Karlien in Kampong Kantuot

Chum reap sour!

Today,  8 February, I visited the high school of Kampong Kantuot to observe some lessons. In this school I will have to teach some topics related to physics in cooperation with my 3 Cambodian colleagues; Ms. Phal Sok Seakly, Mr. Teom Ratha and Mr. Chem Kamsam.

The school is situated in the Kandal province, approximately 26km away from our home in Phnom Penh. That’s at least a 45-minute motorbike tour! By going to this school I finally got the chance to get a glimpse of the countryside. Rice fields, some more beautiful pagodas, skinny cows, houses on bars and even a crocodile farm… more than eyes can see! So, thank you again, Ratha, for giving me a lift on your motorbike.

The director of the Kampong Kantuot high school is a very friendly man. He came straight to me and asked: “Bonjour, vous parlez le français?”. That’s great because my knowledge of Khmer is still very limited, alas…

First I observed Ratha’s lesson about ‘convection’. Then I had to observe the same lesson given by Seakly. Kar ngear la-or! Each lesson takes 2 hours and the physics teacher trainer of RTTC Kandal, Mr. Buntheourn, also observed Seakly’s lesson. He later took me to the garden of the high school, which was donated by the VVOB. I believe the school is really proud about its garden.

The pupils were absolutely fascinated by my presence. They don’t often see Western people walking around on their school grounds. But when the observation sessions were over and we wanted to go home, the director came out of his office again, accompanied by a French couple. “Vous parlez le français?!!”. I had a nice French talk with them. When we were saying our goodbyes the director wanted to capture the moment. So, Kamsam, Ratha, Seakly and me posed for a picture.

Say cheese!