Day one - minus children

Yes, after almost 3 months of "holidays", I have finally had my first day at East-West International School (EWIS). Orientation started at 9am with a brief introduction to the school and some getting to know you activities, followed by a short break with a snack of bananas and/or bread rolls. My head is spinning with the number of new names (about 40) I need to learn! So far I know the other 3rd grade teacher, the principal, the head of the secondary school, and one or two others. And that's just the staff. I'll have 44 children's names to learn as well (only 22 in my class, but I'll teach them all math).

After the break we got some information to help us plan, like lists of students, class schedules, attendance books, and plan books. Then it was show time! I've often commented about the amount of luggage I bring back with me, but our principal must have had much fun packing her bags. It is really hard to get good quality books here, and especially non-fiction books to support the curriculum, so that's something we often go hunting for in Australia. The other challenge is that non-fiction books for children are often very expensive. It was great to see some of the wonderful resources that our principal had been able to obtain, and to hear the story of generosity of different people.

After that it was time to get together with the other 3rd grade teacher and one of last year's second grade teachers and try to sort out which students would be in each class. Then we put some time into our schedules, and working out who would teach what and when. It's ended up that I will teach Math while my partner teaches Science/Social Studies, although I'll need to help with some of the planning for those since Math planning tends to be relatively simple whereas Science/Social Studies can be very time consuming to plan & prepare for. After that we split up, and had lunch and started considering some of the things we needed to do individually.

My trip home was interesting. I got down to the main road that I follow home, and discovered I'd left my lunch box at school. Ooops, can't have that, so I went back for it. When I got back downstairs with my lunchbox, some of the Cambodian staff near the gate pointed out the my rear tyre was flat! Oh no, I don't know where to take it on this side of town. Anyway they pointed out a place not far away, and one of the other teachers helped me by pushing it across the road for me. Turned out I couldn't get away with a patch this time. I needed a whole new tube, so off the repair man went on his moto to buy a new tube for me, and then came back and installed it. 20 minutes or so later I was headed home (again!). As I neared Toul Kork, the rain that had been threatening all afternoon started, but fortunately it wasn't too heavy straight away and I managed to reach home safely without getting drenched.

Tomorrow will be another busy day, and I'm looking forward to it! I wonder what adventures God has in store for me. Praise God for all His blessings, and thanks to all who prayed for my first day.

Last weekend of freedom

School starts on Monday, for teachers at least. I think the children come the following Monday. It's hard to believe that it's a month since I arrived back in Phnom Penh, but it is. It's been a good month with time to go to the gym, and catch up with friends, and get my "house" in order ready for the start of the school year. I now have just two days before I start my new routines. I'm excited! Meanwhile I'm going to enjoy those last two days.

This evening I had two friends over for pizza and a movie. They are both teachers at Logos, and so it's the end of week two for them, and when they arrived they were definitely ready for a low key evening. It was fun catching up, and hearing some of the challenges they are facing this year. Watching "Love Comes Softly" was great too! Disappointing that it deviates from the original book to some extent, but enjoyable anyway. Some beautiful scenery! God's creation is just amazing, and He lets us enjoy it! In fact He wants us to enjoy it and take care of it.

Tomorrow I have a busy day planned. Gym in the morning, lunch with another friend from Logos (to celebrate her academic success in her pre-masters course), then a newsletter to write, maybe a blog and and a phone call or two, and then maybe another movie night (with a different friend). Hmm sounds like a fun day to me. We'll see what actually happens!

Sunday I plan to go to the gym, then maybe out for lunch, then maybe home for a "nanna nap", then off to the afternoon service at the ICF. Sounds like a good Sunday to me. Hopefully I'll get an early night as I've got an early start planned for Monday. Don't have to be at school until 9am, but need to get into an early start routine, so I'm thinking that a workout before school might just work. We will see.

Meanwhile, I'm praising God for all He has taught me over the last couple of months. He has been faithful in so many ways, and I know that He will continue to be faithful. Where better to be, than in the place He has called me to, doing the work He has called me to do! Thanks Lord.

