As I caught my first glimpse of Phnom Penh from the plane I was filled with a mix of trepidation and excitement. I have been fortunate to travel far and wide but this was the first time I was truly giving back to the global community and I was unsure what to expect. In my opinion, if you are lucky enough to be able to travel we should not take it for granted; we need realise our privileges and help where we can. Give back as thanks for the wonders of the world we can explore!
Elyse and I volunteered for 2 weeks at Save Our Children Cambodia School, organised through International Volunteers HQ. The school was set up to teach rural children who would not otherwise be able to attend school. The first two days were a combination of orientation, meeting the fellow volunteers and exploring the city. but nothing could have prepared us for our first day of teaching! Having never taught nor being a particularly patient person I always knew this was going to be a challenge! However I was not anticipating how hard it would be! The school had next to no resources and it was difficult trying to communicate with my students without speaking Khmer. This stemmed from the fact that I wanted to be the best teacher for these students and I was thinking in a traditional sense of how I was taught. Once we began to think outside the box we all began to have a lot of fun learning! The students were incredible - they were very enthusiastic and wanted to learn, even asking for homework! It was a challenging but fulfilling experience which I highly recommend everyone undertaking at some stage. It is a great way to experience living in a foreign country whilst giving back to the world. Whilst I may not have been the best teacher, I think the students learnt something new and had fun at the same time. So did I.
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