Where does the time go?

Wow so its been a couple of weeks and so much has gone on....  After getting my new bike I spent the following week biking to and from work on a daily basis and loved it!!  But near the end of that first week I could feel a little something starting up in my throat.  Turns out I got a chest infection....could be from working with kids sneezing and coughing on me all day, or also from the air here by breathing in the dust and pollution, either when biking or just by being here in general.  So yes I have been sick but have still managed to get myself to work each and every day despite side effects from the medications I was on, and then losing my voice altogether.  Its been a crazy couple of weeks and not just because I've been battling this chest infection but because the school video we made a couple of weeks ago was trying to finish things up which they ended up needing me for, so they took me from the classroom leaving my TA's in charge and had me do some voice recordings at their studio where they tried to coach me in changing my tone of voice.....  After attempting to sing for them they understood the problem and didn't press anymore and just decided to work with what they already had... so apparently there goes my career as an actress/singer.  Then for most of last weekend I was out of commission with this chest infection I mentioned but after hiding away for two days I arose from the dead to join the girls for a Birthday BBQ at their house. I ate for three hours straight (not the best idea after eating minimally the rest of the weekend) only to be a beached whale afterwards from my growing food baby.  This week flew by as a blurry blob of activity, still sick I was managing at school but then my TA got sick and had to leave early on Tuesday, she then missed all of Wednesday which was fine but mid afternoon Wednesday my other TA had to leave because unfortunately her father was very ill and passed away shortly after.  I was left to my own devices Wednesday afternoon, but surprisingly that went smoothly.  Thursday I was back to one TA although we were both fairly lifeless and sick.  We managed to get through the day and through Friday although no swimming because I haven't been well I decided to attempt the computer lab for the first time.  The kids played some awesome online math games which they thoroughly enjoyed and nothing got broken! To end a busy week we had planned on going to dinner and a movie but instead were treated to dinner by Vanny, Virak's wife.  She took us to my very first Cambodian BBQ which was deliciously amazing and now later today I get to unwind with a nice relaxing massage.  I can't even explain how I just blinked and then its suddenly February tomorrow!  Here are some pictures of the kids from this week and the BBQ from last night!  Enjoy

 slight mishap with the laminator

 journalling

 Alex

 Coling

 Panha

 Abby and Veda

 little Sereiboth

 Medication galore!

 Counting to 100 video workout!

 windmill stretch

 such awesome workers!

 Billy is getting into it!

 First computer day!

 they did great!

 Veda

 Abby

 Monea

BBQ dinner with the ladies! So good

Life lessons

I often find that you are taught to see the pain that the world has created. Wars happening, children suffering, starvation, abandonment and death. But what about all the joy and beauty the world has to offer? I am the farthest from my family and my home, in a place that is so foreign from the one I grew up in, a Country we so easily label as less fortunate then our own and yet I have not seen any pain; instead I see strength, compassion, and survival. You make the best of what you've got and you live happily, that is how they strive to live their lives. They do not see the things they do not have, they do not feel pity, instead they wear their hearts on their sleeves giving you the greatest gift of all... Friendship.

To all of my new friends, you are a force to be reckoned with. Life itself can learn a thing or two from you.

River Cabins and Royal Palace

The front office staff at the Kindergarten Campus, Lalen and Sok Eng, offered to take us around and show us some of the sights.  They had wanted to do the killing fields but thats going to take some preparation so instead we settled for the Museum and Royal Palace.  As I have done the Museum already I met up with the group afterwards just in time for lunch.  We all piled into the car...all 8 of us!  It took a couple of tries but eventually we managed to find a comfortable way of sitting.  After the longest drive ever we pulled up to the cutest little bungalow's, there were some in the trees, on the water, on stilts!  It was gorgeous.  We were seated in our own private bungalow and Sok Eng and Lalen proceeded to order all of the traditional foods for us to try.  There was SO MUCH food!!  We started with chicken and fried corn (delicious by the way), then came a whole fish head and all which Lalen devoured along with its lungs which had left green goop on the rest of the fish.  There was also fried rice, seafood salad, and beetles!  After watching Lalen peel off the legs of the beetle and its wings I felt as though I could manage a tiny little beetle, sure enough it wasn't all that bad, it reminded me of eating spits as the beetle was nicely crunchy with a really good seasoning.  After spending over two hours eating I was beyond full and we still had the Royal Museum to do.  We piled back in the car for the long drive into town and got to the Royal Palace at the hottest time of day.  I was expecting it to be a little more showy and grand but there really wasn't much to see on the grounds of the Palace so we were soon finished our adventures.  We said our goodbyes to our tour guides for the day and found a cute rooftop bar to settle into before our weekend came to an end.

Lunch in this Beautiful place!

 Private Bungalows

 Bungalow's on the water (we were up above)

 Leftover beetle remnants

 SO MUCH food

 the fish. and its green lung slim

 Car ride selfie

 The Royal Palace

 One of the structures within the grounds of the Royal Palace

The Silver Pagoda

 This Buddha is the Bhumisparsha Mudra: Earth Touching, Calling the Earth to Witness, or The Victory Over (Subduing) Mara

Literally Bhumisparsha translates into 'touching the earth'. It is more commonly known as the 'earth witness' mudra. This mudra, formed with all five fingers of the right hand extended to touch the ground, symbolizes the Buddha's enlightenment under the bodhi tree, when he summoned the earth goddess, Sthavara, to bear witness to his attainment of enlightenment. The right hand, placed upon the right knee in earth-pressing mudra, and complemented by the left hand-which is held flat in the lap in the dhyana mudra of meditation, symbolizes the union of method and wisdom, samasara and nirvana, and also the realizations of the conventional and ultimate truths. It is in this posture that Shakyamuni overcame the obstructions of Mara while meditating on Truth.