Today I had the "pleasure" of meeting several Cambodian policemen! Ooops. As soon as I got around that corner I knew something was wrong. It was too easy.

Let me go back a couple hours and I head down to the gym. Traffic was a little heavy but not too bad. Did 20 minutes on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the cross-trainer, then swam 20 laps of the pool. All in all, apart from having to disturb the workmen so I could get my shoes & toiletries (& put them away again), a pleasant hour. As I had invited a friend for lunch, I decided to duck across a few blocks to Lucky (local supermarket chain), where all went smoothly until I took my sunglasses out of my handbag for the trip home! Somehow the frame had snapped and one of the lenses was falling out. I hate riding without sunnies! Oh well, life's like that.

Now getting out of City Mall and back on the road I wanted isn't that easy. You can't turn right and you can't make U-turns, and so I just kept going down to what I thought was a round about, only it wasn't. Eventually I managed to get myself heading roughly in the direction I wanted to go, and I saw a little blue and white sign with two arrows which I thought meant I was going the right way. Unfortunately I missed a "no entry" sign on the same stretch of road, and when I rounded the corner I was promptly stopped by the policeman or two. I wasn't going to try and avoid him like many riders do, so I stopped, turned the bike off, and politely asked what I had done wrong. They very politely showed me what I'd done wrong and sent me over to the "boss" who was in charge of the money tin. He wanted to see my moto card (to prove I own the bike) and my license. Fortunately both were in order and so after charging me 5000R I was allowed to continue on my way.

No further problems along the way! Had a lovely time with my friend over lunch, catching up on things. Then late this afternoon I enjoyed listening to and watching a tremendous thunderstorm. Oops neglected to close the back door, and so almost had a flood in the kitchen. Fortunately I discovered it in time and was able to sweep most of the water out. Oops it's changed direction and now it's coming in the front doors & windows (across a metre wide balcony). These are the times when I truly thank God that He has seen fit to give me the home I live in, with a strong roof overhead, and doors & windows to close. There are many in Phnom Penh who will have a very uncomfortable night tonight. They live under tarpaulins or leaking tin roofs, and their homes flood because the town storm water drainage system is inadequate at best.

Well, that's another day in Phnom Penh! Only two more weekends and one more week before I start my new job. Now that will be exciting!

Is that boat sinking?

Welcome to the new and improved Phnom Penh riverfront! Above is the view from one of my favourite restaurants in town. For a number of months the area was fenced off, and then for several more months it was like a desert, but now it seems to be complete, although I think some of the palm trees have some re-establishing to do - they look a bit sad at the moment, but they haven't been in very long. The riverfront was actually rather quiet as a friend and I sat and enjoyed our lunch yesterday, but sometimes I like to go there on a Sunday evening after church and it's fun watching the locals enjoying the open space. In a city where most houses have very little yard space, if any, and most of what they do have is paved for parking cars and motos, the people tend to gather in parks like this in the evenings to exercise and socialise.

What caught our attention yesterday, and was the cause of this photo being taken at all, is the boat in the centre. If you look at the picture below you can see two boats. The one on the other side of the river looks as you would expect it to, but the one in the foreground seems to be sinking! It only seems that way though. It was actually travelling at quite a pace up the river. We saw another one a while later that looked much the same. Not sure what the story is, but as I looked back at the photos I was reminded that when it seems like we are going to drown in all our cares and struggles, we need to refocus our attention back on Jesus, and let Him take care of them.

Found it!

Did you ever put something in a safe place, only to be unable to find it again 2 days later? Never? I don't believe you! Well, OK, maybe I believe you, but I seem to do it all the time, only sometimes it's not 2 days, it's 2 weeks, or months, and then it's really frustrating.

