Teacher of the Week: Lee from England

Lee: I’ve never been interviewed before except by the police

440: It’s OK; I’m not working for the Dept of Homeland security. So Lee, you’re sitting there looking very suave and sophisticated with a beer in your hand and your top two buttons casually undone..how long have you been teaching ESL?

Lee: Just over three years

440: Was it a big career change?

Lee: Yeah, I worked as a hotel manager in the UK for years. Actually it seemed like forever and then I escaped the UK by breaking my chains after gnawing them off with my own teeth.

440: Any plans on returning to the UK?

Lee: Non whatsoever. Not even for a holiday. If anybody from there wants to see me then they can come here. The only things I miss from the UK are bands, gigs and going to the Glastonbury Festival every year.

440: What brought you to Cambodia?

Lee: I was having a long holiday actually and just partying in Thailand ’til the money ran out. I came here on a visa run and was planning on staying a few days and then figured it warranted further investigation so I ventured into the dark interior. Selling male moisturising products in Bangkok wasn’t paying the rent.

440: Why didn’t you teach in Thailand?

Lee: That was the original plan but I just liked Phnom Penh. It was rougher around the edges than Bangkok and I liked that.

440: How did you get your first job?

Lee: Word of mouth. And I ended up teaching in Battambang. Can I have another beer?

440: Yup

Lee: I had an interview with the Director Of Studies in Phnom Penh, had a chat and at the beginning of the next term I was up in the provinces completely skint after waiting around 10 weeks for the job to start.

440: So your first gig was in small town Cambodia. How did you cope?

Lee: I found the small expat community to be an interesting and welcoming lot. VSO?s CMAC, medical people. They’re a diverse bunch in Battambang and there’s also a great western owned bar up there.

440: But just the one?

Lee: Yeah, it’s all flooding back. I’d spend most evenings in the Balcony Bar or sitting by the riverside at a noodle stall if I wasn’t flush for cash.

440: What about Khmer places?

Lee: There’s the White Rose that does an ice-cold tall Anchor beer for 2500 riel and where I’d always be getting into fights with backpackers. Then there is the Smokin’ Pot which does some of the best Khmer food I’ve ever eaten. And there’s another place called, strangely enough, ‘The Cold Night Restaurant’ which does good western food and you need a little bit of that when you’re in Battambang.

440: So an average day in the provinces consisted of what?

Lee: Up at 5am. Drink a strong cup of Vietnamese coffee. First class at 6am. Go manic in class and those 6am classes always were the best ones. Come home at 7am and collapse. Back into school at lunchtime and teach another couple of hours, spend the afternoon hanging out, prepping my classes and chatting to the secretaries then do a couple of evening classes and finally dash out as fast as my little legs would carry me and have that refreshing after work beer by the river.

440: That sounds idyllic.

Lee: It was.

440: So working in Battambang was good preparation for doing your TEFL in Bhan Phe, Thailand?

Lee: Yeah, the school I was working for was really professional and I had a good group of co workers who I learned a lot from. But I wanted to do the TEFL to polish up my CV. I thought it would increase my future chances of employment and give me more of an insight in what I was doing plus by that time I was really enjoying teaching.

440: Was there a moment when you realised that you wouldn’t be going back to the UK?

Lee: Yeah, I tried to break into hotel management into Bangkok initially but couldn’t manage it. I’d already decided then that I wanted to stay in Asia. So I’d been teaching for 18 months before I went to Thailand and did my TEFL. ‘

I did feel that I knew what I was doing on the course as a lot of people had never taught before and I already had the classroom skills. Getting the methodology was useful though.

440: Were you hankering to leave Battambang after 18 months?

Lee: I was sad to leave Battambang but I had work offers in China and Thailand so I took a break in Phnom Penh and ended up getting offered work here instead.

440: What do you like about living in Phnom Penh?

Lee: DVDs bars, computer games nightlife. I like it here.

440: We’re a party animal are we?

Lee: Yeah, I have been lately.

440: What are the worst things about living in Phnom Penh?

Lee: Money, I get paid twice a month and it magically seems to slip through my fingers and I end up begging from mates.

440: So $1000 a month isn’t enough?

Lee: It is if I’m sensible but unfortunately I?m not. Being sensible isn’t one of my redeeming features, which is probably why I’m in Cambodia.

440: So where does all the money go?

Lee: Wine, women and amateur dramatics. Don’t write that down.

440: Too late. What have been your best and worst experiences in Cambodia?

Lee: This last New Years Eve was the best. My cousin came over and we had New Year’s Eve partying on the beach in Serendipity in Sihanoukville. As for the worst, having my heart broken.

440: Are you still enjoying teaching?

Lee: Yeah, the more you do it, the better you get. I wouldn?t want to do anything else now

440: Thanks Lee. Do you want another beer?

Lee: Yes.