A week in review – too much to write about! I started teaching classes, learning 70 names, and getting used to waking up at 5:30am. My stomach was also patted by a twelve year old as she looked up at me and asked, “baby?”

I teach six classes every day. My mornings start out with four year olds who know how to sing their ABC’s and count to ten. Every morning they greet me with, “HELL-OOO TEACHA! How are YOUUU to-DAAAY?”. Their favorite thing to do is to color – they could color the entire day if they had the opportunity. Unfortunately, I’m learning there is a paper shortage at APCA, so I kind of have to ration out the pages from the coloring books I brought.

Before I continue, I have to say thank you to everyone for their donations. I couldn’t imagine not having the pencil sharpeners, crayons, coloring books, ribbons, flash cards, games, English kids books, and everything else. I use them every day with the kids, so they are appreciated and enjoyed! They also allow me to be more creative with my lessons.

I teach two classes of 9-12 year olds. They are chatty and energetic, but they learn quickly and are very eager to learn. Next I teach a ‘middle’ class of 12-14 year olds who ask me every day, “Ma-liss? Test today?” They actually look forward to tests! Then comes the ‘big kid’ class. These are 15-20 year olds who seem to want to do nothing but study. Some of the older kids come from the community and attend Khmer school with APCA kids. This class is challenging to teach because of their huge range of English ability. Some want to know about the different verb tenses while others are still having a hard time with basic English vocab. I have learned that an English – Khmer dictionary is my best friend! This week we learned how to read time.

My last class is made up of APCA staff. Every day at 5pm the seven of us get together to practice conversation. I took my picture dictionary (thanks, Connie!) one day and they said they really wanted to learn how to read time, so that was the topic of the week for them.

I could (and will one day) write a posting just about the kids. They are more than amazing. Every day (including the weekend), they get up at 5am (I’m told the older kids get up at 4am, but I’m never up that early to see them!) to study. Breakfast is at 6:45 and then they either ride their bikes down the street to Khmer school or go to Korean or English class at APCA. Then at 11:30 everyone comes back from APCA for lunch. At noon I have “English Story Time”, where I read three or four stories while the kids relax and rest a little. At one they head back to Khmer school or stay at APCA for English and Korean. Five thirty is dinner, and then they all have Khmer dance lessons from 6-8pm. The older kids have their Korean class from 7-8pm.

Their schedule is jammed packed, so in any free time I have I like to spend it playing with the kids to give them a break. Yesterday I taught them four-square (glad I took those balls!) and last night we crowded around the single table outside and played Uno for the first time. They loved it! After fifteen minutes, there were 20 of us playing. It’s great for the small kids because it helps them learn their colors, and the big kids hover around and help out the little ones. It’s amazing how they all look after each other and take care of one another.

My days are busy, so I look forward to crawling into my mosquito-net covered bed each night. I have had an ant infestation in my bathroom, but I’m learning that spreading baby powder all over quickly kills them.  The walls of my room are already covered with pictures the kids have colored for me.

 Because the boys don’t have a dorm, they either sleep under the thatched roof of the outside classroom or on the tiled porch of the main building. No mattresses, no blankets, and sometimes no pillows. I am very lucky to have my own room, bed, and bathroom at APCA. However, I go to sleep each night feeling guilty for having such amenities. Today I gave my extra oranges to some of the boys and their eyes lit up. Fruit here is expensive – a dozen small bananas cost me $1.50 at the market, so when you live in a village and make $12 a week, fruit isn’t always an option.

Today, Terri Kellogg and Jen Bonicelli came to APCA for lunch and a visit. Jen pulled out her huge coloring books and the kids went crazy. They all sprawled on the floor and colored for hours. I came back to Phnom Penh with Jen and we did some shopping for APCA (the kids don’t really know how to wash their hands, so we got some nail brushes). All week, I have been craving two things. The first: a drink of some sort that isn’t water. The water at APCA leaves your mouth smelling like you forgot to brush your teeth. The second: anything but rice! Rice for three meals a day has already gotten old, but I know I can hang in there! It’s nice to have a chance to come to the city for a real meal and fruit juice.

After Jen and I were through with our shopping (my SE Asian art collection has grown!) and dinner, I got a small room at a cute little guest house where I am currently enjoying the air conditioning and wifi. As I am writing this, my body is recovering from an $8 hour massage. In Phnom Penh, there is a cool program called Seeing Hand Massage; they train blind Cambodians massage, all while helping them become self-sufficient and providing them with jobs. Whatever “Khmer Traditional” massage is, I received it tonight. The nice lady who spent an hour with me seemed to only know two English phrases (which she said over and over): “Miss, you okay?” and “You very strong”.

I shouldn’t say what I’m about to say. It’s going to sound mean and be incredibly rude. I’m going to say it anyway, though. Instead of being blind, I wish the nice lady was deaf. That way, I wouldn’t have had to hold in my shrieks and screams. Although I am over exaggerating (just a little), it seemed the hour was made up of three parts. The first part consisted of her locating my funny bone and slowly (but forcefully) massaging it. Then it was on to the other arm. Two words: not comfortable. The next part included assisted stretching – no, strenuous assisted stretching. Now, I’m no Gumby, but my yoga has loosened me up a bit. This lady was folding, pressing, and pulling me like crazy. For the last bit she pulled each toe individually until they popped. Not just ten little tugs, but ten yanks. I can’t believe I can still wiggle the poor things.

Tomorrow, all 70 kids from APCA climb into a huge garment truck and ride an hour to Phnom Penh. Here, we’ll get to visit the Royal Palace, Wat Phnom, and take a picnic lunch on a boat ride down the Mekong River. Total, the day will cost less than two hundred dollars. The kids very rarely get come to PP, so I’m excited to share the day with them.

This has been the best first week I could have imagined. Aside from a few communication hiccups (that darn language barrier…), everything has gone smoothly and I’m learning the kids’ names quicker than I thought. Again, a big thank you to everyone who donated (especially my FTJ’ers!)