Many of my English II students have decided to join us on this trip to Cambodia, even though they are missing 3 days of classes and a 2-3 page essay on Autism. In exchange for skipping that assignment, I decided to offer my students write daily blog reports on what kind of things we were doing in Cambodia. Today, we split up, with groups heading in 2 directions: to an Adventist academy (similar to TAPA and TAAS) called Cambodia Adventist School (CAS), and a Vietnamese Illegal Aliens school. One of my students, Curtis, decided to focus his article on his experience at the Vietnamese School.
The first day we arrived Siem Reap, Mrs. Webb told us this trip will change our lives. Honestly, I didn't believe her, because I've heard the same thing when I was in the China Mission Trip and I didn't think our lives can be changed more than once. She tells us that God has a purpose for each and every one of us here in Cambodia. I didn't believe God had any purpose for me.
There is one thing you can always depend on finding in the two Vietnamese schools, and that is smile on everyone of their faces. It's hard to imagine how poor their families are when they are laughing and cheering with the brightest smile a person can ever have. It was fun to talk to them and play with them.
I have a new Vietnamese friend today and he tried to communicate with me using hand motions, but then I asked a translator to tell me what he was trying to say, she told me the kid wants to drink water!!!, and then another time he was trying to ask me to count numbers in Chinese and so I count the numbers using his fingers and then his friend sitting next to him at that time counted numbers in English. For some reasons, he pulled each one of my fingers and I did the same to him and when his friend next to him was trying to touch my hand, he shouted something in Vietnamese and then his friend backed off, that was a funny incident.
Even though sometimes they can have no idea what we are speaking in English and we need a Vietnamese translator to communicate with them, we still had fun singing, playing games(like telephone sherades) with them and finished the program successfully.
In Taiwan, I was depress for my broken relationship with my friends and some other important people who were once meaningful to me in my life and also my failing grades for my depress feelings. I thought my life was worthless and that no one loved and cared about me. I didn't look around me and appreciate the things I have,not the things I lost and I didn't notice those people in my life who actually cared about me. These couple of days when I see those kids having poor living conditions, poor health care, poor education system, their smiles tell me that even when my life is in the worst place, there are always things in my life, like the friendships I have left, the joy of living in a country with good health care and a house with everything I ever needed, that can make me smile and praise God for everything I have.
Showing posts with label Phnom Penh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phnom Penh. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Daily Report for Sunday, April 8th (Group A)
Many of my English II students have decided to join us on this trip to Cambodia, even though they are missing 3 days of classes and a 2-3 page essay on Autism. In exchange for skipping that assignment, I decided to offer my students write daily blog reports on what kind of things we were doing in Cambodia. Today, we split up, with groups heading in 2 directions: to an Adventist academy (similar to TAPA and TAAS) called Cambodia Adventist School (CAS), and a Vietnamese Illegal Aliens school. One of my students, Kotomi, decided to focus her article on her experience at CAS.
We went to CAS which is Adventist School like TAPA today. Comparing with other schools and orphanage we went in this trip, they know a lot of songs and activities and can speak English well. However, there is a similarity which is that they are always into one thing. They work really hard and have fun with their whole bodies and true hearts even if they know the games and songs. I think it is amazing because I cannot have fun and work on one stuff so hard what I know for so long. I feel bored soon and sleep or do other stuffs I need in school days. Therefore, I was amazed at their altitude and pure hearts. I think God wants me to learn to work hard and have fun more because it is my responsibility for people who prepared the activities for me
I learned that they like songs so much, especially, I'll do my best and Superhero. They all sang out loud and did motion with us. Also they sang the songs after chapel by their own!! When I heard they are singing, I felt really happy. I also knew they can memorize things really fast because they work hard on them. I think they are so much better than me in many ways so I learned from them, not teaching them. I'm a little bit worried if I could teach, not only learning.
I really appreciate this trip. Every single work/program tells me important thing for my life. Therefore, thank you, teachers and Cambodian students/kids for teaching me a lot of things and giving chance and time to think about God.
We went to CAS which is Adventist School like TAPA today. Comparing with other schools and orphanage we went in this trip, they know a lot of songs and activities and can speak English well. However, there is a similarity which is that they are always into one thing. They work really hard and have fun with their whole bodies and true hearts even if they know the games and songs. I think it is amazing because I cannot have fun and work on one stuff so hard what I know for so long. I feel bored soon and sleep or do other stuffs I need in school days. Therefore, I was amazed at their altitude and pure hearts. I think God wants me to learn to work hard and have fun more because it is my responsibility for people who prepared the activities for me
I learned that they like songs so much, especially, I'll do my best and Superhero. They all sang out loud and did motion with us. Also they sang the songs after chapel by their own!! When I heard they are singing, I felt really happy. I also knew they can memorize things really fast because they work hard on them. I think they are so much better than me in many ways so I learned from them, not teaching them. I'm a little bit worried if I could teach, not only learning.
