I'm a tea-CHA! Well, sort of...

We have been at the Home of English School in Sihanoukville, Cambodia (on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand) for about one week now, and I thought I'd give a brief update before we leave the area and my thoughts and impressions about this mini-experience begin to dissipate.

We have been really warmly welcomed into the school, and the teachers have let us sit in on and observe (and I've even gotten to teach a few classes!) the teachers and students here. We've also been living in an apartment AT the school, so that has been nice (and cheap!).

By the way, the reason for the title of this post is that, when you enter a classroom here, the students all stand and, in unison, greet you by saying, "Hello, TEACHER!" (Pronounced: TEA-CHA, with lots of emphasis and enthusiasm on the CHA!). Pretty great. Not to mention, you feel like a little bit of a celebrity, which never hurts...don't worry, I won't let it get to my head.

So, overall, everyone has been so gracious, welcoming, and forthcoming, and I will definitely not forget this part of our Cambodian experience. It has been a nice change of pace to really get to do something hands-on with the community and to meet some people on a very different level. The students are a little shy about speaking, but (especially the young ones) are a lot of fun to be around and very eager to do their best and get their work done well. The teachers use a lot of games, interactive activities, and recitation to help the students learn English, and overall, I'd say good things are happening. Also, the teachers are very interested and eager to hear about how they are doing, how they can improve, and how American teachers teach. It's been fun to share stories and to compare. A little weird to be in a classroom again too!

Other than our school experience, we did get to the beach here for a few hours as well, and it is another gem of a beach. We certainly have seen some diverse and beautiful coastlines on this trip. The water was VERY warm in the Gulf, and the sand makes a kind of squeak when you walk on it! I also went to the Catholic Church here, and it turns out that it was actually used as a prison during the Khmer occupation...a little eerie. Other than that, we've been pretty busy at our "classes" and nursing a few "bad stomachs" - I think we've had the most food "reactions" in this country so far...boo! (Luckily Arati and I seem to alternate the days we feel a little less than great, so that's good). BUT, we are both feeling good today, and we are going to try and see the coast one more time before we have to say good-bye to Sihanoukville in tomorrow.

Leah Sen Heuy (= Good-Bye in Khmer)
Until next time...