I write to you on a cool Friday morning. I’ve found my favorite times of day are before 10:30am and after 5:30pm. The sun is gentler and there is actually a breeze so I relish these moments, spending the majority of my time outside or on our balcony.
It’s payday today, which means I’ll swing by my school and receive a nice envelope filled with straight-up U.S. cash. I feel like this is how every job should pay their employee; no checks, no taxes, no paper trail...just plain bills in a plain envelope.
I have had a great week of work so far. Teaching the younger kids was a bit daunting at first, but now it’s just fun. Walking into a classroom and having kids swarm around me yelling out, “yayy teacher! Hello teacher! Teacher so beautiful!” doesn’t do much for classroom management, but it does boost the ego quite a bit. A few girls in particular have found me fascinating as they have also started up the daily mantra, “we want to kiss the teacher!” This left me super uncomfortable—being used to having strict rules about giving students or campers only side-hugs and having those lines clearly marked. I looked to the Khmer teacher in the room and she just smiled, so I let the girls give me a kiss on both cheeks and my forehead, as per their request. I think they also wanted to kiss my chin, but unsure if they meant chin or lips, I drew the line and said that it was time to start class.
Other than that, there isn’t too much to report. I’ve been filling my days with going to the pool, playing volleyball with a school outside of town, trying new places for dinner, cooking for myself, and reading. Yesterday, Susan and I decided to try a new means of travel, one very popular by Khmer young boys. She rode her bike while I sat on the back part. We’ve seen this many times, with sometimes three or four young boys piled on, so we thought, why not give it a try ourselves? Well despite getting lots and lots of stares (more than usual) it actually turned out pretty well. That is, until we came to a really busy street and we had to come to a complete stop. Well, balance is pretty difficult to achieve with me sitting sidesaddle on the back, and as we were at a standstill, we kind of started leaning to the right a bit too much. I realized we were going down, but it was one of those moments that even though you know what is about to happen, you can’t do anything to stop it. Susan was able to hop off awkwardly while I fell on my bum in slow-motion with legs high up in the air. WELL. needless to say, I think we made a lot of people smile that day. Chuckling to myself, I walked the rest of the way home and met up with Susan a few minutes behind her.
***I do have lots of fun things to look forward to in the upcoming months—my mom is visiting during the middle of April, which just happens to be Khmer New Year so I have lots of time off of school and it will be really lovely to see some new sights with her. Perhaps we will take a trip to Vietnam as well! Also, Susan and I have come up with our May travel plans that include India and Nepal. I have some friends in India and we will most likely spend our time in Mumbai and Delhi with a trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra. In Nepal, we plan to do a 16-day trek to the base-camp of Mt. Everest. After a month of travelling, I will return home to the states in early June. I’m really excited about all of these plans and experiences to be had, but I do miss everyone at home!
Val, I can just imagine the bicycle scene with you and Susan. I was one of those whom you made smile. Thanks for the update.
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