Beaches and Teaching

It's been quite awhile since my last post! Mostly because it's been absolutely nuts on this side of the world. I started a new placement last Monday and had a wonderful beach excursion over the weekend and haven't had much time to update everyone on my life over here!

I began my placement at an NGO called Anjali House last Monday. Anjali's purpose is to provide education to former street children who come from very poor families in the Siem Reap area. The majority of these kids have seen and experienced things that Westerners cannot even fathom. Anjali provides an English and General Studies education as well as meals and hygiene facilities, while also subsidizing Khmer school for all 90+ of its pupils.

My job is to teach General Studies lessons twice a day to my class as well as assist in English and computer classes. I ended up getting to choose my class, and I don't think I could've made a better decision. My students range from 11-16 years of age and are the sweetest and most eager children ever. They constantly have smiles on their faces and are eager and willing to listen to whatever I have to say.

For more information on the NGO, feel free to visit their website or send me an email!: http://www.anjali-house.com/

This past weekend I spent down at the beach (tough life, I know). We spent a day at the beach in Sihanoukville where I ended up with a horrible sunburn followed by a couple days on the island of Koh Rong. Koh Rong is a relatively secluded island, and after living in an extremely rustic bungalow for two days with stray dogs and giant lizards I realized I'm not quite cut out for rustic island living.

Two weekends ago I also went on the most wicked quadding adventure through backcountry Cambodia. Not only was it the thrill of a lifetime, but it also exposed me to a Cambodia I'd only seen while on a bus. Going only a few kilometers outside of the city gives visitors an entirely different impression of the country, and it's an area I'd love to explore more.

A month of my Cambodian adventure has already passed and it feels like just yesterday that I departed from Canada. 7 weeks left and I already don't want to come home. :)