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| I can totally give a piggy back ride to three people at once. |
- 10 day vacation to Thailand stopping at: Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Ao Nang, Railay Beach, Ton Sai, Phuket, Bangkok
- Lot's of rock climbing on the above trip, most amazing climbing I have ever done
- School trip to the Baray
- Angkor Wat Temples at night with a light show and fire works display
- Twenty-Two+ hours of regular teaching per week
- Finalization and implementation of the new Mentoring Outreach Program
- Visit from our fearless leader and one of the most incredible people I have ever met: Judy Wheeler
- Halloween Shenanigans with students at school and friends during the annual pub crawl (dressed up like Grease!)
- Discovered the cheapest and best gym in the world: 30 cents/time with lots of friendly Khmai people!
- Countless miles/km logged for my marathon training
- Launching of my marathon fundraiser
- Incredible support of friends and family who donated to this fundraiser!
- Celebration of random Cambodian holidays with days off
- Night bike ride with my two older students
- Day bike ride with two friends who are training for the 100km bike race!
- Actual visit to Wat Svay Primary School for the first part of the Mentoring Outreach Program (watched 6 students who I trained teach about First Aid, Nutrition, Hydration, Hygiene and Lice Removal)
- Received a wonderful package from home
- Got out eat in a pizza eating competition at Pizza Company Restaurant by one of my female students! (Thanks for taking all of us Judy!)
- Girls Soccer Tournament, 2nd place! Lost in the finals during a penalty shoot out...
- And, most recently, played the part of both the Pilgrims and Indians in a wonderful Thanksgiving re-enactment!
As you can see, my life has been full of new and exciting things. Everyday brings new surprises, new excitement and new challenges. This is my reality, and I love it!
And, another picture break...
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| Temples with lights! |
For those of you who watch the news, you probably know about President Obama's recent visit to Southeast Asia. In fact, our newly re-elected President has chosen to come to Cambodia for the Asean Summit. In doing so, Obama is the first in office U.S. President to visit the country. To say the least, it is a pretty big deal.
One of the classes I have been teaching for the 2012-2013 academic year is called News. It is a one-on-one class with Ratha, the oldest male student at TGC. Ratha also studies at university hoping to gain a degree in International Relations. For this reason, we focus heavily on international and business news. However, for the last few weeks, as Obama's visit approached, we have shifted our concentration to national news in order to follow the excitement and inevitable conflict surrounding such a momentous visit.
Initially, the news wasn't very exciting. As we read through the Cambodian Daily, a local English publication that combines its own pieces with that of major news sources around the world, provided little information about the visit. Occasionally an article would pop up discussing the need for Obama to put more pressure on the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Luckily, in the last week and a half things have become much more interesting.
Besides the articles about security precautions and road closures, the Cambodian Daily has done an excellent job at covering the story of local Cambodians who are protesting about land evictions. There are two parts to this story. The first is the land evictions that were already happening prior to Obama's visit. The second part involves people who the government deemed living to close to the airport and thus posed a security threat. The members of the second group is responsible for truly starting the major controversy. In an act of defiance and to show how unfairly they were being treated, those who lived near the airport decided to paint S.O.S on the roofs of their shacks with a large picture of Obama next to it. These people knew that he probably wouldn't see the mural when he landed but they did realize it would stir up some discussion. In fact, the government decided that this act was illegal and arrested 8 people who participated. The government then painted over the roofs and evicted the people living there. Since then, the people have been released. More importantly, painting over their signs did not stop other people from beginning to protest. The government is doing what it can to stop these people from spreading their S.O.S message but it seems as if the country and even the worlds eyes have turned to Cambodia to see what will happen next.
The S.O.S signs stand for a lot. They represent peoples frustrations with their government while simultaneously showing President Obama and the rest of the delegates at this Summit that although Cambodia is progressing it is very far from perfect.
It will be interesting to follow what happens for the rest of this evening and tomorrow. Will President Obama actually put pressure on Hun Sen about topics such as human rights? Or will Obama just simply pass through Cambodia on his way out of the Middle East? The atmosphere within the country is electric with conversation about this visit. Most people here who are comfortable enough to talk about politics and government are hopeful that Obama will help to alter the current "forced" equilibrium of the Cambodian country.
I must honestly say that being here at this time is a wonderful experience. Although my email request to the embassy to have a meeting with President Obama went unanswered, I am confident that his historic visit will yield some results. The pressure now will be on Hun Sen. I can only hope that he realizes it is time to listen to the people.
I hope this post has caught you up a little bit on what my life has been like. I will absolutely work on blogging more but always feel free to email me at ian.p.schwartz@gmail.com.
Before you go, don't forget to check out my marathon donation page at: gofundme.com/1fx8t4
I am only $275.00 away from reaching my goal! View the page. Read my story. Donate. That is all you have to do to change a life.
Check back soon for more updates and thoughts!
