Thursday, January 29, 2009
jan 30
Lots to write about - and I have notes and pictures...but it will have to wait - as I'm arranging pictures and writing stories for the aforementioned conference in Battambang! Yay journalism.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Jan 25, 26.
25th was an unfortunate saturday - with loads of exams, I not only slept in, but bartered away my free time in the pursuit of mental relaxation. I needed, and took, a do nothing day.
26th hold much more promise, but was also filled with social contacts of all kinds - one involved Neissan, and this has inevitably brought our running chess total to 14-1-3. I did, however, manage to mark some papers here and there.
Today was a day of action - I woke up at 8 (even thought it's a holiday!) and met with the executive director of CRDA to discuss the website, and some other ongoing projects. We later returned to the Rushdy residence to review and edit a grant application...actually not as bad as some people make it out to be. met Jarnah and Neiss for lunch at.........you guessed it, the dosa corner.
Though it is unrelated in time, I had a revelation a long time ago, and it resurfaced when talking to Jarnah- have you ever noticed how people from the south of a country are dark and from the north are light. What's with that? does anyone know why? It seems like even Europeans from the south are darker than their light-skinned friends on the border below them. Or am I misguided?
I actually marked (I know!) some exams today, but was rudely interrupted by the p-units! They came back from Ethiopia/Kenya and brought me smiles, hugs, and a ver' nice "Hakuna Matata" t-shirt. They have also returned with my camera, so expect a return of stunning visuals to match these breath-taking stories of the life of an expat in Phnom Penh. To the left, you will find an example of one of these stunning visuals - this is the "sad-face" drawn on every unanswered question on every exam. Why, oh why, don't you just guess?
Peace!
26th hold much more promise, but was also filled with social contacts of all kinds - one involved Neissan, and this has inevitably brought our running chess total to 14-1-3. I did, however, manage to mark some papers here and there.
Today was a day of action - I woke up at 8 (even thought it's a holiday!) and met with the executive director of CRDA to discuss the website, and some other ongoing projects. We later returned to the Rushdy residence to review and edit a grant application...actually not as bad as some people make it out to be. met Jarnah and Neiss for lunch at.........you guessed it, the dosa corner.
Though it is unrelated in time, I had a revelation a long time ago, and it resurfaced when talking to Jarnah- have you ever noticed how people from the south of a country are dark and from the north are light. What's with that? does anyone know why? It seems like even Europeans from the south are darker than their light-skinned friends on the border below them. Or am I misguided?
I actually marked (I know!) some exams today, but was rudely interrupted by the p-units! They came back from Ethiopia/Kenya and brought me smiles, hugs, and a ver' nice "Hakuna Matata" t-shirt. They have also returned with my camera, so expect a return of stunning visuals to match these breath-taking stories of the life of an expat in Phnom Penh. To the left, you will find an example of one of these stunning visuals - this is the "sad-face" drawn on every unanswered question on every exam. Why, oh why, don't you just guess?
Peace!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Vietnamese New Year Dinner
It was delicious.
Then we drank Vietnamese coffee, played monopoly (until all but one were bankrupt), ate chocolate, and ice-cream, and mangoes.
Then I came home and chatted with my famiglia for a while...I miss my family lots, what great people!
and now, I'll play fifa '09 till the coffee wears out.
peace.
Then we drank Vietnamese coffee, played monopoly (until all but one were bankrupt), ate chocolate, and ice-cream, and mangoes.
Then I came home and chatted with my famiglia for a while...I miss my family lots, what great people!
and now, I'll play fifa '09 till the coffee wears out.
peace.
A Crush of Midterms.
The last few days have been a blur of paper and red ink, and the ink still runs. After slaying so many egos on the altar of standardized testing, one begins to wonder: is this really necessary?
The school that I work at has a system for testing, as follows: every teacher creates an exam for every class that they have. Then, the academix team takes all these tests, selects the questions they like best, correct formatting, and publish the standardized exam. Essentially, if you write the best questions, it's better for your class because they will be tested on material that they have studied. There is, as yet, no coordination between teachers of the same level. The whole thing is kind of ridiculous, and many of my students have been unnecessarily, and unfairly failed. Still, I don't know much about exam construction or academic management, so I couldn't really give them suggestions from experience or study. Just seems like a poopy situation for the kids.
Either way, I made it up to them by playing movies in all my classes on Thursday, and playing language games on Friday. So, even after brutalizing their collective self-confidence, we still remain friends. I showed them the movie "Bolt" which is quite a fun little movie. Unfortunately, the subtitles read like they were written by a student in my class, so rather than confuse them, I made them watch without the subtitles.
My quality control officer suggested I tell you a little more about cambodia - so here's a little tidbit fro mthe students: I had them write an opinion essay on school uniforms, and they came up with some interesting and convincing arguments.
For:
Students should wear uniforms because they look good.
Students should wear uniforms so that people can know that they are students (and know that they are skipping school if they are out during school hours).
Students should wear school uniforms so that, if they get into an accident, people can contact their school, and get their information.
Students should wear uniforms because uniforms help them concentrate and remind them to study.
students should wear uniforms so that poor students don't feel bad about their clothes.
students should wear uniforms because they look good and tidy when everyone wears them.
Students should wear uniforms so that, if they are good, it will reflect on their school, and people can find out that the school is good.
Against:
Students shouldn't wear uniforms because they look bad.
Students shouldn't wear uniforms because they're boring.
Students should be able to wear what they want, so that they can look sexy.
Students shouldn't have uniforms, because it becomes difficult to go to work after school, or to go to another school.
Overwhelmingly in favor of uniforms.
