Transcriber: Mau Mau Reviewer: Hani Eldalees
Today I would like to share with you three stories about change
I experienced working as an English teacher volunteer in Cambodia.
The first story is about the change from unexpected.
2 years ago, as an English teacher volunteer, I went to a hot,
humid and isolated Cambodia ballet school in the middle of jungle.
It was recovering from
a long civil war which resulted in decades of destruction and isolation.
This school offered free education to adults who cannot afford the tuition
and more than 100 students went to this school every day
to have English classes taught by the volunteers.
These students came from nearby 5 villages with the age from 6 to 15.
This was my first time to go a remote village abroad.
and it was completely different from what you expected from travelling abroad.
That we could live in a 5-star hotel, taste delicious local food
and take a taxi or a luxury bus to go to tourist attraction.
Volunteering meant that I had to share the sleeping quarters
with someone I didn’t know and i needed to eat in a way
that was completely the opposite to what my taste buds were used to.
I grew up in Beijing and I am accustomed to eating food made out of wheat
and the flavors of them are plain and light
while the staple food in Cambodia is rice and they like to use all kinds of spicy
and salty seasonings.
Cambodia is a troubled country
even in winter, the weather is still very hot and steamy.
This is the house we all lived. It was the best house in the village
because the local people provided the best house to the volunteers
to express their gratitude.
It was a small, a lovely cottage built from woods.
There was no air conditioning
only 1 fan with the temperature hot enough to cook an egg on the ground
and 6 volunteers shared the room by bunk beds.
In the middle of the night,
I was always awoken by a cloud of mosquitos or the snore of my roommate.
Sometimes when I opened my eyes in the early morning,
I would see a lizard crawling along the wall near my bed.
Although I was fully aware of the tough situation
and carefully prepared experiences,
I was still struggling for the first 2 days
because I cannot adapt to the current situation.
I needed a goal I then initiated a small change for myself every day.
That is I must learn a simple sentence in Cambodia language.
I started from “Morning” and then “Thank you” to “Good night”
I persisted until I left there
this small change not only helped me to emerge with
the local culture and got, you know, with the local people,
but it also gave me a strong implication
that I could transform myself.
The things I learned from the struggle
is that no matter how well we planned how organized we are,
something unexpected is always promised to come.
So don’t complain about the unexpected be always ready to greet the surprise
and try hard to adapt and embrace change.
The second story is about the change with the help of others.
As an English teacher volunteer,
my job was to lead the children to read aloud the English text.
However, when I stood in front of the classroom
and every children’s eyes were fixed on me.
I was too nervous to look back at them.
So I lowered my head and it seems
that I wanted to bury my head into the textbook.
My face turned red, my heart pounded, my hands began clammy,
and the legs started shaking.
My voice was too low to be heard clearly.
I wanted to just disappear.
I was ashamed because I could not accomplish my job successfully.
I learn from this experience that I must change myself.
Not only for me might I lose a job,
but I have to do this for myself and the students I was charged to teach.
So I dug deep, swallowed my pride and asked for help from
the other volunteers, and they were very glad to help me.
So every evening after the class, I will practice my rehearsal again and again.
I will stand in front of the classroom
and practice my rehearsal in front of the volunteers
And they gave me many comments
and suggestions regarding my eye contact, body language,
facial expressions and voice inflection.
I really appreciated your support.
They don't know how much they've helped me to grow
and how their patient encouragements model the teacher I wanted to be.
The confidence that I earned in a small and remote Cambodia classroom
is the reason why I can stand on the stage today
and share my experience with you.
Sometimes you felt alone and helpless when you try so hard to adapt and change.
No doubt you are not alone and there's always someone else to help you.
When the helping hand is extended, grab it and don't let go.
My third story is about passing on the change.
The students were grouped into different classes based on their English level
and the levels ranged from the beginners to the advanced class,
and I help with the beginners class.
There are some students from the advanced class
who had a really good English skills.
And I got, you know, a 17 year old teenager from
the advanced class who had got his free education in this school for five years.
He came from a local poor family and had another seven siblings and brothers.
He said he got a huge benefit from this English class and he wanted to go to
the college, located in the Cambodian capital.
After graduation, he will return back to his hometown to be an English teacher.
He believed that a teacher was a very honorable and respectful job.
He wanted to help the children of his own hometown to be educated,
just like the volunteers helped him to learn English.
The small actions from different volunteers changed a person's destiny
and inspired this life ambition.
The small changes passed from one person to another will eventually make
a big difference for those forgotten little ones in the isolated village in
the middle of the jungle.
While the change passed from one person to another may seem slight.
The ripple effects of those small changes have enormous impacts.
So when you walk out of this room today
bear in mind that the smallest changes will lead to big differences
for yourself, the community, the country and the whole world.
Thank you.