We are back in Siem Reap for a few hours while waiting on a bus to Battambang where we are spending the weekend. We have been at the new project for two weeks. It is brilliant. We are working with an orphange/school for orphans, poor and homeless. Over a hundred children come for extra classes/informal education and around 20 live there. 100 have breakfast at the school which is a new project as their families can't afford that meal. The children are amazing and we're already very attached to them. Apart from teaching English classes (I am teaching the director) we are also helping the farmers/builders on the farm. The orphanage/school is currently making a farm where the children can learn permaculture (agriculture in a way that makes the settlement self-sufficient). It will also be a source of food and income for the school.
The village is very remote, which I love because we are very far from tourists. Our house is just one big room where we hang up hammocks at night to sleep and have a chamber pot in the room! The shower is in the garden and is two big pots which collect rain water and a little pot to throw the water over yourself. The women have to wear "sarongs" in the shower which is a long piece of material elasticated to hold it under arms and goes almost to the ground so we had to go the market last week to get ours made.
The bus we got back into Siem Reap was a pick-up truck that picks up people on the way by driving along blarring its horn so people know its coming and then people sit on the edge of the truck (the good seats) or one the ground in the middle (not so comfortable...). I am having an amazing time. I think it will be a shock to get to Australia as it is so far removed from our living conditions here. When I think of our house now it seems like a mansion and luxurious beyond belief. The people are so nice - more so in the country than the city though. Having come back into the city having people trying to sell you stuff/ride in their tuk-tuk/moto etc. hit us with a shock. I'm thoroughly enjoying the peace of country life!
Still missing you all!
Todavia estoy pasandolo pipa. Me encanta el segundo proyecto (mas que el primero). Estamos en un pueblo en la jungla - lejos de civilacion y turistas. Nos quedamos en una casa - solo hay un salon y no hay nada dentro (con la excepcion de la bacinica...). Dormimos en hamacas y nos duchamos en la jardin. Las mujeres tienen que cubrir todo el cuerpo fuera de la casa asi que llevamos pareo en la ducha!
Estamos trabajando en un orfanato/escuela. Los ninos son increibles. hay unos 100 estudiantes que vienen para aprender ingles y unos 20 que viven ahi por una razon u otra. No todos son huerfanos - hay unos que son de familias pobres o sin techo. Les ensenamos ingles y yo enseno ingles al director. Ademas, estamos trabajando en la granja. La escuela quiere tener una para ensenar acuicultura a los ninos - tambien sera ingreso y comida para la escuela.
Lo siento por no escribir las otras historias en espanol!
Adios besos!!!