I'm sure most of you will be caught up in the joys of Christmas over the next week or two, so I won't be too hurt if you don't have time to read this post. However, if you do have time here it goes!
On the 10th, which happened to be the last time I wrote, one of the service workers, Amanda, had birthday cruise on the river here in Phnom Penh. After months of anticipating one of these river cruises it was exciting to finally get on one of the boats. The boats are pretty nifty with seating area on the upper deck as well as the lower deck. Most of our time was spent on the lower deck eating, talking and dancing. Yes dancing on a Mennonite river cruise. I'll admit there was not a lot of dancing on my part, some toe tapping, but not too much dancing. You might be wondering why the dancing? Well turns out Amanda's husband is in a bluegrass band and so we were treated to a couple hours of their music. We got a lot of peculiar looks from the Cambodian's on the boat as well as other boats passing by. All in all it was a fun evening, and a good chance to catch up with all the MCCer's.
The following Monday MCC had there Christmas party at the water park here in Phnom Penh. The party was organized by our national staff here in Cambodia and it was the first chance for me to meet some of their extended families. It involved a number of games including a scavenger hunt, Christmas songs both in English and Khmer and some baay(rice). It was a little chilly in the morning so the plan was to swim in the afternoon, unfortunately I had to work in the afternoon so there was no swimming for me :(
On to this past weekend...
The weekend involved some sleeping in which does not happen very often and a number of different Christmas activities. Friday a group of us went to a local restaurant to partake in some carol singing. It was packed with a lot of kids running around so we didn't end up staying to long. We escaped to the solitude of a nearby cafe, where we could actually hear ourselves think. On Sunday the Khmer church that I go to had their Christmas program. The whole family attended, which is the first time that has happened since I have been here! It was full of singing, drama, dancing and as usual a very inspired sermon from the preacher (he does a great job of keeping your attention for the 30-45 minutes he speaks). After the service we had a meal together and then it was back to the church for the afternoon youth program. I stayed for a little bit of the youth program, but after being at the church for 4 hours, I was getting a little overwhelmed and decided to slip out the back at get some alone time at home.
In the evening I went to the international church and once again took part in singing a number of Christmas carols. It was a little more satisfying this time around as I could see the words and actually hear myself singing. We even sang one verse of Silent Night in German. Talk about feeling like I was at home for a little bit!
Talking to people who have been here for more than a year, Christmas has become a lot more commercialized here in Phnom Penh. When you drive at night you can see lights and Christmas trees, and lots of restaurants are playing Christmas music. However, it still does not really feel like Christmas, and more than likely this weekend will pass without too much hoopla. And that might be a blessing for me. Christmas has always been a time to spend with family and close friends and this year it will be a new experience for me. So Merry Christmas if I don't talk to you before Sunday and also a Happy New Year.
P.S. Tip of the week - Teachers make sure you erase everything you write on the board before giving out a quiz
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Saturday 10 December 2011
No clever title to think of
I seem to get into these spurts were I am able to post multiple blogs in a very short window. It has been just a short few minutes since my last post, but the actual time between these two posts is closer to 1 month. So a quick update of some of the events of the last couple weeks.
That kinda sums up my life in the past few weeks. When there are no holidays there are definitely less adventures to be spoken of. I will add that the weather has been very pleasant recently. It is hovering around the mid to high 20's, but most days there is a breeze. It also rained a couple times this past week, which it hadn't done in a number of weeks, so that has also helped to keep it cool as well.
Lastly I battled a cold all last week, and this week I have been up and down with flu like symptoms. Wednesday I was in bed nearly all day, and I'll spare the details. I just ask that you keep me in your prayers not only for the health reasons, but also for this holiday season. It will be a new experience for me being away from family and friends, and I suspect that there will be some hard days along the way.
As always God Bless and thank you for the support!
- I was an honorary American for American Thanksgiving last month. The MCC workers down in Prey Veng put together a dinner, which rivaled any Thanksgiving dinner I have ever had. The fellowship and the food was great, and it was also really fun to get out of the city for the weekend and spend some time with my hosts, the Bades. And I had my first hot shower in Cambodia while I was out there. Funny that I had to go all the way out to the country for that!
- I have started going to a local International Church on Sunday evenings which has been a blessing so far. It has been nice to hear God's word in my native tongue especially around this time of year.
- I also recently started running at the Stadium here in Phnom Penh. Now I have never fancied myself a morning person, but I have been running at 5:30 in the morning. My body keeps asking me why, and my brain keeps answering 'they say its good for you'.
- There is about a month left in the semester so things are heating up and at the same time us teachers are already looking to next semester. I have become more comfortable in front of my students, but there are still times where I fumble to get the right words out or explain the meanings correctly.
That kinda sums up my life in the past few weeks. When there are no holidays there are definitely less adventures to be spoken of. I will add that the weather has been very pleasant recently. It is hovering around the mid to high 20's, but most days there is a breeze. It also rained a couple times this past week, which it hadn't done in a number of weeks, so that has also helped to keep it cool as well.
Lastly I battled a cold all last week, and this week I have been up and down with flu like symptoms. Wednesday I was in bed nearly all day, and I'll spare the details. I just ask that you keep me in your prayers not only for the health reasons, but also for this holiday season. It will be a new experience for me being away from family and friends, and I suspect that there will be some hard days along the way.
As always God Bless and thank you for the support!
And the remaining two days of my adventure...
On day 4 we were up early for some complementary breakfast and back onto the boat. Most of the morning was spent cruising through the Delta and the floating markets. It was quite a site to see and probably the highlight of the tour. We also got a chance to walk through one of local markets which was neat, but really not much different than any market here in Phnom Penh.
