Yes, it sounds like a cliche. But it seemed our year of teaching in Phnom Penh had barely started when suddenly it was over. It felt a little differently during the school year, mind you; even though we enjoyed the job, there were times when we hardly could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But now that we’d reached the end, we looked back and wondered how the time had managed to tiptoe past us so quickly.

One reason it pounced on us so abruptly was that the last quarter was shorter than the others. Before we knew it, it was time to give the students their finals and have the quarterly meetings with their parents to discuss the ups and downs of their kiddos’ performances and behaviors.

Fortunately, we were no longer following the protocol that was in place at the end of the first quarter: writing a “report card” for each student, in the form of a mini-essay (3 or 4 paragraphs) offering a detailed and individualized assessment of each student. That was really a time gulper, especially for Kimberly with her total of some 70 students across several grades. But after that first quarter, the higher-ups saw what a daunting task it was, thank heavens.

Some of the students, however, issued their own “report cards” on the teachers, in the form of unprompted notes of appreciation. One of Kimberly’s students even added a drawing of her in her uniform with blue skirt and yellow blouse. This is the kind of thing that gives the impression that somehow, sometime, we did something right.

At the graduation ceremony, which was heavily attended by parents, and was therefore held in the gym instead of the auditorium, Kimberly led groups of Kindergarten and Grade 6 students in singing a song — another milestone to add to her resume.

And now our year as real salaried teachers is in the history books. And it’s time to contemplate the very real possibility that we’ll come back and do it a second year.

July/August 2024