Why, hello again, Cambodia!

May usually finds me packing bags for a journey to the other side of the world, but this time I was going the other way: from the US to Cambodia. Lehigh University is sponsoring my 2-month internship in the town of Siem Reap (home to the impressive Angkor Wat temple complex) at a nonprofit called Caring for Cambodia (CFC). CFC supports various public schools in the Siem Reap area, offering additional resources, teacher training, and classes like English, computer, and career prep. Students at most government schools attend half a day Monday to Saturday, but CFC students attend a full day Monday to Saturday. 

My internship involves supporting English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at 2 middle schools and a high school, supporting English classes for CFC staff, and a smattering of other tasks like translating some testimonials into English for promotional videos. I’ll also be conducting interviews, surveys, and focus groups for my thesis on Cambodia’s Student Council program. I’m excited to learn more about Cambodian public schools (vs. my prior experience at Logos) and to improve my Khmer language, which is already back to where I was last year.

The high school where I'll be working overlooks one of the middle schools 

The timing worked out perfectly for me to have a week in Phnom Penh beforehand. My dear friends Suzanne and Michaela (with her husband Neil) hosted me for 3 nights each. Cambodia has been miserably hot and in the throes of a terrible drought, but the week I arrived was the first week it started raining a bit. While rain levels are still far too low, posing threats to crops and sending Cambodians into debt from buying drinking water, at least the cloud cover and rain have made temperatures much more pleasant. 

High school boys couldn't resist the chance to play soccer in the first big rainstorm 

The timing was also great in the sense that it was the last week of school at Logos. That meant that with exams and final projects winding down, students were fairly relaxed with time to chat, but almost nobody had left yet for summer break - though I subbed for a couple teachers who had to leave early. Another highlight: I got to attend graduation for my former homeroom students. It was wonderful to see everyone again without the usual pressures of report cards or grading final exams, and I was encouraged by a number of stories of God's faithfulness in people's lives this year. I also loved the "Ms. Cooper! What are YOU doing here?!" reactions from several students who didn't know I was coming. 

Chapel made me tear up! I loved hearing seniors share reflections and testimonies.
"Knowing that for every step, You were with us..."

Highlights of graduation included salutatorian Ponhneath’s speech, which she delivered in both English and Khmer, and a video message from Ryan Ketchum, the music teacher who had these students in homeroom grades 8-11. (The Ketchums had to leave suddenly last fall for health reasons.) With Logos' small, intimate classes, graduation is always such a meaningful event. The songs we sang, the photo slides that appeared as each senior mounted the stage, and the speeches all reflected this class's personality. After graduation, I had lunch with two Logos teachers, and two alumni we'd taught happened to be at the table next to ours. Unbeknownst to us, they paid for our lunch! Yet another example of why Logos students are amazing.

Jenny is one of the many grads I taught in both 9th and 11th grade English

Michaela and I enjoyed her personal day to the max

I had a lot of nostalgia, and it confirmed again that I’d like to move back after finishing my master’s degree. Cambodia to me feels paradoxically invigorating and homey in ways difficult to explain. But I was also reminded of the challenges my friends face in Cambodia - from unending goodbyes due to the revolving door of expats, to the bugs that burrow into cereal and other food, to ever-worsening traffic jams on overcrowded streets, to various forms of financial, physical, and emotional strain. My year in the US hasn’t always been easy, but it’s allowed me to be comfortable in many ways that others aren’t, especially because I’m living with my parents. I don’t want to take those comforts for granted, but rather to hold them with an open hand, enjoying them while they last and willingly leaving them behind when the time comes... just as I need to do for now with the joys of Phnom Penh.

Sorphorn (next to me) has been coming to this soup place since she was 7

Even while in Phnom Penh, I was scrambling to prepare two presentations for an English as a Second Language (ESL) conference last week that launched the internship. Two of the other 3 interns also presented. My topics were “Transitioning from primary to secondary school ESL” and “Balancing Khmer and English in the ESL classroom.” None of us felt thoroughly qualified (for example, I’ve never taught English to beginners) or familiar with our audience, which included CFC teachers and other teachers and administrators from the Siem Reap area. But we rolled with it anyway. I loved how engaged and interactive a number of my participants were, even though many didn’t teach English. A particularly hot issue was differentiation, since many students fall through the cracks and end up years behind grade level, whether in English or other courses.

Demonstrating the rhyme "Ten Little Monkeys" with 6th graders

It really helped that my translator, Sitha, was an accomplished ESL teacher himself, who was often able to augment and contextualize my presentations with his own ideas and strategies. Next time, I hope more Cambodian teachers present, because they know this stuff better than we interns do. At one point, Sitha interjected some points about English phonics, and it turned into 30 minutes of the participants eagerly lobbing questions and ideas at him while I just sat there smiling. These participants face some intense challenges - one woman reported having 70 students in her largest class! - but they’re still fighting to do their best by their students, and it’s inspiring to see. I also loved the enthusiasm from the 5^th and 6^th grade students who helped me demonstrate various lesson techniques. I’m looking forward to building relationships with CFC teachers and students over the next 7 weeks.

With my 5th grade assistants and a conference participant