After another long bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh we found some home cooking in the form of Pizza Hut. Overall the pizza was pretty good, but the pasta was awful! We spent the rest of the night at the market and Crazy Buffalo. While relaxing outside the Crazy Buffalo we were treated to an impromptu Vietnamese rally. The street in front of the Crazy Buffalo was completely shut down as hundreds if not thousands of mottos clogged the street. Many people had flags and were chanting “Vietnam! Vietnam!” This went on for a good 15-20 minutes. During our trip, the Asian games were being played and on that specific night Vietnam had beaten Brunei 8-0. Experiencing that was definitely another highlight.
Our final day included a trip to the Notre Dame church to take in Sunday Morning Mass. The church was beautiful, maybe even a little too beautiful as half way through the service I began to feel a little light headed. I knew things were not looking good when the sound around me started to fade out. Now I have never fainted in my life and wasn't in mood to make that my first time so I made a somewhat labored dash for the door. I found the nearest local vendor and quickly replenished some of the electrolytes that I was in need of. Moral of the story don't skip breakfast, and go to a stuffy hot church.
And that there really wraps up the end of the trip. Our bus was slightly delayed coming home Sunday, but that was about the only excitement to speak of.
Stay tuned for another update shortly!
After another long bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh we found some home cooking in the form of Pizza Hut. Overall the pizza was pretty good, but the pasta was awful! We spent the rest of the night at the market and Crazy Buffalo. While relaxing outside the Crazy Buffalo we were treated to an impromptu Vietnamese rally. The street in front of the Crazy Buffalo was completely shut down as hundreds if not thousands of mottos clogged the street. Many people had flags and were chanting “Vietnam! Vietnam!” This went on for a good 15-20 minutes. During our trip, the Asian games were being played and on that specific night Vietnam had beaten Brunei 8-0. Experiencing that was definitely another highlight.
Our final day included a trip to the Notre Dame church to take in Sunday Morning Mass. The church was beautiful, maybe even a little too beautiful as half way through the service I began to feel a little light headed. I knew things were not looking good when the sound around me started to fade out. Now I have never fainted in my life and wasn't in mood to make that my first time so I made a somewhat labored dash for the door. I found the nearest local vendor and quickly replenished some of the electrolytes that I was in need of. Moral of the story don't skip breakfast, and go to a stuffy hot church.
And that there really wraps up the end of the trip. Our bus was slightly delayed coming home Sunday, but that was about the only excitement to speak of.
Stay tuned for another update shortly!
Thursday 24 November 2011
Day 3
Back on the bus bright and early for another tour. This time a 2-day tour to the Mekong Delta. This one sounded really interesting in the brochure, but after the day before we realized that there would be a number of different tour groups doing the exact same thing and we would probably only spend 30 minutes to an hour at each stop. There were however some interesting stops along the way, and some time for us to do our own thing. I may mix some things from day1 and day 2 of the tour, but if I remember correctly day one included. Many boat trips, some on large tour boats across the Delta and others on small fishing boats paddled by 2 Khmer people. We also stopped at a bee farm, as well as a coconut candy factory.
During Lunch, which was 'on the house' but barely enough to curb the hunger that we were feeling, we were able to grab some bikes and explore the island we were on. There was not a lot happening in the village except for a few tourist shops along the road. If my memory is correct that was it for day one except for the bus ride to the city we would be staying at for the night. Turns out the city was another 3 hours away. It was dark and the streets were completely flooded when we arrived. After we dropped off our bags at the guest house we went on a journey to fill our growling stomachs.
We basically had 2 choices. March through the water to what seemed to be the downtown area or head the other way away from the water, and seemingly away from any chance of western food. We chose the later and ended up in a small local Vietnamese restaurant. Normally I would not be so worried about this, but we were not in Cambodia anymore, and the only Vietnamese word that I had learned was “Kamma’; Thank you( a good word to learn I figured). Through pointing and some broken English we were able to order, and we all came out alive and well. We wandered through the streets a bit more and eventually found our way to the river front and night market. The markets were another highlight of the entire Vietnam trip. They sellers spoke enough English that you could barter and joke with them at the same time.
During Lunch, which was 'on the house' but barely enough to curb the hunger that we were feeling, we were able to grab some bikes and explore the island we were on. There was not a lot happening in the village except for a few tourist shops along the road. If my memory is correct that was it for day one except for the bus ride to the city we would be staying at for the night. Turns out the city was another 3 hours away. It was dark and the streets were completely flooded when we arrived. After we dropped off our bags at the guest house we went on a journey to fill our growling stomachs.
We basically had 2 choices. March through the water to what seemed to be the downtown area or head the other way away from the water, and seemingly away from any chance of western food. We chose the later and ended up in a small local Vietnamese restaurant. Normally I would not be so worried about this, but we were not in Cambodia anymore, and the only Vietnamese word that I had learned was “Kamma’; Thank you( a good word to learn I figured). Through pointing and some broken English we were able to order, and we all came out alive and well. We wandered through the streets a bit more and eventually found our way to the river front and night market. The markets were another highlight of the entire Vietnam trip. They sellers spoke enough English that you could barter and joke with them at the same time.
A Catholic church we came across during our exploration of the city
Day 2
On our first full day we took a tour bus out to the Cu Chi tunnels. We were quickly rushed from site to site, and I when they brought us up to the souvenir shop I thought that we might not get the chance to crawl through the tunnels. That would have been a great disappointment even though we only had to pay 4 dollars for the tour. But after a quick stop at the souvenir/shooting range we were marched back to a set of tunnels that they lets us crawl through. The couple of minutes we spent underground were definitely worth the 3 plus hours we spent on the bus.
