The FIBs (Grade 10 equivalent of UWCSEA) just visited us last week in Phnom Penh as part of their field trip to Cambodia. Besides showing them around the schools we teach at, and eating a delicious khmer lunch (Fish Amok, pineapple fried rice, fresh spring rolls, mango sticky rice and much more) with them, we gave a presentation about our Gap Year in Cambodia. Below is the link to the presentation. It gives an idea of the schools we teach at, the office work we do, and the way of life here.

Enjoy!

- Tarita.

Presentation-GapYearpdf

Our trip to Siem Reap began with an uneventful 7 hour bus ride that saw us arrive at our destination in the late afternoon. However, in light of the fact that we are dysfunctional gappies, all five of us had managed to forget the name of the hotel in which Dorine had reserved rooms for us. This obstacle was swiftly sidestepped by taking the first tuk tuk available into town and making reservations at the self-proclaimed Number 10 Lodge in the province, thereby officially marking the beginning of our three day adventure in the Siem Reap.

On our first night we headed into the pub and restaurant enclave of Siem Reap, taking in the buzzing environment and admiring the cosy alleys hidden between buildings. We were not the least bit disappointed with what was presented to us and we got straight to business, settling down at the Banana Leaf and ordering the all essential 50 cent pint of Angkor each to begin the night. A few beers later however, us boys decided that a massage would be ideal at this point, and thereby scurried along to the nearest parlour to enjoy an hour of pleasure and recuperation in preparation for the night ahead.

Such a night however, took its toll on the Gap Year Braves, requiring them to sleep in until midday Saturday, allowing only for a failed venture into town that soon saw them retreat to the comfort of their beds. We were getting too old for such nocturnal activities that now rendered us exceptionally lazy on the following day. I need not say that very little exploring was done on this particular day.

Sunday morning brought back horrid memories of the school trip days, what with the persistently unnecessary early morning wake ups. We had decided to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, a choice that entailed us waking up at 5 AM, a feat practically unheard of by the average Gap Year Goer. Nevertheless, Billy, always eager and ready to go, managed to pull us up in time to catch our 5:30 AM tuk tuk departure. I have to admit that this particular experience is one of the more bizarre ones I have encountered. This early morning confusion at a time when it was still dark was not helped by the fact that we were thundering down a Cambodian quality road in a C-grade tuk tuk with motos, other tuk tuks and busloads of your typical backpacker bum and Korean tour group shooting by on both sides. Despite this initial emotional trauma, Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples proved to be well worth the early wake up. We all had our picks of favourite temples, ranging from Ta Prohm to Bayon, and the general consensus was that Angkor was beautiful and awe-inspiring and it managed to bring out an appreciation of the cultural history of Cambodia, regardless of how much or how little we usually cared about such things.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend, graced with such a mixed group of friends to travel with and the arrival of a thrill thirsty Italian. Although Tarita and Dorine couldn’t be there to join us there is plenty of time for more adventure here in Cambodia and there is much to look forward too. Also, I’m pleased to announce that we have since returned to our House watching ways and are thriving here in Phnom Penh.

Until next time!

Emil

Rudi Boa

The first month of teaching at Rudi Boa with Dorine was an enormous success as we saw vast improvements in the quality of our students English and became increasingly attached to them. However, the state schools opened on October 1^st and since then the number of students attending class has dropped dramatically. The Cambodian state school system works so that one month the students will attend class in the morning, the next they attend in the afternoon. Hopefully the number of kids will increase again soon (though this may leave Tarita and Gayatri’s class empty). Having said this, a trip to Rudi Boa is never a waste of time due to the beautiful scenery and the opportunity to catch up on reading for two hours.

AZIZA

Teaching at AZIZA in the afternoon and two evenings a week has continued to be a great experience and tremendous amounts of fun. Our afternoon classes are with kids aged between about 7 and 15 and I have never met a group of children so filled with joy or enthusiasm, an attitude which seems to completely contrast the bleak slum in which they live. After starting the day at 6:30, by the time the afternoon class swings round at 2 o’clock we are usually quite exhausted, but on arriving at AZIZA and immediately having kids hanging from every limb, our energy seems to appear from nowhere. Dorine and I would both agree that they are an amazing influence on us.

The evening classes at AZIZA are very different but just as fun. Twice a week we teach students between the ages of 13 and 24 and thankfully this class don’t view Dorine and I as two walking talking jungle gyms. However, their standard of English is considerably higher than that of the afternoon class so it’s possible to hold a proper conversation with them. They are as equally keen to learn as our afternoon class and listen attentively as Dorine and I try to teach them the pronunciation of words such as ‘rec-re-at-ion-al’, a real mouthful for Khmer speakers.

Singapore vs Cambodia

Three weeks ago I went home to Singapore for my brother Peter’s, my Mum’s and my girlfriend Nat’s birthday which all occur over a period of a week. It was lovely to see everybody and be back home for a short while but I also found myself missing greatly the excitement and chaos of a city I’ve come to love as well as the five other volunteers who have become such good friends.

