Working Week

The project I was originally scheduled for wasn't working this week so I went with my fellow volunteer Jane to hers in an orphanage (this is a bit of a misnomer as some of the children have family who are too poor to keep them) linked to a French charity.  The journey took about 45 mins by Tuk Tuk with our trusty driver Mr J, and Sechong the volunteer coordinator, through the Angkor National Park. Driving through (you can't see the main temples from the road) was really beautiful as there are huge tracts of water that surround the temples, lush rice fields and traditional villages where old ladies in their national costume seem to spend all day holding a string to which is attached a buffalo.  Very much shades of Terry Pratchett (I forgot to say that the Battambang streets are numbered 1 - 1.1/2 - 2 - 2.1/2 etc again very Discworld).

We do get to skirt a smaller temple called Pre Rup which looked very impressive to me but I am told .... ""just you wait and see". I watched Jane do her lesson and then took the less able pupils in the afternoon in a çlassroom open on all sides and with no resources at all. However, the children are delightful and very happy to sing Jingle Bells etc although they are quite besotted by Run Rabbit Run.  It's quite disconcerting to teach them as their basic English (hello, how are you, my name is etc) is very good but you just scratch the surface and realise that they have learnt this by rote.  Jane has been teaching Phonics so I have had to get up to speed with SSSSSSS and the other parts of the alphabet.  The internet has been invaluable for this.  I've also brought a couple of books with me - these are translated into Khmer by one of the older children as I read them out - they loved The Gruffalo, and What the Ladybird Heard illustrated by Lydia Monks (Veronica's niece) went down very well especially as the animals around (ducks, geese, chickens, dogs [usually one at your feet as you are trying to leap about the classroom] and cats all joined in too.  We have two groups of children - they go to the school opposite in the early morning then come back to the orphanage for their English (or French) lesson if there is a teacher.  Lunch is 11.30 by which time we leave and take the Tuk Tuk back to a village by the Sras Srang lake where there is a very nice restaurant on stilts which overlooks the water and where we have our lunch of soup of some sort.   

The food is abundant with loads of fresh vegetables most of which are familiar but there's an interesting one called Morning Glory which seems to be all stems.  We return by Tuk Tuk (sometimes stopping off for running repairs) and at 1.00 we start again with another group and then finish at about 3.30 pm.  That is this week.  On Saturday Jane leaves and my project will start next Monday nearer Siem Reap so I will miss my magical journey through the forest.  

(I apologise for the lack of photos - I am on the Guest House computer in a very dark and mosquito-y corner of the main reception/dining/relaxing area and will need to spend some time resolving my download issues - should have something after the weekend).