First Day of School!

ជំរាបសួរ មិត្តភក្តិនិង គ្រួសារ (Hello friends and family in Khmer),

We just got home from our first day of school. It was just as exciting as the first day that we boarded the bus for kindergarten back home (and we think we also had more fun, but who can really remember that far back?)

Sovanna picked us at at 11:30 am sharp and we arrived at JWOC only 5 minutes later (maybe even less). At the gate, we had to sign in with our names, the date, and our signature. In return, we received volunteer passes, much like ones you need when you visit a school in America. We met Victoria (the volunteer coordinator) first. She is just as awesome as we expected. Unfortunately for us, she is leaving JWOC in just a couple of weeks to move home to New England, where she will join her recently-engaged fiancé (we heard the story— it is almost too cute to be real). We met a couple other JWOC staff, including the Librarian and one of the English Teachers, Nesa, who we love. Carrying our two stuffed duffle bags, we walked to the back meeting room and dumped everything out on the table for Victoria and Nesa to see. They were so grateful, telling us that what we brought would last over a year. So thank you again, to Grammy Sue and Robin O’Malley for the super generous craft donations. After going through and putting away the supplies, we sat in the meeting room with Victoria for a solid hour talking mostly about her travels and where she recommends us to go (we think Borneo is first on our list). Then we went over our JWOC orientation— mostly discussing conduct and dress code. By that point, it was almost 2:00 and children where starting to come back from lunch at home to attend their afternoon classes.

We were fortunate enough to get to help with the art class, which is open to all ages and goes from 2-4 every Sunday. We joined the two teachers, Malin and Chamruin, both who are studying through JWOC’s scholarship program, as well as a Californian woman, Pat, who comes to JWOC for a month every year (she lives in Sacramento, so hopefully Leah can stay close with her during her time at UC Davis)— she arrived just a day before us with her partner, Jane, who we also met and love. Soon the room was full with 15 kids ranging from about 3 to 11 years old.

The class started with everyone getting in a circle and two boys leading the group in Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Simply adorable. It had only been a couple minutes and our mouths were already soar from smiling so much. We all sang a couple more songs, both in English and Khmer. Our favorite was a song to the tune of “Farajaka” but instead was about fruit salad. It went like:
Wat-er mel-on, wat-er mel-on
pa-pi-ya, pa-pi-ya
banananan-nana, banananan-nana
fruit sal-ad, fruit sal-ad.
Warning: if you actually attempt to sing this, it will be stuck in your head all day.

After singing, we played some games in a circle, including Simon Says, Cat and Mouse, and (walking) Duck Duck Goose. Next the teacher read a book, reading each page in both English and Khmer.

For the last hour of class, we got in small groups and sat on the ground around shorts tables. We were both with groups of only three kids, which allowed us to get closer with them. The craft was to make a purse out of old news paper and pipe cleaners. One of the girls that Leah was helping had a news paper with a huge picture and article on Donald Trump’s Immigration Ideas, which really bummed out her day. Get out of here, Trump, no one wants your face on their purse!

The craft was actually extremely difficult, and the kids did SO much better than either of us. Sasha even managed to screw up two bags, which the students then proceeded to fix themselves.

(Leah here)— One little girl, who stood next to me during the singing and games was super fascinated with my rings. She clung to me pretty much all day (she was also the one with Trump's face on her bag). After her bag was complete and we had successfully covered his face with a cut out heart, I made her a ring of her own out of half a pipe cleaner. Next thing we knew, both Sasha and I were swarmed with kids holding out their fingers. It was awesome.

The craft went a little longer than 4, but there wasn’t a tight schedule or bell, which was extra special. We stopped when we were finished, not when the second hand told us to. When everyone’s bag and finger was decorated, they all lined up outside for a picture, gave us high fives, collected their belongings, and left for home.

Today was a great day.

We stayed awhile after, talking to Pat about her travels and where she likes to eat in Siem Reap. She is really a super nice woman who we can’t wait to get to know more as the weeks go on.

After saying goodbye to everyone, we decided to walk home, which only ended up taking about 15 minutes on side streets. It was a super easy walk that we are planning on doing often during the next five months (instead of paying for a Tuk Tuk).

Now we are off to go have some dinner! And for the first time in our lives, expressing excitement for tomorrows day at school.

With love,
Us