Day 11 Sassie and Mellie's adventures in Siam Reap

Today we had time to have a rest and relax until about 2pm. During this time some of us got to sleep in, wash our clothes, go shopping, swim in the pool and recuperate. It was a really good opportunity to recharge as a lot of us were still pretty tired and run down from such a full on itinerary and trip so far. Some people slept in, Maddie and Shannon even slept in until 11. However, most people woke up early enough to enjoy breakfast. On the menu; pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns, French toast, and cereals. All of it seemed really yummy but pancakes were the clear choice. After breakfast some started on washing their clothes in the bath tub, some went to the shops to buy snacks and Mellie got her hair done for $5 she got a wash, cut, and straighten it turned out pretty good. Others just stayed in bed and watched television enjoying a bit of normality to their lives.

 After lunch we still had an hour and a half to do whatever we wanted to do so some people just continued playing the pool and swimming in the pool, some continued with their washing. I (Sassie) went for a nice swim in the pool with heaps of the other kids while Miss Sutton just chilled being a very experienced lifeguard. After swimming in the pool and with around 20 minutes until we were departing from our hotel we all left the pool and went to get changed. This is where it got awkward; as I was getting changed I (Sassie) heard a knock on the door, it was obvious this was housekeeping, Mellie was currently preoccupied washing her clothes so the housekeepers came in and all I had was a towel. Luckily the bathroom became occupied and I got to get changed.

At 2pm we headed out to the volunteer school, for the first 20-30mins we played games like feather-feather and kicking the soccer ball around because we had to wait for the director of the school. When he arrived we gathered in a small classroom and sat in the small, really small and squashed tight spaced chairs and tables. The director of the school had a talk to us about what their school is about, when it was built and how difficult it was for them to get the school together. He also spoke about what they expected from their students in relation to their work ethic and attitudes. After the director spoke we had the opportunity to meet with an Australia man Ben. Ben used to be a volunteer teacher at the school and was also an ex-Bowral high School student; one that Mr Malone had the privilege of teaching. When we met with Ben he gave us a chance to ask questions about Cambodia, things that we may have felt uncomfortable asking Cambodian people, things about his life and anything really. Ben answered all of our questions and even told us about his life here in Cambodia, his family and his views on the education of the students. He also spoke about the issues in Cambodia and in particular Siem Reap.

While Ben was speaking we noticed that many of the students had started to arrive at around 4 o’clock the teenage students had arrived and Ben finalised his talk. After this time we all headed outside to meet the students, and waited for the bell to ring. When the classes had begun we were invited into different classrooms to join in with the lesson. On Fridays the students have interactive games and learning exercises.

 In the classroom I (Mellie) joined in with Lani, Jack, Sophie, Daniel and Blake, the first thing we did was introduce our selves to the students and the students introduced their selves to us. We played 2 games in the classroom, first game was “Hangman” group B won which Lani, Blake and I (Mellie) were in, Group A was Jack, Sophie and Daniel. The second game was a memorising game, which one person from each team would turn away from the board and whatever word the teacher called out was the word in which they had to find then circle it or touch it.

In my (Sassie) classroom we basically played the same games as Mellie, although it was difficult because the children in the classroom were only beginners at English, even though, they were all still lovely children and had an amazingly happy attitude. Also in my classroom were around six monks. One of them asked Sophie if she was married, and when Sophie went to sit next to one they moved away. The reason for this was that monks are not allowed to touch women; however this was an experience for us within itself.  After we played the games inside we went outside again to play some more games. Some were to do with numbers however others were very familiar to us, such as cat and mouse and duck-duck-goose. We enjoyed our time outside playing with the kids however it was hard to tell when the children were laughing with you or at you with their different language. The games were enjoyable and after the lessons were over we hung outside and played games such as handball, football and feather-feather with the children.

Not long after the first lesson had finished more and more children started to show up and headed into the classrooms. Again we were invited to enter the classrooms and interact with the children. The classroom I (Sassie) entered was full of the best English speaking students and most spoke fluent English, which was nice. I was amazed at how happy the students were and their positive attitude rubbed off on everyone. The girls I was sitting with were so lovely and I will never forget how they smiled the whole time and relished the opportunity of visitors. The girls I was sitting with ages ranged from 16-21, and we had some good chats, especially when they asked me to sing a song. They told me that they were in love with Beyonce and that one of their favourite songs was ‘If I were a boy’ so of course they got me to sing it for them. The Cambodian children were so lovely and thought that every one of us was beautiful and gorgeous, calling the boys handsome,  which I’m not going to lie, of course we areJ. During the next lesson I (Mellie) had the chance to take photos of everyone in the classrooms, I enjoyed taking photo’s catching happy and interactive moments with the Cambodian students and teachers. Anyway soon it became time to say goodbye and it was a little bit sad. However it was such a great experience to talk to the students and see how happy they were just to have visitors at their small school. We will never forget their kindness and positive attitudes. It truly astounded us how friendly people in this country, who have gone through and lost so much, can be. We also got to see some similarities between our lives; the girls told us how when they got on facebook it was hard to get off. They told us how addictive it can be. See parents it’s not just us who think it. After the sad goodbyes we headed back to the hotel and soon after that headed to dinner.

The funny part for me (Mellie) was when a few students and teachers asked and try to guess what my nationality was, but in the end they did guess it. They were saying I looked Khmer (Cambodian).

It was a magical afternoon and we will never forget the experience.

Sassie and Mellie