On returning to Ho Chi Minh we put our walking shoes and headed to Water Puppets show. If you ever read the Vietnam Lonely planet it is a highly recommended show. The puppeteers were amazing and we were treated to some traditional Vietnamese music which we had been looking for all afternoon.
On returning to Ho Chi Minh we put our walking shoes and headed to Water Puppets show. If you ever read the Vietnam Lonely planet it is a highly recommended show. The puppeteers were amazing and we were treated to some traditional Vietnamese music which we had been looking for all afternoon.
Day 1
We left the great city of Phnom Penh for the metropolis of Ho Chi Minh at 7am (I believe this was the only bus of many that we took during the trip that left on time!). Anticipating a 5-6 hour ride we settled into our somewhat comfortable seats on the Mekong Express, ate our pre-packaged breakfast and watched the new Planet of the Apes. Things rarely seem to go as anticipated here though. The second stop was the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. You may be wondering why I failed to mention the first stop, but it was rather uneventful (just lunch and you can probably guess what we ate). Getting through the Cambodian side was easy enough. We got off our bus flashed some official our passport and then got back on the bus. The Vietnamese side was a completely different story.
So here is how they deal with border crossings in Vietnam. First we gave all of our passports to our bus attendant who runs them into the custom office. All of us then made our way into the building with hundreds of other travelers. We were packed in like sardines and you couldn’t move even if you wanted to. Every few minutes we would take a step or two forward and after doing this for about half n hour we reached the desk where they had the passports. Instead of giving us our passports when we got to the desk they just waved us through and told us to wait on the other side. I should mention that as all this was happening the custom officials were just holding passports up and shouting peoples name. It was almost too much! After probably another half n hour on the other side of the customs desk Phil and I finally got our passports. Turns out they don’t have a scanner so they have to type everybody’s info in one by one. I could say something about communist countries here but I’ll leave that out.
After that gong show we were back on the bus and only a couple hours outside of Ho Chi Minh. Or so we thought. 30 minutes outside of Ho Chi Minh there was a huge bang that sounded like a gun shot. At first the bus kept on rolling, but people quickly started to wave it down. As we came to a stop a large crowd quickly gathered around the back of the bus. Turns out that we had blown out one of our back tires. The humorous or I guess for the motto driver unfortunate part was that the pressure from the tire knocked down a motto that was on the side of the road. As we exited off the bus the poor motto driver was standing there with his hands on his head staring at his broken motto. After close to another hour delay fixing the tire and appeasing the motto driver we were back on our way and arrived at our guest house about 25 minutes later. That evening we spent a great deal of time wandering around the city, including visiting the market.
For the next few days we put on our tourist caps and explored some of sites around Ho Chi Minh. Around in this case is really a relative use of the word as the one tour took us 5 plus hours away from the big city.
So here is how they deal with border crossings in Vietnam. First we gave all of our passports to our bus attendant who runs them into the custom office. All of us then made our way into the building with hundreds of other travelers. We were packed in like sardines and you couldn’t move even if you wanted to. Every few minutes we would take a step or two forward and after doing this for about half n hour we reached the desk where they had the passports. Instead of giving us our passports when we got to the desk they just waved us through and told us to wait on the other side. I should mention that as all this was happening the custom officials were just holding passports up and shouting peoples name. It was almost too much! After probably another half n hour on the other side of the customs desk Phil and I finally got our passports. Turns out they don’t have a scanner so they have to type everybody’s info in one by one. I could say something about communist countries here but I’ll leave that out.
After that gong show we were back on the bus and only a couple hours outside of Ho Chi Minh. Or so we thought. 30 minutes outside of Ho Chi Minh there was a huge bang that sounded like a gun shot. At first the bus kept on rolling, but people quickly started to wave it down. As we came to a stop a large crowd quickly gathered around the back of the bus. Turns out that we had blown out one of our back tires. The humorous or I guess for the motto driver unfortunate part was that the pressure from the tire knocked down a motto that was on the side of the road. As we exited off the bus the poor motto driver was standing there with his hands on his head staring at his broken motto. After close to another hour delay fixing the tire and appeasing the motto driver we were back on our way and arrived at our guest house about 25 minutes later. That evening we spent a great deal of time wandering around the city, including visiting the market.
For the next few days we put on our tourist caps and explored some of sites around Ho Chi Minh. Around in this case is really a relative use of the word as the one tour took us 5 plus hours away from the big city.
Vietnam day by day
So I last left you off with the anticipation of a Vietnam adventure. If you were expecting crazy and possibly near death experiences you may be disappointed with this post. Nonetheless, I will put fingers to keyboard and give you some highlights from the trip that was Vietnam 2011.
To make it a little easier to digest I am going to split each day into a different post.
To make it a little easier to digest I am going to split each day into a different post.
Monday 7 November 2011
One more interesting thing
There was one other story that I was supposed to add and my mother has graciously reminded me about it. Last Friday I was driving back from the MCC office, when I passed a man on a motto with a couple of pigs strapped to the back. I think I stared at these pigs for a good 15 seconds to make sure I wasn't dreaming. At first I thought they were dead, but when I looked closer I could see one of the pigs breathing pretty heavily. They were as calm as calm could be, probably unware that their lives may be coming to an end in the near future.
There is always an adventure on the street!
There is always an adventure on the street!
Saturday 5 November 2011
Holiday's Galore
One thing that Cambodia definitely has right is the number of holidays that occur in a calendar year. I think there are close to 17 national holidays spread throughout the year. And when I say spread throughout I mean clumped together from September-November, and then again in April and May. We just finished celebrating the kings fathers birthday here in Cambodia, which was ironically on the 31st. I would like to say thank you to kings father for being born on that day as it gave us another couple of days off. Tiya (fellow MCCer) and I headed down to the beach for the weekend with a number of other Khmer and Expats (21 in all).
