Au-pair in Cambodia

Beste lezer,

hieronder volgt een advertentie die wij hebben gemaakt om een fantastische au pair te vinden voor onze fantastische kinderen. Als je de foto's wilt zien of meer informatie wilt dan kun je me mailen: miraweber@yahoo.com

Met vriendelijke groet,

Mira Weber

Like small kids? Looking for adventure?

Year as au pair with a Dutch family in Cambodia!

Have you ever dreamt of living in the middle of rice fields? Watch the neighbour ploughing his land with an oxen? Eat the mangos straight from the tree in your garden? You can now come to Cambodia and experience it all….

Adventure for primary school teachers/students

Mira (35), Jeroen (39), Kika (4), Joel (3) and Okke (1) are a Dutch family living in a solar powered house in the Cambodian country side, 50 minutes drive from the capital Phnom Penh.

As both parents are working part-time, and the international schools in the capital are a bit too far to drive to everyday, Mira and Jeroen are looking for an au pair to teach and look after the kids 4 days a week.

Cambodia. We are situated at the rural village Sre Ampil, at the red mark. It is just under one hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh.

Requirements:

• Primary school teaching background

• Experience with caring/babysitting infants 1-4 year old

• Available for 1 year or more

• Experience with living or travelling in a developing country is recommended

• English or Dutch speaking

Where will you live?

Next to the families’ house, there is a small 2 room garden house with own bathroom/shower. Like the family home, this garden house is 100% solar powered. The garden has many mango trees. Adjacent to the garden is a small lake, that belongs to the neighbouring orphanage that houses 70 kids between 5 and 20 years old. In the grounds of the orphanage there is also the young solar energy company where Jeroen works. There is also a training centre from PicoSol foundation (www.picosol.nl) where international students stay to do their projects for Kamworks all year around. Together with Kamworks, the orphanage and the PicoSol students, we form a small community.

Figure 1: Kika and Joel (r) playing in the garden.

What do we offer?

• Flight (max USD 1000)

• Food (lunch and dinner) during week days, and lodging

• Salary: USD 150/month

For Dutch nationals: If you react quickly there still is a small job available for a Dutch language teacher for 3 hours a week in Phnom Penh, paying

approx 300 USD per month. starting date august 2009.

Interested?

Please send your CV and motivation letter (incl planning) to miraweber@yahoo.com

Frequently asked questions:

• Is there malaria? No, there is no malaria. however we are very very careful with mosquitos and all rooms have mosquito netting and we sleep under a mosquito net also. We advice to follow the instructions from your doctor.

• How safe is Cambodia? We feel very safe. In the countryside you are much safer from theft or robbery than in the city.

• what about the landmines? This problem is mainly in the provinces near Vietnam and Thailand.

• Do people speak English? In the cities they do, on the countryside it is harder. But basic Khmer greeting and counting is not too complicated and helps a lot.

• What is the food like? The Khmer food is delicious! it has lots of tastes and is very healthy. It is not as spicy and refined as the Thai food but still is very tasty and diverse. And the range of fruits available is simply astounding. You can take Khmer cooking classes in Phnom Penh.

• What are the means of transport? Public transport is not very reliable. Local people all have a small scooter. Mira or Jeroen drive to Phnom Penh 2-4 times per week for shopping or work. There are also tuktuk (sort-of motorized rikshaw) or taxi’s available on call.

Some impressions:

Figure 2: The nearby pagoda of the Buddist centre

Figure 3: Weekend at sea, Okke sitting on the beach, rain coming.

Figure 4: taking a ferry across the Mekong river

Mira Weber

froukje Pera