The name of the cafe caught my interest--Common Grounds--and I wondered if it might have a double meaning. It does. Common Grounds is one aspect of an NGO called,
He and the staff gave me a warm welcome and of course showed me around. They introduced me to some of the kids who were in the middle of English class. One by one they introduced themselves with confidence and almost perfect English. I was impressed. I was also impressed by the Orphanage. It was orderly and clean. Remembering the orphanage in Lijiang and how dirty it was I was pleasantly surprised by this place.
On the way to the orphanage I began to have suspicions about the NGO. Since I've come to Cambodia I've met a handful of people who learned their English at the "pagoda". The Buddhist monks in this country are doing some good work for the poor. One of their ministries is teaching English. People with little money who cannot afford the private English classes go to the pagoda's for class. So when the manager told me about the English classes both at the orphanage and at the Common Grounds premises I wondered with wishful thinking, "Is this a Christian group?" Shyly the manager said that he was a Christian. The NGO is run by Christian leadership. I don't blame his shyness. Here he was with a perfect stranger on his motorbike going to visit the kids of the orphanage. He took a risk on me and likewise I took a risk on him. He seemed relieved that I too was a Christian. "So you won't be offended if our kids say God Bless You", he said.
I played domino's with some of the older boys. It has been ages since I've played. They had to teach me how. The first few games I lost horribly. They enjoyed playing with someone who didn't know what she was doing. They laughed at me when I played the wrong piece in the wrong place. I laughed too. They were good teachers because by the end of our time they couldn't beat me. I wonder, "What is the right thing to do when you play games with kids anyways? Do you go ahead and beat them or do you lose on purpose?" Yeah, well, I choose the winning route! We had a great time.
One of the younger boys was quite the jokester. He kept on pretending to mix up his domino's after the round in hopes he'd get a really nice set and beat the older boys (and me). The oldest boy who clearly held the power reprimanded him in fun. The younger one just couldn't seem to win--not even with cheating.
On the way back to the coffee shop after playing domino's with the boys the manager invited me to join the community English classes the next night. So last night I went for the 3 hours of English classes. There are classrooms above Common Grounds. When I had agreed to visit the class I expected I'd be put to work. After all I have been an English teacher for 4 years. Earlier in the day it crossed my mind that the classes might be handed over to me. ""Would they do that to a complete stranger?" Yes, they would! When I arrived early for the classes the manager handed me the evening's lesson plans. There was not a question in his mind--I was going to teach the classes. I ran with it. Why not? I can do it.
Each class had 15-20 students. I much prefer preparing for lessons. Yet despite my lack of preparation I had a blast with the students. They were not nearly as shy as my Korean students. They were just as curious, however, but their boldness allowed me the kind of interaction I've only dreamed about in Korea. In the last class one of the older male students asked, "How much money do you make?" His question threw me. "Do I answer? How can I?" I deferred the question not sure if I should and suggested that if he wanted to talk about that we could after class. Most of their questions were so much easier. They asked if I had a family. I anticipated the next few questions and said, "I have no husband, no kids and no boyfriend." One of the girls repeated the sentence as if I were teaching it to them. Did she too need this sentence? We all laughed. Personal questions are so common here.
One class got to answer this question, "What is Cambodia like?" Tourism and poverty were on almost every one's lists. I can not help but think what would happen if tourists stopped coming.
As the classes were going on I could hardly believe what I was doing. "I've taken charge of an English class in Cambodia!" It was like a scene right out of the movie, '"Good Morning Vietnam", except I wasn't nearly as funny as Robin Williams.
I'm grateful for the few experiences that have "found me" in Cambodia. Getting to interact with the local people away from the tourist hot zones is like eating Cheddar cheese as opposed to Velveeta. It is a richer experience. Playing domino's with the boys and teaching English in the community gave me a better look into the people. (even as brief and limited as it has been) Such experiences have put a human face on the country. As I've read books about Cambodia's horrific recent past and visited some of the areas revealing its poverty, I find myself seeing everyone through the eyes of tragedy. It is easy to objectify people this way--even if I try not to. But the people are not "genocide" and they are not only "poor people". We may share different histories and we may have diverse economic differences but we are all very much human. We all love playing games. We'd all rather win than lose. We enjoy teaching and learning. We enjoy learning about each other even if it means asking tough questions.
My time in Cambodia ends tomorrow as I head back to Korea. I'm so glad experiences "found me" allowing me to see a little into the "Real Cambodia".
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