THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH
SUNDAY 1st A: is for alphabet. Yesterday Ian made a new letter V to replace the missing one. Today I painted it yellow to match the rest of the alphabet so we can continue to use this puzzle in the little monks’ classes
MONDAY 2nd B: is for my beautiful, Bhutanese bag with a bell on it
TUESDAY 3rd C: is for croissants. Today’s treats in the little monks’ class were croissants as it’s a new word we introduced last week. We did a bit of review and then asked, “Do you like croissants?” As an introduction to “Yes, I do / No, I don’t”, then pretended not to offer one to the only boy who said, “No, I don’t”. It was so heartening to see others were sharing with him before we could get back to him to offer again. He was also cheeky enough to say “Vicky, pizza.... Thursday!” Pizza is another’s new word and Thursday is our next class! Ten points for initiative there, Chit but I don’t like our chances of getting a pizza at 8am on Thursday anywhere in Kep
WEDNESDAY 4th D: is for Dicewords - fun, compact word game using dice with letters on them
THURSDAY 5th E: is for earring. Just one as I have always enjoyed wearing three odd earrings and almost never change them. This one is “OM” 🕉️ and it hangs in my right ear when I’m not photographing it that is
FRIDAY 6th F: is for friends. Despite their struggles and difficult circumstances, the little monks of Kep are invariably cooperative and friendly with each other. I find it endearing that they frequently share and support each other
SATURDAY 7th G: is for Guru Rinpoche, the 8th century Buddhist Master accredited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan among many other things. This is an archive shot of the massive carved and painted rock image on the road towards Tango Monastery and Buddhist University near Thimphu. It was taken just over a month ago
SUNDAY 8th H: is for hammock in the chill out zone at Man'groove Guesthouse Kep. Hammocks are actually a big part of Khmer culture and more so at the beach. They always give off a holiday vibe to me
MONDAY 9th I: is for incense and incense holder. The scent of Bhutan wafts through the living room and brings with it memories of a dearly loved kingdom
THURSDAY 10th J: is for jetty at the fishing village in Kep Bay
WEDNESDAY 11th K: is for Kingfisher. We spot these regularly here, near the mangroves on the way to our monks’ classes but we never have a camera with us at that time so this is an archive shot from Battambang
THURSDAY 12th L: is for letters. Word finds are a great way to practise letters, spelling and phonics and the motivation and focus increases exponentially with being able to use highlighters
FRIDAY 13th M: is for monks. How could it be anything else? Our little monks in Kep taken during yesterday’s class when they were singing, “If you’re happy and you know it.” They look pretty happy to me
SATURDAY 14th N: is for nut- the king of the nuts: coconut. If this isn’t the best chocolate coconut cake ever I’ll want to know why! When you start with a whole coconut and remove the husk with a cleaver it takes starting from scratch to a whole new level
N2: The finished product
SUNDAY 15th O: is for ocean at a favourite viewing point near the Crab Market in Kep
MONDAY 16th P: is for pool where we have been swimming regularly for over two years now! I feel very grateful for unlimited access to this pool
TUESDAY 17th Q: is for quotes. For as long as I can remember I’ve kept little books of quotes and this year I did the 100-day project with quotes and photographs. This one from Mark Twain is one of many I go back to and read and try to live by
WEDNESDAY 18th R: is for rest, relaxation and reading. After several celebrations in the past week, it has been a cool rainy day, perfect for a quiet, relaxing time at home reading
THURSDAY 19th S: is for student - also studying hard and being a super speller! Duan delights in phonics and spelling things out. Here he is demonstrating his understanding of the difference between “e” as in pen and “ee” as in three
FRIDAY 20th T: is for tortoise. This one is a free ranging pet of a friend of ours
SATURDAY 21st U: is for uniform. This is a small group of my first ever home class in Bhutan, taken when we returned to travel in the kingdom and they were still in high school. Still the best uniform of any school I ever taught in, inside or outside of Bhutan. There is something timelessly elegant about Kira and Gho. These guys and their classmates are my all-time favourite students. They taught me more than I ever taught them
SUNDAY 22nd V: is for vegetables. These just finished roasting and the delicious scent of rosemary is wafting through the house
MONDAY 23rd W: is for wine. A rare treat in this household these days but purchased at the eleventh hour when I had nothing else for this prompt and currently being thoroughly enjoyed
TUESDAY 24th X: is for xylophone. Yesterday, I was given lots of puzzles for the little monks by a friend in Kep, who has just closed her school. I had to sit down and play with each one to ensure all the pieces were there and that our little boys could benefit from them. Some will be passed on but this one I’m sure they will love even with a couple of the centre pieces missing
WEDNESDAY 25th Y: is for yo-yos. Just a few of the many toys we possess in order to give the little monks of Kep some playtime after class
THURSDAY 26th Z: is for zucchini. These were fresh from the market this morning and inspired me to try a new zucchini, banana and chocolate muffin recipe
FRIDAY 27th WORDS: in Khmer script. They are printed on a canvas shopping tote bag. It says “say no to plastic” and I only know that because it’s written in English on the other side
SATURDAY 28th CURRENTLY READING: Anne Brontë’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”, which claims to be the world’s first feminist novel. I’ve been on a bit of a classics binge lately as my iPad screen in the background testifies. I used to hate reading on a screen and now I find I touch the pages of real books hoping to enlarge the print size or find a meaning. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. PS I had to borrow my partner’s phone to take this as both devices I read on were in the shot!!!
SUNDAY 29th MY NAME: is Vicky. As a teacher there was a time when labeling everything was the only way I could retain possession of my stationery. Now I’m retired these remaining items don’t get as much use as they once did, so they are still in use
MONDAY 3oth INSPIRATION: for me comes from many things but mostly from living in the moment and with gratitude. This snapshot of inspiration includes the joy and happiness of spending time with a great diversity of people, small acts of kindness, the beauty of nature and the brilliance of one young girl with the will and wherewithal to change the world
