Guest Post by Agness Walewinder of etramping:

Cambodia should be a must see place on your South-East Asia bucket list for the sake of its stunning wonders, local hospitality and affordable life. However, travelling is not the only reason why this country is getting more and more occupied by foreigners nowadays. It is also a great country to start your first internship or get some volunteering experience in various fields. A wide range of projects are available to all of those who are interested in spending a few weeks or months to help local people with their everyday struggle with poverty.

Most of volunteering offices are located in the capital city – Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap. You can join various projects depending on your skills and interest from working with orphans, street children or children with disabilities or infected with HIV / AIDS by giving them a chance for a better future. There are plenty of internships in the field of medicine in hospitals in Phnom Penh and journalism as well.

However, the most common volunteering job is teaching English in public/ private language schools. This is what I did when I was travelling in Siem Reap last summer. Before I headed to Cambodia, I had searched for some organizations helping foreigners find a volunteering position around the country. After sending a few e-mails and applications, I realized that all positioned had been already occupied. There was no chance for me to join any volunteering community neither in Phnom Penh nor in Siem Reap. A couple of weeks after when I finally arrived in Siem Reap and I fell in love with this place, hospitable people, amazing scenery and tropical weather. I knew I wanted to stay there longer and felt like I needed to do something in my free time. I visited a few local public and private schools and asked for a job and …. I got accepted!

I got a teaching job in one of private language schools called Florida International School. Firstly, I was getting paid for my classes ($5 per 60 minute sessions) but after some time the school could not afford to pay me even that, but I decided to stay and help kids improve their English for free. My schedule was the same every single week. I was working from Monday to Friday from 8am to 10 am. I was teaching Khmer kids aged 7-10. I had two classes in a row and could get one 10 minute break in between them if I felt tired.

Teaching two active groups of students was a challenge to me. There were more than 30 kids in one classroom who left me voiceless every morning. Their oral English was already good when I got there so we mainly focused on writing and reading. There were no shy students there and the whole class was extremely interested in everything I was teaching them. It was a real pleasure to work with them!

I need to admit that the working conditions were not good. Lack of fan and air conditioning was killing me. It was hot and humid inside the school and I was thirsty all the time. The school also lacked the teaching equipment. Apart from one blackboard, some random English books and some chalk there was nothing there. I was printing off my own flashcards, exam papers, oral tasks and handouts and brought them with me once or twice a week. I got dirty looks when I was using school printer so I decided to do it at home.

Despite tough working conditions, I still managed to enjoy myself a lot and make my students happy. We worked as a team and had a lot of fun together learning, singing songs and playing various games. After my classes, I was hanging out with a bunch of fellow travelers and travel bloggers exchanging our expat experience.

I don’t regret a thing. I gained not only teaching experience, but I also felt good to be a part of Khmer community. I picked up some local language and made my dream of living nearby Angkor Wat true. If you ever had a chance to do the same, don’t hesitate and go for it!

Links:
My website: http://etramping.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Agnesstramp
Facebook: http://facebook.com/etramping

BIO:
Agness is a Polish vagabond who, after graduation, left her comfort zone and set off for a journey of her lifetime to China in 2011. She has been constantly travelling the world since then (slowly, but surely as she says), living like a local for less than $25 a day. She became a passionate photographer and adventure blogger sharing her life enthusiasm and travel experience with everyone around.

Here are a few photos from my experience in Cambodia:

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