Teaching, Day 2 (12/7/16)

We woke up, to get out of the hotel by 8 am again. We arrived at the school at 9 to be greeted by some very excited faces. We did the hello song in Khmer and English altogether, and then split the groups into older and younger. I worked with the older students going over…

Teaching, Day 1 (11/7/16)

This morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast and left the hotel at 8 am. After an hour’s journey, we arrived at the learning centre. We were greeted by around 30 children seated at the little tables and chairs. We packed those away so we had enough room to sit in the floor. We sung…

A Day of Visits (10/07/16)

This morning we had to be at church for the 7:30am Khmer mass. It felt like a very early start as yesterday had been pretty busy, so staying awake was quite a feat, even with all the singing. We spent the morning loosely planning a few lessons and talking over our plans, followed by lunch…

The Stilted Village

After breakfast, we waited for our truck to take us to the stilted village. Fr Mark, Marlene, Anne and Hannah were already inside, so the rest of us went in the back, enjoying the breeze. The village has to be on stilts, as when it is monsoon season, the water levels become very high, mainly…

Visiting the Temples (8/7/16)

We woke up at 4 am, 10 pm your time, got in the truck 4:45 and went to buy tickets to see the sun rise at Angkor Wat. We arrived at the car park, and walked a long way to see the temple, finding a spot for our photos. It was beautiful, and worth getting…

Fr Mark and his Family’s First Day (6/7/16)

Today began with a quick breakfast at Rosy Guesthouse before meeting everyone at the presbytery. As today was Fr Mark and his family’s first day here, we went to visit Artisans d’Angkor, a tourist attraction that has a variety of artists carving, sewing and painting to make a living, and the products are sold to…

Visiting the School (7/7/16)

Today was a fairly early rise, a quick, but yummy, breakfast at Rosy Guesthouse, including poached eggs and crepes! We then went back to the hotel to collect the toothbrushes, combs and t-shirts donated at home, to take to the Parish so they were out of our hotels rooms for sorting another time. When we…

Chloe’s Birthday (5/7/16)

Today was Chloe’s birthday so of course it began with present opening, and a good sing-song at breakfast. Afterwards we left for Ta Om which was about a 2 hour journey with 10 people in a 4×4 truck with 5 seats inside. Us four girls went in the back seats with Ann and the driver…

Last Day in Battambang (4/7/16)

This morning we woke up for a 7 o’clock breakfast, before setting off to Fr Ros’ Parish, St Paul’s in Snoeg. He told us about his about his master plan to expand his parish. This includes a kindergarten, toilets, dining hall, a new church building and a well on one side of the river. We…

Being Tourists

A relax day!! That means up at 6:15 to get to the compound for a 7am breakfast, before 8:30 Mass, in Khmer… The Mass lasted nearly two hours, and the initiation for readers took place. Students must show their commitment in the Church, such as being a reader, organising the offertory, etc, before they are baptised….

The Bishop’s Cup

This morning was a fairly relaxed morning, with breakfast at the compound at 8, followed by watching the Bishop’s Cup. Bishop’s Cup is an annual football competition, organised by Bishop Kike, bringing together many teams from local schools. We watched for a while, and decided to support the green team, because their supporters did less…

Returning to Battambang

We woke up early again to finish packing and check out of the hotel. We were then picked up by the brothers for 7am prayers. Following this was breakfast, which included fried eggs and pancakes with nutella, how Cambodian! We then met Maline, a local woman who is supported by the Brothers. She has 8 children and…