We're Eating Well

Alex and I bake for the first time.

Mom Knows Best

           Literal equations and exponential functions…blah blah…distributive property blah.

A week of school has gone by, and I personally believe the greatest part about that fact is having one week of teaching high-school math out of the way! Each day the fifth period bell rings sending my heart on quite the marathon.

            High-school math, not too long ago, intimated me by quite a great deal, let alone the thought of TEACHING high-school math. I suppose that once upon a time I could have promoted arithmetic as my thing, my shining factor, my prime attribute. However, grade school has come and gone…and sadly my mathematic skills have gone along. They are unquestionably not brag worthy.

This week proved that fact. I had made it to Thursday complete with pretty smooth sailing along the way, teaching directly out of my special Teacher’s Edition book (which pretty much breaks down entire equations for the reader), and was finally feeling rather confident standing in front of the high-school classroom. I was even cracking jokes here and there, twirling the marker around in my fingers, Eh this is gonna be a piece of cake..I thought…..and then I was put in my place.

A small 10^th grader made her way to the front of the classroom, tapped me on the shoulder, and quietly pointed out a mistake I had made on the whiteboard. OF COURSE I thought. I quickly fixed the problem on the board and informed the students that I must have been checked out or something to make such a silly slip-up. None of them said anything, just smiled and quickly fixed the equation on each of their papers.

Not more than ten minutes went by and again, the same tiny girl came up and tapped me on the shoulder. “Tee-Cha…this answer can actually be reduced further….” At this point I HAD to laugh it off, “Okay, okay, I CLEARLY need to have help up here more often..” I don’t tend to get embarrassed too easily and in this situation that trait definitely came to aid in my favor. I found the whole situation quite comical and very much to my preference my students did too.

Okay, okay..this story isn’t too sidesplitting until you realize the factors lying behind it. My student’s name, the little 10^th grade student that put me in my place, is Mom. Her first name is MOM. Every time I hear other kids calling out her name or grade one of her papers I just get such a kick out of it. I cannot get over it! I want a friend named Mom!!   “And yet AGAIN class, we can realize that Mom’s are always a good thing to keep around!!” I think some of them fell out of their chair from laughing so hard, or maybe it just felt that way to me ;)

They must think I’m an idiot. We still have fun however and TRY to learn..well whenever possible. Even if my students did not absorb much of anything from me about calculations on Thursday, they and myself too were reminded that Mom’s always know best!!

-Amber

A lot of people have been asking for our address so here it is!

P.O. Box 488
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

First Time Teacher

I slept the best I had slept since I got to Cambodia. And that was a good thing. The long anticipated first day of teaching was here. With only a few days of observation, no other teacher was going to be in charge. Amber and I were. We rode our bikes to school for the first time, which is quite the adventure, and then were handed a set of keys and a huge stack of books, and we were off. At flag raising our kids were so excited to see us. They all started to ask where we had been the last few days, tried to get us to help tie their ties, and tell us about their weekend. The first hour went decently smooth, but it just kept getting more and more difficult as the day went on. By the time lunch rolled around, I was pretty excited for a break. We shoveled down the usual rice and vegetables and then went to grade. We tried to figure out the grading system for the next two hours, and what we got done didn't seem to make a dent. The last period of the day is sophomore Algebra 1. Since these kids are older, they are much more animated and like to joke around quite a bit. One of the boys quickly gave me the nickname Teacher Alexander Graham Bell. It's a mouth full for an American, think about a Khmer trying to say it over and over. When the bell rang to end Algebra 1 to end the class period and the day, we were rather relieved. Not preparing for Algebra 1 made the class period more stressful than we had anticipated, but we made it through. After a bike ride home, we were determined to clean our apartment and try to do laundry. We have a washing machine that looks like it could shred our clothes. But it's a washing machine, so I can't complain. As soon as we got our clothes out of the wash, huge black clouds rolled on in, and instead of cleaning our apartment, it's now covered with hanging clothes. A stack of Algebra 1 papers now lay graded, along with some Spelling and Phonics papers. The day is over.

