Not much to update on this week. Two weekends ago I rode in the Angkor Wat bike race, which was a blast! Thank you to all who donated. We started out early in the morning right as the sun was peeking out from behind the temples. It was even a little chilly while riding through the gigantic forest surrounding the temple complex. My favorite part of the ride was when I was crunching the fallen leaves under my bike tires. It made me homesick for the Colorado falls.

The day after the race, some of the PCV’s and I went to a concert at Angkor Wat. The five famous temples were lit up and served as the backdrop of the stage. The performers were just okay at best, but the scenery made my night.

When I returned to my site, my host brother ran out to tell me that our dog had puppies! We’ve now got two mangy dogs and six adorable pups that can fit in the palm of my hand. They’re cute now, but I wonder how I’ll feel when they get fleas and start chewing on my things.

Last week I came to terms with the fact that I’m an awful English teacher. I don’t think that my students are picking up on anything I’m teaching about. It’s partly because of my complete lack of experience, and partly because the English materials we work with are useless. Incorrect grammar, spelling, and irrelevant story lines are the norm. The good news though is that I’ve taken over the library as my pet project. The Thais brought two new monitors for the computers that were sitting unused in the corner. Some of the twelfth grade students helped me to clean the inch of dust off the shelves. I’ve been spending my time trying to organize everything. Remember how I worked at Barnes and Noble for a while and hated shelving books after the café closed? Well, that’s now the job I have. Oh, the irony. It’s more enjoyable now though because I get to hang out with the kids. The school asked me to help write letters to NGO’s for more book donations. Originally I planned on doing this, but changed my mind after finding a couple hundred English books in the back room that were never set out for the students in the first place.

Sinking more and more money into a system that’s not working to begin with is useless, but seems to be the common method over here. My school has been given a ton of educational resources: microscopes, computers, lab rooms, even a small farm. It rivals many American high schools with regard to material resources. However, the science labs are always locked up and the director has the only key. The reasoning I’m told: “We need to protect the school’s things from the students.” I’m running into this issue daily and it’s hard to keep motivated. I’ve changed my focus from helping teachers improve their English to being a friend and mentor to the students. I keep a ton of office hours and welcome students in all grades to come practice their English with me. I’m working with students from a wide range of abilities. Sometimes the 7th graders come in to read with me, and other times I get questions about writing CV’s from the 12th graders. I like this approach better.

So goes life in Cambodia. From what my sister and my mom tell me, it’s been cold back home. I’m still terribly homesick, but it’s getting better. I anticipated being really lonely during the holidays, but it’s turning out alright. It’s hard to miss Christmas when it’s 80 degrees out and you’re surrounded by rice and palm trees. Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year! Please eat lots of turkey, pumpkin pie and light a sparkler for me.

PS I took the last picture a couple of weeks ago when two planets and the moon happened to line up in a smiley face. My host family was so excited that I got a good picture and they made me show it to everyone who came over to the house for a week afterwards.

First picture is of me (left) and another PCV in front of Angkor Wat. Second is of one of the pups.