It was all planned by Daleap who was an IVEPer in California last year. It was nice to not have to worry about anything from transportation to lodging and just go and have a relaxing time at the beach. We left early Saturday and came back late Sunday, and of course were treated to a number of Khmer music videos along the way. I was hoping to catch up on some sleep during the trip, but inevitably that did not happen. However, on Monday I was able to sleep until 11 which is nearly impossible in Cambodia. Not sure how, but somehow I did it!
And just as soon as we finish celebrating the Kings fathers birthday we have the Water Festival. Another holiday and this time the destination is Vietnam, specifically Ho Chi Minh City. I am headed there for 4 or 5 days with a couple of other MCCers, definitely looking forward to it. Look for some photos an adventures on the next blog from the trip.
Now I know that it sounds like all I am up to is fun and games (some truth to that), but I am actually teaching. I believe that I just finished up my 6th week of teaching, really can't believe that it has been that long already. After Water Festival we will be into midterms and then we will have to start thinking about finals. I am not sure if I mentioned it in earlier posts, but the hardest thing has been trying to communicate grammar rules to the students. Sometimes I just want to say "That is just the way it is". That and also explaining directions to my 201 class have caused me to stop and think about patience on many different occasions.
We have started listening to music to practice listening. At the end of every week we listen to a song and I either have them fill in some blanks or, get them to put the verses in the right order. It is a great way to end of the week and the students are really engaged. I may have to start picking the music myself however because I have had some requests for Justin Bieber, and that ain't gonna fly with me.
I continue to experience new food here i.e.
When I ordered spiders I expected them to be covered in batter and deep fried. These things still had hair on their legs, but not too bad. The legs were really crunchy and the body actually had some meat on it. Still trying to convince Mikaela that she has to try one when she comes out this way.
Well looks like it is time to head to the market and see what else I can find!
It was all planned by Daleap who was an IVEPer in California last year. It was nice to not have to worry about anything from transportation to lodging and just go and have a relaxing time at the beach. We left early Saturday and came back late Sunday, and of course were treated to a number of Khmer music videos along the way. I was hoping to catch up on some sleep during the trip, but inevitably that did not happen. However, on Monday I was able to sleep until 11 which is nearly impossible in Cambodia. Not sure how, but somehow I did it!
And just as soon as we finish celebrating the Kings fathers birthday we have the Water Festival. Another holiday and this time the destination is Vietnam, specifically Ho Chi Minh City. I am headed there for 4 or 5 days with a couple of other MCCers, definitely looking forward to it. Look for some photos an adventures on the next blog from the trip.
Now I know that it sounds like all I am up to is fun and games (some truth to that), but I am actually teaching. I believe that I just finished up my 6th week of teaching, really can't believe that it has been that long already. After Water Festival we will be into midterms and then we will have to start thinking about finals. I am not sure if I mentioned it in earlier posts, but the hardest thing has been trying to communicate grammar rules to the students. Sometimes I just want to say "That is just the way it is". That and also explaining directions to my 201 class have caused me to stop and think about patience on many different occasions.
We have started listening to music to practice listening. At the end of every week we listen to a song and I either have them fill in some blanks or, get them to put the verses in the right order. It is a great way to end of the week and the students are really engaged. I may have to start picking the music myself however because I have had some requests for Justin Bieber, and that ain't gonna fly with me.
I continue to experience new food here i.e.
Well looks like it is time to head to the market and see what else I can find!
Sunday 9 October 2011
Time flys...or does it?
So I kinda promised this post yesterday, but things happen, plans change, life goes on and instead of yesterday this post is going up today.
I realized today that it has been nearly three weeks since my last post. I didn't think it would be hard to find time out here to update my blog, but I do not have the internet readily available so I have to seek it out to communicate with all of you. It really doesn't feel like it has been that long since I started teaching, but tomorrow I start my 4 week which is pretty crazy. Almost a month of school finished. I think I am close to getting into my teaching grove. I am having a lot of fun with my intermediate class and they are really challenging me when it comes to my grammar. My pre-intermediate class has been a lot more difficult and I am having a tough time explaining concepts to them. I keep praying for patience as it can be frustrating when they look back at me with blank looks after I have tried to explain it multiple times. There are small successes in class and I try to focus on those.
So a quick run down of my time since the beginning of my teaching career.
-After the first week of teaching we had a 3 day holiday. Most of the Cambodians went back to their home towns for this holiday. If you would like to look the holiday up it is called Pchum Ben. I spent most of my time in Phnom Penh with the host family. It was nice to enjoy the empty streets and the slower pace of life.
-On the Tuesday of Pchum Ben I went with some friends to the province of Takeo. There we went to the zoo. Zoo's are quite big there so we drove around most of the zoo on our mottos. We also had lunch on the river, and played a ton of dutch blitz. (hopefully there will be some more photos up on facebook soon)
-Last weekend I went to the market and picked out some fabric to make a pair of pants and a shirt. Look for a picture in the near future.
-This past Friday I went to a Taize (not sure about the spelling on that one) service. It was a peaceful and calming service. We sang some catholic verses and read some scripture and meditated for long periods of time. It was definitely a nice way to wind down and clear your mind after a busy week.
-After the service a co-worker and I went and got massages, which is another great way to relax after a busy week.