The second Dhyani Buddha Akshobhya is depicted in this mudra. He is believed to transform the delusion of anger into mirror-like wisdom. It is this metamorphosis that the Bhumisparsha mudra helps in bringing about.

Week two and my new wheels!

So this week went awesome, despite two kids going home with fevers, seven major melt downs from the same one student, and another pool session!!  Although I am enjoying school tremendously I am still getting used to these long days...7:30am to 5:00pm sometimes 6:00pm.  By time I get home I am a zombie of sorts with enough energy to feed myself and crawl into bed, only to do it all over again the next day.
The kids are really starting to understand my limits and read my body language in order to gauge what is appropriate and what is not, making classroom time more manageable and productive.  However today we had a huge talk about respecting the things around us as they tend to be on the destructive side.  My calendar area has seen better days as it is starting to fall down, and the desks are already covered in marker and crayons.  I had to especially talk to them today because with some prompting I had gone with Virak, my boss, this week and we had bought some new educational toys which I hope to start using soon but that warrants trusting them not to break them. While play time is often neglected I believe play is one of the key avenues to really show creativity, imagination, and respect amongst children and their peers.  They all were listening super attentively during my little talk so I think I got through to them.....we'll see if they understood once the toys actually come out and either mayhem will ensue or they'll be too scared to touch them.  My understanding for their destruction is that these kids have never really been given toys or belongings of their own to treasure and care for.  So when new things are at their finger tips they are so starved for discovery that they go wild.
As a side note my boss Virak has left for Canada for the next two weeks to get his Canadian citizenship and since he was my ride to and from work he suggested I get a bike.  He was very generous and brought me to purchase a brand new bike yesterday and I couldn't be more excited as this is my first very own bike.  I had always received Krystal's hammy downs up until this point because it has been said that I am not much of a biker....well I am going to prove you wrong now with these killer wheels!  I biked to and from work today (having to walk a couple of times due to crazy traffic) but none the less I made it.  AND my legs are only slightly jelly, my butt hurts mildly from the seat, and I only nearly died twice when I hit a pothole. I'll be soaring in no time!

Relyance over cutting her work into mulch 

Jonah my master student!

Sereiboth in the clouds, but Panha is working hard

Brian gluing away!

teacher Rhoda and sawa, so tired during Magic School Bus

Learning about snails and doing some observations of our own

snails can breathe underwater because they have gills like fish.  they also move faster underwater than on land

Monea, learning the days of the week

Sawa coloring Sunday

Julie

Angerla

Billy, for the first week we thought his name was Bailey and had been calling him that....we even had all his things labelled until mom sent some homework back with Billy written at the top...oopsie!! (he doesn't speak at all so he couldn't communicate himself that we were wrong)

my hot new wheels, look at it shine!

loving bubbles

can't pop me!

so close!

TGIS-Thank goodness its Saturday

So friday I did absolutely nothing...lets face it after the filming of our commercial I barely made it home to bed, I was so exhausted.  So that left Saturday for some fun out on the town.  So we randomly got invited to this guys birthday whom one of the girls met briefly at the market.  Turns out it was a boat party on the Mekong River (I do not advise swimming in the river however, or eating the fish that come from it).  We ate some pretty sketchy food over a small manmade grill but it was worth the socializing and the relaxing atmosphere.  There were people from all over the world, some Aussies, Serbians, Spanish, and of course Canadians!
Sunday was an early morning since I had booked a cooking class with Becky the week before.  We tuk tuk-ed there to have our hostess waiting outside for us to then take us straight to the market for a tour.  She was so amazing as she taught us about all the different fruits and vegetables and how you would use it to cook.  These markets are made on the street so there is very little space and a whole lot going on.  The cleanliness is extremely disturbing but of course that is a cultural difference and to them this is their livelihood.  At one point our cooking lady guide ordered some fish and we watched in horror as the vendor bonked it on the head in order to kill it then machete it to pieces.  Later as we were walking our guide informed us that the fish was still moving in the bag.....
Once through the market we made our way back to her cooking shop which was absolutely beautiful with a huge balcony overlooking a nice green open space.  We were offered fresh spring rolls on the veranda while they prepped all of the ingredients downstairs in the kitchen.  Afterwards we joined them and were taught how to make pineapple curry, and chicken mango salad.  Unfortunately we did not have a chance to sit down and enjoy it as Becky was not feeling well, but I luckily was able to take it all in a doggy bag for later.  We made enough food that each of us could have fed three to four people!

 only the greatest selfie of all!

 group shot on the boat

 Laura, Becky, and I (both girls work at the kindergarten campus)

Christine, Becky, Sharon and I.  Sharon also works at the kindergarten and Christine works at another school but lives with Sharon as they knew each other before hand.

 the start of the market

 just a bunch of eggs in a bowl in the heat

 unplanned artistic shot

 whole lot of fish (at least these weren't spilling their guts)

 The red things are dragon fruit

 The killing of our fish

 mmmm chicken (not)

 these fish were still wiggling

 dried fish (I think)

 Buying meat for lunch...

 Ready to cook at Linnacooking.com (highly recommend it!)

 the view from the terrace

 cutest kitchen ever!

 bees nest on the terrace

 the view as well as the planter with the bees

 Making spring rolls

 so delicious!!

 getting ready!

 all prepped

 using the mortar

 starting to look like something edible

 kitchen selfie

 the finished product!

 Pineapple curry

 Chicken Mango salad

smorgasburg