Also, I've had my evevening class (6:50-8:10) given to another teacher because they didn't want to overload me on the first semester. Unfortunately, that was my favorite, and most advanced class...sigh. The bonus of course is more free time - the first instance of which I used to great effect - attending an african/khmer fusion drum and dance session at a club called gasolina!
There's an exciting conference coming up in Battambang, and I get to help out by organizing some of the media coverage! I get to do a little bit of interviewing and such. Should be awesome. The conference is part of a series of 41 conferences happening around the world.
more to come, more to come.
The school that I work at has a system for testing, as follows: every teacher creates an exam for every class that they have. Then, the academix team takes all these tests, selects the questions they like best, correct formatting, and publish the standardized exam. Essentially, if you write the best questions, it's better for your class because they will be tested on material that they have studied. There is, as yet, no coordination between teachers of the same level. The whole thing is kind of ridiculous, and many of my students have been unnecessarily, and unfairly failed. Still, I don't know much about exam construction or academic management, so I couldn't really give them suggestions from experience or study. Just seems like a poopy situation for the kids.
Either way, I made it up to them by playing movies in all my classes on Thursday, and playing language games on Friday. So, even after brutalizing their collective self-confidence, we still remain friends. I showed them the movie "Bolt" which is quite a fun little movie. Unfortunately, the subtitles read like they were written by a student in my class, so rather than confuse them, I made them watch without the subtitles.
My quality control officer suggested I tell you a little more about cambodia - so here's a little tidbit fro mthe students: I had them write an opinion essay on school uniforms, and they came up with some interesting and convincing arguments.
For:
Students should wear uniforms because they look good.
Students should wear uniforms so that people can know that they are students (and know that they are skipping school if they are out during school hours).
Students should wear school uniforms so that, if they get into an accident, people can contact their school, and get their information.
Students should wear uniforms because uniforms help them concentrate and remind them to study.
students should wear uniforms so that poor students don't feel bad about their clothes.
students should wear uniforms because they look good and tidy when everyone wears them.
Students should wear uniforms so that, if they are good, it will reflect on their school, and people can find out that the school is good.
Against:
Students shouldn't wear uniforms because they look bad.
Students shouldn't wear uniforms because they're boring.
Students should be able to wear what they want, so that they can look sexy.
Students shouldn't have uniforms, because it becomes difficult to go to work after school, or to go to another school.
Overwhelmingly in favor of uniforms.
Also, I've had my evevening class (6:50-8:10) given to another teacher because they didn't want to overload me on the first semester. Unfortunately, that was my favorite, and most advanced class...sigh. The bonus of course is more free time - the first instance of which I used to great effect - attending an african/khmer fusion drum and dance session at a club called gasolina!
There's an exciting conference coming up in Battambang, and I get to help out by organizing some of the media coverage! I get to do a little bit of interviewing and such. Should be awesome. The conference is part of a series of 41 conferences happening around the world.
more to come, more to come.
Monday, January 19, 2009
the recent past.
Oh to try and recall such precious moments so far after their passing! Regardless, the blog must go on:
Last wednesday and thursday, as far as my already belittled memory serves me, were nondescript (I think things happened - like I know I had lunch with neissan at a cool thai restaurant, forgot to take money shopping, and I slept in the sun by the pool, but, w/e). Friday, however, held great promise in the form of an after-work dinner party with fried's at Jarnah and Beattie's place. It was as delicious, if not more delicious, than the last time. What's more, I actually recognized some of the people there! (almost like real friends!) jokes, obv. Neissan and Nadi engrossed themselves in a chess game while I gorged on tasty treats and social interaction. I shared with them, upon request, this telling anecdote:
I've struggled so far, to win the respect of my students based solely on my teaching method, and hopefully, exciting teaching style. Realizing the folly of my decision, I've recently switched back to relying on beatboxing and timid (but knowing) jokes about teenage romance. Happily, I didn't have to introduce my (can I call it a) talent(?) - I zoned-out while pacing the classroom, and the beats proceeded to trickle out my mouth, loud enough for the class to be staring at me when I turned to find 46 wide-and-wondering-eyes. So now beatboxing is a regular class reward for work well done, and I may soon be able to make a living on private beatboxing lessons alone :P
Saturday was decent, but disappointing. I canceled plans to mark, and then procrastinated like a mad-villain. At least I got to unlock new footballs in fifa. :(
Sunday was better, with the A.R. security council passing a resolution for marking to be completed by the end of the day at yejj cafe. Somehow, breakfast happened, great company was enjoyed (Neissan, Beattie, Jarnah, Nadi, Ryan, Echo(sp?), and their daughter Alanna), but I only managed one pile of marking. As most resolutions from the security council, this one was ignored, or half-completed, in the safety of my home. I set out for the feast at around 5:40pm, and had a great time getting back in touch with the Baha'is of Phnom Penh, after our circumstantially prolonged separation. Avuth and Neissan joined me (/coerced?) at my place to play some settlers of catan. I won twice, but Avuth now gets it, and Neissan is slowly accumulating strategic intelligence about the many ways to win settlers. We drank chocolate soy milk, and ate cookies.
The night didn't end there! oh no, the party raged on: I showed avuth some horrible guitar-playing skills, to which he smiled and approved after the fashion of Baha'is the world-round. Then he intimated his thoughts with the internet while Neissand and I played two games of chess. I marked simultaneously, bringing our new record to 10-1-2. To be fair, Neissan has realized that his weakness is moving before considering the possibilities, and our first game displayed Neissan creating forks, and capitalizing on mistakes like never before. I beat him the next game, but I still think my days of free chess wins are numbered.
Today I navigated the murky waters of ESL education with the assistance of coffee, fresh baguette, mango, and fun staff. Tomorrow I administer the midterms, like so many bandages upon the open wound of complacent copying, and lazy learning.
peace!
