Good Evening Blog Followers!
We’ve just had a full day of adventures in Siem Reap. After a hearty breakfast we made our way to the gates of the Ankor Empire with our guide, “Noy” explaining every aspect along the way. We’ve really noticed what a relaxed pace of life people have here. Noy speaks quietly, in a calm voice and our kids seem to really respond to his information. We picked-up our 3-day passes in a crowded station before heading to the Empire gates. The walls of the empire form a square with 3 km sides. The students walked through the gate and changed to a mini-bus.
Our first big stop was the Banyon Temple which was impressive in the extreme. Students started humming the theme song to Indiana Jones which is really the feel you get walking around these temples.
It truly feels like you’ve walked back in time. There are so many little doorways and halls to discover.
We then moved on to the the Jungle Wat where Tomb Raider was filmed. The size of the trees growing out of the temple amazed onlookers. Much of the temple was being consumed by the jungle which is what gave it so much charm.
We took a break for a delightful lunch at a Thai restaurant. Students drank copious amounts of water to replenish the sweat they lost throughout the morning. The temperature is currently hovering around 35 degrees, but very dry.
After lunch, we had a very special experience. Our students traveled to the countryside to visit a school. The Bantay Samre Primary School had students from grades 1-5. There is no electricity, no running water, and virtually no resources. What might you expect to find in such a place? We found endless smiling faces and eager minds. The kids were adorable. The TIS students gave each student in the school a donation of school supplies which was quite special. Our kids then took over three classes and started teaching 4th grade students. Ryan started off by teaching them the A, B, C’s and then Hendrik taught them some simple English Words. Faith Cheong, Clare, and Eduardo helped out with teaching them some Chinese. The TIS students also made-up a math game and had the students come to the front to play. The kids had such a fun time. Afterward, we went outside to play some sports.
After saying our goodbyes, we returned to our hotel, got cleaned-up and headed to an all-you-can-eat buffet with traditional dancing
. Who did we meet? The high school TIS Experience Week group! It was so nice to see some familiar faces!
We returned to the hotel and the kids were excited to go for a night swim under the stars. We are having a blast and can’t wait for tomorrow when we will visit Ankor Wat, the Cambodian Landmine Museum, and other attractions!
The experience continues…