One of the challenges of changing schools has been that I brought home a number of the resources I've bought over the years, and then had to find places for them. Obviously some will end up in my new classroom, but others will live at home, for reference & planning purposes. That means that I have to find homes for these treasures (temporary or permanent), and sadly some things have been misplaced along the way. Like the CD that goes with a maths program which we don't use at either school, but which has some great resources in it. I've got two levels (3B & 4A) and each teacher edition comes with a resource CD. Well I found the level 4A CD without too many problems, but could I find the level 3B one? No way. After hunting through all the "piles" and putting all my CDs & DVDs in one place I still couldn't find it. Eventually, in utter frustration, I decided to have one last book inside each teacher edition (they have pockets for the CDs). So where was the 3B CD - for some obscure reason, which I'll probably never remember, it was inside the level 4A book! Hooray! At least I found it.

My main goal for this weekend, apart from phoning my mother, and going to the gym, is to sort and find homes for all the "junk" that has accumulated in my living room, and to put the stuff that has to go to school in a box so it's easy to take! Hmm. Watch this space to see if I can actually achieve my goal. Meanwhile, if you have "lost" something, don't look in the sensible places, look in the weird places. Who knows what you might find!

Love in Action

Today at the gym I was inspired and challenged by a delightful example of love in action. When I arrived there was a lady getting changed with some assistance in the change room, and a short while later she came out to the gym, and a gentleman (not the trainer) helped that lady get started on one of the treadmills. I think I noticed this lady because there are quite clear notices saying no "bodyguards/maids/children" are allowed in the gym, and the helper seemed to be staying very close. As I continued with my workout, I noticed something I hadn't expected. The lady doing the workout needed quite a bit of assistance with some tasks, and I suspect she is recovering from some sort of illness. That wasn't what impressed me though. As she moved through a variety activities, the gentleman continued to help her in the most loving way. Later they joined me in the pool, and again I really enjoyed seeing his gentle care for this lady. I praise God for this reminder today that what we first see is not necessarily the whole story, and the reminder to slow down, and look for the whole picture. Don't worry, I wasn't staring, but with mirrors all around, it was easy to observe this beautiful demonstration of love. Thanks Lord.

A Different Sunday in Cambodia

My usual Sunday in Cambodia involves a sleep in and a relaxed morning, occasionally phoning Australia, catching up on e-mails, sometimes some prep for school or some grading, and then off to church mid-afternoon. The service I usually attend starts at 4pm, so if I'm on worship team (leading, singing or playing piano), then I'll leave home around 2.30pm, otherwise I leave about 3.30pm. Not today!

Today, after a short night (went to bed early, but took a long time to go to sleep), it was up at 7.10am to have breakfast and get ready to head off for the morning service. That meant leaving home about 8.00am since I was joining a morning service worship team (interesting - much more traffic then than I usually experience on Sundays). It was fun to be part of a team of 3 musicians and 3 singers this morning, and the message was challenging as well. Thinking about evangelism. Pastor Richard raised some interesting ideas, but I think that the main idea which struck me was that we are all called to evangelise, but that doesn't mean following a formula or preaching at someone or even simply having them pray to become a Christian, but rather that we are to share with them, in a wide variety of ways, the good news that the Kingdom of God is here, and to show them how they can be part of it. There was a lot more to it than that, but that's a starting point. If you Google ICF Phnom Penh sometime next week you should be able to download the message and hear it for yourself.

After the service I invited some friends home for lunch and had a great time with them. They are both on staff at ISPP where I did my final QUT practicum, so we have a profession in common as well as other things. After they left I had a more normal Sunday afternoon, checking e-mails, reading Facebook and even playing Scrabble on Facebook.

Church this afternoon was a special treat as worship was led by a talented couple who are friends of our Youth Pastor. Despite the power going off in the middle of the service (that's Phnom Penh for you), it was a blessed time of worship. It was also great to see a number of folk back both this morning and afternoon after the holidays/home assignments (OK, so I only got back a week ago, but some of these people had been away 6-12 months).

Not so unusual really, but a good day! The coming week is starting to fill up with all sorts of people to meet up with and jobs to do, so I'm looking forward to it. Bye for now. Karen