My World Within HOPE School

These photos show my sparsely decorated classroom (I have not had time to paint vines and flowers yet) and a shot of the highschool building taken from the far side of the basketball court.

Ants -- Cheaper by the Thousand

I made the mistake of leaving a bowl with some soymilk in the sink. A few ants showed up for the party -- sort of like U2 playing for free at Slane Castle or Simon & Garfunckle in Central Park.

Lesson learned.

Oh, and I did drown all of them with minimal regret. Hey, at least they died happy.

p.s. you can click any of these pics for a larger view.

7 Days and No Photo To Show For It

Sorry, but I do not have any photos to upload, but I did think I would at least share a quick blurb on my first week of teaching...

Yes. I survived week one. I think teaching is just a tiring job - period. It requires lots of pre-planning AND you have to be a performer of sorts (both of those things tend to tire me out). That said, the kids here are great and the class sizes are very reasonable (and a dream for anyone accustomed to 25-30 students per class) -- from 5 to 16 or so. Amazing compared w/ the US. AND, they are good-hearted kids. So, I think it is an ideal environment in which to perform a tough job. I teach grades 7-12 which is also a nice variety --- though, it does mean a lot more lesson plans.

We have had a ton of power outages this whole week, but when the power works, I do have air conditioning in my classroom -- I keep it set at about 80 which feels comparitively great with the fans blowing.

The staff/teachers at the school are great so far and that has been another big plus.

I suppose that is all for now.

I Have A Dream

Yes, that title borders on blasphemy. Yet, it only borders. Well, I now have my own transportation with legitimate plates. No, it is not nearly as cool as the 200cc dirt bike, but I did not want to be responsible for repairing the loaner when things went wrong, AND I would have only had it until January. So, I bought a 2005 Honda Dream 125cc. Plenty of power, simpler to maneuver, less expensive to maintain, less attention-attracting, and less than 1/2 the cost of a dirt bike. "I can get over 70mpg on this hog."

2 wheels, 8 legs, 1 house

Ok, I am still figuring out how to format text with photos, so this is probably going to look a bit wacky. But, hey, at least I can share some pics.

The black-er (none more black) German Shepherd is Annabelle and the light brown one is Scout. They like to fight eachother -- sort of remind me of Jake Miller and Ben Depew in that they are playing, but it is quite fierce.

The motorcycle sans plates on the left is the one I have been riding. It comes it quite handy on the muddy streets around my house. I do need to figure out how to get legal with it lest I have a run in with the police and am forced to flee to Laos.

The house is quite nice and has 2 floors. The upper floor is wood and is cooler at night. During the day, though, the lower floor of masonry construction (or whatever the proper terminology is) is the place to be. Quite interesting, or perhaps not.

I did a little decorating and handpainted a bunch of flowers and leaves. I think the owners will really appreciate my handiwork.

My kitchen, complete with refrigerator and microwave (not pictured).

Here is the steep staircase leading to the 2nd floor. It makes me feel a little bit like I am living at the Little House on the Prarie.

This is the upstairs room, complete with TV and DVD player and a bunch of movies. My bedroom and the bathroom are up here.

Lucky Market (July 30, 2008)

Just in case you were wondering, check out the stuff you can get here at Lucky Market -- it is pricier, but it is amazing how much is available. Yes, that is lactose-free soy milk.

Now I'm Here (July 29, 2008)

Yes, I made it! All logistical stuff went well and this is me getting picked up at the airport. I feel pretty much on Cambodia time already which is great, though I still get tired early. I am still staying with Doug & co. and will until the house I am moving into becomes available on Thursday.

I've been riding around town on the back of Doug's motorcycle (Honda 250XR for those who, like me, care about such things), getting to know the lay of the land. We are heading to the market in a few minutes to pick up stuff for the family and for me.

So anyway, it is "so far, so good". I saw HOPE school today, too, and met with the interim director/principal (he is a math teacher who is filling in for the normal guy who is on leave). That went well except when I attempted to explain how the US system handles donations to tax except organizations; ironically I was trying to explain a math problem to my boss and was coming up way short. Clearly, I will need to rework that lesson plan.

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