-Last night I went out to dinner with the family. We had wanted to go out on a boat but it was raining, so we went out for pizza instead. Safe to say I got completely soaked. Still trying to figure out a way to keep my pants dry during the rain, they don't make big enough ponchos here for me. So when we got to the restaurant I went to the bathroom and proceeded to wring out my pants as best as I could. Ahh another great story.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in Canada, so happy Thanksgiving to you all. I am thankful that I have been blessed with good health so far and a great support group.
And also for those of you WGMers following the blog you will never guess who I ran into the other night at a small house church. Mr. Hugh Campbell's daughter. Talk about a small world!
I realized today that it has been nearly three weeks since my last post. I didn't think it would be hard to find time out here to update my blog, but I do not have the internet readily available so I have to seek it out to communicate with all of you. It really doesn't feel like it has been that long since I started teaching, but tomorrow I start my 4 week which is pretty crazy. Almost a month of school finished. I think I am close to getting into my teaching grove. I am having a lot of fun with my intermediate class and they are really challenging me when it comes to my grammar. My pre-intermediate class has been a lot more difficult and I am having a tough time explaining concepts to them. I keep praying for patience as it can be frustrating when they look back at me with blank looks after I have tried to explain it multiple times. There are small successes in class and I try to focus on those.
So a quick run down of my time since the beginning of my teaching career.
-After the first week of teaching we had a 3 day holiday. Most of the Cambodians went back to their home towns for this holiday. If you would like to look the holiday up it is called Pchum Ben. I spent most of my time in Phnom Penh with the host family. It was nice to enjoy the empty streets and the slower pace of life.
-On the Tuesday of Pchum Ben I went with some friends to the province of Takeo. There we went to the zoo. Zoo's are quite big there so we drove around most of the zoo on our mottos. We also had lunch on the river, and played a ton of dutch blitz. (hopefully there will be some more photos up on facebook soon)
-Last weekend I went to the market and picked out some fabric to make a pair of pants and a shirt. Look for a picture in the near future.
-This past Friday I went to a Taize (not sure about the spelling on that one) service. It was a peaceful and calming service. We sang some catholic verses and read some scripture and meditated for long periods of time. It was definitely a nice way to wind down and clear your mind after a busy week.
-After the service a co-worker and I went and got massages, which is another great way to relax after a busy week.
-Last night I went out to dinner with the family. We had wanted to go out on a boat but it was raining, so we went out for pizza instead. Safe to say I got completely soaked. Still trying to figure out a way to keep my pants dry during the rain, they don't make big enough ponchos here for me. So when we got to the restaurant I went to the bathroom and proceeded to wring out my pants as best as I could. Ahh another great story.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in Canada, so happy Thanksgiving to you all. I am thankful that I have been blessed with good health so far and a great support group.
And also for those of you WGMers following the blog you will never guess who I ran into the other night at a small house church. Mr. Hugh Campbell's daughter. Talk about a small world!
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Professor Heidebrecht
It is now official. I have completed my first day of teaching and as far as it went I have mixed feelings. If you were able to read the blog I posted before class yesterday, my theory did work(you'll have to look at yesterdays blog for that theory). I was not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be, and I was also able to fill up the entire hour and 20 minutes (that had been another fear of mine). So a few impressions I had from my first 2 classes.
- The students are amazing. Very polite and really try to understand what is going on. They are also very helpful.
- It is going to be difficult to create lessons for my 201 class. They know very little English and I spent most of my first class trying to explain activities to them. The challenge over the next few weeks will be finding a type of lesson that they can understand. If any of you have ideas I would be happy to hear from you!
- A class of 30 students is a lot bigger than I thought I was going to be teaching, which may make it hard to keep everyone engaged all the time.
- Remembering names is going to be extremely difficult. I took a video of all the students introducing themselves, so I am hoping that will help me to learn their names as quick as I can.
All in all I would deem it a successful day. Today will be my first day with the actual curriculum, which will be another adventure in and of itself. I am currently at MCC so once I finish this blog posting I will finish putting together my lesson plans for my classes today. Once again hopefully I can fill up my entire 80 minutes of class. The nice thing is that we are supposed to stay very close to what is in the textbook so nearly all of the activities will come from the textbook. For a new teacher this is great. I can just pick and choose activities from the book. The hardest part will probably be teaching Grammar, not my strongest point.
- The students are amazing. Very polite and really try to understand what is going on. They are also very helpful.
- It is going to be difficult to create lessons for my 201 class. They know very little English and I spent most of my first class trying to explain activities to them. The challenge over the next few weeks will be finding a type of lesson that they can understand. If any of you have ideas I would be happy to hear from you!
- A class of 30 students is a lot bigger than I thought I was going to be teaching, which may make it hard to keep everyone engaged all the time.
- Remembering names is going to be extremely difficult. I took a video of all the students introducing themselves, so I am hoping that will help me to learn their names as quick as I can.
All in all I would deem it a successful day. Today will be my first day with the actual curriculum, which will be another adventure in and of itself. I am currently at MCC so once I finish this blog posting I will finish putting together my lesson plans for my classes today. Once again hopefully I can fill up my entire 80 minutes of class. The nice thing is that we are supposed to stay very close to what is in the textbook so nearly all of the activities will come from the textbook. For a new teacher this is great. I can just pick and choose activities from the book. The hardest part will probably be teaching Grammar, not my strongest point.
Monday 19 September 2011
2 hours to go...
So I am sitting in the English office here at the University, getting ready to grab some lunch. A couple more hours and the reason I am halfway across the globe will finally take shape. Nervous you ask? Well it comes and goes, but as I write this blog the nerves are not that bad. You know when you hear how good a movie is from all your friends, and your expectations are raised significantly. You go to the theater to watch the movie and you are extremely disappointed because your expectations were to high. I liken my situation to that. Every time I talk to someone I mention how nervous I will be for this first day. I am hoping that I have hyped my nerves so high that it will be a disappointment when I don't have any. Haha, It is worth a shot anyways right? :)
Stay tuned for tomorrows update about how the first day went.
