"Teacher Katie, teacher Katie!" (Said with varying degrees of command as the children tramp expectantly up the stairs in the morning) "What shall we do?"
Seeing as the school follows the unstructured Montessori method of teaching, that is often a very good question. Thankfully, I have been landed with the older children (between 8 and 13 years old) who not only have very good English, but a remarkable enthusiasm for learning. I have the comparatively easy task of nudging them along and trying to keep the Creative Corner from looking like a bomb's hit it. I find myself chanting "Now who used the glitter glue?" whilst pointing, with attempted severity at the offending splodge on the table. "Who will clean it up?" Unless you are Mary Poppins, which I'm not, it is impossible to get children to tidy up. I'm not very fond of doing so myself.
The two hour lunch break is a God send, as you can imagine, and I thoroughly appreciate 'nap time.'
But two days down and no dramas so far. I am enjoying That Friday Feeling for the first time for a long time and there is much talk of Happy Hour for which I feel more than ready.
I am enjoying staying put in one place for a little while too. You get a better sense of a place if you attempt daily life and I am getting to know Phnom Penh. I am still, however, to master sitting 3 on a moto when 2 of you are side saddle, only then, when I can do so and sit with my ankles crossed, my arms folded neatly in my lap and bounce serenely through the crazy streets without flinching, THEN I shall be at home here...
Tomorrow we shall have a full house as the final volunteers arrive and we are celebrating that with another jaunt to the Heart of Darkness. I have a sneaking suspicion that I shall be on that stage a lot in the next few weeks, watch out prostitutes, here I come again...