Stuff
J.K Rowling's Commencement Speech at Harvard 2008
"Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, gives you unique status, and unique responsibilities....that is your priviledge, and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice, if you choose to identify not only with the powerful but with the powerless, if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud family that celebrates your existence, but thousands, and millions of people, whose realities you have helped changed."
On people who prefer not to "imagine", or empathise with the less fortunate:
-"I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters, they are often more afraid."
-"what we achieve inwardly,will change outer reality."
Amy Poehler at Harvard Class day 2011
"Find a group of pple who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life."
"You're all here today because someone helped you, held you in the palm of their hands. God, Allah, Buddha, Gaga..whomever you prayed to. They have helped you get here, and that should make you less alone alone, and less scared."
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Class Photos
Here are some of the kids I've been hanging around with for the last 2 months.
The kids in the class above are all about 3- 6 years old. They are some of the funniest and cutest children i've ever come across. The 2 boys speak like chipmunks and sing ever more like chipmunks. 3 of the 5 girls above are the most lost children you can imagine. They are really really funny.
There was one time I tried to make them do Hokey pokey with me. (one hand in, one hand out, and you shake it all about...). We did the everyone turn around where we stood where we were and rotated 360 degrees. By the time i rotated back, my circle of children were gone. 2 have climbed up the window grills, another 2 were trying to climb up the window grills, and the rest were wondering where everyone went to.
All i have to do on bad days is just to think of this class. You can't help not laughing out loud at their expressions and the things they do.
this was the class that nearly killed me. :) I took over the class mid-sem when we had a changeover of teachers, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of indiscipline in the class. The girls were ok, mostly quiet and eager to learn, albeit some with pms here and there. the boys were the killers. rowdy and completely wild. What further killed me was that they were not bad kids, and they will listen, but it was impossible for me to communicate with them because my Khmer is so limited.
I got them somewhat within control in the end. kids are kids. I still love them.
This was my initial class with older kids, the 8-11 year olds. Great mix of enthusiasm, rowdiness and willingness to learn. This was supposed to be the "slow" class, where they pick up things much slower, but their enthusiasm is infectious.
-------------------------------------------------
Last week marked the end of the 2 month Holiday program. Our next program with the kids will be around October, so we have a 3 week break.
The local teachers treated us to a feast of duck eggs on the last day.
It was great hanging out and eating eggs and just chilling with each other.
oh did i mention the eggs are 20 day old eggs (the ducks hatch on the 28th day),
so we have mini ducklings in the eggs.
Kind of gross in a way but if you don't think abt it, they really taste very good!
we went by sihanoukville on sat and sun.
it's the beach resort of cambodia,
but nothing like phuket, i was quite disappointed.
it looked more like east coast,
but maybe we weren't at the main coastal area.
Still,
i finally met up with Sea God again.
it's pretty cool.
the waves were raging and so were the winds,
and to stand there again,
just talking to Sea God,
the one who begun the journey,
I cherished it.
The God of SG is the same God of Cambodia.
God is the same everywhere.
Sometime during that time the winds got so strong the waves started looking funny.
it was almost like the parting of the red sea.
Sok Klang confirmed that the bible said the parting of the red sea when Moses was around was by strong winds.
"So you witnessed a fraction of it" he quipped.
Discovery channel was showing a documentary on "machines of torture" something like that.
i caught the tail end of it, when they introduced the last two machines.
some wheel barrel thing and the crucifix.
I was at the sea again the next morning and I realised how much cruelty Man is really capable of.
And then I realised also how much love Man is capable of.
And the more you venture into the fringes of darkness,
the more you recognise and appreciate the rays of light shining in there.
J.K Rowling's Commencement Speech at Harvard 2008
"Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, gives you unique status, and unique responsibilities....that is your priviledge, and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice, if you choose to identify not only with the powerful but with the powerless, if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud family that celebrates your existence, but thousands, and millions of people, whose realities you have helped changed."
On people who prefer not to "imagine", or empathise with the less fortunate:
-"I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters, they are often more afraid."
-"what we achieve inwardly,will change outer reality."
Amy Poehler at Harvard Class day 2011
"Find a group of pple who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life."
"You're all here today because someone helped you, held you in the palm of their hands. God, Allah, Buddha, Gaga..whomever you prayed to. They have helped you get here, and that should make you less alone alone, and less scared."
--------------------------------------------------------
Class Photos
Here are some of the kids I've been hanging around with for the last 2 months.
The kids in the class above are all about 3- 6 years old. They are some of the funniest and cutest children i've ever come across. The 2 boys speak like chipmunks and sing ever more like chipmunks. 3 of the 5 girls above are the most lost children you can imagine. They are really really funny.
There was one time I tried to make them do Hokey pokey with me. (one hand in, one hand out, and you shake it all about...). We did the everyone turn around where we stood where we were and rotated 360 degrees. By the time i rotated back, my circle of children were gone. 2 have climbed up the window grills, another 2 were trying to climb up the window grills, and the rest were wondering where everyone went to.
All i have to do on bad days is just to think of this class. You can't help not laughing out loud at their expressions and the things they do.
this was the class that nearly killed me. :) I took over the class mid-sem when we had a changeover of teachers, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of indiscipline in the class. The girls were ok, mostly quiet and eager to learn, albeit some with pms here and there. the boys were the killers. rowdy and completely wild. What further killed me was that they were not bad kids, and they will listen, but it was impossible for me to communicate with them because my Khmer is so limited.
I got them somewhat within control in the end. kids are kids. I still love them.
This was my initial class with older kids, the 8-11 year olds. Great mix of enthusiasm, rowdiness and willingness to learn. This was supposed to be the "slow" class, where they pick up things much slower, but their enthusiasm is infectious.
-------------------------------------------------
Last week marked the end of the 2 month Holiday program. Our next program with the kids will be around October, so we have a 3 week break.
The local teachers treated us to a feast of duck eggs on the last day.
It was great hanging out and eating eggs and just chilling with each other.
oh did i mention the eggs are 20 day old eggs (the ducks hatch on the 28th day),
so we have mini ducklings in the eggs.
Kind of gross in a way but if you don't think abt it, they really taste very good!
we went by sihanoukville on sat and sun.
it's the beach resort of cambodia,
but nothing like phuket, i was quite disappointed.
it looked more like east coast,
but maybe we weren't at the main coastal area.
Still,
i finally met up with Sea God again.
it's pretty cool.
the waves were raging and so were the winds,
and to stand there again,
just talking to Sea God,
the one who begun the journey,
I cherished it.
The God of SG is the same God of Cambodia.
God is the same everywhere.
Sometime during that time the winds got so strong the waves started looking funny.
it was almost like the parting of the red sea.
Sok Klang confirmed that the bible said the parting of the red sea when Moses was around was by strong winds.
"So you witnessed a fraction of it" he quipped.
Discovery channel was showing a documentary on "machines of torture" something like that.
i caught the tail end of it, when they introduced the last two machines.
some wheel barrel thing and the crucifix.
I was at the sea again the next morning and I realised how much cruelty Man is really capable of.
And then I realised also how much love Man is capable of.
And the more you venture into the fringes of darkness,
the more you recognise and appreciate the rays of light shining in there.
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