Kep

Last weekend the volunteers (minus Dorine, who unfortunately had to travel back to Singapore for a while) ventured to a nearby province to visit three friends and fellow volunteers who are working in Kep for the same amount of time that we are in Phnom Penh. We found that the rural lifestyle differed greatly to what we are used to in Phnom Penh. For example they have no running water (we bathed in the nearby pond), electricity for just three hours each day and -God forbid- no wireless internet connection! However, I think we all agree that this was actually a very nice respite and an interesting change in our way of living. I have a huge amount of respect for the three volunteers living in the ‘Red house’ who are living as locals for four months as opposed to the four days that we were there. Having said this, we all left Kep extremely jealous of Ifan, Jordan and Aubrey, who have three absolutely delicious meals a day cooked for them by Pha, whose culinary skills rival even my mums!

On our first afternoon in Kep we decided to take a bike ride in search of the reservoir that has a pier that you can jump off. However, thanks to some dodgy directions from Aubrey we took a wrong turn into the deepest darkest areas of Kep on a very bumpy, soggy dirt track. This adventure was made all the more difficult by Gayatri’s inability to turn her bike. As I passed our first corner I looked back only to see her ride directly into a bush, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard as I did at that moment. The reservoir was in sight for nearly the entire ride but as the sun began to set we decided to call it a day and try again the next day. When we did try again, we found that at one point the day before we were actually just 100m from our destination. The reservoir was so gorgeous and we had one refreshing swim after another over the course of the weekend. Other than that, it was a very relaxed weekend with a lot of lazing about in hammocks reading our books. Our moto ride from the Red house to the bus stop was pretty eventful as halfway the heavens seemed to open. Following this, climbing soaking wet into a freezing cold bus resulted in most of us falling ill for the rest of the week, but all in all it was a very successful, very different and very fun weekend!

I love Phnom Penh! -Billy

On Thursday the 24^th of September, a football tournament was held on the outskirts of Phnom Penh with the purpose of raising awareness for the forced evictions occurring in Cambodia’s capital. The sun was beating down and mud was flying, but the atmosphere was one of enjoyment and friendly competition. It was a fantastic chance for us UWCSEA volunteers to not only participate in such an event (which was covered by the main newspaper of Phnom Penh a few days after), but to see some of our students in a completely different setting. Even kids who are quiet and timid in class seemed to have fun and be more carefree, whether it was on the pitch or just mucking about in between their matches.
Several of the teams included students that we teach; there was a team from Tiny Toones, two from the existing relocation site of the evictions, two from the Boeng Kok Lake community and one from Kep Province (we don’t personally teach these kids but down in Chamcar Bei is the location of another BABSEA project).

One of the Lakeside teams came first – which we were all expecting since they were fantastically good players – but that didn’t prevent us from wagering on our own teams! Emil lost the bet – and his punishment? He had to clean his room for a week! It was great, the smell from the boys’ room didn’t waft into ours during that time!

Li howy,

Gayatri

The mural took four days to paint – from Thursday morning till Sunday afternoon. The end result is fantastic as the many people walking by stare at it in awe, whilst either making their way to school or their homes.

- Dorine

30th September 2009

Below are some of Billy and my pictures – [Click on the pictrues for them to be englarged]

On Thursday the 20th of August, BABSEA celebrated the re-opening of Rudi Boa Center at the Relocation site. The center is located where the families who were evicted from their homes in Dey Khrahom as well as those displaced by group 78, were reallocated. The ceremony was attended by over 100 children and their families, the village chief, representatives from BABSEA and Chairman Sil Senang.  It was a fantastic event during which there were several speeches delivered, a ribbon cutting ceremony which was followed by a visitation and food fellowship.
Rudi Boa Center consists of two classrooms, where teaching of English and possibly other lessons may take place in the future. The center is predominantly funded by Bridges Across Borders who are currently supplying 4 volunteer English teachers from United World College in Singapore, are currently funding the school. These volunteers are split into two groups (one of which teaches in the morning, the other teaching in the afternoon) who both aid the two professional, Khmer – English speaking teachers The volunteers help to teach both a younger, less experienced group of students, followed by a more advanced class, demonstrating the broad and accommodating nature of the newly opened school.
The newly opened centre represents a ray of hope for the whole community, offering them the opportunity for an education and the chance to learn English.

- Billy and Dorine

[Click on the pictrues for them to be englarged]

After the first three successful weeks of teaching I must say that my respect for former teachers has grown a lot. The patience needed to teach a language is endless although this is very different when presented with a class full of smiling, motivated and grateful students ready to learn a language surrounded by several tedious rules.

Teaching at Rudi Boa Center in the mornings – a school which has just been re-opened at a relocation site 25km outside of Phnom Penh – has proven to be more of a challenge as there are a significantly higher number of students including the extra cousins, sisters and brothers joining their siblings to school (as some have to babysit and attend class at the same time). With 25 desks sprawled to the back of a narrow room lessons proved a little more difficult as one half of the class could hear us but this did not stop them. So with a little thought we managed to group the tables together encouraging more participation

between the students. With all their hard work and interest in learning, the students have become a great group to teach welcoming us with broad smiles and waving arms shouting ‘Cher! Cher!’ [teacher] at the top of their voices. Teaching 7 to 13 year olds for the first hour and 14 to 22 year olds the second has been a lot of fun as the difference in ages makes the lessons a whole lot different.
We’ve also defiantly learnt some things a harder way for example the attempt of a fun game turning into a more stressful activity where the children very willing to help, made 3cm by 3cm pieces of paper stacked into piles, turn into a mass of just one pile within 5 seconds. Lesson learnt!

