"The Ian Schwartz Class for Kids Who Want to Exercise and Do Other Things Good Too..."

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 11:40am Teacher Ian takes off his TGC name tag, hangs up his collared shirt and puts away his white board markers.  What happens next is the wonderful transformation of Teacher Ian to Marine Drill Sargent Schwartz. And just like that, physical education class is ready to begin...

Allow me to rewind for a minute.

A few months ago our founder and director, Judy Wheeler (who is an absolutely incredible person) visited TGC for one of her numerous yearly visits.  She decided to get all the teacher's together to talk about some of the issues that our students were having.  While going around the room one thing came very apparent:  our students spend an incredible amount of time sitting in the exact same seat, in the exact same room, over and over again.  This has not only led to some attention issues but there is also a clear deficiency in out students energy levels.  The solution for me was clear.  We need to get our students moving around and exercising regularly.  Not only would it help with energy levels but many other benefits would result from such activity. Fortunately, the rest of the staff, and Judy, agreed.  This was the birth of the TGC Physical Education program.

So, I got what I wished for. But, where do I go from here?  I am not a licensed physical education instructor.  I have never actively led a physical education class.  I haven't even been in a organized gym setting in almost five years.  Uh oh...

I searched my brain to try and figure out what to do.  Usually in these situations (like learning how to teach English for the first time) I just think back to people who taught me...

Dave Gumbus is the type of person who gains your respect by giving you respect. He is a Physical Education teacher at West Hollow Middle School and also coaches Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track at Half Hollow Hills High School East.  I attended both of these schools and had Gumbus (as we call him) for gym three years in a row.  I also ran competitively under his guidance for four years of high school.  He also taught and coached my brother.

For 7+ years this man was a part of my life.  That is 1/3 of my current existence.  Before today, I never really thought about all that he taught me.  First and foremost, Gumbus was real with his students.  In an age where America was turning soft (the everyone is a winner notion that society feeds off today) Gumbus was tough.  Not everyone was a winner.  Winners were people who worked hard and preformed the best.  Whether it was European handball or a track meet, Gumbus reminded us to give it our all.  Besides his old school attitude he also always made sure to keep his students on their toes.  If you traveled in basketball he would blow the whistle and scream "That's a travel, next time take the bus."  Read that and tell me that if you were a middle school student competing in gym class you wouldn't stop for a second and try to process what just happened.

Dave Gumbus and his style would be the first part of my physical education class.

Mark Tjaden works hard and plays harder.  He is the staff recruiter and outdoor adventure director (to say the least) at Indian Head Camp. He is also a bad-ass rock climber, nasty mountain biker, and solid outdoors enthusiast. He is solely responsible for all the more dangerous things I do as he taught me to rock climb, mountain bike, camp, hike and work to be a better person.   Most importantly, he is my role model and mentor. 

Mark has a ton of experience in the business of changing lives.  Coincidentally, he does most of it through challenging people to step outside their comfort zone.  Some of this he does through climbing expeditions or canoeing trips.  Other times he simply just puts you through the ringer of challenging games that spit you and your friends out on the other side as stronger communicators and teammates.  I've seen these games in action and have even played the role of coordinator to many of them.  Mark is a knowledge sharer and I have been lucky enough to receive  a lot of his knowledge. Mark is also a doer.  He will never make you do anything that he hasn't done or won't do himself.  If he asks you to jump off a cliff (literally, we go cliff jumping) he will do it first.  If he wants you to tackle a bouldering problem on the climbing wall he'll do it first, make it look easy and then encourage you while you struggle.

Mark Tjaden: the second piece to my physical education puzzle.

By perfectly combining what I have learned from these two wonderful people I have been able to scratch together a physical education program.  Here are the backbone concepts to my class:

1.  Be Real: Keep the kids informed about what they should be accomplishing.  If someone does something good, acknowledge them.  If someone does something bad, explain why.

2. Keep things exciting: Change it up.  Call on different people.  Surprise them with new activities.  Make them randomly do push-ups, sit-ups or wall sits (to my frat bros out there reading, I will teach them how to rest later January).

