Angkor Photography by Siem Reap Countryside Cooking Class

Our Story

In 2002, I was in high school level and in the same time I also study English part time with Khmer Teacher. I always think that I can speak English (even I know that I had a very bad English). The Khmer Teacher told me that "If you want to speak better English, you should go to Angkor Wat Temple as there are lots of foreigners and you can practise English with them. This is the only way to improve your speaking skill."

At the weekend, i asked the permission from my parents and they said: If, this is what you really wanted, then we support you.I took the bicycle and packed my lunch with the scaft then go to Angkor Wat Temple. Once I arrived at the Temple, I ran into the foreigners and speak to them:

Hello! my name is Ben and I am a students, I am here just to practise my English, what is your name? (I did not care who they are, where they are from), just a random speaking. I have done this for a few month and I can see that my speaking is better than before.
One of those day, In Angkor Wat, I have seen a man who stood in fron of the water lyly pound with his camera, I ran towards him and I did the same as I useto, but very unfortunate he did not speaking to me, not even one single word. I stood there for about 3-minutes and no responding from him at all, I decided to say goodbey then walked inside the temple. I was climbing up to the top tower of Angkor Wat, I open my lunch bag and enjoy my lunch there.

While I was having lunch, I heard foot step walking behind my back, suddenly I look up and I saw that man who I was talking earlier stood behind me, at this time I was thinking by myself that (I talked to him earlier and he did not want to talk to me, so this time, I don't want to talk to him then.) He stood there for about 2-minutes. I wasn't feel comfortable as someone standing and watching me eating lunch, I decided to ask him:
- I said: Do you want to join my lunch?
- He said: Ah, yes. If you don't mind.
- I said: No, I don't mind at all. Please come in.

He sat down and enjoyed eating lunch with me and after lunch he taught English, Vocabularies, Grammar, Phrases etc..... from 12.30 in the afternoon until 5pm, we were enjoy learning and teaching. He also asked me if I would want to come to see him again next week. I told him that I would like to come and learn more. So, we meet at Angkor Wat Temple 4-weeks in a row then he gave me a pice of paper with his email address on it, he said that he about to leave from Cambodia back to the United State, he also mentioned that:
- If you want to learn more English, please send me an email to this address and I will write more words for you.
- I said: Yes, I will, thank you. (At that time I known nothing about tech. I did not know what is Internet, E-mail, Computer).
About amonth after he left from Cambodia, I decided to write him an email. I went to an Internet Cafe, and I asked the people there,
- Can i use an internet? Those people there were laughing at me and one of them came and ask me,
- Do you want to use an email?
- I said: Yes.
- Do you have an email address?
- I said: No.
- Do you want to create an email address?
- I said: Yes. (She helped me to create an email address and she taught me of how to use the keyboard, mouse and the compose mail and send too.) Since I known nothing about Computer, it took me very long time to write just for one sentence. I wrote: "Hello and Good morning from Cambodia John. How are you doing? From Ben". It took me 2-hours to write one sentence like this. But I learn something from that day. 3-Days later, John replied my email and said: "Hello Ben, welcome to the world. ............."

2005 to 2010 John Retun to Cambodia and Teaching English

When John return to Cambodia and 2-weeks after, he found an English teaching job at one of the very good English Training school in Siem Reap call ACE, it's standing for "Autralian Center for Education". While he was teaching there, he also asking me to study there and he paid the school fee for me. So that's how I improve my English skill. In 2006, we often goes outside of Siem Reap city to see the countryside life. One of those day, we gone through the rice field and we have seen lots of children at the trash pile looking for recycling things.

- John Said: Ben, why those children are here, this time of the day, they should be at school, right?
- I said: I don't know why they are here. (We stop the tuktuk and we went closely to those children then
- I asked: Kids, why are you here? Don't you go to school?
- Children said: We are here looking for the recycling things to sell to make money for our family. Because we are very poor and cann't afford to go to school at all. Also, if we go to school, no one can support our parents, my mom is blind, my dad is disable. And we stay in a very small house. We make money one day, we live one day, sometime we didn't make any money at all.

Next week, we went there again to see those children, this time we brought some breads, Bottle of water, Condence Milk Cans put on Tuk-Tuk then we go straight to the trash pile. Once we arrive there, we call them to come over and let them wash their hands, then we open the breads and pure the condence milk inside the bread and give to them for their snacks. This time, we see the very pure smile from those children, and that took our hearts. We did that every weekend for a month. John said: Ben, we cannot keep doing this again and again to these children, otherwise, they will just waiting for us to give the food every weeks. So we should do something else. Once we see them again.
- John said: Is it possible for us to visit your family? If you don't mind.
- Children said: Yes, we can show you, please follow us.

Once we reach at their houses, we met with their parents and we really could not stop our tear at all. We were wondering how could they sleep if the rain come at night? As we can see the clear blue sky even we were inside their houses. We have asked their parents why don't you send your children to go to school? Instead of going to the trash pile? They said that we really wanted to send our children to go to school, but we really cannot afford because we have to pay for Uniform, School Supplies ect...... And we do not have any income as you can see both of us are disable people, only our child can support us nowaday. If they are going to school, we don't have any rice to eat day by day.

One day, John and his friends, came to my parent's house and we had lunch together. During the lunch time
- John Said: Ben, the food is very deliciouse. I like it. We were enjoyed it very much. After we finished our lunch
- John Said: I think we should create a cooking class because tourists / travelers would like to do something more than just temples. In this case, we can use the fee that tourists / travelers pay for the cooking class to support the children.

Then he and his friends, start to write down some listed of what do we need, what do we have ect..... We have made some fliers and put them in hotels but most hotelers asking for the commission, as you known that we are a non-for-profit cooking class, we don't have any commission, they said that "No money, no honey". We have had a very difficult time to find the customers as the social media wasn't popular at that time. John said, no panic at all. The time will comes. During these times, John and his friends goes back to United State several times for their health check-up.

2010 to 2013 John Inspiring Works and Message

Phone Call, WhatsApp,

+855-99-266-008/ 012-634-590

Email

bengreetingasia@gmail.com

Location

Road #6, Prei Khmeang Village,