The good, the bad and the ugly!

Good: I had an amazing weekend in Battambang with Ash... photos below :)

I also received a parcel from mum with Chocolate, Marmite and Coffee - a little peice of home to keep me going!

Bad: I had a tummy bug last week and had to stay in bed for 2 days.

To top it off when I was heading back from the post office, my long green dress got caught in my back wheel and in the middle of the street the whole thing ripped off. Everyone thought it was soooo funny seeing me bike half naked home!

Ugly: I witnessed a motobike accident on Tuesday... poor dude had a severe head injury and didn't make it :(

But to finish on a light note, a bit about Battambang. A 3 hour bus trip from Siem Reap, Ash and I found a lovely hotel for 2 nights were we didn't have to sleep in mosquito nets and had hot water - a luxury for us.
The day we arrived we went to aerobics on the river front. Described by Lonely Planet as 'the local hunk with a boom box', he wasn't my type of 'hunk', but I was certainly impressed by his large sound system!!

The next day we started off at the bamboo train. Much like a roller coaster without the loops, this was a lot of fun. The lines were insanely uneven and noisy and every time another carriage came from the opposite direction, someone had to get off and remove their carriage, let the others pass and then assemble it back on the track!

Ashleigh and I bought our train driver a $1 straw hat as he had a very hot head, and in return, the lovely lady's at the station made us flax grasshoppers and bracelets. They were very sweet.

After the train ride we headed to the killing caves. In the 1970's and 80's when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia, they killed thousands of people at the top of the caves and then threw their bodies down into the cave. It was a really hard walk down into the cave, as many bones still remained down there. Ash and I both had a few tears as it was extremely upsetting to learn what had happened and after having lived and worked with Cambodians for 6 weeks now, its hard to imagine what these people have been through over the past 40 years. None of it seems fair.

We donated a few dollars to the temples and received good luck bracelets to take home with us.

After the caves we headed home for some quiet time, a bit of local shopping  and finished the day with dinner and 'happy hour'.

Back to school on Tuesday... only 3 weeks to go!

A weekend in Battambang

Our hotel

Doing aerobics with the 'local hunk and his boombox'

On the bamboo train

It really was that exciting!



Ash with our driver - we bought him that hat :)



At the killing caves - 10,000 lived and were tortured in this room :(

Happy Hour - enough said!

Puppet Fundraiser

This weekend is the annual giant puppet parade. It is an opportunity for many students to design and build giant puppets and then come in to the city to raise funds for their schools. On Saturday night, Ashleigh and I went to some fundraising drinks to raise awareness for the event. We both bought raffle tickets but sadly didn't win anything. Can't wait for the parade this weekend!!

4 weeks down... 4 weeks to go!

'We can travel a long way and do many things, but our deepest happiness is not born from accumulating new experiences. it is born from letting go of what is unnecessary, and knowing ourselves to be always at home.'

This morning I sat down and thought of all the things that I have learnt in the past four weeks. Besides patience, the one thing that kept coming back to me was happiness.

Cambodian people are the happiest people that I have ever met. Most of them wake up every day not knowing if they can afford to eat. They live in huts where families of eight sleep side by side on the floor. Besides arranged marriages, relationships rarely exist and touching each other in public is seen as highly inappropriate. Every meal consists of rice, fish and vegetables, every single day. The working week is Monday to Sunday, there's no such thing as a weekend or holiday. So what is it that makes them so happy?

It isn't about having new experiences, big houses, or lots of money. Happiness is knowing that where ever you are, you are home. Once you stop trying to find happiness, you will realise that you've already got it.
Happiness isn't a thing, happiness is you.

Great week :)

The week gone has been a really good one :)

Teaching has been the biggest highlight, as the students have really begun opening up to me. This has made my lesson planning and teaching so much easier and much more enjoyable. When they aren't afraid to talk to you, you can really understand how much they do and dont know. And giving them the opportunity to have a conversation in English means their confidence grows more and more every day.

We had 7 new volunteers arrive this week, including another Kiwi. The house is now full and everyone seems so busy. It has been great to meet some new people and talk about all the different travel adventures they have been on.

We are having a big welcome party at the pool on Saturday with a live band and a bqq to entertain us, so that will be fun!!

Also most of you know now, but I was in a motorcycle accident my second week here. My teacher and I slipped down a bank and the bike crushed my ribs and shins. I went to the doctor last week to make sure I hadn't broken anything as I was in a lot of pain. However everything was ok, just bruised and swollen.

The pain has decreased a lot this week and I can finally sleep through the night now. So that has also made my week much more enjoyable :) 

Temperatures are continuing to increase here. When I arrived in January it was averaging around 30 degrees during the day. We are up to 38 degrees now and it doesnt drop below 20 at night. Cold showers before bed are a blessing and ice coffee, fruit shakes and lemonade are 50% of the daily diet.

So all up, week 4 has been a lot of fun and very rewarding. This weekend marks my halfway mark... only 4 more weeks to go!

Hope you have all had a good week too!! xx

The weekend

A nice relaxed weekend at the markets and going out for Charlotte's leaving dinner!

Fun Facts!

Can of coke/sprite - 50 cents
1 hour massage - $3 (just as good as any NZ massage)
1 hour language class - $2
4 course meal - $3
12 bottles of water - $1.75
Glass of wine/cocktail - $2

X-ray - $1000 (some things dont change!!)

School Excursion

Last week we had exams at school and the top 6 students were treated to a school excursion into Siem Reap. A pretty big day for these kids, as none of them had ever left their village and didn't know what the 'big' city was like.

A tuktuk picked them up from the village early on Sunday morning and meet me and the other teachers on one of the main streets in town. We took them out for breakfast at about 10am where they had there very first coke. They claimed not to like it but drunk them very quickly :)

We then walked through the markets and explained to them, that if they continue to practice and learn good English, they too can have a good job when they get older. We also visited a beautiful art gallery in which Deborah (the woman who created Helping Hands) displays all her photography.

From there we went to the supermarket and took them on the elevators. The poor little ones got quite upset and I had to carry them on the first go, but after awhile they began to enjoy it and by the end they seemed so proud that they had done it. 

We then went out for lunch before heading to the gardens for a walk and lots of photos. Jane (the other volunteer) and I left at this point and on the way home the kids were taken through the Angkor Wat temples, a very sacred place for Cambodians. Today I will print some photos to take back to school and to give to the kids to take home.

This day alone has made my whole trip worthwhile. Seeing the excitement on these kids faces was so amazing, its hard to imagine how overwhelming this trip must have been for them. Hope you like the photos :)

School Excursion

First time up an escalator - a scary moment but they did it!

Hanging out at the park

At the art gallery

The bracelets that I bought the girls so they could remember their day in the city

With the other teachers (at the back) Sopheap and Sona

A day trip to the sunken forest and floating village