3.  Work together: TGC, above all, is a family.  Focus on building stronger relationships between my students.

4. Challenge People: Push my students to be the best they can be by challenging them to do something they may not typically do.

5.  Be a doer: Join in. If they do push ups, I do push ups.  If they run, I run.

As it approaches high noon in Cambodia and I stand in Union College athletic shorts and a cut off "frat" shirt in a concrete courtyard in front of the Wood House. This is my gymnasium.  My students line up  in three organized lines which are spaced out in a perfect grid formation.  Three older students stand at the front, ready to begin.  They are given the go signal and  the warm up begins:

• 1 set of 40 jumping jacks
• 1 set of 10 push-ups 
• 1 set of 10 sit-ups
• 1 set of 10 lunges (5 on each leg) 
• 1 set of 10 squats

At first, I had to walk everyone through these exercises. For some reason the jumping jacks were the hardest motion for my students.  They could not seem to coordinate their feet with their arms.  Now, I don't even have to do anything.  I just let my students start the warm up and simply fall in to the grid and participate.

After the warm up comes the core part of the class.  This comes in the form of a game or exercise circuit.  I briefly explain the objectives and rules while demonstrating how the activity works.  Thus far I have done the following activities:

• Running Bases 
• Circuit Training
• SPUD
• Relay Races
• Team Building Exercises 
• Simon Says: workout edition

Of course, I participate in all of these activities as a ball thrower, relay runner, facilitator and my personal favorite--Simon. To keep things exciting I change up rules, stop students in the middle of games, and, of course, if anyone travels I tell them to "take the bus".  Students who seem nervous or reluctant to participate are challenged to join in and eventually find themselves not wanting to stop playing! 

When the activity is over the class enters its final phase: cool-down/reflection.  After stretching for a few minutes I give my students 2 minutes of silent, personal time.  As they sit quietly I encourage them to clear their minds and just relax.  I slowly call different groups to lunch (all those wearing pink, anyone with a TGC shirt on, etc.). The class may only last for 30 minutes, but it is a productive and important time of the day. 

Watching my students interact with one another while participating in activities that get their hearts beating and sweat flowing has been a great edition to my week. The results speak for themselves as our students are showing signs of higher energy  and greater focus. Even more importantly they are learning some extremely powerful lessons to use in life.  In fact, I now truly understand what Dave Gumbus and Mark Tjaden have been doing all these years.  Their classes and instructions weren't about winning a game of flag football or climbing that next section of rock. No, they were about winning at life; about climbing over that challenge and succeeding.  

Physical Education is, of course, about staying active and exercising.  However, if I can mange to pass on what someone once taught me to make me a better person, well, than I guess that's what they call winning. 

And if all else fails I can always just make them do push-ups.  

Be real.  Keep things exciting. Work Together with others. Challenge Yourself.  Be a doer.

  

When being inspired is better then inspiring....

The last month has been pretty tough.  As the holiday season approached I found myself becoming more homesick and yearning for my moms cooking, family and friends.  While most people prepared to spend the holidays with those closest to them I prepared to dress up like Santa Claus for our Christmas party.  There would be no celebrations with family this season but instead festivities would be with new friends here in Cambodia.  I truly do love my life here and if you have spoken to me in the last few months you know the honesty in this statement.  But, at the same time, I have begun to miss a lot of things from my past life...

The one thing that has been constant during this last month has been my students.  Somehow they always manage to put a smile on my face, even when I am really feeling down.  I have been working for the last 5 months to inspire them to "reach for the stars" and work hard to become the best person they can be.  However, it is my students, and not me, who have been doing the inspiring this month.  

Allow me to share with you the writing of one of my oldest student.  This passage is from his writing section of the December monthly exam.  The question was: 

Write 12-15 Sentences about your favorite celebrity.  Write about who they are, why they are famous, when they became famous, etc.  Also tell me if you would, one day, like to become famous.  What would you like to be famous for? 