(note: I have more marking, and interesting essays, but both must wait till tomorrow)
Last wednesday and thursday, as far as my already belittled memory serves me, were nondescript (I think things happened - like I know I had lunch with neissan at a cool thai restaurant, forgot to take money shopping, and I slept in the sun by the pool, but, w/e). Friday, however, held great promise in the form of an after-work dinner party with fried's at Jarnah and Beattie's place. It was as delicious, if not more delicious, than the last time. What's more, I actually recognized some of the people there! (almost like real friends!) jokes, obv. Neissan and Nadi engrossed themselves in a chess game while I gorged on tasty treats and social interaction. I shared with them, upon request, this telling anecdote:
I've struggled so far, to win the respect of my students based solely on my teaching method, and hopefully, exciting teaching style. Realizing the folly of my decision, I've recently switched back to relying on beatboxing and timid (but knowing) jokes about teenage romance. Happily, I didn't have to introduce my (can I call it a) talent(?) - I zoned-out while pacing the classroom, and the beats proceeded to trickle out my mouth, loud enough for the class to be staring at me when I turned to find 46 wide-and-wondering-eyes. So now beatboxing is a regular class reward for work well done, and I may soon be able to make a living on private beatboxing lessons alone :P
Saturday was decent, but disappointing. I canceled plans to mark, and then procrastinated like a mad-villain. At least I got to unlock new footballs in fifa. :(
Sunday was better, with the A.R. security council passing a resolution for marking to be completed by the end of the day at yejj cafe. Somehow, breakfast happened, great company was enjoyed (Neissan, Beattie, Jarnah, Nadi, Ryan, Echo(sp?), and their daughter Alanna), but I only managed one pile of marking. As most resolutions from the security council, this one was ignored, or half-completed, in the safety of my home. I set out for the feast at around 5:40pm, and had a great time getting back in touch with the Baha'is of Phnom Penh, after our circumstantially prolonged separation. Avuth and Neissan joined me (/coerced?) at my place to play some settlers of catan. I won twice, but Avuth now gets it, and Neissan is slowly accumulating strategic intelligence about the many ways to win settlers. We drank chocolate soy milk, and ate cookies.
The night didn't end there! oh no, the party raged on: I showed avuth some horrible guitar-playing skills, to which he smiled and approved after the fashion of Baha'is the world-round. Then he intimated his thoughts with the internet while Neissand and I played two games of chess. I marked simultaneously, bringing our new record to 10-1-2. To be fair, Neissan has realized that his weakness is moving before considering the possibilities, and our first game displayed Neissan creating forks, and capitalizing on mistakes like never before. I beat him the next game, but I still think my days of free chess wins are numbered.
Today I navigated the murky waters of ESL education with the assistance of coffee, fresh baguette, mango, and fun staff. Tomorrow I administer the midterms, like so many bandages upon the open wound of complacent copying, and lazy learning.
peace!
(note: I have more marking, and interesting essays, but both must wait till tomorrow)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I am so behind
And my memory is horrible!
Little bits of life are slipping away from me forever! How sad!
Except that those bits are mostly filled with marking, or procrastinating (which involves playing fifa '09, or watching some premier league games)...what I'm trying to say is, they're likely bits of life that we both could miss. I will, however, attempt to recount, with dramatic flair, and stunning accuracy, the events leading up to this day. Unfortunately, this may have wait until tomorrow.
;)
Little bits of life are slipping away from me forever! How sad!
Except that those bits are mostly filled with marking, or procrastinating (which involves playing fifa '09, or watching some premier league games)...what I'm trying to say is, they're likely bits of life that we both could miss. I will, however, attempt to recount, with dramatic flair, and stunning accuracy, the events leading up to this day. Unfortunately, this may have wait until tomorrow.
;)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Jan 13
Ahhh! I woke up late today! I set two alarms, one for 6:15 and another for 6:30. The 6:15 one is to turn on the hot water heater, and the 6:30 is the real wake-up-and-start-life alarm. Luckily, I was able to let them know I'd be late, so they wont penalize me at all (they have a great system: 30 minutes or more of total non-informed late time leads to a delay in your paycheque!). My day was a blur of articles and activities, but I felt my energy levels dwindling by lunch time. In order to recharge, I went and got a little sun by the pool...you guys need to come visit, life out here is pretty swetdawgs.
The rest of the day was swet, though tiring (and I haven't even started marking yet!). I met some friends at Warung Bali for Indonesian food, and had a dish called Gado-Gado. It was pretty tasty, but very spicy, so I had to order not one, but two banana-shakes! So good.
Then, best part, I decided to walk home from the riverside (20-15 minute walk) and I met sith (said 'sut') out riding his little cambodian "cyclo". It's the old-school tuk-tuk, with a guy riding a bicycle and a seat on the front of it. He wanted tons of cash, but I gave him a dollar just 'cause he was cool. I insisted that I wanted to walk for a bit, so, to preserve his dignity, and cut down my time, he gave me a ride for a few blocks. He told me stories about pol-pot and the khmer rouge, and how "they have little food, not good my friend, not good". Then he said "now also I have little food, not good also." Rough business trying to give people bicycle rides when there are a million motos and tuk-tuks willing to take you faster and for the same cash. Sith is 52 years old, has 5 kids (who live in the provinces), and has been riding his "cyclo" for 20 years. He blames the vietnamese and the koreans for the sex trade and the drugs, and told me he didn't like the friendship monument (built to recognize the friendship between cambodia and vietnam). I asked him why he didn't switch to motos, but he said "I ride cyclo only, slow is nice, cyclo is good my friend." At least he was in good shape for his age (read: much better shape than me). Cool guy, cool night - I might need a light jacket next time.
