Sook S'bye (Cambodian for what's up)

There is literally so much to say. And I'm writing this at a little before midnight on the eve of waking up at 4 in the a.m. to go see Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Why do I always feel inspired to post updates when I should be sleeping?

I havent really posted since Sunday. Oh wow, I am slacka-lackin. I digress. I guess since I was sort of vague when telling all of you lovely readers what exactly it was I would be doing here in Cambodia I should probably go into a little more detail about that before anything else. Part of what makesEDventure  unique from other volunteer opportunities is that it is a quite small company that focuses on making a global impact at the community level by working with leaders and passionate individuals from within a community. Research and development in essentially spending months in a location talking to a variety of such driven and passionate locals to determine where there is need and how EDventure can collaborate with the community to begin to make the changes that can be made. What this means for each project then is that what we are doing could change based on what the need is. So where before I thought I would be building bunk beds in an orphanage instead I have now found myself as part of the building team on what will be a new school and community center in the village of an amazing young man named Sarath. I will have to do a short bio on him in another post because he truly is an inspiration. Also, we are teaching in the small school that Sarath currently runs in his front yard for all his village's children to come learn at, as well as at Sopheak's school in another part of Siem Reap. Now that we're all up to speed, I'll dive in.

Monday was our first day on project working at Sarath's and Sopheak's schools and it was amazing. The young students are an absolute blast to work with as are my fellow volunteers. We taught 3 different classes from 2-7pm. Auntie, I appreciate what you do so mch more now that I have had to lesson plan and spend hours teaching 6-12 year olds. They are so excited to learn though, that it became infectious and I didn't notice I was tired until dinner that evening. Oh my Buddah, we ate so many mangoes too!!!! They are delicious and grow right in Sarath's backyard and his mother makes this outstanding mango fruit leather from it as well. Just wow. Anyway we taught our hearts out as well as played games (including a halfbreed of soccer and volleyball that is one of the most fun games I have ever played).

Tuesday was the King's birthday and so there was no school scheduled and we got to work on digging the trenches to lay the foundation of the school and chop down some nasty bushes and trees with the biggest red ants I have ever seen. Small tip, red ants here have giant mandibles and pack quite a punch. After lunch that day we found that even with a national holiday taking place and the kids were not required to come to school, they did anyway. Such a change from North American schools, and it was so fantastic to see the kids have such a desire to learn and improve.

Wednesday was much the same with chopping down trees and planting the seed of knowledge. More mangoes (I have no clue if I am spelling that right or not).  Plus I got to spend a little time doing more one-on-one tutoring about the concept of time with Somnah, Pana, Suek, and Machin, which was a lot of fun and really pushed me to find different ways to communicate.

Thursday was spectacular. We mixed concrete and laid brick alongside Sarath's uncles and father and cousins. It was a day of true back-breaking labor in the hot sun and I absolutely loved it. After work Sarath's mother, aunt, and grandmother made us all a delicious meal or chicken killed that morning with vegetables and rice. Of course while working I may have also eaten 2-3 mangoes. For dessert we helped make what will only be known as tasty balls. Here's what you do: make a dough mix of rice flour and water then put a piece of sugar cane into a small piece of the dough and roll it up. Throw it in a pot of boiling water until it floats to the top of the pot and then immediately transfer to cold wate. Serve with fresh coconut shavings and you have tasty balls. So good!!! We didn't work in the school that day as Sarath practically forced the students to take a day off (the last day of the holiday for the King's birthday celebration).

Finally, that brings us to today. I spent the day at Sopheak's school helping come up with lesson plans and later teaching. I'm so excited that I got to teach verb tenses today. They were my favorite thing to learn in high school Spanish classes. The kids there were awesome too, and I can't wait to see what next week will bring.

This trip has been so unbelievable so far and has already exceeded every expectation I have had/ I have now officially been here for 1 full week and still cannot believe how lucky I am to have made it here and to have this opportunity. I am sailing away from the safe harbor and have never been more glad for it. 'Til next time.

-Mikayla