1st Semester a howy'

They said time was going to fly, but it is hard to believe that it is February already.  So much has happened in the last 5 months and so much has happened in the last few weeks.

Let me get you caught up on some of the recent events in my life over here in Cambodia.

• Semester 1 classes finished at the university on the 19th of January.  It was nice to have a couple weeks off as I was definitely starting to feel burnt out.  I think I can be forthright in saying that teaching is not in my future career plans.  However, having one semester under my belt now qualifies me as an expert, as I will be having student teachers observing my class this semester.  They will be taking notes on my technique, which will be a little nerve wracking.   The benefit of this this situation is that these students will then be teaching my classes for a couple of weeks.  Ahhhh the perks of teaching, maybe I should rethink the teaching thing altogether.

Giving some serious direction to my students

•  Us Cambodian SALTers were blessed with the presence of Isaac and Jenny, fellow SALTers from Vietnam, last week.  We had a great time checking out some spots in Phnom Penh as well as up in Siem Reap.  Up in Siem Reap we were able to check out one of the partners that MCC works with.  Philip Hosler, one of the current SALTers, is currently helping them with there ceramic studio, and you can take a look at the project click here.  We of course spent a day up at the temples.  I have never really been a museum guy, so although these are the Angkor Wat temples I still had a feeling it might get boring rather quickly.  I was pleasently suprised that I was able to be entertained throughout the entire day.  There is just so much to take in and you spend a lot of time walking and tuk tuking from temple to temple.  Most of the structures are awe-inspiring especially their size.  By the end of the day we had visited most of the temples near Angkor Wat, but there were many more that we did not get to. 
We also had the opportunity to bike around Siem Reap and take in the countryside.  Being a country boy at heart I am always happy to get outside the city and be amongst the rice paddies.  Phil was an excellent guide and showed us some of the different attractions that are must sees when traveling to Siem Reap.  It was sad to say goodbye to Jenny and Isaac, but it was great to spend a week with them hearing about their stories.  Now I have to return the favour and meet them in Hanoi.

Jenny, Isaac, and I in front of one of the temples (Bayon I believe)

• The last significant event happened this past Sunday when I moved in with my new host family.  My family actually hosted a SALTer last year and one of the members of the family was an IVEPer 2 years ago.  One thing I have already learned is that they love to play games.  The first night I brought dutch blitz and even though I was sick and went to bed early they continued to play until 11:30.  Looks like my remaining months will be filled with lots of fun.

It is hard to believe that I am coming up on the halfway point of my term here.  I want to thank all of you for your support so far and look forward to sharing the second half of my journey with you.