The rest of the day was swet, though tiring (and I haven't even started marking yet!). I met some friends at Warung Bali for Indonesian food, and had a dish called Gado-Gado. It was pretty tasty, but very spicy, so I had to order not one, but two banana-shakes! So good.
Then, best part, I decided to walk home from the riverside (20-15 minute walk) and I met sith (said 'sut') out riding his little cambodian "cyclo". It's the old-school tuk-tuk, with a guy riding a bicycle and a seat on the front of it. He wanted tons of cash, but I gave him a dollar just 'cause he was cool. I insisted that I wanted to walk for a bit, so, to preserve his dignity, and cut down my time, he gave me a ride for a few blocks. He told me stories about pol-pot and the khmer rouge, and how "they have little food, not good my friend, not good". Then he said "now also I have little food, not good also." Rough business trying to give people bicycle rides when there are a million motos and tuk-tuks willing to take you faster and for the same cash. Sith is 52 years old, has 5 kids (who live in the provinces), and has been riding his "cyclo" for 20 years. He blames the vietnamese and the koreans for the sex trade and the drugs, and told me he didn't like the friendship monument (built to recognize the friendship between cambodia and vietnam). I asked him why he didn't switch to motos, but he said "I ride cyclo only, slow is nice, cyclo is good my friend." At least he was in good shape for his age (read: much better shape than me). Cool guy, cool night - I might need a light jacket next time.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Jan 12
Today was INTENSE.
I was called last night to take on a substitution this morning. I ended up subbing the whole day! It was a little crazy, but all fun times. I had some rowdies in the morning, but they all settle down enough to learn, so I don't mind. Came home at 11, (cashed my cheque on the way, cash monies!), and got down to business - practicing the guitaro. I was tempted to play fifa '09, but I had to mark some papers, and decided the day should be productive. If you haven't already picked up a guitar, I highly recommend it! You don't even have to make good music to feel like you're doing something! I hope eventually to play well and beatbox at the same time...the play well part may take me the better part of my time in the Cambodge, but I got time.
Afternoon involved some discussion of the Israel/Gaza conflict, the Bible, Alzheimer's, and the oneness of humanity. Interesting times working with a multi-cultural staff - sudanese, singaporean, american, canadian, phillipino, nigerian, cambodian, etc - make any discussion interesting just because of the diversity of cultural viewpoints.
Tonight I met Jarnah and Nadi for a Dosa (again, I know!). I managed to get the best-made Dosa yet again, and have now come under fire from certain friends for stealing all the luck. As some of you know, I am (or at least convince myself I am) a luck-sac. That's right, I am super-duper-ultra lucky. But, it's mostly perspective, so with the right mind-games, you can be lucky too! The trick is to imagine that every little good thing that happens to you, happens because you're lucky. This way you both 1. feel lucky, and 2. never take anything for granted. Moving from the initial thoughts, to engaging the full-fledged paradigm-shift, can be a long, and sometimes torturous journey. Trust me when I say, it's worth it.
We later came back to my place to complete Neissan's delayed settler's game. It went well, with Nadi taking the win thanks to an absurd number of 9's and 3's rolled in complete and utter disregard for probability. He also made very smart decisions. And now unfortunately, I have to sub all day again! I don't actually, it just means I need to sleep earlier, wake up earlier, and delay shopping by another day....at least I have bananas. (actually, quick aside, these bananas are tasty little things - tiny fat little bananes that taste like awesome plus two - put me in touch with my inner monkey)
I was called last night to take on a substitution this morning. I ended up subbing the whole day! It was a little crazy, but all fun times. I had some rowdies in the morning, but they all settle down enough to learn, so I don't mind. Came home at 11, (cashed my cheque on the way, cash monies!), and got down to business - practicing the guitaro. I was tempted to play fifa '09, but I had to mark some papers, and decided the day should be productive. If you haven't already picked up a guitar, I highly recommend it! You don't even have to make good music to feel like you're doing something! I hope eventually to play well and beatbox at the same time...the play well part may take me the better part of my time in the Cambodge, but I got time.
Afternoon involved some discussion of the Israel/Gaza conflict, the Bible, Alzheimer's, and the oneness of humanity. Interesting times working with a multi-cultural staff - sudanese, singaporean, american, canadian, phillipino, nigerian, cambodian, etc - make any discussion interesting just because of the diversity of cultural viewpoints.
Tonight I met Jarnah and Nadi for a Dosa (again, I know!). I managed to get the best-made Dosa yet again, and have now come under fire from certain friends for stealing all the luck. As some of you know, I am (or at least convince myself I am) a luck-sac. That's right, I am super-duper-ultra lucky. But, it's mostly perspective, so with the right mind-games, you can be lucky too! The trick is to imagine that every little good thing that happens to you, happens because you're lucky. This way you both 1. feel lucky, and 2. never take anything for granted. Moving from the initial thoughts, to engaging the full-fledged paradigm-shift, can be a long, and sometimes torturous journey. Trust me when I say, it's worth it.
We later came back to my place to complete Neissan's delayed settler's game. It went well, with Nadi taking the win thanks to an absurd number of 9's and 3's rolled in complete and utter disregard for probability. He also made very smart decisions. And now unfortunately, I have to sub all day again! I don't actually, it just means I need to sleep earlier, wake up earlier, and delay shopping by another day....at least I have bananas. (actually, quick aside, these bananas are tasty little things - tiny fat little bananes that taste like awesome plus two - put me in touch with my inner monkey)
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Jan 11th evening
Just had to note this for you guys.
