Written By Kate and Danica
Coming from Siem Reap, we went into PTD with little to no expectations. Though we arrived with low spirits, this week became one of our best. When we arrived we were greeted by Rith (the director of PTD) and a great home-cooked meal. That day we all settled in and rested to prepare for the next day. Every morning at 7 am we all slowly but surely gathered in the dining hall to eat our peanut butter toast and bananas, sometimes a green tea. Our first official day, we were given a presentation to learn about PTD’s newly-revised mission and goals, which is also where we got to meet Visal and Hou, the two head teachers of the PTD Learning Center, where we would soon be working everyday during our stay. A majority of our stay was there during the end of water season festival, which is a national holiday that the kids get school off from. So we were surprised to learn that for the next 3 days kids would be coming to school to be taught by us despite having that break.
At 1:30, after we all had eaten lunch, we gathered outside the two classrooms. Upon seeing the kids doing their routine English exercises, we were all hit with a wave of nerves. We split ourselves in between two groups working with 1B or 1A which differ by English level. The topic of our first day of class was teaching conversational introductions. I, Danica, got to work with the 1B group and I was shocked to learn how advanced they were in their speaking ability. Prior to this first meeting we were never informed of the students’ levels of English. We were very appreciative of the teachers’ and students’ patience with us. Despite not having the degree or educational background of a teacher, the students were very respectful and genuinely treated us like we were their teachers, including calling us all “teacher”. This day of teaching really lifted our spirits; we couldn’t help but match the students ‘joy and positivity.
By the end of the day when the kids got to present what they learned, we were all so invested in their success to the point where we were mouthing their presentation. We were even told by Visal and Hou that we all looked like proud parents. As parents began to pick up their kids, one by one they would run to us and say goodbye, with a occasional fist bump or high five. Once the kids left, the toll of the day hit us and right after dinner we hit the hay. The next morning we helped with some clearing of bricks and rocks to not only help with rain drainage but to also make the pathway safer for the kids. We also listened to Kate’s bomb playlist while we worked. 1:30 came around quickly and we were back in the classroom at work. The main topic for this day was art… and having fun. Honestly we all just drew for about an hour and half and then occasionally would have break time for the kids to get their energy out. This was actually one of the challenges of this week – coming up with games for them to play. The kids were so energetic and sometimes it was hard to keep up with them. They constantly would need a new game or not even play the games right and just run around. The two games that were very popular with the kids were Rock, Paper, Scissors and the Down By The Banks Hand Game (if you know, you know). We even caught them playing it without us. When the kids were being picked up, Visal began to have of us call the students’ names with a microphone, but eventually he took over; we just could not get their names right. After the kids left, Visal and Hou took us around the village to show us the state of the kids living situations. They explained along the way PTD’s scholarship programs and the way they support the students. Our group was very touched by the way PTD is involved in their students lives, and how much they care about the whole student, not just their education.
The next day we spent about 2 hours crafting our own lesson plans. The group working with the younger kids decided on the topic of feelings and emotions. The other group went with the topic of everyday shopping language. Dan was with this group and said the kids had so much fun being buyers and sellers. Eventually they memorized the script and began bargaining with us. They also loved all the little hats we made for them. You could see they were truly happy to be learning. I, Kate, on the other hand had a more difficult time with the younger kids. Our lesson plan went shorter than expected and as such we had to keep the children entertained. Let me just say, Ava and I were exhausted both physically and mentally. But we learned a lot of new games. That day for us was quite tiring so we gave ourselves a relaxing night.
Our last day with the kids was spent doing an activity that Gabrielle had set up with PTD. The kids would be writing letters to the students at Gabrielle’s elementary school. They were all so excited to be interacting with people from America. Most of the kids didn’t even know what a letter was so we had scripts of what they should write and fill in the blanks to add a personal touch. This activity was very difficult for the kids due to the high English level, however once they had completed their letters, they were incredibly proud of their success. At the end of the day, after we ate dinner, Hou and Sokhoeub (another teacher at PTD) brought us to a Khmer Circus. This was one of the highlights of the trip; it was amazing to see all the different acrobatics they could perform along with the story they told. I, Danica spent some time with Hou’s daughter Lida. She not only expressed her excitement for the circus but also showed me all around the property. We all went back to PTD satisfied about the night. Friday was our last day with PTD and in Battambang, as well as our free day for Rith and Hou to show us around. The highlight of this day was 100 percent the millions of bats we saw exit the cave.
The morning of our departure we had one last meeting with the staff of PTD. They first gifted us traditional Cambodian scarfs and we each received a certificate of appreciation. It was similar to a mini-graduation. Lastly, we expressed our gratitude and said our final goodbyes. PTD was incredibly eye opening to the education systems of Cambodia and we will always cherish the skills learned and connections we were able to make with the children.