Here is the response: 

My favorite celebrity is Plato.  Plato is my hero.  He is the person that I studied about twice in three different courses.  He is a famous philosopher with many great theories.  He became very famous for his theories and most of them work very well in the real society.  One of his famous theories is Plato's Cave.  This theory became well know and popular in many societies.  I think he is the greatest person in the Greek period.  I believe he was doing well to help other Greek people of that time.  

If one day I become famous, I want to be popular in economics of political theory.  The reason is that it may help a lot for development and peace in the world.  Also, many students will know my name as well as they know Plato.  

When I read this to grade it only one thought came through my head: "Holy Crap."  Here I was expecting to read a passage about a Cambodian pop singer or Psy (the singer of the popular song Gangam style) and instead received an incredibly well written piece on Plato.   

Inspiring.  

Here is a list of words I received from a 15 year old student who asked me this: 

"Teacher Ian, I was doing some extra reading and don't know how to make sentences with these words.  Can you help me?" 

• California
• Tan
• Connect
• Hanging 
• Advertisements 
• Success 
• Portray 
• Image
• Afford
• Relax
• Seek
• Promote
• Expose
• Local

After writing sentences and going over the words with her I thought I was done.  Later that day I received a note that said: 

"Dear Teacher Ian, 

Thank you for helping me with my new words.  Learning them will help me have better success in the future.  You are a great teacher! 

Love, 

(name omitted)" 

Inspiring.  

While visiting a students house during our bi-yearly site visits (read last post for more information) I was informed that one of my older students voluntarily uses his stipend from TGC to pay for his younger brothers education.  His mother never asked him.  His father never asked him.  His brother didn't even ask him.  He just does it.  No one recognizes him for using the small amount of money he receives every week to pay for books, pencils, notebooks and school fees for another family member.  Instead, he simply made a decision, as a 16 year old teenager, to put his brother through school. Even if that means he can't spend money on himself. 

Inspiring.  

Sometimes, when things get dark, you need to focus to see the light.  Luckily for me, I have 23 shinning lights that help me get through those darker days.  It is them, not me, who are the inspiring ones.  

Santa Claus came to town, and DJ'd  all night long...

Saying Thank You

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....

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.

The Update...

It has been over a month since my last post.  Although all of you, my followers, may not be so happy about my lull in posting, I must say that the only reason I haven't posted is because I have been too busy!! After a rough start with my health, I am finally feeling great.  More importantly, I have consistently been feeling well, enabling me to be fully active in all parts of my fellowship.  Many wonderful things have happened in the last month and it would take me a very long time to re-cap everything that I have been up to. So, I am going to share an abbreviated list with you  of all the happenings of the last few weeks.  After that, please continue to read as I will share some  more detailed thoughts.  First, lets take a picture break: 

I can totally give a piggy back ride to three people at once.  

*Please note, these are in no specific order.  I am simply rattling them off as they come to mind: 

• 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...

Temples with lights!

Some more serious thoughts: Air Force One has landed...

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! 

Coming soon to a blog near you...

Check back soon for a new post with lots of information, updates and pictures! Lots of pictures!

Apologies for the blogging hiatus, life is beautifully hectic and blogging time is limited.

New Beginnings...

**I need to begin by apologizing for my blogging hiatus.  A few weeks ago I came down with dengue fever, which put me back in the hospital for a few days.  Although I am not going to dwell on the illness because I do not want to re-live it nor bore you with the story of me sitting in a hospital for 5-days, I will let everyone know that my health is back to normal and I am hoping that this was the last of my health related issues for a long time...Now, for the good stuff!* 

In the beginning of September I was talking to some close friends from Union College on Facebook about how strange it was that we were not returning to school for a new trimester of learning and fun.  I think that most of my friends who had graduated with me a few months earlier were battling with this phenomenon.  In fact, from what I gathered from talking to different people, the beginning of September truly solidified the fact that college was over, graduation was real, and it was time to move on. Most of my home and school friends acknowledged the beginning of September but continued on with their lives, focusing on their new jobs or new schools. For me, the beginning of September seemed to linger in my mind...  

