Bootcamp Blog 4 by Maria Telisia

Another 6.00am start. Quick shower – really running out of shower gel as I hadn’t factored in four or five showers a day – then down to work. Feeling refreshed from yet another good night’s sleep. The local wedding celebrations surprisingly were still not ongoing when I woke up so I’ve got relative quiet in which to do my preparation this morning. I had hoped I was pretty much sorted in terms of preparation but had badly misjudged the overall standard of student I would be offering support to. My material is proving, in the main, adequate for the top group, although yesterday the work I did on phrasal verbs with Group A proved challenging for them, but totally and completely unsuitable for Group D. As I start with Group D this morning I have a lot of work to do to produce something that is both stimulating but basic – quite a challenge especially when I remember that I’m producing it to deliver to a group of English Language teachers! No time for breakfast but the mangoes brought in for Ola by one of the student teachers yesterday make a refreshing alternative.

I leave the hotel room at 7.30am after having locked away all my valuables as securely as possible and head for the bikes. Mine is the bike numbered 2. Not quite as easy as it sounds as I discovered when trying to locate it again at the end of the first day’s teaching as there is bike number 2 with the bell, bike number 2 with the brakes that don’t really work, and bike number 2 with an odd picture on the back next to the number. I’m lucky this morning as the bike with the bell hasn’t been taken and it’s got brakes! As I cycle, the long way, to the library along the Mekong River I can’t help but compare what I’m doing to my normal school run in suburban Twickenham. The boatmen are landing their catches from the Mekong River. I stop to take a photo of a group of chickens out side what appears to be a derelict site only to be taken aback when a young boy emerges from the rubble and starts to wash himself from a bucket of water and I realise that the hovel is indeed home to at least one family if not more. I quickly hide my embarrassment by turning my camera towards a nearby monastery and snap away with studied intent. I know my way pretty well now, along the road with the stalls and past the very ornate monastery on the left. Just beyond that I notice an emaciated little girl – possibly 2 or 3 years old helping to erect a table which is twice her size. Turn left at the roundabout with the statue and first right at the next junction being careful to avert my eyes as I pass the first shop where John has previously warned me that activities of a dubious nature had been taking place the previous day.

I arrive at school early for the 8.00am start so drop off the books that I’ve brought over from England (that should make my suitcase a little lighter on the  way home), collect my name badge and head up to my  classroom. I’ve already prepared most of the work for my classes last night and this morning so am feeling pretty confident that I have enough suitable material.

Group D arrive fairly promptly all dressed very smartly despite the imminent afternoon heat. The students are all focused and willing but I struggle to understand how they can possibly be teaching English when most of what I say is met with blank stares – thank goodness for the interpreter. We begin with a revision of basic vocabulary and role plays relating to greetings and personal information and progress into the heady depths of familial relationships. Their homework had been to draw their family tree and use it to generate 10 sentences using the vocabulary we had ‘brainstormed’ together. Three homeworks are handed in! I had planned the next part of the lesson exploiting their individual family trees so a quick rethink is urgently needed. I draw my own family tree on the white board and get one of the students to come out and pretend to be me and respond to questions fired at her by her classmates. After an initial total lack on comprehension, the students (with some prompting from the interpreter) get the idea and the session goes well. From there we venture (with some trepidation on my part) into grammar relating to the present tense. I had fortunately, prior to coming out, represented each tense pictorially and attempted to give as simple an explanation as possible (my original intent had been that it might have been of use to the teachers in their classrooms – not that I would be using it on the teachers themselves). It seemed to work well but I’m going to have to wait until tomorrow when I start ‘present tense’ focused work to see whether or not that is the case. The session finishes at 9.30 and I saunter out into the corridor to encounter a very queasy looking John – more viral (or food?) based, than Zambucca it would seem in this instance! I’m also informed that we are a teacher down as Jan seems to have fallen victim to a very similar bug.

