The final stop on my trip was Cambodia where I was taking part in a two week teaching bootcamp in a town called Kampong Cham. We had around 50 adults each week who are English teachers in schools around Cambodia, and come to the bootcamp to improve their English and learn different techniques to help them teach their students better. The programme is so worthwhile and is supported by the company I work for, Festival Republic. They have been raising money to build another building at a school called Krola, and they also fund a teeth brushing scheme at Tonlebet school, so the children are able to brush their teeth 6 times a week and visit a dental clinic. The work that is being done by Bike4Cambodia is incredible and really helps the Cambodians learn new skills and have a better life.
Emma and I were teaching pronunciation which I think is the most important part of the course, because if the teachers aren't speaking the words properly they won't be teaching their students correctly either. The most common problems we found were pronouncing 'th' as 's', 'w' as 'v' and dropping the ends of words such as 'mil' not 'milk'. I think we managed to make a difference to a lot of the teachers and it's really rewarding when you can see a change at the end of the week.
We also got to visit Krola school and play hockey with them, as well as other games outside like stuck in the mud and a massive version of the hokey cokey. It was so nice to be able to spend time with the children as well, and they are also really good at speaking English.
We were invited one morning to teach the children at Tonlebet school which was great. I was surprised by how good the kids were at speaking English, and they taught us how to count to 10 in Khmer (although I'm not sure I could successfully relay that now…).
For the final part of our stay in Cambodia we had a closing ceremony for the bootcamp with the Director of Education in Cambodia in attendance, and all the teachers that attended the bootcamp received a certificate. It was a really nice way to end the 2 weeks, and it brought both groups of teachers together at the end.
The morning after the bootcamp closing ceremony, we attended the opening ceremony for the new building that has been built at Krola school with money raised through Bike4Cambodia. It was an incredible way to end the trip, and I'm so pleased that I was part of this fantastic project. If you have been at all inspired and are feeling charitable, then any donations are gratefully received as the hard work just can't continue without the support of others. You can find out more information on the Bike4Cambodia website and the fundraising page here.
I had the most incredible time away and I am back feeling inspired and ready for the next adventure! You can catch up on my other blog posts here - Australia part 1, Australia part 2, Australia part 3 and Bali. I've tried to keep it brief, but I hope you've enjoyed getting a glimpse into my time away.
Megan x
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