Samart School

Welcome to Samart School!  We are excited you have come to share your time with us.   We hope your experience will be fun and rewarding, every little thing you can do counts and helps improve the educational experience of the school’s students.

 

Background

 

You are in the village of Spean Kaek.  The school services students from this village, as well as students from four adjacent villages.  It was started in December 2011 by Song Samart and built with the help of various community members, mainly monks from his pagoda.  The school facilities include two buildings, one with three classrooms for English class, the other with one English classroom and a computer classroom.  There is also a water pump connected to a ground well outside the classrooms.

 

Accommodation

 

-Who do I stay with?

 

If you plan to teach at the school for more than one day you are welcome to do a home stay with

the Heang family who lives across from the school.  The accommodation is modest but the family

is very hospitable.  They do not speak English however so you may need to have Mr. Song or one

of the other local teachers translate if you want to ask them certain questions. 

Be respectful.  The family tends to eat dinner and go to bed pretty soon after classes end and this

is the countryside so most people wake up very early.  Therefore try not to stay up too late and at

least be in your room or bed at a reasonable hour.  Also respect the local customs such as

removing your shoes when you enter a house or eating space, not touching the children on the

head and not pointing the bottom of your feet at other people while you sit.

 

-What do I eat?

 

The home stay costs $8 a night and includes a light breakfast (bread and coffee) and a hearty lunch and dinner.  You will be eating local Khmer food, which is very tasty.  At times it may contain things that are unconventional to your palate, such as fried frogs.  The exotic food items are very delicious so try them out if you feel up to it, but listen to your stomach and take care of yourself because food sickness does occur sometimes.

 

-Can I take a shower?

 

There are no showers so will have to bath as the locals do, pouring buckets of water on yourself.  For drinking water you can purchase cold bottles of water from the family or help yourself to the water in the large filters in the kitchen area.  You can purchase soft drinks, beer and snacks from the family, though the snacks for sale are not very nutritious, so you might want to bring your own from town, especially for early in the day of you don’t find the breakfast filling.

 

-Can I do laundry?

 

You can do laundry by hand using one of the washbasins lying around the house.  If you need detergent you can borrow some from the family.  Then you can hang dry your clothes when you are finished wherever it seems suitable.  There are two large clothes lines tied to the coconut trees behind the house.  Just remember to bring your clothes inside if it is raining and watch out for ants!

 

 

Teaching

 

Feel free to teach as many or few classes as you feel comfortable with, though Mr. Song will encourage you to teach as many classes as you can.  The general class schedule goes like this:

 

3:30-4:30 Beginner Level

5:15-6:10 Intermediate

6:15-7:10 Intermediate

7:15-8:00 Advanced

 

Before beginning class make sure to acquire one or two working whiteboard markers and an eraser.  If you cannot find them in the classrooms ask Mr. Song or look in the school office.  Most of the classes have assigned textbooks for the students to use, in these ones, just pick up where the students are in the book.  There are a few books in the office with class plans and ideas; there are three black spiral notebooks that contain lesson plans and class activities written by former volunteers.  It may take a few days to gauge your students’ level of knowledge, but just be patient with.  Don’t be intimidated or frustrated if you think your class is not learning as much as you would like.  This is an upstart learning institution things can be rough around the edges at times.

 

Additional Help

 

You can help the school in ways other than teaching if you want.  This can include building and repair of the classrooms, desk, bookshelves etc.  You can also help Mr. Song with outreach and promotion of the school.  This could include updating the school website, promoting the school on social media and volunteering websites, putting up flyers for the school in guesthouses and various places in the city and anything else your creative mind can think of.  You can also work on fundraising, curriculum writing, helping Mr. Song organize the school’s goals and direction or whatever you think needs help.

 

Fundraising

 

If you or anyone you know would like to make a donation, contact Mr. Song and he can provide you with the School bank account information.  The easiest way to send money to the school if you are not in Cambodia is by bank transfer.