Neissan invited a few of us over for a little games night. So i got settlers of catan ready, hopped on a moto dop, and made my way over. There were five of us for the first bit, so we started, but then three more came, so we switched games. There were some odd ones, but in the end, we played a card game called "kaka". This game involves trying to make a set of four cards, and when you do, you put your hand on top of a communal pile of cards. Then everyone else has to get their hands on as quickly as possible, and the last person to do it has to take a cards from the pile of "kaka". The idea is to end up taking as few cards from the middle as possible. Now this is all good, until you play it on a glass coffee table. Somehow none of us realized that eight high-velocity hands hitting the center of a glass table was a bad idea. That's right, on the fifth or sixth round, we completely destroyed Neissan's table, and sent small bits of glass flying EVERYWHERE! most of us came out unscathed (actually, all of us except for Jarnah), so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Exciting way to end a night...what can I say, none of us wanted that kaka.
Neissan invited a few of us over for a little games night. So i got settlers of catan ready, hopped on a moto dop, and made my way over. There were five of us for the first bit, so we started, but then three more came, so we switched games. There were some odd ones, but in the end, we played a card game called "kaka". This game involves trying to make a set of four cards, and when you do, you put your hand on top of a communal pile of cards. Then everyone else has to get their hands on as quickly as possible, and the last person to do it has to take a cards from the pile of "kaka". The idea is to end up taking as few cards from the middle as possible. Now this is all good, until you play it on a glass coffee table. Somehow none of us realized that eight high-velocity hands hitting the center of a glass table was a bad idea. That's right, on the fifth or sixth round, we completely destroyed Neissan's table, and sent small bits of glass flying EVERYWHERE! most of us came out unscathed (actually, all of us except for Jarnah), so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Exciting way to end a night...what can I say, none of us wanted that kaka.
Jan 9-11
The only really memorable things from the 9th are: the maid bought me some delicious fruits; the kids in my classes are continuing to build up their enthusiasm; I ate more masala dosa, and, Neissan, Jarnah, Nadi, and I all played a game of settlers of catan! So much fun - unfortunately Neissan and Jarnah were still figuring out what was going on, and we had a lot of distraction in the form of laptops on the table, BUT, still a fun game (maybe just because I won? :P). I realized that I really have nothing in the house to offer guests, and had to resort to giving out the last of the cookies, some veggie/fruit juice, and a few small chocolates. I think tomorrow will be the real day for shopping (now that I have my first cheque from work!).
The 10th was an indoors day for me. I stayed up late the night before talking on skype, so I missed my morning seminar at work! Luckily, it's only optional, and I should be able to get the info I need from the other teachers. My day involved a lot of football(soccer). I've been getting into it recently, in the form of FIFA '09, and a lot of watching games on the telelevision. There was even a point where I was playing a game, and had a game on mute on the T.V. at the same time :0
Today was a little more exciting - I got some initial work done on CRDA's website, and went out to 'Comme a la Maison' for a chocolatine and an espresso (I also bought a baguette). I'm waffling over whether to continue the children's class in the orphanage or not - I don't want to be all burnt out teaching, but I really enjoyed the class, so I'm not sure which'd be best in the long-term. Avuth and Elyssa helped me get the guitar up to snuff, and I used this opportunity to try and develop some guitar skills. I have an embarrassingly bad video of my initial guitaring for you guys to see. Enjoy.
The 10th was an indoors day for me. I stayed up late the night before talking on skype, so I missed my morning seminar at work! Luckily, it's only optional, and I should be able to get the info I need from the other teachers. My day involved a lot of football(soccer). I've been getting into it recently, in the form of FIFA '09, and a lot of watching games on the telelevision. There was even a point where I was playing a game, and had a game on mute on the T.V. at the same time :0
Today was a little more exciting - I got some initial work done on CRDA's website, and went out to 'Comme a la Maison' for a chocolatine and an espresso (I also bought a baguette). I'm waffling over whether to continue the children's class in the orphanage or not - I don't want to be all burnt out teaching, but I really enjoyed the class, so I'm not sure which'd be best in the long-term. Avuth and Elyssa helped me get the guitar up to snuff, and I used this opportunity to try and develop some guitar skills. I have an embarrassingly bad video of my initial guitaring for you guys to see. Enjoy.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Jan 8
I forgot to mention some exciting events in the last post, so this can be jan7 night/jan8 morning:
Two friends from malaysia arrived, Elyssa and Kazin. We went to meet Jarnah and her friend Nadi for dinner at Dosa Corner. It was a good dinner, I ordered TWO dosas, and the second one was much better: much crisper, much hotter, more tastiness oozing out of every potato. I loved it. Then Jarnah casually mentions the fact that an MC from Jurassic 5 is playing at a club called 'Pontoon' at 8 P.M. I missed so many concerts in Edmonton, but this one made up for it.
It's with a heavy heart, and trembling fingers, that I give you the following news: I let the p-units borrow my digital camera, and my phone battery was so low, that it died before I even saw the face of "Akeela the MC". I know, so much diligent reporting with pictures and everything, and now, on the one night where it was more than just a convenience, I was deprived. Boo hoo, it was still a fun night.
When we first arrived, we joked around about dancing, but then met people we knew and conversed and met new friends, etc. Then Jarnah asked me to help her open up the dance floor, so we did - to some crazy blend of staying alive and I don't know what else. It was sweet. Pretty soon some of the drunk girls came on the floor and then everyone else followed. So Jarnah and I basked in our pride as dance-floor openers for the rest of the night.