A quarter of an hour break, then the next session starts at 9.45 with Group A. Well, it actually starts at 9.45 with a handful of students from Group A. When one of those who has arrived promptly goes to lock the door from the inside I feel half tempted to let her, but quickly realise that with the stifling heat, that might not be the most sensible course of action. I start the lesson and the stragglers arrive. This is, in the main, quite a bright group of students who are willing and eager to develop their English skills and are focused, interested and determined. After some initial pronunciation and intonation work we discuss the hidden meanings behind ‘The Little Prince’ the book that is being used in the course and then proceed onto phrasal verbs a topic that generally evokes fear and trepidation in most students of English. These are no exception. I have prepared an explanation that will allow them to categorize the various types of phrasal verbs (the nearest that I can get to the grammar ‘rules’ that they seem to love) but point out that the only way for then to become truly proficient is by extensive listening and practise. The follow up work goes surprisingly well.

Lunch starts at 11.15 and I tidy up and head downstairs. I am curious to see so many students still hanging around. Normally they are straight off to the restaurant. I hear that one of the girls has had her moped stolen from the compound and that three other bikes have had their locks broken as presumably the thief attempted unsuccessfully to steal their bikes first. The police are called, distinguishable from the students, not simply by their garish tee shirts and jeans, or their slightly more stout and robust appearance, but by their ‘police’ labelled baseball caps. As the power had been down during the morning session there is some concern as to whether the thief might or might not have been caught on CCTV. Ella and Adam feel it appropriate that the students milling around who were not directly involved in the incident are herded to the restaurant as soon as possible. We follow. The normal large bowl of fluffy rice is brought out accompanied by three other dishes whose composition I can’t say I’m particularly sure of – one vegetable dish, a soup type dish and a cut up omelette.

After lunch I head off back to the hotel as I have a free session until 14.45. Following a quick shower I head off to the market. The street I need to go down is completely impassable as the wedding I referred to earlier is still ongoing and completely blocking it. I do a detour and stumble on to the market. I’m not really looking for anything in particular – possibly something for my granddaughter – and am amazed not only by the size but by the close proximity of the stalls. As I squeeze my way between them I am surprised by the fact that so many people are called ‘Maria’ here until I realise a tad belatedly that I have forgotten to take off my name badge! Despite the numerous stalls I can not really find anything to spend my money on so head back, replenishing my fast diminishing store of shower gel. Once back at the hotel I realise that there appears to be internet access. Not knowing how long it is likely to last I quickly skype my granddaughter. For a change they are already awake as for the last two days I have been waking them regularly at 5.00am. They show me the snow outside their window and I in turn point my i pad out of the window to counter.

I set off back for the last session only to discover that someone has taken my bike – yes the one with the brakes – so I take somebody else’s. Actually I discover the saddle is much higher and as  a result much easier to ride. I arrive back in time for the conversation session and following the incidences of this morning it is decided that the topic will be crime and punishment. It was during this session that the full enormity of what had happened with the stolen bike impacted. The students informed me that as insurance doesn’t seem to exist in Cambodia the student will receive no compensation whatsoever for her loss. As I was also informed that even if the police do discover the bike that she will be expected to pay half the original cost to have it returned to her). It was clear that the students were massively uncomfortable talking about the topic we had stumbled onto so I felt it auspicious to change direction. By the time I was on the third group we were all hot and tired so just had a chat about shopping which was much more relaxed.

Hot, sticky and tired I head for the bikes and quickly discover my ‘stolen’ bike with the brakes and bell so quickly ‘steal’ it back and head off towards the river with Ella. Even though this is a longer route I find it not only more scenic, and somewhat safer than the main roads (even with brakes) but with the breeze coming from the river it is slightly more pleasant. We stop at the same chemist where I had replenished my shower gel so that Ella could do the same and cycle back to the hotel. First stop shower number 3. I spend the next couple of hours marking homework and preparing for tomorrow’s lesson before spraying myself with my new eau de mosquito spray and heading down to the lobby to meet up for dinner. Numbers are a bit down due to illness but we head off to a new restaurant in the main part of town.

Here the menu is most decidedly impressive. I’m so spoiled for choice between the fried frogs, boiled soft turtles, goats intestines and various other delicacies that in a pique of massive indecision I opt for a salad!!

Eating over, I head back to finish my blog, count my ever increasing number of mosquito bites and treat myself to another shower and well earned sleep.

Maria