- and everywhere
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| Milk-apple tree |
The dry season is now in full swing. The wind, the dust is here to stay. Though today seems to be a little different,
the wind has (temporarily) shifted to the east. Hence, the sky is unusually
crystal clear with sun rays pouring through.
There isn’t a trace of smoke anywhere. Birds are chirping - bouncing from branch to
branch – some are bouncing from one electrical line to another showing off
their yellow, white, grey -bluish coats. There’s a black crested bird peering at our verandah
to tell us that he’s returned to his usual spot, to tell us that he’s pleased
to be back, now that the construction at the 'petite' clinic is done - at least for now! Down
below, in front of us, cows walk along the road in a straight line although some go astray heading for the field. Children run in between them attempting to
push them aside to climb the milk-apple tree and to sample the fruit that are
now in season.
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| Multilingual Education - Two Bunong children |
Our gaze is soon interrupted when the landlord and landlady
tell us that they will be away on an overnight trip to Kho Niek to visit their
son. They have asked us to keep an eye
on their house: their petite clinic and spa. Of course, we smile, nod, shake hands and secretly wonder
in delight, ‘if, during their absence, there’s a possibility of ‘risking’ a
good night sleep without the disturbance of loud noises (from the spa) travelling through the
cracks of our bedroom floorboards?’
Both December and January came and went with a flash. This always happens.
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| Co-teaching at one of the village schools |
In early December we had an Annual Volunteer
Conference in Phnom Penh where all VSO volunteers in Cambodia met to share
their experiences in their field. Two of
my close colleagues and I did a presentation on ‘Where we work – what we do”
and more. We talked about some ‘hot’ issues around
education, the successes, the milestones and of course the never ending topic:
the 'challenges' that always seems to be on everyone’s mind.
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| Training in one of the village schools |
During the month of December and January, we (my
translator and I) had training sessions with teachers, both at various education
sites in the villages and, at Technical Thursday Meetings that are usually held
the last Thursday of every month. We also visited several schools in the
villages to observe lessons, co-teach, design programmes with teachers and
more. Teachers on average are eager to learn, welcome
new ideas and are able to implement what they’ve learned in the classroom. It’s a treat to witness both teachers and children
pick up the concept easily and to see that they are genuinely having fun in the
process. It's equally delightful to watch
children giggle shyly and clap when someone has given an answer – particularly the
right answer at that.
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| Bunong children enjoying their lesson |
January has been a month where our daughter came to
see us, and as a result juggling work with having fun was a bit hard for me as I’m
easily destructed by the fun part. However,
Léah did come to the villages with me to meet teachers, students and to see
some of the things I do. Oh yes, she also
learned to ride my motorbike and was a natural … Anie this is for you. I’m afraid that I haven’t yet mastered the
motorbike nor am I the queen of Mondolkiri - not yet.
Just maybe – Just maybe one day it will happen. I will definitely keep
you posted.
More later ...
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