The
following are excerpts from a letter I sent home describing my first few weeks
here. I have excluded some parts to make it more general in application. My
apologies if that makes it a bit ‘clunky’. Kind regards, JA Davidson.
Most of the classes are small in size, generally 1-5 students. These classes are normally centred around English teaching through the Bible (Or Bible teaching through English ;) ). Some students have basic English while others are quite advanced. Some students are very keen on the Bible aspect, others are yet to show too much of an interest beyond the English. In the last two hours I have had two students, one for whom I was explaining various aspects of English, the next for who I was explaining Daniel 7... This afternoon will doubtless be spent brushing up on Daniel so I have more to say tomorrow.
These classes are important and have their place but admittedly there are some other areas I prefer and feel in my element. One is a seminar I run 6-7 pm most evenings. While the students' English for this class isn't great, I enjoy the style of teaching and the students' company. This class is also important as it is given to 'dormers'.
Dormers are students who live in the Bethezer run dormitories. Basically, often students come in from the provinces to study at university. However, coming from the provinces they can't afford accommodation, food, education, etc. As such, various organisations have set up dormitories to help students be able to handle the cost of living. Normally these dormitories have some sort of conditions, whether it be a meager payment or otherwise. My present understanding (which is admittedly limited), is that we ask that the dormers come to a class run at 6am in the morning... My understanding is also that I will soon be taking these classes at one of the dorms :S! (Hello early mornings :D). [On that note, we have two dorms, a girls dorm and a boys dorm].
To be honest, I am quite glad to be taking these early morning classes as I personally think the dormers are an important asset to the community here. They are people we have as a recurring audience. They are interested in the Bible. They are involved with the BEC and the ecclesia to various extents. We also often go out and play some hectic soccer matches in the evenings. They're a lot of fun too! I quite enjoy teaching them and building relationships with them.
The other place I really want to get to regularly and teach is the LCDI (Leadership Character Development Institute). The BEC and LCDI used to share quite a close relationship. LCDI students used to ride to the BEC and in turn the BEC used to send teachers regularly to the LCDI. Since that prosperous time both organisations have moved premises and hence are further apart. LCDI also lost a lot of funding and my understanding is they went from a multi-campus institute in various areas to a single smaller campus on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
As part of P2P a team of us went and visited them and I did quite a bit of teaching that day. And I loved it! I felt like I was in my element and the students were keen and asked some great questions. I even liked seeing the little projects they had going there and would love to be involved that way too... regardless, I would love to get there once a week. It is tricky as it is so far and I would need a translator to be truly effective (Rotana was great when we went out there), but I think it would be a worthwhile endeavour. While I don't like to weigh things, I would prefer to be at LCDI teaching one day a week than do another BEC days teaching. I could argue that it is more worthwhile, but perhaps my bias to just want to be there is the core reason.
Speaking of questions, I seem to get a lot of them when I am out teaching. Some while at the BEC but I seem to get more when I am out and about.
Some questions are good and get me thinking, especially since I have to frame it in a way that is interesting + translatable; I also try to get students to come to their own conclusions by asking them questions in return.
Some questions are quite uplifting- "What must I do to be a son of God?".
Then there are those questions that are biological- 'Why can women only have children for some of their life but men all their life?'
Some questions are a little left field- ' Why do Cambodians speak Khmer and Thai people speak Thai but those on the border don't speak Khmer-Thai mixed language?'
Finally, some are just plain strange-'Now that NASA has met people from out of space, how does that change belief in God, where did they come from?' and 'Can NASA use it's time machine to...'
Transport here is mainly by tuk-tuk or moto (motorbike). There are quite a few cars on the road though (often big ones like landcruisers or hiluxs) and a few bicycles too. I have even seen the odd rickshaw. Tuk-tuk drivers afford a lot of freedom and flexibility. There is one down the road who I like a lot. He is fair with prices, friendly, fast and knows where to go. He also has angry birds characters carved onto the side of his tuk-tuk. I use him when I can. Twice I have had to deal with grumpy tuk-tuk drivers, one was (in retrospect) just plain cheeky and despite the other P2P's telling me to just leave it, I did give him a dollar. The second one must've been having a bad day. He took three of us a short distance, at the other end had a hissy fit about how far it was, complained loudly after we gave him double the amount it should have been. Normally a local translator can help with such matters but in this case the dormers just said, he is grumpy go inside.
While I like traveling by tuk-tuk, the price can quickly add up ($3-$7 USD a trip) and moto (motorbike/scooter) is the preferred and cheaper method of travel. Although the BEC does have a tuk-tuk which I might learn to drive, I think I should learn (or rather get a license) to drive a moto as well. Indeed, when the whole P2P team was here we just took several tuk-tuks. Now that many of the team have left we have taken to piling into the BEC tuk-tuk (which Billy normally drives). Even though there are 8 in the tuk-tuk (imagine a clown car), there is still a need to take a moto with two people on it…
…The food here is pretty good. I am gradually becoming more Cambodian in taste. Although, I can't yet being myself to eat the fish, none of it has looked fresh and appetizing like in Vanuatu. I did eat eel recently though. I've never eaten out so much in my life, one minute you are on the frenetic streets of Phnom Penh and the next you are in a hipster coffee shop amongst the back alleys of Melbourne or a curry house of Mumbai. Perhaps the frequency of eating out will change once P2P is over. The BEC has a resident chef who creates delicious meals for a small fee. She provides lunch and dinner and does various dishes from khmer through to western.
Cambodia as a country is undergoing rapid changes. Speaking specifically of Phnom Penh as I brush shoulders with people who visited 10 years ago I learn about the changes they have observed. Fishing spots now converted to apartment blocks. A generally low-rise landscape transformed with high-rise buildings. As I look around there are many skyscrapers being constructed even now- green scaffolding high in the sky. The motoring landscape has changed too. There are many more small cars now and more powerful motos. Once there was bicycles, some motos and a few high-end cars. Now the social classes have changed (are changing), once there was mainly rich and poor. Now, there is a burgeoning middle-class due to western investment pouring into the country in the last decade. While in one aspect this is good, in others it has pushed the poor further out and is creating slums in certain areas…
…Well I suppose I shall write more again soon but for the moment I should think about signing off. Other quick percolating thoughts... Dengue seems to be the main mosquito risk out this way. I need to be diligent in applying permethrin and other things. I was thinking the other day about how it would be cool to use mosquitoes as vectors for vaccination. If they spread disease why not spread vaccines? [And Insert complicated reasons as to why].There was quite some amusement when one of the sisters here said she didn't get the names of missionaries right as it is hard to tell Barung (white people) apart. Given that Billy (Chinese descent) and Harry Green (Redhead) are both classified as barung it was quite amusing. It echoed similar thoughts I had heard people say back home..
Alright, well I shall write more another time, I am feeling a little weary so I have probably been rambling and I should nap. Hope this fills you in a little bit.
God bless.Love John
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