Something from nothing...

12/01/11

A roomful of Americans and monks – Battambong

We are all learning, even the young men in their orange vestments.

They are solemn, serious, but still young, and they giggle as often as any of the usual high school students in the U.S. Buddhist Monks and their Nun counterparts receive the ultimate respect in Cambodian society. Even when they minister in prison, they are greeted with a gift of food in honor of their presence, and the rooms are silent as they speak because they are the teachers. They teach of peace, health and sex education, AIDS/HIV awareness, and the teaching of the Buddha and the earth. The Buddhist University we visited is preparing these young people for a new world of teaching and development. Two thirds of the Cambodian population is under the age of 30, so the next generation will truly be the new deciders.

This young man wants to study abroad…but their education system is still behind most international standards, so according to Bob, even if they graduate with a diploma, they aren’t quite prepared for the normal, “western” university experience. Anybody want to come over and teach English for a year?