Staff lunchtime

As you may know, in Cambodia there are two teaching shifts. One from 7.30 until 11, and another from 1.30 until 4. The children are different in both shifts so we end up teaching the same lesson twice! This helps us perfect our lesson plan if need be, but it sure is hard work!

Fortunately we have a couple of amazing cooks at the school - the main ones are Theavy (sewing assistant), Vatana (sewing assistant), Kanha (Deputy Head of Ed and English Teacher and Om Srey(Cook, cleaner, tuck shop lady!).

Most days, we enjoy a large bowl of rice with a soup and a vegetable dish. All locally produced and usually bought in the same village as the school. Most importantly - it is nutritious and delicious, giving us the energy needed for our second class!

Kanha cutting up the vegetables for lunch

A special Cambodian dish made from peas, beef
and a variety of spices

Our cook is always able to knock up
something tasty and filling!

Pchum Ben

This weekend sees the climax of Pchum Ben, a Cambodian festival that remembers the dead. The festival lasts for 15 days where families visit Pagodas (place of worship) across Cambodia to make offerings of food to the chanting monks. It comes to a climax in the final 3 days, this year on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of October.

Offering food to the monks in turn feeds the ghosts of the dead and benefits any deceased family member. The ghosts of the dead are the souls that have been sent to hell for how they lived their previous life, they are able to be free for one day when the gates of hell open up. Occasionally families will throw balls of rice around the fields of the Pagoda in hope of feeding these ghosts directly, rather than through the monks.