We had a tuk tuk waiting outside our house today at 7 a.m. We had debated for the last few days exactly how long it would take us to get from Phnom Penh to Lveasar in a tuk tuk. We don't have a car yet, so this has been the mode of transportation that we have been relying on the last two weeks. For those of you that don't know, a tuk tuk is a moto bike that pulls two covered seats behind it. Conventionally, most can carry four people, but Cambodians love to cram as much as possible onto any vehicle carrying anything, so we've seen many more people than that per tuk tuk. Although we're very familiar with this transportation by now (we can even haggle the driver down to a decent price!), we had yet to take one to Lveasar. By car, the drive to Lveasar is about an hour...and very bumpy. This highway to Lveasar goes all the way to Vietnam, and it is currently under heavy construction. You might say it's the equivilant of driving on a shell road/washboard...yet it is a major highway. So, by tuk tuk, even more bumpy. Even so, we were pretty excited about the idea of "tuking" our way to Lveasar. The ride was definitely bumpy, but only took us fifteen more minutes that usual, making us right on time. Once we turned off the highway, we drove down a small road through a village where the tuk tuk dropped us off on the bank of the Mekong River. From here, we took a ferry (that looks much like it came out of a World War II movie) across the Mekong to Lveasar. Once we made it to Lveasar, a moto bike was there waiting to take us down the dirt road about a mile down through the village to Hope for Cambodia Orphanage. We finally made it! We arrived...and this is our life! From moment 1, we were pumped.
Arriving at the orphanage was probably my favorite part, we were greeted with hugs and smiles of kids that love more freely than many of us can understand. These are kids that have pasts not filled with the love and affection that many of us received as children, yet they are ready to love and receive love so quickly.
Our classes flew by, but it feels like so many things happened...so, I'm just going to hit the highlights:
1. These kids can introduce themselves in English and ask "What's your name?" after today!
2. After the kids left each class, we got exuberant high fives and "See you tomorrow, teacher!" in the cutest accents ever.
3. During lunch, we were directed to our "break room" with two mats and pillows on bunk beds where we can eat and rest...so sweet. :)
4. After a quick break, we get to play with our kids for almost two hours till their next classes begin. (Lunch break is 11-1!)
5. In the afternoon, Tamara and I got to teach the high school students together. We were able to convert classroom cut-ups into an object lesson. We were teaching commands: "Come here," "Stop," "Turn around," and "Go away." In the middle of Tamara and I dramatically acting out these commands, some (what seemed at the moment) very large living creature came flying in our direction at the front of the class. We both had the normal girlie reaction you would expect of shrieking and running to the nearest wall for shelter. To our relief, there was a frog in the middle of the floor. We all died laughing, except for the two perpetrators who were not-so-subtly hiding their smiles in the back. Tamara and I spent a few moments trying to catch it, while several girls were still cowering on top of their desks...finally we chased it to the back of the room towards the open windows, yelling "Go away! Go away!" Lesson complete.
6. Evidence of just one day in the village? Village feet and farmer's tans. Already...but so worth it.
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