                                                                  Liza and Boreamey

It's been a long first day as a first time teacher. In the middle of the afternoon, I thought I was going to die. Amber and I were on our way to the library to grade papers, and a little girl, probably Kindergarten or 1st grader, walked past us and smiled a huge smile and giggled as she walked past us. It was just what we needed. It's incredible how a child can share so much joy and happiness with a little grin and laugh. We've only been in Cambodia for a little over a week, and only 4 days at the school, and we're already getting attached to our kids. If Amber or I don't show up somewhere, we're asked over and over "where is the other teacha?!" Two of my favorite girls Boramey (who Amber wrote about earlier) and Liza always brighten my day. Today Boramey wrote me sentence after sentence, making sure she had each word that was needed to form the sentence correctly. Liza taught us our names in Khmer and showed us how to write them. Once both girls finished their individual "projects" they would run back with huge smiles on their faces eagerly shoving the paper into my hand that they had wrote on. How can you not return a smile from such precious girls? The kids are going to recharge my energy everyday this year. They already have. One week in, and these kids already hold a huge spot in my heart. They are attaching me to Cambodia.

-Alex

Chanboreamey

I love my students. No, I cannot currently pronounce half of their names and in all honesty I cannot say that I even know the other half’s’ names….yet…but I love them just the same. I have only spent three days with my 2^nd-8^th grade ESL classroom, not even to teach but just to observe. Only three days and these kids have already made Cambodia more of a home for me.

            One teeny-tiny little girl has already discovered such an enormous space of my heart to squeeze into. Her name is Chanboreamey. Every day she runs up to me thrilled to merely say good morning. Chanboreamey holds this precious, radiant, smile that makes me want to adopt her as my little sister. She is brilliant; I can already see it.

Liza on the left, and Boreamey on the right. Such sweet faces.

            Each morning up to now Chanboreamey has wiggled her way over to my seat, reading silently until she comes across a word she is unsure of. “Tee-cha,” she says, “I do not know this word.” I will utilize shrugs, nods, smaller and simpler words, and anything I can muster up to describe these new words to her. Eventually I will see the light bulb click on inside her head and almost immediately that brilliant smile of hers lights up along with it. She quickly will write this new word down with a Khmer translation next to it, in order to not forget. She repeats this same routine, maybe up to 50 times in a couple of class periods, following me around the room with book in hand to get help in between the other students. 

            Here’s the catch, I know she recognizes and understands at least half of the words she asks me. Like I stated previously, she is a bright little girl. However, she still pretends to be oblivious in order to receive “help” from her Tee-cha. She is ravenous for attention, not in an aggravating and disruptive way, but in such a sweet and innocent manner. She simply wants reassurance.

            Last week, before walking out of the classroom, Chanboreamey wrapped her little arms around my legs and looked up at me with her big brown eyes and whispered “Oh, I just love you so much Tee-cha.” She has stolen my heart.

Here’s another catch; this little girl may be getting my “help”, but what she does not realize is that she is helping my sometimes empty, somewhat homesick, and pretty starved heart in such a greater and more incredible way that she could even imagine. Chanboreamey’s tiny heart holds so much joy. This teeny-tiny little girl  has already been enough; she has given me a reason to stay. 

-Amber

"Cha"

At 5:45 our alarm went off and we headed off to start our first day on the job. We don't technically start teaching until next Monday, because of a trip to Thailand for meetings that we're going to on Wednesday, but we're observing for the next few days. Within the first five minutes of arriving at CAS (Cambodia Adventist School, where we're teaching), we had two girls run up and introduce themselves as Rebecca and Rosa, while all the other kids stared and eagerly said "Good morning Teacha!" as we passed. ESL, English as a Second Language, is the main class we will be teaching. The room is filled with 24 first year students to CAS who don't speak English very well. Many of the kids will say "Teacha" instead of teacher, but even more of the kids make it simple and just call us "Cha." We wandered from room to room, standing under every fan we could to help deal with the heat, and trying to figure out how to pronounce one student's name after the next. It was a fairly overwhelming morning, to say the least.

We were told last night that we were going to have to teach ESL for 2-8 grade and high school Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Algebra 2. This is what we had expected except hearing we had to teach Algebra 2 worried us a little, and the worrying only increased after we observed the class today. Realizing we didn't know how to answer any of the questions or solve any of the sample problems was a little stressful when you're supposed to be the one teaching.

After an almost 2 hour long staff meeting, we finally returned home. We thought we'd try to eat something other than toast and cereal, and almost an hour and three different attempts later, we came up with a strange baked bean and corn mixture over lettuce. Not the most appetizing meal I've ever made.

Today was not easiest of days, and we haven't started teaching yet. It gave me a much greater respect for teachers, SM teachers, and SM's who go to serve alone. Frequently I wonder what it would be like if I was hear alone. I don't think I would be able to do it. Having someone close here to share my worries, frustrations, and fears with is what's keeping my head above water. We haven't even been in Cambodia a week, and I already feel like I'm slightly in over my head. I pray that I can be this "Cha" that these kids need and want me to be.

-Alex

Our first picture from a sunny, HOT Cambodia!!