say what?!

Kids do, indeed, say and do the darndest things. Perhaps that is one of the greatest joys of teaching, never know exactly what the kids will do and say. When I came to Cambodia, I had one main goal, to love my students as Jesus loves them and do my best to get them through kindergarten. My days are filled with joy and frustration, and sayings that are often lost in translation. A small journal is stashed in my “teacher” bag, in which I record a few of the fun things that take place in the classroom. And here, are a few of my favorite moments thus far:

After battling for a few weeks and encouraging my kids to say “I can” versus “I cannot”, little Danei turned and looked at me when I handed her a paper and said, “Teacher Susie, I think I can!” Perhaps the theme of my classroom should become The Little Engine that Could.

Having 5-6 students sitting at one little table can sometimes lead to a mix up in papers. After all, my kids are only five, and keeping their papers in “their” area is sometimes a bit of a challenge. One day as the kids were working on a work sheet, Sou Hong sat back in her chair, held up the paper she was writing on, and said, “Teacher Susie, this does not say Sou Hong! This does not say Sou Hong!”

For science we have been talking about animals and where different animals live. The kids really like animals, and enjoy talking about them. During the morning session I held up a picture of a rabbit and asked if anyone knew what it was called. Vathatana quickly raised his hand, “Teacher Susie, that is a bunny! That is soo good! Yum! Yum!” Not exactly the response I anticipated, but what can you expect living in a different culture. In the afternoon session I held up a picture of a dolphin and asked if anyone knew what it was called. Everyone shouted out the answer, “Dolphin!” Then I asked where dolphin’s live, Norindeth raised his hand, “Teacher Susie, on the Discovery Channel!”

On Friday while going of the months of the year, Yuth shouted out that the first month of the year is “jam-OO-berry!” And Febuary, that is “feb-oo-LARRY!” Ah, yes, the small issue pronunciation.

Henrico had to stand up for a little while as a consequence of tipping and falling out of his chair. He is very vocal about not wanting to accept consequences. He said, “I want to, I will be good! I don’t want to stand!” Unfortunately for him, if I give a consequence, I follow through.

Here in Cambodia, it is very common to shorten words and drop off bits and pieces of where they see fit. I told the students to get their water bottles and line up for lunch. One of my kids looks at me and says, “Teacher Susie, I have tah for lunch!” To which I replied, “Tah? What is tah?”;  ”It comes in a bottle, you drink it.”; “Oh, do you mean water?”; “Yes, Teacher Susie, tah!” Again, somethings just get lost in translation! You live and learn and figure it out along the way. What an adventure!

While my students were working on something at their tables, I stepped out to grab something, leaving the kids with my assistant. When I opened the door I heard them quietly singing, “This little light of mine…” Music to my ears.