Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2011

COMMUNITY SHRVISE

STUDENT REFLECTIONS When I first signed up for this experience at the end of 2009 I never would have imagined the adventure that lay ahead of me. A whole year of activities in preparation for our trip to Cambodia seemed to just fly by - and we were, all of a sudden it seemed, sta nd ing in the m idd le of Ph nom Pen h I nternationa I Airport wondering "hcw will we get to our guesthouse"? We travelled for 1B days, in three groups of about 15 students, a nd a ll com pleted th ree legs of the exped ition - trek, community project and sightseeing. The temples of Angkor Wat, the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum were just some of the incredible sights we visited, learning about Cambodian culture and understanding more about the com plexities of the Ca m bod ia n people's h istory. The highlight for many of us was working with the community of Sampov Loum Village in Kralanh - a little village in the north of rural Cambodia. My Grandfather's House, or 'Pteah Ta Knyom' in Khmer, provides free supplementary education and capacity building for local children and villagers and helps to show the local community that learning is fun, and that you should stay at school as long as you can so that you have more options for your life going forwards. We loved seeing our fundraising money go to good use, as we created two new classrooms, drainage pipes, a brand new library and a generator for the school - all in about 15 days! And of course, we made lots of new friends and had very interesting discussions about the social and economic realities of Cambodia today. You can check out the progress at www.mygrandfathershouse.org Nothing grows self belief and confidence quite like being put in new situations in a developing country. The programme allows you to take control of the trip but in a way that is safe and protected. We made all our own decisions about where to stay, what to eat, how we'd get from one place to another, how we'd manage our budget - it truly is a unique and inva I ua ble experience. I discovered that I am a lot tougher and more adaptable to situations than I previously thought. I think I have grown as a person from this program as lwas given a chance to lead the group and listen to everyone's ideas and work with girls who I had never worked with before participating in this programme.

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