The beginning of September has always been about new beginnings for me.  Since I can remember, the first weeks of September have represented so many things.  Here is just a short list I came up with that ranges from kindergarten to college: 

-New pack of 64 Crayola Crayons, perfectly sharpened
-A brand new first day of school outfit that I always very carefully picked out with freshly purchased shoes to match the outfit! 
-New classes
-New dorm room
-New Friends 
-New session of Hebrew school
-Start of Cross Country Season 
-First party weekend at Union 
-Jewish High Holidays 
-The extremely important new planner that the school gave out
-Sharing stories from summer
-New goals
-Seeing old friends and making new ones 

The list goes on, but you get the point.  September is about new beginnings and a fresh start. It's about getting use to that new seat in your 4th grade class. It's about figuring out how to use your locker on the first day of high school.  It's about saying goodbye to your parents as you embark on the journey called college.  September, for me, has always been one of the best times of the year.  

This year, there was no beginning of  September.  Sure, September came along as normal, right after August, but the days went by without new crayons, new outfits and the first big parties of the year.  This was hard for me. It was difficult not because I love opening a new pack of crayons (which I do) but because it reminded me of how far away home is.  So far, I have not been too homesick.  However, the beginning of September definitely gave me my first taste of truly missing home.  And then I got sick and had to go to Bangkok.  And then I got dengue fever and was out of commission for another week and a half.  

So, here I was, struggling mentally as my head tried to understand the absence of the September transition while my body simultaneously struggled to survive two awful rounds of illness.  It was an interesting situation. I was fighting two battles, both of which took energy to win.  I can say that I have won the dengue fever battle as I am now fully recovered from the worst sickness I have had.  On a mental level, that battle was not won until just a few days ago...

It is now October. And finally, that fresh start feeling I yearned for in September has arrived.  On October 1, 2012 the official academic year kicked off at TGC with a graduation and congratulation ceremony. (For those not familiar with the Cambodia school calendar the official academic year runs from October-July, with summer school happening from July to October.)  The ceremony was wonderful.  The morning was spent preparing the school for the festivities and the afternoon was spent listening to speeches, handing out awards and certificates and watching as brave students preformed songs on the piano and guitar in front of the large crowd or students, parents, and staff.  For the students, this was a day of celebration.  They worked hard last year and deserved the recognition they received for this work.  Moreover, this was their September. 

As I watched each student collect their certificate and smile for a picture I slowly realized that this year, October is my September also.  On October 2nd, 2012 I arrived at school for my first day of new classes.  This consisted of a 10:00am English class with Group 3 (nine girls), 2:00pm English class with Group 3 (nine girls), 3:00pm English News Class with Ratha (a university student), 4:00pm Joe-to-go staff English class, 5:00pm English class with Piron and Marot (two of the older boys).  It was a busy first day, but it was a good one. 

More importantly, the first day back solidified the idea that new beginnings aren't confined to a specific time period.  Instead, new beginnings are attached to the acceptance of a fresh start.  The graduation ceremony will forever represent at new start for me.  Even better I now have some other things to add to the list from above.  Here are some updates: 

-Students signing at graduation
-Ratha and I arguing about whether Heineken beer should enter the Asian market (he is an international business major at University, so this was appropriate) 
-4 hours of teaching in a row all made worth it by 
-Piron and Marot battling to get more points in a reading competition 
-9 girls fighting to write on the board during a sentence creation exercise 
-Moving almost every piece of furniture with Sopha (assistant principal) before graduation started

As I reflect on the last month here in Siem Reap I think that there is only one way to sum up how I felt and how I now feel.  Interestingly enough the words come from a new song by the Dave Matthews Band that came out in early September....

Don't give up
I know you can see
All the world and the mess that were making
Can't give up
And hope God will intercede
Come on back
Imagine that we could get it together
Stand up for what we need to be
Cause crime won't save our feet or hungry child
Can't lay down and hope no miracles change things
So lift up your eyes
Lift up your heart

Singing mercy will we overcome this
Oh one by one could we turn it around
Maybe carry on just a little bit longer
And I try to give you what you need...

I had a lot to overcome this September with my health but now I am back and ready to once again make a difference doing the work I have come to love.  Here's to a new start!