Day Four: Volunteering in Siem Reap (Dec 31)

 by Gianna DeHerrera and Max Samuels

After spending our first night at our beautiful hotel in Siem Reap, we were on our way to work with the students at the Amelio and Aranh schools. Once we arrived at the Amelio School, we were given an introduction to ESL teaching by Sinat the CFC coordinator.  Next, Sophal gave us a tour of the school and explained our service projects.  We also delivered all of the generous donations from the Bullis community: more than 3,000 toothbrushes, whiteboard markers, children's books, art supplies and more.

Delivering all of the supplies!

We then split up into two teams: a teaching group, and a service project group. The students in the ESL classrooms helped to teach 3 classes in a row, each one 50 minutes in length. The students we taught ranged in age from 8 to 13 years old and were eager to learn. We started the class with ice-breakers: duck-duck-goose, head, shoulders, knees, and toes, and "Simon says." We then assisted the teacher with the day's lesson, working with smaller groups of students to review English vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling.  During break times, we played soccer, basketball, and volleyball with the students. Overall, teaching the kids was an eye-opening experience because we were able to make connections with kids despite the language barrier.  The local teachers also appreciated the extra help in the classes and the opportunity for the students to work in small groups with native speakers.

From top left: Karsen, Gianna, Coley and Kieran

Roya practices counting in English

Sam is having fun with these students!

Farah leads the class through the pronunciation of the vocab

Max working with students

Farah, Max, and Aniya lead an activity

Goldie working with a group of primary school students

In addition to the work in the classroom, the group of students working at the Aranh school worked on a service project to help upgrade the classrooms. This included painting stools, building bulletin boards, and painting them bright primary colors. The afternoon group at the Arahn school worked on building a wall brick by brick. The wall will surround the new community garden. This was a unique experience because none of us had ever worked with cement and bricklaying before.

Sophie painting a bulletin board

Karsen and Julia at work

Gianna, Coley, Meghan and Sophie paint stools

bricklaying is a new skill!

The finished product!

We think all in the group would agree that working with kids at the two schools has been the highlight of our trip so far. Interacting with the kids makes us realize how grateful we are to have an excellent educational system and opportunities. We also learned that students at the school are fed breakfast and lunch and if they didn't have these meals provided for them they may not be able to eat at all. We live in such a sheltered world and seeing the lifestyle of people in another country makes us appreciate what we have. We are looking forward to spending the coming week working at the schools and helping out in the classroom and with the service projects!

Day Three: December 30th (S-21 and Spider Village)

By Karsen Lineberger and Meghan Simpson

Today began with an additional exploration of the history of the Cambodian Genocide. We started off by visiting the Genocide Museum at the site of S-21.  The complex was a former school, but during Pol Pot’s regime it was turned into a detention center where 20,000 Cambodians were interrogated, imprisoned and tortured by the Khmer Rouge. Our experience was heartbreaking, but insightful because we were able to interview two of the survivors. Through seeing the conditions of the jail cells, the photos of the victims, and hearing the firsthand accounts, we were truly able to understand the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime. 

Students are somber as they listen to the experiences of Chum Mey.

Bou Meng is another survivor who bears witness

Chum Mey, one of seven men who survived S-21

One of the victims who was tortured and killed. The Khmer Rouge took photographs and kept extensive documentation.

Room after room is filled with photos of victims.

Many prisoners were shackled to the floor, unable to move

Chum Mey's prison cell


After, we boarded our bus for the six-hour-long journey to Siem Reap. On the way, we stopped at Spider Village and were greeted at the bus doors with live tarantulas. Some of us were feeling adventurous and held a tarantula and even ate spider legs, but others were not as fond of this pit stop.

Gianna and Farah enjoy the local tarantulas.

Karsen samples a fried tarantula

Lunch at a local woman's home.

We then headed to lunch with a local Cambodian family. We had homemade noodles, soup and fried rice at their home. We were able to see chickens, puppies, and their garden. Then, we traveled the remaining three hours to Siem Reap, and on the way, we listened to music and bonded. We said goodbye to Long, who has been our tour guide for three days and has made our trip both fun and meaningful. We had dinner at a local Italian restaurant and saw a glimpse of the local night market which we will explore more later on in the week.   Tomorrow, we meet the students and teachers at the local schools!