She sits across from me on the floor with her legs neatly placed to her left side. Her back is perfectly straight as if her spine is a solid piece of wood.
Her face is weathered. It tells a story. Each wrinkle and dry crack in her skin acting as a different chapter, providing us with insight in to the past.
Her eyes are powerful but also tired. Bags hang beneath them like an unbearable weight.
The flies are attracted to her. She doesn't notice. They have become a part of her movements as she slowly shifts her feet.
There is a 1 year old baby. He sits in her lap trying to understand the world around him. He examines his grandmothers hand. His fingers disappear in the her muscular grip that has been sculpted by decades of hard work.
She breathes deep and takes her time to speak. Each word rolling off her tongue with equal importance.
She pauses the conversation. Her mind is working hard attempting to discover something.
She turns to me with those powerful eyes. She has found what she was looking for.
"Thank you" she says in almost perfect English...
I am sitting in a one room shack. It is the home of one of my students. I am accompanied by the principal and assistant principal of TGC. We are completing another home visit to check up on the parents and guardians of our students and inform them of their child's progress.
This visit is much like the last. Upon arrival we are always welcomed with great enthusiasm. The families welcome us to their homes and some even provide drinks or snacks. Sometimes we are greeted by one family member. Other times a crowd of people gather to hear us sit and talk about the students academic and social progress.
Visiting the homes of my students is always very interesting. Seeing the environment that they spend time in when they are not at TGC has provided me with further insight in to who they truly are. After meeting parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and dogs I have a better understanding of what makes each of them tick.
Let me be extremely blunt about this. My students live in conditions that most of you would consider to be absolutely awful. When I visited many of these homes for the first time 4 months ago I was placed in this world of poverty. Although it was only for a few hours, the experience left a large impression on me. During my initial visit I wasn't completely shocked but instead my eyes were opened to the true reality of Cambodia. Away from the restaurants, bars and temples are a group of people struggling to get by. Away from the Tuk-Tuk's, markets and five-star hotels are human beings living in terrible conditions. And away from all of this are my students.
My second round of visits last week only added to my first experience. Not only did it remind me about who my students are but it has also provided me with another opportunity to be reminded about what I am doing here.
..."Your welcome" I say back in my awful Khmer.
What is she thanking me for? What did I do? She is the one who is taking care of nine grandchildren by herself. She is the one working so hard to help her grandchildren survive. She is the one who is inspiring, not me.
And yet, she is the one saying "Thank You."
Maybe she is thanking me for helping her grandchild with English. Maybe she is thanking me for teaching him some new football skills. Maybe she is thanking me for reaching out to him when he wasn't feeling well.
Or maybe she is just trying to make me smile....
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
True Life: I'm a Teacher in Cambodia
When I was growing up there was (and possibly still is) a TV show on MTV called True Life. The premise of the show was fairly simple. The producers picked a topic, chose people who fit this topic, and followed them around filming their every move. The shows varied from extremely serious topics like True Life: I have a traumatic brain injury, to more comical things like True Life: I'm an Urban Cheerleader. Regardless of the topic, the show did an excellent job at portraying the lives of other people. Many people have dismissed this show as more MTV garbage (most of the shows on MTV are indeed worthless), but I often found it very interesting to watch because of the way it allowed you to examine someone else's life.
When chatting with friends and family I am most frequently asked: "What is your life like over there?" It isn't always easy for me to answer this question as my current life is constantly changing. Sometimes I simply answer by saying "life is good" while other times I dive deeper in to the complexities of my daily routine. While reviewing my past blog posts I have realized that my writing has been more about observations and bigger events than the normal everyday stuff. In fact, the other day my mom (hi mom!) recommended that I open up my world to my readers. My mom is always right. So, here it goes.
Welcome to my episode of True Life: I'm a teacher in Cambodia.
