a summer in Cambodia (or, what I actually do here)

Now that the school year is pretty much over and I won't be teaching at the school again until October, here's a look forward at my plans for the summer. This is what I do.

First, I'm going to keep a project going that I started during the school year. My students just published a school newspaper....which is a really big deal here. As far as I know it's the first high school newspaper in Cambodia, although I can only say for sure that it's the first at any of the approximately 55 schools that have had a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). Issue #2 is scheduled to come out in July or early August.

Second, I'll be working on a library improvement project at my high school. The school has agreed to contribute a considerable amount to help with the project -- my school director rocks!! Also, I'm applying for a USAID grant to hopefully get the total budget up over $2,000. And with that, I'm hoping to turn an unused room with empty bookshelves into a first-rate library with a good selection of books, an English learning center, a video resource center where students can watch DVDs, and some comfortable places for students to just hang out.

I'm also doing a month-long summer reading group in August with ten of the most advanced 11th grade students. A friend back home is helping me get a few books for the reading group because she's cool like that. We're going to read "Children of the River," a story about a Khmer family that emigrates to America. Perfect for Cambodia!! I have over 60 students fighting for the 10 spots in the group, that's how bad kids over here want to improve their English.

I've got a few more things lined up, like I'm going to start playing basketball with some of the kids in my community. Hopefully, next year, I can move from casual play to starting a girls basketball team at the school (which currently has no formal sports). I'm also helping to edit a TEFL - teaching english as a foreign language - manual to use for training the next group of PCVs that arrives in July, and I'm hopefully doing a couple of career training workshops where I'm going to help people in my community learn how to write a cover letter, do a resume, interview, etc.

Best of all, my mom is coming to visit for a few weeks in July!! I'm going to show her all the beautiful places to see in this country...or at least the ones we have time to see. It's going to be a busy summer. But a good summer.

For all my friends out there, I'd love to hear about your summer plans!