It has redefined me and ignited my passion to be purposeful in all I do. Since returning I have applied for a posting in Cambodia and I am genuinely excited by the employment prospect.
During placement my only safety issue was riding a bike on the wrong side of the road! No precautions are necessary, it is literally safe to walk the streets.
Susie Donkin, Cambodia
It’s too hard to say what the best part of the experience was, I enjoyed it very much. I think the appreciation that these people had for what you were doing and yet to us we felt we did so little as there is so much more to do and in two weeks you feel like you have only scraped the surface.
I realise how lucky we are and I will be passing this on to my students as well. I find it remarkable that with everything that Khmer people have to deal with that they are still so positive, friendly and giving, its amazing, somewhere we have lost that.
I have met some fantastic people that I hope to stay in touch with. I like that all our transport was organised and efficient, so we didn’t have to worry about that which we would have if we just went over volunteering without Antipodeans.
Michelle Ferrari, Teacher, Cambodia
It was organised well and I met lots of people from all around Australia and from Cambodia. The in-country people were highly integrated in the country and had lots of advice and support, and we got to do things that people on the regular tourist trail would not have been able to do. I feel like I have had much more of a richer experience than if I had just travelled through the country.
The organisation was wonderful, everything was timetabled really well, we organised it so that we would start early and have the afternoon off which was good, because it got so hot and tiring in the afternoon. We became quite close to the local teachers and talked to them about all sorts of things which was really nice in 2 weeks and made it very sad for us to leave. There was a bit of a communication breakdown at times, and i’m not sure if it something that can be fixed, however I would suggest making sure you are clear on times and dates and meetings, maybe writing it down rather than just saying it would help.
Corrie Wheare, Teacher, Cambodia