(Based on the events of Wednesday December 5th, 2012)
The sound of my small Nokia phone begins to play in the back of my dreams. Eventually realizing that the jingle is real, I turn over to check if the noise is a text message, phone call or my alarm. When I realize it is my alarm I ask myself why, after 5 months, I continue to use the same tone for all three things. I immediately hit the snooze button giving myself 10 more minutes of rest. I don't necessarily fall back to sleep but instead lay in bed in the half-awake, half-asleep state that most people are familiar with. Ten minutes goes by pretty quickly and I now begin to force myself out of bed. It is 7:10am.
My feet hit the smooth tile floor of my apartment. I stand up and fully come back to reality. It is time to get going. My morning routine has become fairly standard: bathroom, turn on my computer to check email and facebook (it is always lovely getting messages first thing in the morning), eat breakfast and get ready for school. I pack up my backpack and pick out my teaching outfit for the day. This part is pretty easy. My choices are: tan or grey pants and a short sleeve button down shirt. No socks needed. I fill my 32oz water bottle, brush my teeth and head out the door. It is 8:00am.
Leaving my apartment I am greeted by a beautiful landscape, the sound of roosters, and a magnificent sun. I'm immediately warmed by the rays, which remind me that I will not be seeing cold weather anytime soon. After slipping my flip-flops on I head down the stairs to the bike "garage." Most mornings I am greeted by my landlord and some part of his family who sit on their porch drinking tea. If I am really lucky, my landlords grandson will hobble over, say hello and give me one of his toys to play with. I particularly enjoy the sword. It makes a swoosh sound when you swing it and if there are fresh batteries inside it will even light up.
After morning play time is over I unlock my bike, grab my helmet and head off to school. The ride to school takes bout 5 mins if you pedal slowly. I enjoy the short ride as it truly gets my blood flowing. I pass two other schools with students flocking in to study, many of which say hello to me. During the short ride I assess which part of my bike is squeaking today and try to determine if there is anyway to fix it. It is 8:15.
My bike ride ends at TGC's iron gate where I locate my keys, slide my arm between two of the posts and unlock the door. I always feel awkward undoing the lock but thankfully TGC recently moved the gate lock higher (not sure if it was for me) which gives me better access. I enter the small school yard and park my bike and hang my helmet. With my bike safely locked up, I walk towards the entrance of TGC, stopping to carefully take my shoes off and place them on the designated shoe rack. It is very interesting to enter your place of work without shoes. I have grown to love it.
My first encounter of the day is usually with Mov Po, who is TGC's care taker and cleaner extraordinaire. She takes care of the students health, keeps TGC spotlessly clean and looks after the students at the Woodhouse (our house for students who board). Her English is not very good but we always manage to have the same wonderful conversation everyday.
MP: Good Morning!
Ian: Good Morning, How are you?
MP: I am fine, you?
Ian: I am good!
It may be brief but it is special. More importantly, she always has a huge smile on her face which really helps me start my day. I walk upstairs and head to the teachers room to find Sopha, Chaylon and Chanthy. A similar exchange takes place with lots of "how are you's" being thrown around. It is 8:25.
By 8:30 my computer and books are unpacked and I am settling in to my seat at the work table. I open my agenda to see what is on my to-do list for the day. First item of business is lesson planning. I grab the books I teach out of off the shelf and open up Google documents. Thankfully, TGC allowed me to move our entire lesson planning system for the English language department over to Google Docs. Not only do we save paper (yay environment) but we now can share access from anywhere with an internet connection. It has made life a lot easier!
To be honest, lesson plans are somewhat annoying while simultaneously really useful. It gets quite tedious filling out the same sheet over and over again. Some days I teach 5 or 6 classes and each one needs a plan. On the contrary, these documents help me to stay on track with my master syllabus and guide me through the 50 minute class period. It usually takes me 1-2 hours to complete all lessons plans and prepare for all of my classes that day. It is now 9:45.
