Rewind: [Transit on Transit] Tokyo

It was a sentimental trip back to Tokyo. I didn’t have too much time to enjoy the last few moments of Tokyo life; simply because I was too busy moving and studying for the GREs at the time. 

I was mostly back  to fill out unemployment papers, get official government papers signed off, and see my old boss but what a great excuse to see my friends. It was a whirlwind trip but it's always good to be back. Tokyo will forever be my second home. 

Guest Student

Today there's a guest student in our conversation class. 
Baby novice monk, 11 years old. He's such a shy cutie pie. 
Of course his English is not good yet so our students helped to translate to us so all in all it turned out to be a good translation exercise. 

Beer snacks

The one thing I don't really like about American bars is that food is limited. They'll serve you fries of chips if you're lucky. Best thing about Asia is that anywhere you go that serve alcohol, they have a great menu of nibblets and snacks to munch on. I have a favorite beer snack for every country that I've gone to and the list is growing. In Cambodia it has to be the mango salad with dried fish jerky. The mango salad is sweet, sour,  and spicy which are great for humid weather. Add the salty fish jerky pieces in and it's a agglomerate of tastes and flavors. Wash it down with some Angkor beer and I'm a happy person for the night!

お弁当の時間

同僚が教えている村の小学校の遠足に付き添いとしてまたまたアンコールワットに行ってきました。アンコールワットはこれが実は４回目なのですが意外にも子供たちは初めて。当初は子供たちだけのつもりでしたがやはりアンコールワットはカンボジア人たちにとって特別な存在なので中高生の子供たちや村の人たちも一緒で多分総勢５０人ぐらいになったのではないでしょうか？笑

村の人たちが参加者全員に昼食を作ってきたのでおすそ分けしていただきました♪
カンボジアのお弁当は白米のみ。それに市場のお惣菜屋さんや家から持ってきたおかずを分け合います。

 村のオバちゃんたちが給食のおばさんたちごとくてきぱきといろいろ白米のお弁当の上に乗せてくれます。

 お魚の干物、鶏肉の煮込み、マンゴーサラダ、ゆで卵などなどです。これがまたおいしい。カンボジアは暑いので保存のためおかずはしょっぱいかすっぱいかなのでご飯が進むんです☆

お弁当の時間はやはりみんな満面の笑顔ですね～

Field Trip

Going to Angkor Wat is always special but it makes it even more special when you’re going there with 20+ local kids. How I became a chaperone for a school field trip was all by coincidence. My coworker Carena also teaches English at a village school about 5km away from Siem Reap as part of a project with my other coworker Kathryn. One day I decided to do a class visit; as an English instructor for the Sewing School myself, it’s always good to see how other teachers conduct their lessons especially someone like me who has minimal teaching experience. While I was visiting the schools the coordinator of the school, Sun also happen to come by. After quick introductions, being the Cambodian that he is,  popped the question if I wanted to come along to Angkor Wat with the children. Sun, whose actual job is a tour guide, wanted to invite the students to a tour of the Angkor Wat as a treat before the term end and Khmer New Years. This was especialy a special treat for the children because most of them have never been to Angkor Wat before.

Albeit let’s admit it, the kids were actually happy to be away from the village rather than being at Angkor Wat. Many children rarely get out of the village, letalone a worldly tourist site. Sun, being in the business had arranged all the drivers and lunch for the students and chaperones which made getting around easier. Still, with the number of children (30+) and the blazing heat, it was quite tiring.

After going around a few temples, we were ready for a cool down. Must of the afternoon was spent splashing around by the watermill which is a local favorite spot –there’s absolutely no indication in tour books so sorry I can’t point out where it is!

I was wiped out after a few hours and ended up leaving early with Kathryn but in hindsight what a special occasion that was. I am sure it was a memorable occasion for many of the kids as well and I’m very I was able to a part of that.