I really appreciate this trip. Every single work/program tells me important thing for my life. Therefore, thank you, teachers and Cambodian students/kids for teaching me a lot of things and giving chance and time to think about God.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Daily Report for Sunday, April 7th
Many of my English II students have decided to join us on this trip to Cambodia, even though they are missing 3 days of classes and a 2-3 page essay on Autism. In exchange for skipping that assignment, I decided to offer my students write daily blog reports on what kind of things we were doing in Cambodia. Today, we split up, with groups heading in 3 directions: to an Adventist academy (similar to TAPA and TAAS) called Cambodia Adventist School (CAS), a Vietnamese Illegal Aliens school, and a Feed & Read* school. One of my students, Angel, decided to focus her article on her experience at the Vietnamese school.
Today is our eighth day in Cambodia. After helping in the orphanage for two days in Siem Reap, we went to visit the Vietnamese schools in Phnom Penh today. The Vietnamese school we went in the morning gave me a big impression because of its locationand its mini size. The school is in downtown city but located on the side of a street with an unobvious appearance. At first, I thought its was an normal Cambodia apartment. It wasn't untill the van stopped that I realized we had arrived the school.
The children in the Vietnamese school have a big difference from those in the orphange we went the other day. They came to school with their own bag packs and were all well dressed. Under the teachers direction, the student behaved really well. They sang song and pray together. They lined up in lines by themselves when they were having assembly. Also, the teachers at the Vietnamese school speak better English than those in the oprphanage even though they were all really young.
At the Vietnamese school, we separeted ourselvese in to two to each class to teach the students. The thing that created us a great difficuties is that the students here usually speak in Vietnamese and only know a little English. They way that we got them interact with us is through out songs. These kids love to sing. They not only like to sing their own vietnam song but also love to learn new song from us.
At noon, we had our lunch at the school with the students. The food provided by the school was very nice. They children here also eat much more than the children in the orphanage. In the afternoon, we went to another Vietnamese school which had only started for three years. The school is located at the edge of the downtown city. As the sponsor of the school said, the the neighborhood of this school is the crimional area, and the students here are mostly come from a family with difficulties, such a single parent. The sponsor hope, through the school's system, these children can be raised up in the right way and be trained into great people who can contribute to the society.
It is really nice to visit these two Vietnamese school and see the culture difference in Cambodia. I appreciate the chance to perform skits in front of the children and teach them songs. Although it takes one a lot of effort to entertain these young kids especially only knowing them for the first time, I felt the efforts we paid is really worthy since the goal of this Cambodia mission trip is to learn to give rather than take. To give the love and joy to those students is the best gift and memories we can even give them. After today's great visiting, I really look foward to the visit to CAS tomorrow.
*From what I've determined, the Feed and Read school is a place that homeless (but not necessarily orphaned) children can come to get a free meal and a little education every day.
Today is our eighth day in Cambodia. After helping in the orphanage for two days in Siem Reap, we went to visit the Vietnamese schools in Phnom Penh today. The Vietnamese school we went in the morning gave me a big impression because of its locationand its mini size. The school is in downtown city but located on the side of a street with an unobvious appearance. At first, I thought its was an normal Cambodia apartment. It wasn't untill the van stopped that I realized we had arrived the school.
The children in the Vietnamese school have a big difference from those in the orphange we went the other day. They came to school with their own bag packs and were all well dressed. Under the teachers direction, the student behaved really well. They sang song and pray together. They lined up in lines by themselves when they were having assembly. Also, the teachers at the Vietnamese school speak better English than those in the oprphanage even though they were all really young.
At the Vietnamese school, we separeted ourselvese in to two to each class to teach the students. The thing that created us a great difficuties is that the students here usually speak in Vietnamese and only know a little English. They way that we got them interact with us is through out songs. These kids love to sing. They not only like to sing their own vietnam song but also love to learn new song from us.
At noon, we had our lunch at the school with the students. The food provided by the school was very nice. They children here also eat much more than the children in the orphanage. In the afternoon, we went to another Vietnamese school which had only started for three years. The school is located at the edge of the downtown city. As the sponsor of the school said, the the neighborhood of this school is the crimional area, and the students here are mostly come from a family with difficulties, such a single parent. The sponsor hope, through the school's system, these children can be raised up in the right way and be trained into great people who can contribute to the society.
It is really nice to visit these two Vietnamese school and see the culture difference in Cambodia. I appreciate the chance to perform skits in front of the children and teach them songs. Although it takes one a lot of effort to entertain these young kids especially only knowing them for the first time, I felt the efforts we paid is really worthy since the goal of this Cambodia mission trip is to learn to give rather than take. To give the love and joy to those students is the best gift and memories we can even give them. After today's great visiting, I really look foward to the visit to CAS tomorrow.
*From what I've determined, the Feed and Read school is a place that homeless (but not necessarily orphaned) children can come to get a free meal and a little education every day.
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