My first class begins at 10:00am. I will be teaching English to 9 girls between the ages of 12-14. Today, we are discussing Unit 4 of the book New Headway Elementary. The unit is called "Take it Easy" and discusses different ways to relax. The class begins with the usual and proper greeting from the students:
Students: "Good Morning Teacher:
Teacher: "Thank you"
Students: "Thank you teacher"
After this is out of the way, we begin by going over the homework and then transition in to the lesson for today. Today's lesson included vocabulary picture matching, sentence making, role playing and distribution of new journals for writing practice. I have learned that fifty minutes goes by pretty quickly and it is hard to accomplish everything on the lesson plan for the day. Class ends in a similar way to how it begins. The students stand up and thank me for the lesson. It is now 10:50am.
Ten minutes is all I have to get ready for my next class. At 11:00am I teach the two oldest students at TGC, Ratha and Pisey. This class ends at 11:40 and I quickly change in to my gym outfit and bike to the woodhouse. Here, I lead a 30 minute physical education class before heading home for lunch. By 1:00pm I am back at school getting ready for my afternoon classes as well as attempting to get other work done. Often it is the side work such as proposal writing, filling out reports, and doing tasks for Joe To Go restaurant that keep me busy during the day. It is also these items that often add large amounts of stress to my life as deadlines quickly approach.
In the afternoon I teach a news class to Ratha. We focus on international relations and business and often read articles from the Cambodia Daily. Ratha and I frequently get off track and begin discussing different issues within Cambodia. I don't mind doing this as these conversations are more useful than some of the articles we read. When the bell rings to end this class at 3:50, I return to the teachers room to continue working on crossing off items from my to-do list. It always feels good to put a check next to one of these tasks!
At 5:00pm the end of the day bell rings and most of the students leave school to head home. Instead of mounting my bike to ride back to my apartment, I sit down with Marot and Piron for our English class. We work hard until 6:00pm and then the school day is officially over. Marot and Piron return to the woodhouse for dinner and to do homework and relax. I bike off in the opposite direction for my apartment where I too eat dinner, do homework and relax.
By the time 9:00pm rolls around, I am exhausted. It has been a long day of teaching, typing and concentrating on different projects. I work hard on a regular basis to be the best teacher I can be while simultaneously creating reports and proposals that I can be proud of. There is nothing better than closing your eyes after a busy day and realizing that you have used your day to the fullest. It is important for me to try and make every moment of my day count in a productive manner.
At 10:00pm I am happily sleeping, recharging my batteries for the next day...
Of course, it is impossible for me to provide every detail of my day in this synopsis. This is a general overview of what I do and how I do it. What I have mostly left out is the integral role my students play throughout these days. For any working person, it is easy to go to work day-in and day-out and do the same exact things; ultimately falling in to a boring pattern. I will be completely honest here and say that I too have had those days. I've come to TGC and simply gone through the motions of teaching. To me, this is normal when you are repeating the same schedule every week at the same time on the same day. Luckily, I have something that keeps me from falling in to this pattern on a regular basis: my students. When you work so closely with 23 students you are bound to experience something new each and every day. Whether that experience be a positive one, like a student finally understanding how to use a vocabulary word in a sentence, or a negative one, like a student becoming regularly ill because their home life conditions are horrible, you learn as a teacher that each and everyday will present itself differently. Between major accomplishments, minor roadblocks and everything in between working directly with students provides an excitement that most other jobs can not match.
Throughout the day I have some major things to get done. Teaching and working on different projects are just some examples. However, throughout the day I also have the minor events to be a part of. From chatting with Marot and Piron about movies and music to fixing the printer in the teachers room each part of my day is equally important.
This is my life. It is a life filled with responsibility and deadlines. It is a life challenged by changing events and new things. It is a life that aims to support the lives of my students while simultaneously having those same students return the support. This is my life...
It is the life of a Teacher in Cambodia.
When chatting with friends and family I am most frequently asked: "What is your life like over there?" It isn't always easy for me to answer this question as my current life is constantly changing. Sometimes I simply answer by saying "life is good" while other times I dive deeper in to the complexities of my daily routine. While reviewing my past blog posts I have realized that my writing has been more about observations and bigger events than the normal everyday stuff. In fact, the other day my mom (hi mom!) recommended that I open up my world to my readers. My mom is always right. So, here it goes.
