Happy Human Rights Day!

Hello everyone!!

The weeks are simply flying by now and I really love it. I have been so busy recently and I love it. My schedule is really filling up because I have obligations to the school (which is basically teaching 16 hours a week), tutoring during free periods and in the mean time, I try to make as many connections as possible.

The students are slowly starting to get used me and are starting to become less afraid of me. Many students are starting to approach me to practice English and one boy has asked me for extra help. We have been meeting in the library. It breaks my heart to hear this kids back story (he is from Kampong Cham, a province VERY far away) and he lives at the wat. Now, Khmer people don’t really read for pleasure, so it made me so happy when, during our first lesson, he asked me to pick out a book for him so we could read together. We read a story that was probably at a second grade level, but there aren’t many books and the levels literally vary from beginner to College physics. So, we have met twice already and will meet again tomorrow. I told the students that I am in the library during my free periods and they are more than welcome to come for extra help but it is a concept that is so foreign to them that they don’t really understand. Hopefully word gets around really soon and more students come to learn during their free periods. In the meantime, this student, his American name is Elvis Presley, has really made an effort to learn English because I think that he knows that is his way out of poverty. That is truly how it is over here, some things are just so depressing, but it makes me happy that he is taking his future into his own hands and is doing everything he can to be the best student he can be. The next battle is finding and applying for scholarships.

Darlene, Eddie (a K2) and I met with the University of Management and Economics during this week. They have been asking us for a while to get involved. The issue with having meetings is that usually people are really pushy to get you started on a project. My question is what’s the rush? I have only been in Battambang for about a month and a half, so I don’t see the point in just diving into any and every project that comes my way. So, we met and Darlene and Eddie both agreed to have workshops coming up, which I will help them with. I decided to become involved with the English club. I want to spread out our tasks and what the club is doing is really great. The students are really involved with the process and they do things such as public speaking practice once a month. So, I will spending my time with those students while helping Darlene and Eddie with their workshops.

Today was Human Rights Day and school was cancelled. Darlene and I spent the day around Battambang. We started at “the spot” which is the Khmer run breakfast that serves Western food and we have become friends with the family. Next, we set out to find coffee. After asking around and getting lost, we were able to find Vietnamese coffee!! That’s so huge because I have been drinking instant coffee, yuck. We went around BB and took pictures to send home. Next, we went to an orphanage about 5k from town. One of my students lives there and she met us near the New Market and took us there. It’s always really tough to tell who is doing something legit and who is doing something shady. The children were so polite and Sothea, my student, showed us around. There is a Canadian man who is working on a new project at the orphanage. Basically, they are building a hotel in the back and the children will run the hotel. They will be paid and are currently being paid to build it. They all seem so happy there and it is a really great way for them to make money. Many either don’t have parents or have parents that cannot afford to raise their children. The children who live there have a much better chance at success because the orphanage has a big role in getting these kids to college. It really was a great place to be and I cannot wait to start doing stuff there. Simply playing with the kids and maybe teaching them English. It is outside of BB, but it is so beautiful. Cambodia kids really find a way into your heart. It makes me happy that I found something that I will be doing in my spare time.

I have to go with Darlene to see our friends dress, she is going to a party tonight and her brother has been working on the dress for weeks. They are a Khmer family that opened up a shop in town that sells western goods. Darlene and I go there to chill with the family and practice speaking. They are a lot of fun. Hope all is well and I miss you all!!!

Kealan

This blog does not represent the thoughts or opinions of the US government or the Peace Corps. This blog represents my thoughts and opinions alone.