Getting Settled

Hi everyone!  I know it has been a while and I apologize.  This supposed relaxing 2 weeks of lots of free time has turned into anything but!  I have interviewed, demonstrated teaching a class, gone to Transitions, found an apartment, started training, working on my Khmer classes, lesson planned, student taught, and still found time to sleep and eat, and spend about an hour and a half a day in a tuk tuk.  And it's not like you can work in those things, although not seeing the other cars and motos coming at you when your driver goes the wrong way on the street might be nice.  So I have been busy!  I'm looking forward to next week when all I have to do is start teaching kindergarten full time.  It'll be a vacation!!

Today was my first day at Raffles.  I got to observe, and see what I had gotten myself into.  All I can say is it will almost be a nice change to have the kids sing the Barney song vs. getting cussed out.  We'll see how long that lasts, but the kids are adorable, and they spent today coming over to me, showing me books, and their worksheets.  I know that these little kids are a whole different beast than high school and middle school kids, but maybe that is what I need and will love.  Moving here was a big change, and is working out great, so I'm going with changing the age group I teach will turn out the same.

For everyone not on Facebook, I found an apartment!  It has a great balcony, is in the part of town I wanted to be in, and is a five minute walk to school.  AND we get a cleaning service three times a week, they do our laundry, AND iron, for $50 a month.  Plus, I have an actual bathtub in my bathroom!!  Whose jealous??

I hope everyone out there is doing great, I miss you guys!

And now, you can drool over my new apartment!

Our balcony.  Enough room for 2 papasans, and a mini lily pond.  And it has plants already.  Can't wait to add more!

Our green wicker living room.  That dashing young man is my new roommate Jaxon.

My pink and yellow bedroom.

Yes, that is a tub in my bathroom...

Dining room/room of random instruments (or rori)

Check out the "stove"... and the oversized dorm fridge.

View from our kitchen

Hopefully we didn't sign our lives away.  Don't worry, I read it.  The only bad news is that we can't start a political party in the apartment.  Sorry Green Party, you'll have to find someone else to get you into Cambodian politics....