chanting and making sounds to help them remember sentences. Half of them learn by copying and find it difficult to retain the information. I ended the period with a goodbye song which they could all sing and then they chanted their goodbye school routine song. The next few months sound like a crazy amazing time at the school. They're having a kitchen being built to feed all the kiddies as opposed to feeding the most needy, which is what they do at the moment. they are also having toilets built. There's a puppet show to prepare for as well as a six hour charity bike ride alll the way to the Thai boarder and six hours back! That will be a challenge especially on the roads. The school itself has 5 huts, they have desks and chairs and each class room has a whiteboard, but other than that the resources are very basic. The hardest job I have is learning the names of the children, it will certainly take time. I only worked 8-11, the afternoon is 2-5 but I had to sort a few things out in town to do with accomodation. Had a look round, getting a feel for Siem Reap and looking for a place to move in to which has somewhere to keep my bike when I buy one. There are youth hostels, one where you can share with 5 plus people in a dorm or solo, then there are guesthouses which are also popular for the backpacking kind and the hotels which decide to charge tourists a bit more as they can get away with it. So I'll keep you posted on how the search goes. Hoping I'll be moved in next week or at least have a bike by then which saves getting a tuk tuk to and fro. Now to eat ...yum :)
Beth x