COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: UniBreak Volunteers
Last weekend we were lucky enough to fly to Siem Reap for the weekend and visit some places hugely significant to Cambodia's history. We were fortunate enough to be given Friday off teaching to spend a full day in Siem Reap and visit the land mine museum. Here, we read stories by those both directly and indirectly affected by the land mines. On Saturday we woke up bright and early to go on a full day temple tour with Vara from Antips. We saw five main temples including Anchor Wat, Ta Prohm (featured in Tomb Raider), Bayon, Banteay Srei and Prasat Kravan. Unsurprisingly, it rained in the afternoon and we were unable to see the sun set over Anchor Wat, but a few of us were able to enjoy a delicious frozen yoghurt treat instead- you've gotta look at the bright side sometimes!
We cannot believe that our time in Cambodia has come to an end. The last week in the classroom has been bittersweet. We have had so many great teaching moments but we are so sad to be leaving- and so are the kids! The children never seize to amaze us and for some of them, their desire to learn in the circumstances is inspirational. This experience has been two-fold because not only have the children learned, but so have we. We have had to be relaxed about bell times and how many students turn up for the day. We have had to teach in some pretty difficult circumstances. No two days were ever the same, but as a group we learned to find the humorous side of every single aspect of our journey and we can definitely say that this was key to making the most of the experience.
We had our last day with the kids on Thursday so we decided to treat them with a little party. Some classes chose to do an Australian theme. The children covered their bodies in Aussie Tattoos and got to try vegemite on crackers, which they were hugely disappointed about as they thought it was a chocolate spread! We captured some hilarious moments of children having their first bite and spitting it straight back out. For other classes it was a mix of fun games, music and origami. Due to kind donations from friends and family of group members, we were able to give each child a new book, a red and black pen, a ruler and a rubber. Each teacher was donated posters, new white board markers, white board ink, and some desk stationary. We also donated the school with small sports equipment, musical instruments and stationary – which they were truly grateful for.
Saying our final goodbye to the kids on Thursday afternoon was really tough. We have formed a special bond with both the teachers and students over this past month. A steady stream of kids followed us to our car, not wanting to let us go. There were even some tears from Antips group members as we had to give our final wave. Although we're saying goodbye physically, we won't be leaving emotionally. A piece of us will always be here, even though- for now- our time with these precious children has come to an end.
Finding it hard to leave affirmed to us just how much we have invested and how proud we are! We can all sit back tonight and know we've accomplished something so special. We've met new people, we've tried new things, we’ve learned so much from the children, we've given our all to share our knowledge with the community and we have all made five new friends in each other along the way. This is something that is ours - it's a bond that cannot be broken. For the last month we've shared everything and we know we are so lucky! No one here set out to change the world in four weeks, but we all knew that we had different things to offer and the opportunity to give was going to be invaluable. We also knew that we would learn so much. We can safely say that we have done more than we could have dreamed possible.
And if we thought saying goodbye to the kids was hard, we definitely haven’t prepared yet for saying goodbye to each other!
Claire, Tom, Lucy, Tash, Daisy and Kimberley x
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