Welcome to my episode of True Life: I'm a teacher in Cambodia.
(Based on the events of Wednesday December 5th, 2012)
The sound of my small Nokia phone begins to play in the back of my dreams. Eventually realizing that the jingle is real, I turn over to check if the noise is a text message, phone call or my alarm. When I realize it is my alarm I ask myself why, after 5 months, I continue to use the same tone for all three things. I immediately hit the snooze button giving myself 10 more minutes of rest. I don't necessarily fall back to sleep but instead lay in bed in the half-awake, half-asleep state that most people are familiar with. Ten minutes goes by pretty quickly and I now begin to force myself out of bed. It is 7:10am.
My feet hit the smooth tile floor of my apartment. I stand up and fully come back to reality. It is time to get going. My morning routine has become fairly standard: bathroom, turn on my computer to check email and facebook (it is always lovely getting messages first thing in the morning), eat breakfast and get ready for school. I pack up my backpack and pick out my teaching outfit for the day. This part is pretty easy. My choices are: tan or grey pants and a short sleeve button down shirt. No socks needed. I fill my 32oz water bottle, brush my teeth and head out the door. It is 8:00am.
Leaving my apartment I am greeted by a beautiful landscape, the sound of roosters, and a magnificent sun. I'm immediately warmed by the rays, which remind me that I will not be seeing cold weather anytime soon. After slipping my flip-flops on I head down the stairs to the bike "garage." Most mornings I am greeted by my landlord and some part of his family who sit on their porch drinking tea. If I am really lucky, my landlords grandson will hobble over, say hello and give me one of his toys to play with. I particularly enjoy the sword. It makes a swoosh sound when you swing it and if there are fresh batteries inside it will even light up.
After morning play time is over I unlock my bike, grab my helmet and head off to school. The ride to school takes bout 5 mins if you pedal slowly. I enjoy the short ride as it truly gets my blood flowing. I pass two other schools with students flocking in to study, many of which say hello to me. During the short ride I assess which part of my bike is squeaking today and try to determine if there is anyway to fix it. It is 8:15.
My bike ride ends at TGC's iron gate where I locate my keys, slide my arm between two of the posts and unlock the door. I always feel awkward undoing the lock but thankfully TGC recently moved the gate lock higher (not sure if it was for me) which gives me better access. I enter the small school yard and park my bike and hang my helmet. With my bike safely locked up, I walk towards the entrance of TGC, stopping to carefully take my shoes off and place them on the designated shoe rack. It is very interesting to enter your place of work without shoes. I have grown to love it.
My first encounter of the day is usually with Mov Po, who is TGC's care taker and cleaner extraordinaire. She takes care of the students health, keeps TGC spotlessly clean and looks after the students at the Woodhouse (our house for students who board). Her English is not very good but we always manage to have the same wonderful conversation everyday.
MP: Good Morning!
Ian: Good Morning, How are you?
MP: I am fine, you?
Ian: I am good!
It may be brief but it is special. More importantly, she always has a huge smile on her face which really helps me start my day. I walk upstairs and head to the teachers room to find Sopha, Chaylon and Chanthy. A similar exchange takes place with lots of "how are you's" being thrown around. It is 8:25.
By 8:30 my computer and books are unpacked and I am settling in to my seat at the work table. I open my agenda to see what is on my to-do list for the day. First item of business is lesson planning. I grab the books I teach out of off the shelf and open up Google documents. Thankfully, TGC allowed me to move our entire lesson planning system for the English language department over to Google Docs. Not only do we save paper (yay environment) but we now can share access from anywhere with an internet connection. It has made life a lot easier!
To be honest, lesson plans are somewhat annoying while simultaneously really useful. It gets quite tedious filling out the same sheet over and over again. Some days I teach 5 or 6 classes and each one needs a plan. On the contrary, these documents help me to stay on track with my master syllabus and guide me through the 50 minute class period. It usually takes me 1-2 hours to complete all lessons plans and prepare for all of my classes that day. It is now 9:45.
