Day 4 - Second day at Watrotka Primary School

Day 4 of our Cambodia service learning trip and day 2 of our teaching at Watrotka Primary. Our first day was rocky due to our unfamiliarity with the school and our students. However, having spent some time last night rethinking our lessons, we were ready to teach our eager students.

We were better prepared and learnt to work together to conduct effective lessons.

We had a better time teaching due to the additional preparations we made. We also started to bond with our students through games and our lessons.

Language was still an obstacle for us. Luckily we had the help of the Watrotka Teachers as well as our local guides and bus drivers.

We also continued our work on building a new kitchen for the school. Today promised to be an even more tiring day as we had to lay a stromg foundation for our building structure.

We started by laying stones for the flooring in preparation for creating a cement flooring.

Another new experience was mixing cement. For many of us, this was the first time we have come in contact with cement let alone be tasked to mix it. We learnt that a good mixture would be 6 parts of sand to 1 part of cement powder with just the right amount of water added in.

The pictures above does little to show how difficult it was to mix the cement but we succeeded in mixing up a good batch.

Under the tutelage of the professional builders, we were also taught of how to lay bricks to form a wall for our flooring.

We also strengthened the building frame with wood. Nailing thick pieces of wood together is so much easier said than done. Today was indeed a tiring day but we felt proud of ourselves for pushing beyond our comfort zones

Reflections from Day 4:

"I found that students at Watrotka Primary were more enjoyable to teach today. We taught them nursery rhymes and they were dancing and had so much fun! I learnt that working together as a team is important as it will make things go smoother and faster. I also tried pumping water from water tanks using a portable pump. The hose dislodged itself many times as we did not secure it properly but in the end, we managed to do it. Today went better than expected as my students were more participative." -  Joey (3B)

"Today was a day where the students were more well behaved which meant the lessons went well. The  building of the kitchen was much more tiring as we had to carry sand and make cement for the first time" - Rajkannan (3B)

Day 3 - Service learning begins at Watrotka Primary School

Today was the first day of our service learning at Watrotka Primary School. After a 30 minute bus ride from our hotel, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies.

Our first steps into the primary school were greeted with the curious stares and smiling faces of thr Watrotka students. We then split into our teaching groups and work groups, starting our day with one half of us teaching and the other building a kitchen for the school.

Each group taught different grades, ranging from Kindergarten to grade 6, in subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science and Arts & Crafts. For many of us, it was our first time teaching a large group and it was by no means an easy task. We had to learn and adapt according to our student's abilities.

Despite the difficulty and initial awkwardness, we soon warmed up to our students. Their infectious laughter and love for fun rubbed off on us. 

While one half of us worked, the rest of us put in work constructing a proper kitchen for the school. The original kitchen was nothing more than a grass hut which was not suitable for cooking. We tore away most of the structure and started rebuilding the kitchen beam by beam and stone by stone.

It was hard work that we were not used to but we pressed on. It was definitely a new experience for us and we gained newfound respect for construction workers and carpenters back home.

Soon, day one wound down to an end. We were all exhausted but a good dinner served as a yummy reward for our hardwork. We have a lot to prepare for tomorrow but all this is worth it and we can't wait for the next day to come.

Reflections from Day 3:

"Today was our first time meeting our students and we were able to gauge their language ability. Teaching them was tough due to the language barrier which often causes confusion for both us and our students. However, we showed patience and strove onwards during our teaching in hopes of enacting positive change for our students." - Shaun Leow (3B)

"Being a teacher for the first time, we experienced the difficulty our teachers face when teaching us. We had a lot of trouble communicating with the students due to the language barrier but I felt happy seeing the children being attentive and wanting to learn. I also felt slightly jealous of the simple lifestyle that the children live, which is free of the stress and pace of modern city lifestyle back in Singapore. Today was very tiring but I felt a sense of achievement for what we did today." - Christine Yeo (3A)

Day 2 - S21 and journey to Siem Reap

Day one passed quickly and soon we were preparing for Day 2 where we would be visiting the S21 memorial and traveling to Siem Reap, home of our service learning center, Watroka Primary.

Our visit to S21 was a sombering one as we learnt of the atrocities of the brutal Khmer Rogue regime. Formerly the primary detention and interrogation center for the KR, the S21 war musuem showcased the torture and victims of Pol Pot's violent reign.

We managed to talk to and take a picture with Chu Ming, a former prisoner of war and survivor of the KR genocide. His stories lent a heavy dose of reality to the pictures and stories told in the exhibitions.

We then proceeded on our long bus ride to Siem Reap. Halfway through the 6 hour bus ride, we stopped for a yummy lunch at Solar Cafe, another social work enterprise set up by a Malaysian social worker, Esther.

After filling our tummies, we continued onto our destination. It was dark when we finally reached Siem Reap and our dinner stop.

Once we were done with dinner, and a quick stop at a local supermarket for food and supplies, we checked into the beautiful New Riverside Hotel.

We had a quick discussion about tomorrow's lessons and then settled into our comfy rooms to get some rest in preparation for tomorrow. We will be travelling to Watrotka Primary tomorrow and we can't wait!