Stay tuned for tomorrows update about how the first day went.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
The Prey Veng Trip
So I’ve been in Cambodia
So a quick update on the Prey Veng trip. We left last Thursday and stayed until Monday. It was nice to get away from the big city and get out to the country. Thursday and Friday we visited a number of MCC’s partners, most of them to do with Agriculture sustainability. On Saturday we got up at 7 and went for a 3 hour bike ride through the different small towns around Prey Veng. There really isn’t a lot of sleeping in here in Cambodia
Quick list of firsts
- hand fed bananas to monkeys
- drove a motto through rice paddies
- drove a motto in Phnom Penh
- rode a bicycle past a herd of water buffalo
- ate some kind of intestine, or so they tell me
- had my first staff meeting as a professor
- attended my first Khmer church service
The rest of the weekend in Prey Veng we had the chance to just relax and get to know each other a little bit more. We played some games (of course dutch blitz) and watched a number of movies, all in all it was a great time.
This past Sunday I went to church with my host family. It was my second adventure in a Khmer church and it was not quite what I was expecting. Most Khmers are generally reserved and quite. This church service was quite the opposite. It was loud, it was charismatic, and it was long, at least long for me. It will take some time to get used to the service, especially the length and really not understanding much of it. I am also going to try to see if there is an English service that I can attend.
We have a few MCC guests in Cambodia at the moment, 3 from Akron and one from Manitoba
Looking into the future now it is only 5 days until my teaching career begins. At times I feel like I am ready, and at times I ask myself what did I get into here. I could be working at home with people I know. Instead I am teaching for the first time, at a university no less, with people I hardly know. It’s tough, but I am looking forward to the challenge and luckily I have a lot of support at the university and MCC. God Bless!
Wednesday 31 August 2011
My New Home
It is the day after the first night and I am still kicking, haha. My first experience with my host family was a lot of fun. After the half hour tuk tuk ride my host father and mother showed me to my room and let me set up. I have a pretty big room and my own bathroom which really surprised me. I had dinner with the whole family (father, mother and 2 brothers) then hung out with the neighbours for awhile before going to bed. Also our neighbours next door organize an exercise class so there was music pumping for an hour or two during supper. I might have to join in sometime!
Like I said it is quite far from the MCC offices so my commute to the MCC offices is a little long, but it is close to RUPP where I will be working. My host father, So Pan, said that I could borrow a bicycle and ride it to work if I wanted. I'm hoping to get my Cambodian license soon, so that I can start driving a motto, and not have to pay for a motto dope each way. 5000 Riel ($1.25) each doesn't seem like much, but MCC would like us to stick to a travel budget of $30 a month.
I took a motto to MCC this morning, and am hoping that I can contact the same motto driver for my ride home. It could be a little interesting because he did not speak a lot of English, so I am hoping everything goes well. Other than that we said goodbye to the YAMENer going to Laos by going out to the River Front on Monday night. We had some ice cream which is a treat anywhere you go in the world and walked along the streets for a few hours. Khmer lessons continue and I am remembering words, but it is difficult to string them into sentences or pick up meaning when Cambodians speak Khmer to me.
Tomorrow us YALTers are headed to Prey Veng for 5 days. It will be nice to get out to the country side and get some fresh air. We are going to meet Caleb's host family, meet up with some of MCC's partners, and practice driving mottos.
One other thing that I forgot to mention is that I experienced my first Cambodian delicacy last night. I had a baby duck egg. Essentially it is a partially formed duck fetus. Looks like a hard boiled egg with some extra things. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Don't know if I will be eating it a lot, but I think I will probably try it again.
Sometime
Like I said it is quite far from the MCC offices so my commute to the MCC offices is a little long, but it is close to RUPP where I will be working. My host father, So Pan, said that I could borrow a bicycle and ride it to work if I wanted. I'm hoping to get my Cambodian license soon, so that I can start driving a motto, and not have to pay for a motto dope each way. 5000 Riel ($1.25) each doesn't seem like much, but MCC would like us to stick to a travel budget of $30 a month.
I took a motto to MCC this morning, and am hoping that I can contact the same motto driver for my ride home. It could be a little interesting because he did not speak a lot of English, so I am hoping everything goes well. Other than that we said goodbye to the YAMENer going to Laos by going out to the River Front on Monday night. We had some ice cream which is a treat anywhere you go in the world and walked along the streets for a few hours. Khmer lessons continue and I am remembering words, but it is difficult to string them into sentences or pick up meaning when Cambodians speak Khmer to me.
Tomorrow us YALTers are headed to Prey Veng for 5 days. It will be nice to get out to the country side and get some fresh air. We are going to meet Caleb's host family, meet up with some of MCC's partners, and practice driving mottos.
One other thing that I forgot to mention is that I experienced my first Cambodian delicacy last night. I had a baby duck egg. Essentially it is a partially formed duck fetus. Looks like a hard boiled egg with some extra things. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Don't know if I will be eating it a lot, but I think I will probably try it again.
Sometime
Friday 26 August 2011
Sound Track Addition
I had meant to add this to yesterday's blog but I forgot so here it is. I couldn't think of just one song to represent the Akron orientation so there are two that I have. The first is 'I Gotta Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas. Please don't judge me too harshly, but the song was played a number of times during the many parties we had through out the week (who would have thought a Mennonite event would have so much dancing).
