I forgot to mention one thing in the last post. My grandma’s house was in a district in Prey Veng province. That’s the reason why I call myself a Koun-Kat Bey Khaet (3-province girl).
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My granny always told me not to go out of school without her permission, but one day, I went out with a few friends of mine to buy some snacks. To my surprise, in the last session of that day, my granny came to class, greeted my teacher and asked for me. I was scared. I came out of the class with a pale face. I was thinking of an excuse. As I came nearer, a few words came out of her mouth. *Phew!*, these were her words
‘Was the money I gave you enough for your snack, dear?’
‘Err, I spent them all,’ I answered reluctantly.
‘Here is 500 R (equivalent to 0.125$), go home when you leave school.’
I was speechless and then smiled with satisfaction.
In the evenings, I played with many kids in the neighborhood. My grandma was a famous matchmaker in the village. Everybody knows her except some newcomers. So the parents would let the kids out whenever they told their parents that they would be with me.
I did not live with my grandparents long enough. At the age of 5 or 6, my dad came and brought me to live with him. He promised to take me to visit this place and that place. I have itchy feet, hearing such made me feel overwhelmed. I packed my bag at once. Even my grandma came and asked if I really wanted to leave her, I said ‘yes!’
So, he kept his promise, I visited many places I had never been to. Later on, I was enrolled to the local primary school. I started with grade 2. My dad thought I had finished grade 1, but actually I didn’t. My dad first named me Thida Sokun Lun, but the teacher refused to write the middle name; he said it was too long. So my name remains only Thida Lun (Lun is the family name).
My mom told me I used to bribe the teacher. Actually I performed very well at school. Just because I had one classmate who seemed to be smarter than me, I thought that she would get the first place, and she did. The teacher who was a distant relative of my parents refused to accept the bribe and notified my parents. I got 2nd rank on the first month at school. Not bad!
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| The classroom environment looks a lot like this displayed photo |
I was seated in the first row again. And the girl I considered the smartest one is in the second row; she gradually became my good friend (her name is Srors Leng). Every time I wanted to talk to her, I had to turn around, and when the teacher saw me talking, he looked up from the book and our normal conversation started:
“Thida!”
“Yes? I’ve finished the practice and my book is on your desk waiting to be checked. And I’m sure I’ll get full mark.” I said with a grin.
“Look at the board!” My study performance throughout that year was remarkable.
“Teacher, have you ever thought of seating me in the second row so that you don’t need to tell me to turn around and look at the white board?” I asked
“No.” He said
“Oh, Please…”
He shook his head as a sign telling me not to wish again.
I always wanted to sit in the second or third row, sadly because I was physically small, I never had a chance.
…To be continued…
Labels: About Me
