Make do
September 11th, 2007
Sometimes it’s all about doing your best with limited resources.
- Today I spent a short while explaining the scientific reason for summer and winter to my class, using two footballs. One kid was holding a football and standing still, I was running round him in circles, spinning my football at the same time. They said they got it, but I think they just said that to stop me running around in a sweat.
- Last night, I tried to explain in diabolical Khmer to the landlady that our shower was useless - a disappointing dribble of water. Nothing they could do, the water wasn’t at a high enough pressure. Then, right on time, the sky opened and torrential rain came down outside. I ended up showering in the front garden, and even washed the motorbike at the same time.
- Computer lessons aren’t possible just yet due to an absence of computers in my classroom, so on Friday I’m taking my class into town in a pick up truck and hiring out an Internet cafe for an hour. I’ll have them all on Facebook within the month.
Today was mostly taken up with chair shopping. I have bought twelve chairs with collapsible tables attached, a world map and a whiteboard for the classroom I’m teaching in. This was after trawling round Siem Reap trying to find the best deal. After visiting the first shop and coming to the conclusion that a white guy shopping for furniture seemed to automatically increase the price by twenty-five percent, I hid in the car and let Chamran, my Sangkheum Centre colleague, do the talking.
From one month ago and having way too little to do, I now have more than enough. Swings and roundabouts, eh?
Posted in Diary by Nathan
Quite Random is the blog of Nathan Nelson, a human male who lives in the UK and is not entirely sure what he's going to do when he grows up but is interested in international development, photography, secularism, technology, music and movies and other things anyone of his age would be.