In the afternoon its off to Aziza. A school situated in Bodding, a slum area surrounded by many busy people in the day followed by a more somber image at night as it is an area high in drug trafficking and prostitution after the sun has shone. Down the narrowest of alleys echoing the sound of happy screaming children, is a brightly painted wall portraying the two lots used as classrooms – one as a computer lab and the other as an ordinary classroom. The students here, welcoming you as their new climbing frames, involve you in every activity and are ready to learn whatever the circumstance! Their happy characters, creative minds and laughter for two hours straight leaves you with enough positive energy to last you years. Wednesdays prove even more exciting as the class invited us to join in with their weekly Yoga lessons. Having 20 children squeeze into two Tuk Tuk’s, off we go to a yoga studio 10 minutes away. Lessons are taught by young Cambodians encouraging the students to use every muscle in their body and have one quiet hour during their hectic week. Although this may be a little different after Billy and I, the two ‘Barangs’ [foreigners], have joined – instead they are more interested in our inflexible bodies and giggle at every opportunity of our failure to bend our bodies accordingly!
Overall the first four weeks have been more than id imagined! The children’s endless happiness and their eagerness to teach us about their culture has made it an incredibly fulfilling experience so far.

I cant imagine what extraordinary experiences the next three months are going to bring us!

- Dorine

Below are some pictures [click on them to englarge] -

1) BABSEA

- This is the link to their website: http://www.babsea.org/ It has all the information on all their programs and recent news.

-This is the volunteer program. click on the gap year and student volunteers link: http://www.babsea.org/volunteer/Volunteering.ht

2) Cambodia

What has been happening in Cambodia:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5392474.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7848634.stm

http://www.cohre.org/deykrahorm http://www.cohre.org/cambodiaforsale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEZb59cZUiY&feature=fvw

BABSEA is working very hard to try and stop the evictions, especially the Community Empowerment and Legal Awareness (CELA) program with their ‘Stop Evictions’ campaign. Although the situation may seem hopeless to prevent, I give praise to CELA for not giving up and finding rays of hope here and there.

Below are some screenshots of a video footage (A Platapus and LICHADO Canada Production) of the eviction day (24-01-09) at Dey Krahorm:

Police came with full gear, shooting the houses with fire guns

A crane and fire destroying the houses

Paradoxical picture

A bulldozer crushing the houses and a man spraying a fire extinguisher at the residents to keep them away

A few months after the evictions, insects and snakes are the only living things that inhabit Dey Krahorm. No one would have guessed that once stood before the overgrown pot of land, was a community that grew up and raised their children in a village that is now history.

It is indeed very depressing to see the evicted families living at the relocation site out of the city (‘in the middle of nowhere’), where it is more expensive to travel into the city to their work than their actual salary, and where they do not have a proper drainage or water system.

However, the children I teach at Rudi Boa, which is the new school at the relocation site, remain carefree, untroubled and still eager to learn, despite the difficult situation their families must be in. They have so little, yet they are so grateful for the simplest of things. I have already learnt so much from them- to value what I have. How lucky I am to be able to go on a Gap Year and spend 4 months in Cambodia!

- Tarita

This past week had been reserved for settling in and exploring Phnom Penh before going to work on Monday. The food culture had indeed been explored, as we discovered the extensive International food culture in this city. The most memorable would be Khmer cuisine, where the fried rice had been served in a pineapple and the fish curry had been served in a coconut. However the most important exploration had been the visits to the schools we will be teaching at: Aziza Bodding, Aziza BK, Tiny Toones, Rudi Boa, and CDCC. The first school we visited had been Rudi Boa, where the evicted students of Dey Krahorm will attend. The second school we visited had been Aziza Bodding, which is a school situated in the slums of Phnom Penh. The backdrop of new developed buildings served as a stark contrast to the run-down slum building. To make matters worse, the view of the school comprised of a solid wall, a bold, daily reminder of the evicted village that once stood behind it. It is a small school, but full of life with energetic students that ran and jumped all over the place. The students immediately pulled each of us into a circle of games, where our shouting, singing and laughing bounced off the colorfully painted walls and traveled far out of the classroom. We had been pleasantly surprised when the case had been similar, in terms of the energetic children, in the other schools we visited.

A week has gone by since that day at the airport and I’m sitting on the balcony of the Bridges Across Borders office/volunteer building. The sun is at its zenith and the buildings are baking in the sunlight. But instead of the unease I felt on the first day, somehow, the fumes from the cars and blazing heat added to my contentment of being here as I reflect on my week of adventures. After only one week, I have fallen in love with the chaotic vibrancy of this city. – Tarita

- Dorine