 

Transportation

 

To get to and from the city from the school there are several options.  You can get a ride motorbike from Mr. Song or some the other local teachers and family members. They may ask you to pay two or three dollars, but sometimes they’ll do it for free.  You can also use a bicycle, either rent one in town or there might be a spare one at the home stay, it takes around 40 minutes to get to town this way, depending on how fast you go. If you have more people or lots of luggage you hire a tuk tuk.  It should cost five to eight dollars to go one way, and maybe a few dollars more at nighttime.  Here are the phone numbers of some drivers who are familiar with how to get to the school:

 

Mr Pee           088 933 2584

Mr. Phrom       097 449 6270

 

 

Things to do when you are not teaching

 

While the countryside surrounding the school is generally quiet and most of the locals work during the day there are many ways to keep yourself occupied during your stay.  It is natural that you may get bored and you can always make an excursion to Siem Reap, but if delve more deeply into getting to know Spean Kaek and its inhabitants it will make your stay very rewarding.  Here are some ideas for starters:

 

1. Visit the nearby temples - There are quite a few Angkorian Temples of the Roluos Group nearby the school, the most notable being Bakong which is about 3km east and an easy trip on bicycle.  Bakong and Preah Ko require an Apsara temple pass to visit.  There are other smaller temples like Prea Monti that do not require a ticket and are very cool thanks to their remote forest locations.

 

2. Cycle around the area - Similar to #1, but there's more to see than temples.  Mainly, people.  There should be one or two bicycles at the homestay that have been donated by previous volunteers are free for you to use.  A lot of the locals will try to engage you in conversation is they see you around the area, don't be shy they are usually very friendly and will often invite them to eat and drink with you.  Of course you should exercise caution and self restraint if you find yourself in a local drinking circle because sometimes these guys don't want to stop.

 

3. Work the land - This option may not be appealing to most, but you may be able to help some of the farmers with their daily tasks such planting rice or fishing.  It's hard work and the language barrier may make it tough to initially engage in this, but most villagers will be more than happy to have an extra set of hands helping with their labor, and you might learn some priceless lessons in self sustenance.

 

4. Go on a retreat - There is Meditation and Yoga retreat center located vary close to the school called Harihalaya.  It is serenely located and could be a wonderful change of pace from stresses of traveling and volunteering in a strange foreign land.  They do require a minumum five day stay, but it could be a great way to take a break if you are getting worn out from teaching and other tasks at the school.  You can get there by following the road to Bakong then following the main road that goes right from there.  Check of the website if you are interested in this option, http://www.hariharalaya.com/

    
5. Read a book - In the school office are quite a few interesting books left by former volunteers, or you probably have your own.

 

6. Draw a picture - You're surrounded by a lot of interesting scenery so go ahead and practice your using your creative juices.

 

7. Write a novel - Why not?

 

Khmer Phrases

 

Feel free to ask Mr. Song or other people in the community to teach you some of the Khmer language.  Be aware it contains several unique sounds and is spoken with a cadence that it likely unfamiliar to  you.  That being said, the local people love to hear you practice and are very encouraging towards it.  Here are some basic phrases that will help you in communication with locals and teaching your classes:

 

Sue Sa-Dai                                                Hello

A-roon Sue Sa-Dai                                    Good Morning

Rey-a-trai Sue Sa-Dai                                Good Night

Tao nee-ah sok sa-bai dey                        How are you?

Kah-gnyome sok sa-bai                            I am good

Tao nee-ah chamoy abai                          What is your name?

Kah-gnyome chamoy ________            My name is ___________

Ahn tam kah-gnyome                              Repeat after me

San-gee-um senyat                                  Be quiet please

Neihs Gudgia                                            This is

Jam-long muy-nee                                   Copy this

Net cha-lais                                              You answer

Soh-sey rruedge-hai rue-now                   Finished? / Ready?

Ah-koon (jah-ron)                                   Thank you