My first class begins at 10:00am. I will be teaching English to 9 girls between the ages of 12-14. Today, we are discussing Unit 4 of the book New Headway Elementary. The unit is called "Take it Easy" and discusses different ways to relax. The class begins with the usual and proper greeting from the students:
Students: "Good Morning Teacher:
Teacher: "Thank you"
Students: "Thank you teacher"
After this is out of the way, we begin by going over the homework and then transition in to the lesson for today. Today's lesson included vocabulary picture matching, sentence making, role playing and distribution of new journals for writing practice. I have learned that fifty minutes goes by pretty quickly and it is hard to accomplish everything on the lesson plan for the day. Class ends in a similar way to how it begins. The students stand up and thank me for the lesson. It is now 10:50am.
Ten minutes is all I have to get ready for my next class. At 11:00am I teach the two oldest students at TGC, Ratha and Pisey. This class ends at 11:40 and I quickly change in to my gym outfit and bike to the woodhouse. Here, I lead a 30 minute physical education class before heading home for lunch. By 1:00pm I am back at school getting ready for my afternoon classes as well as attempting to get other work done. Often it is the side work such as proposal writing, filling out reports, and doing tasks for Joe To Go restaurant that keep me busy during the day. It is also these items that often add large amounts of stress to my life as deadlines quickly approach.
In the afternoon I teach a news class to Ratha. We focus on international relations and business and often read articles from the Cambodia Daily. Ratha and I frequently get off track and begin discussing different issues within Cambodia. I don't mind doing this as these conversations are more useful than some of the articles we read. When the bell rings to end this class at 3:50, I return to the teachers room to continue working on crossing off items from my to-do list. It always feels good to put a check next to one of these tasks!
At 5:00pm the end of the day bell rings and most of the students leave school to head home. Instead of mounting my bike to ride back to my apartment, I sit down with Marot and Piron for our English class. We work hard until 6:00pm and then the school day is officially over. Marot and Piron return to the woodhouse for dinner and to do homework and relax. I bike off in the opposite direction for my apartment where I too eat dinner, do homework and relax.
By the time 9:00pm rolls around, I am exhausted. It has been a long day of teaching, typing and concentrating on different projects. I work hard on a regular basis to be the best teacher I can be while simultaneously creating reports and proposals that I can be proud of. There is nothing better than closing your eyes after a busy day and realizing that you have used your day to the fullest. It is important for me to try and make every moment of my day count in a productive manner.
At 10:00pm I am happily sleeping, recharging my batteries for the next day...
Of course, it is impossible for me to provide every detail of my day in this synopsis. This is a general overview of what I do and how I do it. What I have mostly left out is the integral role my students play throughout these days. For any working person, it is easy to go to work day-in and day-out and do the same exact things; ultimately falling in to a boring pattern. I will be completely honest here and say that I too have had those days. I've come to TGC and simply gone through the motions of teaching. To me, this is normal when you are repeating the same schedule every week at the same time on the same day. Luckily, I have something that keeps me from falling in to this pattern on a regular basis: my students. When you work so closely with 23 students you are bound to experience something new each and every day. Whether that experience be a positive one, like a student finally understanding how to use a vocabulary word in a sentence, or a negative one, like a student becoming regularly ill because their home life conditions are horrible, you learn as a teacher that each and everyday will present itself differently. Between major accomplishments, minor roadblocks and everything in between working directly with students provides an excitement that most other jobs can not match.
Throughout the day I have some major things to get done. Teaching and working on different projects are just some examples. However, throughout the day I also have the minor events to be a part of. From chatting with Marot and Piron about movies and music to fixing the printer in the teachers room each part of my day is equally important.
This is my life. It is a life filled with responsibility and deadlines. It is a life challenged by changing events and new things. It is a life that aims to support the lives of my students while simultaneously having those same students return the support. This is my life...
It is the life of a Teacher in Cambodia.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)