After some wicked blends, and very fast cut/changes from an impressive Cambodian DJ (who's name I unfortunately missed), the night's performances began. It started with a hip-hop group called "clap your hands". Their set was ok. It was fun to hear the khmer rapping, and I joined in on some choruses. They had one slick little rb singer who serenaded some of the ladies in the front row - he was a solid performer, and added some class to their act. Later, when they were in-between sets, this giant black guy named Soljin(??) thanked me personally for opening up the dance floor. Seriously, he was like "I really wanted to dance, but you never want to be the first one, right? Thanks a lot man, respect" *hi-five transitioning to a grip, snap, and pound*
The next group up was amazing! A hip-hop group called "Tiny Tunes" started by a cambodian-american (Khmerican) who lived in south-central LA, learned the ways, and came back to start up a scene. He did it well. These kids could rap and break-dance so well - I loved every bit of it. To top it off, they had a female emcee from longbeach who rapped like it was the early 90's. I felt the khmer raps waaay more than I've been feeling any of the hip-hop coming out of the states recently. So I got a phone number for these guys and hope to get into the beat-boxing again. Ah, I'm charged with excitement. oh! and during their set, they made a stage out of the dance floor, and continued to break through a black-out! They started up a soul-clap, used the light from the dj's laptops to light the floor, and broke it down! I was beatboxing a bit, but the emcee seemed super-keen on the clap, and hey, so was I.
Then, Akeela's buddy "Hydrophonics" came on the dance-floor-circle-stage to perform, and he was good - very eminemish flow, solid lyricism, but the crowd wasn't feeling his stuff, so he tried a few songs, and gracefully thanked everyone and bowed out. Akeela came on finally, at like 12-12:30 (we'd been there for 4 hours already) and I got to hear a few verses before we had to go, because my guests were sleepy! So, I missed the majority of Akeela, but I felt like aI got a solid does of hip-hop for the low price of....free! ah, great night.
Today was a little more chill, but still cool. Avuth came over for breakfast, and brought Cambodian street noodles for us to eat. Cool new experience! Elyssa and Kazin had to go to Battambang today, so we went for a parting dinner with them, Jarnah, and some of her work colleagues. It was a cool place, and I find I'm developing a taste for friend morning glory and rice - and I still love stir fried mushrooms. Time was tight for Elyssa and Kazin to make the bus, as they still had to get their stuff from my place, Elyssa wanted some bread, so I offered to pick it up for her, and meet them back at my place.
What an ordeal! the people at lucky's supermarket wouldn't accept Elyssa's $10 bill because it was ugly. They seriously made me battle over the economic viability of the less-than-pristine note which I wished to give them. Also, quick aside from this aside, I don't know what's up with me lately, bu I feel like my sense of justice is is waaaay more active than it used to be. I'm becoming (at least in the last little bit) a lot less accepting of the unacceptable. So I insisted that they take my note, and after some hassle, they did. Yay, empty victory: I got to pay them 3 dollars.
Either way, bread got to Elyssa, Nadi got me the keys, and, after a quick change into work clothes, Nadi came with me to my school. He had some readings to work through, and I had some marking to do, so we found a cafe, ordered up, and settled down for a solid 2 hours of study and correction. He had to peace, and I had to teach, so we did the needful. I had fun teaching the class, they seemed to get into the activity more today than they have before...or maybe I'm still so hyped about the hip-hop that everything seems better.
I played chess against neissan again, some very good games, but, the record is now 7-1-1. It feels like the games are getting harder though, so maybe once he's back in the zone of strategic thought, I will find the numbers reversing.
acquisitions today: Settler's of catan, and a new 5th string for my dad's guitar.
Two friends from malaysia arrived, Elyssa and Kazin. We went to meet Jarnah and her friend Nadi for dinner at Dosa Corner. It was a good dinner, I ordered TWO dosas, and the second one was much better: much crisper, much hotter, more tastiness oozing out of every potato. I loved it. Then Jarnah casually mentions the fact that an MC from Jurassic 5 is playing at a club called 'Pontoon' at 8 P.M. I missed so many concerts in Edmonton, but this one made up for it.
It's with a heavy heart, and trembling fingers, that I give you the following news: I let the p-units borrow my digital camera, and my phone battery was so low, that it died before I even saw the face of "Akeela the MC". I know, so much diligent reporting with pictures and everything, and now, on the one night where it was more than just a convenience, I was deprived. Boo hoo, it was still a fun night.
When we first arrived, we joked around about dancing, but then met people we knew and conversed and met new friends, etc. Then Jarnah asked me to help her open up the dance floor, so we did - to some crazy blend of staying alive and I don't know what else. It was sweet. Pretty soon some of the drunk girls came on the floor and then everyone else followed. So Jarnah and I basked in our pride as dance-floor openers for the rest of the night.
After some wicked blends, and very fast cut/changes from an impressive Cambodian DJ (who's name I unfortunately missed), the night's performances began. It started with a hip-hop group called "clap your hands". Their set was ok. It was fun to hear the khmer rapping, and I joined in on some choruses. They had one slick little rb singer who serenaded some of the ladies in the front row - he was a solid performer, and added some class to their act. Later, when they were in-between sets, this giant black guy named Soljin(??) thanked me personally for opening up the dance floor. Seriously, he was like "I really wanted to dance, but you never want to be the first one, right? Thanks a lot man, respect" *hi-five transitioning to a grip, snap, and pound*
The next group up was amazing! A hip-hop group called "Tiny Tunes" started by a cambodian-american (Khmerican) who lived in south-central LA, learned the ways, and came back to start up a scene. He did it well. These kids could rap and break-dance so well - I loved every bit of it. To top it off, they had a female emcee from longbeach who rapped like it was the early 90's. I felt the khmer raps waaay more than I've been feeling any of the hip-hop coming out of the states recently. So I got a phone number for these guys and hope to get into the beat-boxing again. Ah, I'm charged with excitement. oh! and during their set, they made a stage out of the dance floor, and continued to break through a black-out! They started up a soul-clap, used the light from the dj's laptops to light the floor, and broke it down! I was beatboxing a bit, but the emcee seemed super-keen on the clap, and hey, so was I.
