The evening before going to Angkor Wat, we met Natalie, a twenty-something woman from Phoenix who has been teaching English at a university in Shenzhen, China for the past year and a half. She had booked a Tuk Tuk driver for the sunrise tour of Angkor Wat that left our Tropical Breeze guesthouse at 4:30 the next morning. We asked her if we could join her and she agreed.
We spent nine hours together climbing up and down the spectacular ruins of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm while getting to know one another. Natalie’s father is a photographer and she had a keen sense of “Kodak moments” and I was happy to oblige by taking many photos of her. We joked about the name of our TukTuk driver, “Beet,” which in French is slang for “cock” and we wondered if Monsieur Bite knew. Very childish of us, I know.
Having taught English as a Second Language (ESL), I was curious about her methodology since she had gotten a Masters in ESL. I was pleased to hear that she incorporated a wide range of techniques including storytelling, games and Total Physical Response communication. She clearly was responding to the many different learning styles of her students.
When I asked her about her life in China, she said that both foreigners and native Chinese people were very guarded in expressing themselves. A sense of reserve was palpable. It made me think of my week in Prague in 1973–my only remotely similar experience.
