Boeng Kok Youth School Pictures

Every week during a school break the women of the village are taught skills (such as mushroom planting) so that they can start making more money for themselves.

Better Camera! (Pictures from Tiny Toones)

It's The Weekend!

Ida

Swimming, swimming..(Erica, Ida, Me, Victor, Will, Nick, Max)

Max, Erica and Ida :)

On friday we went to a restaurant called Corner 33 at riverfront for some nice cocktails at happy hour. On saturday we went to a hotel called Eureka Villas where we swam in the pool for free (as it had just opened). It was really fun and playing marco polo gave us a good workout...(as well as the time spent at the gym the guys had earlier on). On saturday night we all helped cook a Japanese beef stew :)

Juliet and Nick :)

Tiny Toones

:)

Peaceee

Teaching the younger kiddies

Day 2 of teaching! One of the great things about teaching at Tiny Toones is how friendly the kids there are.  A few kids wanted to take pictures after class (they didn't know the english words but signaled clicking a camera) So we happily obliged :)

Nick with the kids

Sorry about the bad quality of these photos - they were taken with my small camera.

We have decided to teach the teachers at Tiny Toones for four hours a week instead of doing evening classes at Youth School. I think this will benefit the classes cause we can then spend more time preparing lesson plans.

Teaching has been really fun but I definitely have more respect for teachers as after the first few classes not only am I ready for a long nap but my throat hurts from teaching too. It's all worth it though!

First Cooking Class

Fresh vegetables

Ida Char Grnnng-ing

Help from an expert

Here are some photos taken a few days ago of our first cooking class (ingredients all bought from the Russian Market). The dish's name is pronounced Char Grnnng and contains lemongrass, ground cashew nuts, chicken, and assorted vegetables.

Exhausted

Teaching has begun! Nick and I had our first two classes today at Tiny Toones. We had not set up a lesson plan but Cobra gave us the book they were using and let us do our thing! Much easier and less stressful than I thought as the kids are eager to learn, respectful and at worst - just a little shy. We had to refresh our memory on the grammar rules but were able to form a lesson. The next class was very little kids, and a bit more of a challenge as they could not speak much english.

With them we went over some easy vocabulary (house, car, bag, doctor, student, teacher) and then played games such as pictionary and hangman. They are extremely attentive for such young kids and seemed to enjoy the games.

Yesterday night we observed the Youth School (25 minute drive) classes from 2 - 7:30pm (which was extremely tiring) and found that the kids are studying too many words and the classes should be broken down into simpler tasks.

Youth School

A Justin Bieber Education

The kids at Rudi Boa have requested Max and Victor sing Baby by Justin Bieber and we filmed them practicing when they weren't watching. Quality stuff.

More Pictures From Tiny Toones Day 1

Art Class (todays lesson was about circles)

Smile!

Nick and the kids

The Train Game (Tiny Toones)

First Day at School

English Class for the little ones

Morning at Tiny Toones
Just came back from an 8-11am shift at Tiny Toones. Today Nicholas and I were there to observe the english and art classes, getting a sense of the place and the students before we begin teaching.

An amazing painting by the art teacher

Posing with the kids

Tiny Toones is a great place, all the kids are really friendly and seem to have a great time running around. They all were very welcoming, curious as to what our names were and where we came from. Many liked to show off their dance and gymnastic moves in recess and even more enthusiastic when they saw I was filming. We sat in for 3 classes, an english class for intermediate kids, a class for beginners (both taught by Cobra), and an art class.

Durian Time

Dinner By The Mee Kong River

Our view of cow bottoms on the trip there

Last night Victor's uncle, who lives in Cambodia, treated us to some lovely seafood :) We all piled into a van and were driven to the restaurant - unaware the trip would take 40 minutes. Many of us took this opportunity to practice our singing.

The biggest Chik Chak I have ever seen..at least 5cm wide.

Ida's Makeover

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

On a sad note, today we went to Tuol Sleng - a school turned into a prison under the order of Pol Pot in 1975 (not very long ago!) It was run by the Khmer Rouge and "designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture, and killing". 

Tuol Sleng Museum

There are 4 buildings - many classrooms were split into prison cells made of brick walls, and all balconies were lined with barb wire to prevent the desperate victims from committing suicide.

In 1978 there were 5765 prisoners, not including the estimated 20,000 children killed.

It was an extremely heartbreaking and shocking experience as the museum holds pictures of all the prisoners mugshots, the torture tools used (for methods such as stretching and water boarding). Some buildings include stories from family members or prison guards forced to work for the Khmer Rouge. A woman recalls having to tell 4 - 10 people (every night) that they were relocated to pick fruit in a neighbouring village when in fact they were to be killed.

Ten prison cells in one classroom

The pictures are extremely graphic, and are what I imagine any concentration camp in the Holocaust would look like. There are scenes of terrain covered in the skulls and bones of these people whose faces line the walls of the museum.

There remains a plaque listing the rules the captured had to follow, including number 6  "While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all"

We all were left feeling slightly stunned but agreed that it is key to understand the history of Phnom Penh before we begin teaching.

Spag Bol - Team Effort.

Introduction To The Schools

Aziza

Lakeside

Day 2: Woke up at 8am and went to Rudi Boa by tuk-tuk, took 45 minutes. Its a great place, quite desolate - all students very eager to learn! 2 classrooms, 3 swings, the students could answer simple questions.

What do you like to do?

How old are you?

What is your name?

After that we went to the lakeside school, most of the lake has been filled with sand for new development. Two story building (computers downstairs). We went to the Youth School (five minutes away from lakeside) after that. All near an abandoned railway track. The school is basically on stilts, 2 small classrooms.

We had lunch at Riverfront (very touristy place so a bit more pricey!)

Aziza was the last school visited, located near a rubbish dump. Very small, only one classroom. We went to the rooftop of the apartment block - some people who have no homes live there.

We all helped make spaghetti bolognese for ten people - success! We don't have to wake up so early tomorrow - 10am :)

Orientation Week

Plane ride was 2 hours not counting the slight delay - immediately took a van to BABC (Bridges Across Borders Cambodia).

Day 1: Had a really nice breakfast (french toast and fruit). Went to the Russian market (got some towels!), visited Tiny Toones - saw them doing breakdancing. Can't wait to get started on Monday - will probably be doing art and english classes there. They are relocating in October because some of the rooms are molding - the smell is unbearable. It is a bit of a shame as there is a lovely wall painting of a Cambodia landscape done by an art teacher. We went for dinner at Khmer Kitchen, I had some yummy stir fried vegetables. We all got new phones and simcards as expensive phones could attract unwanted attention.

BABC: Nice place with a tv room on the top floor, two rooms on the third floor, the kitchen and more rooms on the second floor, and the offices on the first floor.

The Rooming: There are eight of us on this trip. The four girls stay together and same goes for the guys. The room is quite large (will post picture later) with two beds and a bunkbed. Each girl has their own cupboard frame.

Helpful Notes: 

- females shouldnt touch male student's heads

- always decide a price before getting in a tuk-tuk
- 4000 riel to one U.S. dollar, but they use U.S. currency as well.

Photo: My bed frame broke so I decided I should document the moment. It was immediately fixed but we all found me falling into my bed quite amusing :)