Then, Akeela's buddy "Hydrophonics" came on the dance-floor-circle-stage to perform, and he was good - very eminemish flow, solid lyricism, but the crowd wasn't feeling his stuff, so he tried a few songs, and gracefully thanked everyone and bowed out. Akeela came on finally, at like 12-12:30 (we'd been there for 4 hours already) and I got to hear a few verses before we had to go, because my guests were sleepy! So, I missed the majority of Akeela, but I felt like aI got a solid does of hip-hop for the low price of....free! ah, great night.
Today was a little more chill, but still cool. Avuth came over for breakfast, and brought Cambodian street noodles for us to eat. Cool new experience! Elyssa and Kazin had to go to Battambang today, so we went for a parting dinner with them, Jarnah, and some of her work colleagues. It was a cool place, and I find I'm developing a taste for friend morning glory and rice - and I still love stir fried mushrooms. Time was tight for Elyssa and Kazin to make the bus, as they still had to get their stuff from my place, Elyssa wanted some bread, so I offered to pick it up for her, and meet them back at my place.
What an ordeal! the people at lucky's supermarket wouldn't accept Elyssa's $10 bill because it was ugly. They seriously made me battle over the economic viability of the less-than-pristine note which I wished to give them. Also, quick aside from this aside, I don't know what's up with me lately, bu I feel like my sense of justice is is waaaay more active than it used to be. I'm becoming (at least in the last little bit) a lot less accepting of the unacceptable. So I insisted that they take my note, and after some hassle, they did. Yay, empty victory: I got to pay them 3 dollars.
Either way, bread got to Elyssa, Nadi got me the keys, and, after a quick change into work clothes, Nadi came with me to my school. He had some readings to work through, and I had some marking to do, so we found a cafe, ordered up, and settled down for a solid 2 hours of study and correction. He had to peace, and I had to teach, so we did the needful. I had fun teaching the class, they seemed to get into the activity more today than they have before...or maybe I'm still so hyped about the hip-hop that everything seems better.
I played chess against neissan again, some very good games, but, the record is now 7-1-1. It feels like the games are getting harder though, so maybe once he's back in the zone of strategic thought, I will find the numbers reversing.
acquisitions today: Settler's of catan, and a new 5th string for my dad's guitar.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Jan. 4-7
Oh irony. Mere days after being congratulated on the regularity and consistency of my posting to this blog, I find myself procrastinating. Luckily, I wasn't procrastinating just to avoid typing up dreary details of Cambodian life, rather, I was in a mode of general procrastination - brought on by my job. Yep, they wanted me to make midterm exams for both of my classes (which turned out to be no less than three separate exams because one class is split into reading and writing!). It all worked out in the end, with lots of time spent learning the hidden depths of formatting a document using Microsoft Word.
I have, unfortunately, forgotten what happened in the last few days, suffice it to say: nothing that exciting/important. I think the days were filled with teaching, exam construction, marking, and the watching of heroes (great show!). Also, the much anticipated "shipment" arrived from croatia, and the apartment is now almost like a real living space.
Today, however, was a whole different story. Today is "independence from the genocide regime day". Also, oddly enough, the day on which I re-gain some measure of my own independence. Today the p-units got on a plane to go to Ethiopia.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Jan 2/3
January the deuce was a fun day.
I spent the day refining my exam, and putting in the print order at the school, picking up a bus ticket for shaku, administering some exams, and then enjoying lasagna dinner with a bunch of guests. After all of that (tasty lasagna!) we watched some pictures form Neissan's trip to malaysia, and some hilarious youtube clips. This is one which my dad has saved on his laptop. So funny, I crack up everytime I watch it.
After that, Neissan and I went to a Mediterranean place called "tamarind" for some sheesha, tea, and chess. They have a nice rooftop up there, I imagine it'd be much more enjoyable if there were less clouds and more stars. After some complications over the flavours of tea and sheesh, they finally brought it all out, and I soundly beat Neissan 3-0 in our games (compared to 1-1-1 last time). I chalked a large part of my victory up to his inattentiveness. They were great games until an error or two crept in to finish it off(reminiscent of something isn't it Munir? ;P).
Either way, the night didn't end there! We dropped by the monthly "elsewhere" party to see who was around, and hopefully enjoy some good music. The music was out in full-force, I couldn't recognize any of the tracks that the dj was playing, but it was all cool stuff. We happened upon Christine and some of her friends, and some friends from the "Khmerry Christmas' boat party. Fun times getting to see them all again. The club, however, was dead. there were a fifth of the people that I'd seen last time I went (2 months back) and that meant you could actually talk to people, but that that there were less people to talk to, and no one dancing. This didn't stop us. Having the dance floor to ourselves, Neissan and I did some breakdancing, and he showed me some capoiera moves. That was fun, until the dj officially told us to go home by dropping the tempo considerably in the following 10 minutes. It's not his fault, the crowd was already non-dance, but they more sit-and-listen, than stand-and-pretend-to-dance.
Fun times.
Today, Shaku had to go to another city for a meeting, so we moved egg-in-a-hole sundays up a day to accommodate this newfound family tradition. We had mangoes for lunch, and went to Anise hotel for a coffee and to get some work done. I marked my papers, and my dad spent all his time trying to get the wireless internet to work...which he did, in the end. I had some interesting answers on the exams, I put one up for your viewing pleasure.
The rest of the day was spent watching juventus play in the snow, making stir-fry, and updating this blog!
peace out playas.
