I am staying...

I have finished the amazing Angkor site a week ago and every day for the last week I said I am leaving the next day, but I never did. First it was Christmas . As a good Jewish girl I stayed to celebrate Christmas with Jamie (21 Australia) , Diana (~20 USA), Sarah (~20 New Zealand), and my local friends, the tuk-tuk and motorbike drivers gang. Jamie, Sarah & Diana left yesterday, but I still couldn't...Instead I went to search for a home and something to do with my free time (which is all my time :-))...

Today I have moved to my new HOME, first home since I am away! I have rented a room in Yan's mom house (my good friend) . It is in the heart of Siem Reap local dirty and poor neighborhood, two rooms house. Yan and Sunny live on the first floor room and I rented the room on the second floor. It is a nice big room, with shower and toilets inside (not flushing toilets of course). There are two more houses on the same property, more accurate wooden huts where Yan's family lives. So I am surrounded by friends and family!!!

Teacher Bopha (my new Cambodian name, it means flower :-))

I also had my first lessons today in Jay's school. It is half abandoned wooden hut that serves as a FREE language school for all who want to study. There are one hour long language lessons supposedly running the all day, English and Japanese. Many people need Japanese because they work with tourist from Japan.
Anyway Jay asked me to take the class at 12:00 and 15:00, and any other hour I want if I can fill in a classroom. I got to the school today at 12:00 and found a full class of students ages from 15-30. Some are waiters, others still in high school, of course, tuk-tuk and motorbike drivers, etc'. They come to learn because they need English to provide themselves and their families. They all are working and/or studying and it is very hard for them to find this hour a day to come to school. We had an introduction session and starting from tomorrow, present simple.
I stayed in school after my lesson to clean the hut a bit and to prepare the lesson plan for tomorrow...
My second group, at 15:00 started with one student, but by 15:30 I had 8 students, one man and the rest are girls, the same characteristic as Group 1.

I need to work on my lesson plans now, so I will talk to you later...

Be well!!!

Yours always, Bopha, from Siem Reap, Cambodia

P.S the Internet connection here is impossible, so no pictures :-(...

LUCKY ME!!!

“Angkor is not orchestral; it is monumental. It is an epic poem which makes its effect, like the Odyssey and like Paradise Lost, by the grandeur of its structure as well as by the beauty of the details. An epic in rectangular forms imposed upon the Cambodian jungle.” - Arnold J. Toynbee

Today was my forth day of adoring every little corner of this lost "city". Nothing I ever saw before grabbed me as this place (maybe except Jerusalem), it is magical!!! Every day as we cross the entry gate, I am excited all over again...

I am very lucky to be here!!!

And, I have the best motorbike driver, Puty! He & his family are very kind to me. And in general, everywhere, I am surrounded by friends and family. Good people!!!

Be well!

P.S I will upload some pictures later, now I am going to see the sunset...

Still in Phnom Penh ...

I am staying in the worst room I ever stayed in, for sure. It is in a size of a cell, just a bed, and small shower and toilet space, but it is cheap (only 3 $) and I need to start saving now. I got to the lakeside on Friday, after a very emotional day of farewell parties in the school. The kids mad a lot of presents for me, wrote cards with wishes, etc'. It was very touching. I bought a lot of sweets and blew a balloon for every child, on each wrote I love ... and the name of the kid. The smaller kids were very happy, balloons are fun and always add to a party atmosphere.
Now, since I am here I had done absolutely nothing. I am so lazy, it is unbelievable. I move from one hammock to another. The only effort I do is roll a joint from time to time, or go eat somewhere.
I have not planned to stay in Phnom Penh after I finish with the school, but I must stay now, till I get my passport back, which as usual I sent for visa extension too late and now I need to wait till the end of the day on Wednesday to get it back.

The sunsets in this place are amazing! I am too lazy to take pictures, but every day it has new colors, new shapes. This is the only mandatory task on my daily to do list, NOT TO MISS the sunset. It is very hot during the day, and the sunset brings a nice breeze with it, which makes it even more magical.

People are very friendly around and it is very easy to hook up with people for an evening of beers, for a pool game, joint, munches, etc'.
All the guesthouses, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, have TV corners where you can choose a DVD and see it, different kind of table games, some even have PlayStation. Pool tables everywhere, happy hour for drinks and more...




Just relax, do little, have fun!


Be well!

What's next???

Tomorrow is my last day at school. I ended up staying here till the end, in some part because I felt obligated, but most importantly because of my small kids. I realize I am not a very good teacher, I don't teach them a thing. I am there so they can sit on my laps, hugs, kisses, etc'. I am the only teacher who happily spends the time outside when the smaller kids play with water and sand. We make sand cookies and splash water on each other...
It will be hard to leave tomorrow, the kids probably won't even notice. They are used to people coming and going. Last Friday, most of the teachers left (except Becky) and during this week, none of the kids even reminded them. I will definitely remember them!

Now, What's next?

I am trying very hard to resolve this one with myself. I mean I will stay in Cambodia to do some travelling for the next couple of weeks, but what next?
I decided to skip Australia & New Zealand in this round. So the question is should I make the arrangement to go back home, OR should I STAY? I mean, stay somewhere in Asia, there are so many places I loved. Stay for as long as I can, maybe try to find a job or something... I love the Asian pace of life, although it is rapidly changing, and the big cities loosing their Asian charm. There are still places, like Pai, Ninh Binh, Sihanokville, or even Phnom Penh's lake side which make me want to stay.
Well, in the mean time, I have started to prepare my mother, just in case. Yesterday, when she asked me when I am coming back (she asks this question every time we talk), I said I do not know. I am still out, and maybe will stay for much longer. I defiantly will not be home for the New Year, I said. She said she misses me a lot, but I am not sure how I feel...

"Leaving will be like waking from a dream, I think, the most intense and wonderful dream, knowing you'll never be able to dream again.
The only way to avoid waking is to avoid leaving. I will not leave here until I have lived here thoroughly, until it seeps into me, into blood, bone, cell, until I am full of it and changed by it, and maybe not even then." - from a great book I have just finished "Beyond the sky and the earth" by Jamie Zeppa.

That's the biggest fear, once you are there, you are not here anymore...

Be well!

P.S as always you can check out for pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/. Some are really bad, they were taken by really stoned people :-).