My school on Monday

On Monday, my first day at my school I discovered that I was not going to teach at all - just going to meet the Directoress and be introduced to the children.  However, she was not there and most of the children had stayed off school as Tuesday was a memorial day for King Sihanouk  who died last year.  So .. my trusty Tuk Tuk driver Mr J and I went first to Angkor Wat and then, in the afternoon to Angkor Thom and the Bayon of faces. 

Causeway towards Angkor Wat

As I had been to the museum I had alot of the background and really enjoyed looking at the carvings and the amazing layouts of both of those places.  Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple then changed to Buddhist whilst Angkor Thom was built 100 years later as a Buddhist temple.

Buddhist Offering at the Top Temple of Angkor Wat

On Tuesday I went to Banteay Srey which is a tiny but beautifully formed temple outside the Angkor park about 40 km from here.  It has absolutely wonderful red sandstone carvings all over it and the atmosphere there was enhanced by a Khmer band playing in the background. When I got to the band it was to find they were re-trained victims of land mines and, as they were selling their CD, I brought one as the music was so sweet.



Carvings at Banteay Srei

 After this and lunch I went to the Angelina Joli temple of Ta Prohm which has been left to show visitors what the temples looked like before renovation.  They had a problem last week when one of the huge silk-cotton trees that grows up through the stones of the temple, fell down and brought some of the standing structures down.  The government has an issue of what to do in future as, of course, we tourists love to see the trees and strangler figs in such an atmospheric setting.

(sorry unable to upload some photos but I have a seven day pass to the temples which is valid over the next month so will be going back and will set the camera on Normal Size pics!)

On Wednesday I started at school - I have two sessions of mixed children who are between 8-10.  They range from total beginner to very good so this week I have been setting them things to copy off the board around the phonic sounds and gave my first group a test this morning.  I will use this to stream the children for next week and give them appropriate work.  We are allowed to take pictures of the children in school for our own use but not to upload them onto the internet.

Today is the first day that I haven't had to wade through water to get to my classroom which is equipped (as it is a public school) with desks and blackboard.  English isn't part of the National Curriculum so having a volunteer here (I'm the only one) is a good option.  I too am learning - the children start quite early in the morning so need a break after one hour so they can go to the Tuck Shop and get something to eat.  Just like England this can range from fruit to sweets but also with rice and vegetables as an option.