After fond farewells we visited a school. We had lots of supplies to donate and of course the principal was delighted. The children were all lined up at the gate when we arrived and were grinning and bowing and saying chum reap suor ( which means hello in a formal way) and we were returning the greeting. The bowing with your hands together is lovely but I haven't figured out what you're supposed to do with things you’re carrying!! We were invited into a year 5 class and they were so delightful. The children's ages were from 10-15. At first I didn't believe it. But it is because some children don't start at 6 like the govt would like them to. I don’t think education is compulsory - I did ask the principal - more that the govt through advertising etc wants people to send their children to school. Public schools are free. There are two sessions. 7-11 and 1-5. Teachers only teach one session.
All very interesting but it is so hard to judge the ages of the children as Cambodians are so small. Many adults are only as tall as my shoulder. We finished at the school and came back to the hotel for a swim and repack as the diaspora of the team starts on Saturday.
We celebrated Steve White's birthday a day later on a lovely restaurant which put us on their upstairs balcony so we could all be at one long table. We were separated from anyone else and it was lovely. So we are now getting ready to leave on our tour. Will keep you updated abt that as we go.
Blog by Lynnette
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