I spent the day refining my exam, and putting in the print order at the school, picking up a bus ticket for shaku, administering some exams, and then enjoying lasagna dinner with a bunch of guests. After all of that (tasty lasagna!) we watched some pictures form Neissan's trip to malaysia, and some hilarious youtube clips. This is one which my dad has saved on his laptop. So funny, I crack up everytime I watch it.
After that, Neissan and I went to a Mediterranean place called "tamarind" for some sheesha, tea, and chess. They have a nice rooftop up there, I imagine it'd be much more enjoyable if there were less clouds and more stars. After some complications over the flavours of tea and sheesh, they finally brought it all out, and I soundly beat Neissan 3-0 in our games (compared to 1-1-1 last time). I chalked a large part of my victory up to his inattentiveness. They were great games until an error or two crept in to finish it off(reminiscent of something isn't it Munir? ;P).
Either way, the night didn't end there! We dropped by the monthly "elsewhere" party to see who was around, and hopefully enjoy some good music. The music was out in full-force, I couldn't recognize any of the tracks that the dj was playing, but it was all cool stuff. We happened upon Christine and some of her friends, and some friends from the "Khmerry Christmas' boat party. Fun times getting to see them all again. The club, however, was dead. there were a fifth of the people that I'd seen last time I went (2 months back) and that meant you could actually talk to people, but that that there were less people to talk to, and no one dancing. This didn't stop us. Having the dance floor to ourselves, Neissan and I did some breakdancing, and he showed me some capoiera moves. That was fun, until the dj officially told us to go home by dropping the tempo considerably in the following 10 minutes. It's not his fault, the crowd was already non-dance, but they more sit-and-listen, than stand-and-pretend-to-dance.
Fun times.
Today, Shaku had to go to another city for a meeting, so we moved egg-in-a-hole sundays up a day to accommodate this newfound family tradition. We had mangoes for lunch, and went to Anise hotel for a coffee and to get some work done. I marked my papers, and my dad spent all his time trying to get the wireless internet to work...which he did, in the end. I had some interesting answers on the exams, I put one up for your viewing pleasure.
The rest of the day was spent watching juventus play in the snow, making stir-fry, and updating this blog!
peace out playas.
New Year!
Dec 31st was a busy day: first I went for breakfast with Sovanarith, the executive director of a little Cambodian NGO that I plan to dedicate some time and effort to; next, I slept, awaking to phone call invitations for lunch, which I eventually accepted; I later went to an indonesian place for lunch avec Jarnah and Beattie and Christine; this was followed by more sleep, and then the new years party.
I had great fun going to the Indian Association of Cambodia's new year's party. Shaku got some tickets from a friend of the family. Unfortunately, my camera battery died while taking the "before" photos, so all I have is the before and after (and some bad cell-phone videos). Basically, we enjoyed Indian food, activities and intermittent dancing. The night was a bit of a gong-show, they had overlooked a few things while planning the event, but it didn't interfere too much with the celebration of the new year. There were not many people my age at the event, but that's ok, because I'm kind of an old man anyway, so it was easy for me to connect to other attendees. We went to a fancy-dancy hotel called the imperial garden hotel. It was ver' swanky, and the room we were in was nice and big, but not big enough for the 80 extra people who came to the door with no tickets!! I had plans to go to go to a place called "the mansion", but I procured a massive headache (presumably by keeping my head craned over my shoulder to look at the stage for long periods of time). So, after some interesting times with the Indian community in phnom penh, we retired for the night.
The first day of the new year was much better, it involved a delicious mango lassie, with real bits of mango(as seen in the photo). This day also saw me constructing some exams for my students. They went over fairly well ( I think), and the classes were actually fun as all the students loosened up after finishing the exams. I'll try not to bore you with details, but exam construction can actually be fun. I took sample questions from their past homework, and edited the names, order and questions. I even gave them a bonus section, wherein they had to place the right question into the blanks of a conversation between Dr.Rushdy and a student. The student had not studied for the exam, and Dr.Rushdy prescribes studying. Also, used the names of some of their classmates on the exam, and I plan to use it a lot more, they were excited to see themselves in the exam, so maybe they'll study so that they can get the question with their name correct, at the very least.
I had great fun going to the Indian Association of Cambodia's new year's party. Shaku got some tickets from a friend of the family. Unfortunately, my camera battery died while taking the "before" photos, so all I have is the before and after (and some bad cell-phone videos). Basically, we enjoyed Indian food, activities and intermittent dancing. The night was a bit of a gong-show, they had overlooked a few things while planning the event, but it didn't interfere too much with the celebration of the new year. There were not many people my age at the event, but that's ok, because I'm kind of an old man anyway, so it was easy for me to connect to other attendees. We went to a fancy-dancy hotel called the imperial garden hotel. It was ver' swanky, and the room we were in was nice and big, but not big enough for the 80 extra people who came to the door with no tickets!! I had plans to go to go to a place called "the mansion", but I procured a massive headache (presumably by keeping my head craned over my shoulder to look at the stage for long periods of time). So, after some interesting times with the Indian community in phnom penh, we retired for the night.
The first day of the new year was much better, it involved a delicious mango lassie, with real bits of mango(as seen in the photo). This day also saw me constructing some exams for my students. They went over fairly well ( I think), and the classes were actually fun as all the students loosened up after finishing the exams. I'll try not to bore you with details, but exam construction can actually be fun. I took sample questions from their past homework, and edited the names, order and questions. I even gave them a bonus section, wherein they had to place the right question into the blanks of a conversation between Dr.Rushdy and a student. The student had not studied for the exam, and Dr.Rushdy prescribes studying. Also, used the names of some of their classmates on the exam, and I plan to use it a lot more, they were excited to see themselves in the exam, so maybe they'll study so that they can get the question with their name correct, at the very least.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)