What hours?
Savong's School runs two shifts each day, six days a week. The first shift is super-early: 5:30am until 7:00am. This shift is held at the request of the students - yes, you heard it right - who wanted a language class before the morning shift at the local high school where languages are not taught. The local State schools also run morning and afternoon shifts.
The morning shift may be early, but it is cool - and it is lovely to greet the students as they stroll and cycle to the school grounds, ready for a new day.
The Savong School afternoon shift runs from 1:30-2:00pm in the afternoon until 7:00pm in the evening. It is a 5 hour stint, quite hot work - but a good stretch of time to run cohesive lessons.
Sunday is a rest day.
Who is in the class. How many? What age?
The numbers vary each day and each week depending on the local farming schedule. In busy seasons classes are smaller because many if not most children are required on the family rice farm. (This is what crimps school attendance and literacy rates in Cambodia.) At other times attendance is very high. So a class may range between 15 students right up to what we think is the record: 68 students - jam packed in these small classrooms.
The morning shift children tend to be younger - aged 8 - 12 while the afternoon shift classes tend to have older children, but a range of ages: 12 - 20. It is quite common in Cambodia for older teens to return to school and to share the classroom with 12 year olds. They all get on really well. But for teachers it is important to pitch you lessons neither too young nor too old. You will get a mix.