The other song is 'Home' by Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros. It was at orientation that I first heard this song. After listening to it once I probably listened to it another 10 times. Everywhere I went it seemed someone was singing it or humming it. If you have not heard it I definitely recommend it!
So we are now up to 3 songs for those of you following along.
The other song is 'Home' by Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros. It was at orientation that I first heard this song. After listening to it once I probably listened to it another 10 times. Everywhere I went it seemed someone was singing it or humming it. If you have not heard it I definitely recommend it!
So we are now up to 3 songs for those of you following along.
Thursday 25 August 2011
First Impressions of Cambodia
I have now been in Cambodia for nearly a week, but it actually feels like it has been a lot longer than that. So a quick recap of what happened before Phil, Caleb and I (the SALTers) took our first step on Cambodian soil. The night before we left for Cambodia we had a talent show, and all I can say is WOW! I knew I was among an amazing group of people, but I felt a little insignificant after witnessing some of the talent that was there. A number of amazing musicians who definitely have a future in the industry if they choose. We were treated to a rendition of N'Syncs 'bye, bye, bye' which was probably the highlite of the night. The night then transformed into a dance party (the 3rd or 4th one of the week) and then a late night of Deutch Blitz as we waited for the first SALTers to take off early that morning.
The following day we said our goodbyes and then 11 of us boarded a small bus and headed to New York City. Our 3 hour trip turned into 4 hours as we had a nice tour through Brooklyn on our way to JFK. We had our last meal in America ( I think it was a chicken bacon sandwich or something) and then waited. And waited a little more. The waiting was due to lightning that lit up the sky every 30 seconds or so. After we got on the plane and readied ourselves for takeoff we waited some more. At least another hour perhaps 2 but we did finally take off and I don't remember much of the flight because I slept through most of it. We had a quick layover in Frankfurt and then we were off again to Singapore. I had heard a great deal of good things about Singapore Airlines so maybe my expectations were built up to high, but I didn't think it was heads and tails above anything else I have experienced. The food was good but we were packed in the middle of the plane so it wasn't super comfortable. Anyways we landed in Singapore quickly said our goodbyes to the other Southeast Asia SALTers and just made our connecting flight to Phnom Penh.
Coming in to Phnom Penh was quite amazing. The Mekong river, which starts in China and runs all the way through Cambodia, floods a lot of the countryside during the rainy season. From the airplane it looked like there was water everywhere. Homes built on stilts were surrounded by water in some instances. The ride from the airport to the MCC office was eye opener. This being my first time to a developing country I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The amount of rundown buildings, people walking on the roads, or people just sitting on the side of the road because they have nothing to do was well quite large. And the smell...not much fresh air here in Phnom Penh.
It has been quite a world wind since we have been here, not a lot of free time to speak of. We have language lessons that start at 8am and then we are usually going here and there until 8 or 8:30pm, so the only time we have is the couple hours in the evening. Jet lag kept me tired for the first couple days, but I think now I just get tired because of our busy schedule. It does keep us from getting bored which is good (always trying to be positive).
A quick list of what we have done so far:
- visited Wat Phnom (they give elephant rides there which was pretty cool)
- visited the National Museum (lots of Buddhist statues)
- attended Mennonite church on Sunday (all Khmer)
- went to the Olympic Stadium ( jazzercise is huge here)
- visited a number of MCC's partners
- have had pork and rice for nearly every breakfast (not bad but wouldn't mind some granola and yogurt)
- fit 7 people into a tuk, tuk
- and have ate at a number of different restaurants (our first meal in Cambodia was actually Vietnamese)
That about catches you up to my happenings over the last week or so.
Ohhh.........
I had to put in a picture of me and my Krama. It is a traditional Cambodian garment that can be used as a scarf, bandanna or as I have it. Yes it pretty much is a skirt, but it is super comfy and a great way to relax in the evening.
So put in your orders now because you will definitely have to try it out.
I will leave you with the Khmer translation of good bye
chum riep lie!
The following day we said our goodbyes and then 11 of us boarded a small bus and headed to New York City. Our 3 hour trip turned into 4 hours as we had a nice tour through Brooklyn on our way to JFK. We had our last meal in America ( I think it was a chicken bacon sandwich or something) and then waited. And waited a little more. The waiting was due to lightning that lit up the sky every 30 seconds or so. After we got on the plane and readied ourselves for takeoff we waited some more. At least another hour perhaps 2 but we did finally take off and I don't remember much of the flight because I slept through most of it. We had a quick layover in Frankfurt and then we were off again to Singapore. I had heard a great deal of good things about Singapore Airlines so maybe my expectations were built up to high, but I didn't think it was heads and tails above anything else I have experienced. The food was good but we were packed in the middle of the plane so it wasn't super comfortable. Anyways we landed in Singapore quickly said our goodbyes to the other Southeast Asia SALTers and just made our connecting flight to Phnom Penh.
Coming in to Phnom Penh was quite amazing. The Mekong river, which starts in China and runs all the way through Cambodia, floods a lot of the countryside during the rainy season. From the airplane it looked like there was water everywhere. Homes built on stilts were surrounded by water in some instances. The ride from the airport to the MCC office was eye opener. This being my first time to a developing country I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The amount of rundown buildings, people walking on the roads, or people just sitting on the side of the road because they have nothing to do was well quite large. And the smell...not much fresh air here in Phnom Penh.
It has been quite a world wind since we have been here, not a lot of free time to speak of. We have language lessons that start at 8am and then we are usually going here and there until 8 or 8:30pm, so the only time we have is the couple hours in the evening. Jet lag kept me tired for the first couple days, but I think now I just get tired because of our busy schedule. It does keep us from getting bored which is good (always trying to be positive).
