A little work, a little fun....

I have now been in Siem Reap for approximately one week.  To be completely honest, it feels much longer than this, as the last week has been scattered with so many different wonderful activities.  I have been getting a lot of questions from friends and family about life here, asking me to be more specific about the food, the people, my work, and from some (mostly from the fine men of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity) about the night life (different time, different post).  My goal for this post is to fill everyone in on what I have been up to while simultaneously providing information about the requested categories.  So here it goes: 


1.  The Global Child:  My work at the global child has just begun and will heavily increase over the next week.  Amanda and I have had our preliminary meetings with the staff at TGC and have been shown the logistical side of our teaching.  For example, Chanthy (the program coordinator) has so kindly shown and taught us about lesson plans, attendance, and many other policies of the school.  Dara Heng, the school principal, has welcome us with open arms and provided information about expectations and such.  Amanda and I will officially begin teaching/observing this week.  I am beyond excited to get started with the students, that is why I came here and when that work begins I will finally begin to feel like I serve a purpose.  Currently, the settling in stage has been very beneficial to my success as a resident of Siem Reap but has done little to satisfy my desire to change lives/have my life changed.  This has been a somewhat difficult reality to deal with as I have never really been one to sit and wait for something, I usually just go out and get it done.  I understand fully now that this is part of the experience and know that I will eventually cherish the lessons I have learned in my first week here. 


As part of our introduction to the school and working with children here, Amanda and I spent today at a training course hosted by an NGO called conCERT. The full day workshop focused on developing an understanding of Child Protection Laws and Policy in Cambodia. More specifically, the course worked to bridge the gap between Westerner's understanding of child/volunteer relationships and the reality in Cambodia. I found the course extremely useful as it better prepared me for the next nine months of teaching.

2.  Food:  The food here is extremely diverse. On one corner there is a Western restaurant serving up "American" style foods (most of it fried, not surprisingly).  On the opposite corner is a Mexican restaurant offering $1.50 margaritas (try to match that Bombers Burrito Bar) and quesadillas.  Down the street one can satisfy their hungry stomach with some traditional Khmer food consisting of rice, noodles and so much more! This place really has it all, including $.50 drafts and cheap mixed drinks.  I am enjoying the food here.  It is really nice to be able to explore the different traditional Cambodian dishes while always having a Western restaurant to fall back on.  My favorite place so far goes by the name McBuddha.  It is owned by a lovely family and I have grown fond of both the food and the hospitality. Also, the food is incredibly cheap.  Last night, Amanda and I dined at McBuddha and our meal consisted of: 1 stir fried noodles with chicken, 1 fried rice with chicken and egg, two beers and a bottle of water. I then decided to stay for one more beer with the son of the owner.  When all was said and done I had spent $4.00.  I imagine I will return to McBuddha again...probably tonight.  

3. The Temples: I have seen the pyramids of Giza, the old city of Jerusalem and the sky scrappers of New York.  I have been to the Grand Canyon, gone mountain biking in the wilderness of Whislter, BC, Canada and sailed around the Greek Islands of Mykonos, Santorini and Ios.  The temples of Angkor Wat and the surrounding area completely trump each one of these places...and it only took me twenty minutes on my bike to get there.  Spending almost the entire day in the Angkor Wat complex was well worth the $20.00 price of admission.  Riding my bike to the complex in the earlier morning hours and returning in the late afternoon, the day spent at the temples will, without question, be one of the most memorable days of my life.  Choosing to not get a tour guide Amanda and I biked, walked and sweat our way through some remarkable places that not only showed genius engineering and architecture but spoke volumes about the power of the people who decided to create these structures.  As a student of religion I was truly able to appreciate how much these temples meant to those who worshiped within the walls of these massive but inspiring walls. One thing I did notice throughout this journey was the builders loved steps.  More than this, they loved putting these steps at incredibly impossible angles.  I consider myself to be in fairly decent shape with strong legs created by years of running but these steps tested me.  It took a lot of energy and a ton of water (I drank two full nalgenes and three 1-litre bottles plus two Gatorade's and another nalgene upon return) to get me through these outstanding structures.  Upon arriving at the summit of Phimeanakas, I realized why these people had made it so difficult.  Prayer and worship was worth it to them, it was worth the climb and the energy to be closer to their gods.  I found this pretty inspiring and truthfully can not wait to have many more adventures in and around the temples.  There is still so much more to see and understand and I look forward to biking back to this "heaven on earth."  

For those of you who are fans of Tomb Raider, you will recognize this tree. 

All in all, life here is pretty wonderful.  Of course, I am still adjusting and will continue to do so for many weeks.  Things like purchasing a new pillow or getting goods at the market are still an adventure but are becoming easier.  People here are beginning to recognize my face and smile at me. Tuk-tuk drivers (taxis that are carts attached to moto's) still ask me if I want a ride but I suspect this will always be the case.  The week ahead will be challenging as I begin teaching.  It will be also be challenging as I continue to realize that this isn't a vacation.  I have had a hard time sitting still here, a feeling that has been created by the notion that I must be doing something in this city at all times.  This isn't necessarily the case though...this is my home now and I need to treat it as such...