A quick list of what we have done so far:
- visited Wat Phnom (they give elephant rides there which was pretty cool)
- visited the National Museum (lots of Buddhist statues)
- attended Mennonite church on Sunday (all Khmer)
- went to the Olympic Stadium ( jazzercise is huge here)
- visited a number of MCC's partners
- have had pork and rice for nearly every breakfast (not bad but wouldn't mind some granola and yogurt)
- fit 7 people into a tuk, tuk
- and have ate at a number of different restaurants (our first meal in Cambodia was actually Vietnamese)
That about catches you up to my happenings over the last week or so.
Ohhh.........
I had to put in a picture of me and my Krama. It is a traditional Cambodian garment that can be used as a scarf, bandanna or as I have it. Yes it pretty much is a skirt, but it is super comfy and a great way to relax in the evening.
So put in your orders now because you will definitely have to try it out.
I will leave you with the Khmer translation of good bye
chum riep lie!
Monday 15 August 2011
Just Another Day in the Rain
It has yet to rain today, but if the sky does decide to give us another shower it will be the third consecutive day of rain here in Akron. The rain however has not kept us from g
On Monday those of us going to Cambodia got a good chance to sit and talk with the IVEPers from Cambodia
Yesterday morning we had a great service! We were led by the Latin American IVEPers, and sung a number or songs in Portuguese and Spanish. It was an extremely energetic service and a great way to wake up in the morning that is for sure. And the energy kept on going through the night as we celebrated a birthday for one of the SALTers. We had a pinata, and there was a lot of dancing (a lot!!). We learned different dances from just about every continent. And I think I might have stumbled across the next song in the playlist, but I will inform you about that probably on my next entry.
Anyways I missed breakfast this morning because I slept in, so my stomach is telling me that it is time to get some food so I will talk to you all later.
Anyways I missed breakfast this morning because I slept in, so my stomach is telling me that it is time to get some food so I will talk to you all later.
Thursday 11 August 2011
The Excitement Grows!
It's less than 24 hours until the adventure begins. For the last 10 days I have felt nothing but excitement, but the butterflies have arrived. I knew they would come but I'll embrace them and I know God is there with me which will quell some of my fear.
I must say at first the thing that scared me the most was the language barrier. Not being able to communicate to those around me in a new setting is a terrifying thing. Without communication life becomes hard and a person can become quite lonely. I have learned some things in the past couple weeks that have lessened this fear though. My host father speaks fairly good English which will help me as I get acquainted with Khmer language. My host brother goes to the Royal University where I will be teaching. I will be able to commute with him to school, which will be nice because I hear the roads are very chaotic down there (kinda run by a set of unwritten rules). And I know that I will not be thrust right into teaching when I get there (at least I think so). There will be a month where the other SALTers and I can get acclimatized to the country and start learning the language. For those of you who do not know what SALT is here is a quick rundown.
- SALT stands for Serving and Learning Together
- It is an exchange program operated by MCC
- MCC stands for Mennonite Central Committee
- For more information about MCC you can visit http://www.mcc.org/
It might come as a shock to some of you but they asked me to come and teach English over there. I am pumped to see if this teaching thing is for me. At the same time nervous because it is new and something I really haven't done before and I am not sure if I will like it or not. Either way the experience will give me a good idea on weather or not it is something I want to pursue when I get back. If I come back...
Just kidding mom.
Oh and before I forget I need to get that playlist started, eh Allison :)!
I heard this song the other day coming from one of the many gatherings I've been at in the last week. I got to see these guys live last year in Olds and it was one of the best concerts I've been to (of the 3 or 4 that I've been to). Trooper opened the concert and closed the concert with "We're here for a good time (Not a long time)". As I spend my last evening here in Canada with family and friends I can't help but think this is a great song to listen to for the situation (Plus I'm getting goosebumps listening to it right now!)
So for just about all of you I will see you in a year or so, but I look forward to hearing from you along the journey.
I must say at first the thing that scared me the most was the language barrier. Not being able to communicate to those around me in a new setting is a terrifying thing. Without communication life becomes hard and a person can become quite lonely. I have learned some things in the past couple weeks that have lessened this fear though. My host father speaks fairly good English which will help me as I get acquainted with Khmer language. My host brother goes to the Royal University where I will be teaching. I will be able to commute with him to school, which will be nice because I hear the roads are very chaotic down there (kinda run by a set of unwritten rules). And I know that I will not be thrust right into teaching when I get there (at least I think so). There will be a month where the other SALTers and I can get acclimatized to the country and start learning the language. For those of you who do not know what SALT is here is a quick rundown.
- SALT stands for Serving and Learning Together
- It is an exchange program operated by MCC
- MCC stands for Mennonite Central Committee
- For more information about MCC you can visit http://www.mcc.org/
It might come as a shock to some of you but they asked me to come and teach English over there. I am pumped to see if this teaching thing is for me. At the same time nervous because it is new and something I really haven't done before and I am not sure if I will like it or not. Either way the experience will give me a good idea on weather or not it is something I want to pursue when I get back. If I come back...
Just kidding mom.
Oh and before I forget I need to get that playlist started, eh Allison :)!
I heard this song the other day coming from one of the many gatherings I've been at in the last week. I got to see these guys live last year in Olds and it was one of the best concerts I've been to (of the 3 or 4 that I've been to). Trooper opened the concert and closed the concert with "We're here for a good time (Not a long time)". As I spend my last evening here in Canada with family and friends I can't help but think this is a great song to listen to for the situation (Plus I'm getting goosebumps listening to it right now!)
So for just about all of you I will see you in a year or so, but I look forward to hearing from you along the journey.
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