And We Danced

“And we danced, and we cried, and we laughed and had a really really really good time. Take my hand, let’s have a blast and remember this moment for the rest of our lives.”  These few lines of Macklemore’s and we danced capture our trip so well.

On Friday the third, everyone knew it was our last day.  You could see the love in everyone.  We got to spend the afternoon with the kids. We all danced on the stage, CGA and CPO together as one. While dancing, it hit me that this was the last time I would ever dance with these kids. I fought back tears until I realized I had the opportunity to spend time and be present with people I love so much.  So together we danced and laughed. I will never forget teaching each other new moves and laughing in attempt to live up to the CPO dance moves. This time spent dancing was the happiest I’d ever been.

The kids then performed for us. The younger dancers did cultural dances, while the older dancers did modern hip hop. It was an amazing show. The CGA students then had to follow their dances with a routine to Uptown Funk choreographed by Sarah and I. Everyone thought it was ridiculous, but we had so much fun and our audience loved it.

After a dinner of rice, salad, and fried chicken, items that we purchased at the Russian market that morning, we all had to say our goodbyes. When Sam Nang, a ten-year-old boy, ran up to hug me as he always does I thought nothing of it. When I looked at him to tell him I love him and saw tears streaming down his face, I pulled him into my arms and we clung to eachother unlike ever before.  I let go and hugged everyone else. Rath told me, this is not goodbye but rather a see you again. This made the tears a little more bearable.

On the walk back to the tuk tuk, I held Hoeun's hand and held Sam Nang in my arms. This was the last time I would ever feel his warm embrace. Putting him down was hard and he held my hand as long as he could. 

As we pulled away I saw thirty pairs of big, puffy eyes watch us. Hoeun, Lao and Paneth ran with our tuk tuk holding our hands as long as they could. When they couldn't keep up any more I watched Hoeun's fingers slip out of mine. They kept running behind us until we could no longer see them.  The end was one of the most painful experiences of my life. 

I will miss the laughs, the dancing, and the smiles forever. I will cry more tears, but in the end, I made memories with the most amazing people, who I will never forget.  I'm leaving with a smile, because everyone had a "really really really good time."

Khmer

In everything you do in Cambodia, you must overcome a language and cultural barrier.

On Thursday I got the opportunity to work in the pre-school. All of the kids were either in a blue skirt or blue pants and a white and red shirt. This puts into perspective how badly they want to learn. Most of them live in the slums where their streets are covered in trash, yet they still go to school every day. Despite only barely understanding us, they were able to follow all of our directions.

Sunday, Halsey and I got to plaster walls for the girls expansion. Although at first I was not excited, I then realized "I am a 15 year old girl in Cambodia, plastering a wall, in a bathroom for 18 of the most deserving, kind, young women I have ever met." I was then able to push myself to do more than I ever believed possible, in over 100 degree heat.

Later that day, I was able to talk to Srey Po, she works hard at school, in the kitchen, and she's kind and loving. She has 11 brothers and sisters. Srey Po came to CPO 6 weeks ago with her brother who now works at the preschool we teach in. He is the only family member she has had communication with for a year and yet she treats every member of CGA like family. Everyday Srey Po gives me hugs and kisses. She is only in Level 4 for Khmer school at age 13, and is very embarrassed. Despite this, she hopes to go to a university and become a doctor. Although she is only in Level 1 english, her body language and frequent communication make understanding her easy.

I was in the school for a third time today and I felt like it was my best day teaching. I am so lucky to be in a school teaching english to these bright young students who are so eager to learn as a way to better their future.

Khmer is difficult for us. English is difficult for them. Love doesn't have to be translated for it is an international language understood by everyone.

Love is Beautiful

So much can happen in a day here. The days go by quickly but you can accomplish so much.

Sunday, Sarah and I scrubbed and wall in the boys dorm.  We disinfected them and beat the dust from the pads they sleep on.  It was always so exciting when you get a patch of adhesive and dirt off the metal frames.

Monday, Katie, Haily, and I took ten kids to the dentist along with Lisa Marie and our translator Meng.  This was so exciting because many of the kids had never been to Phnom Pehn from their village, Adong.  On the Tuk Tuk, Haily Srey Pi, Srey Niat, Srey Ta, Srey Pa and I were singing and laughing together. We had known each other for days but you would have never been able to tell from the way we loved one another.  

Every kid was so excited to be at the dentist.  They each had at least five cavities and all of the younger kids had empty shells where their full teeth had once been.  It was hard to see the kids cry while they were being worked on.  Almost all have to go back later to get even more work done. Thinking back if someone has a cavity or toothache in America they will fix it as soon as possible.  These kids have gone years with cavities unimaginable to most people.

Yesterday and today I was in the school across the street from the orphanage.  The classrooms are about ten by twenty feet and the school is two stories.  There are two classrooms upstairs and a library on ground level.  Despite having to go to school I have yet to see anyone have less than a smile on their face while in that building.  It makes me so happy because most of the time they don’t have anyone to tell them to go to school.  They go because it is an opportunity to better them and it will give them more opportunities in the future.

In the Library during tutoring you read to the kids, play patty cake, help with pronunciation or simply just talk to the kids.  They are all so grateful for our help, including the teachers. 

Haily and I spent a lot of time with two older girls, Son Pen and Srey Nien.  They are both 17 and learning the same things as people their age in America.  They come to the lower English school to tutor and teach younger kids.  We were able to have full conversations and get to know one another very well. They are so kind and I am so excited to have gotten to meet them.

Cambodia is beautiful. It might have streets lined with trash and new smells at every corner, but the people’s open hearts make it one of the best places in the world.  Without the love the have and their willingness to let us in, we would never accomplish any of the things we do in a day.

Sam Nang

Everyone knows what it feels like to be so in love you can’t look away when you’re near them.

In the three days we’ve been at the orphanage we’ve done so much.  We picked up trashed all over, began washing everything and began expanding the girls dorm a CGA team  built three years ago.  We are adding a bathroom and more space.  While digging the hole for their toilet (a hole in the ground) really put into perspective how lucky we are.

All of the kids are wonderful but I have connected with one young boy more than any other.  I met Sam Nang three short days ago at a performance by the older kids. I held his hand all night.  The next day he helped me with everything I was doing and this morning he looked at each CGA student until he found me.  Every time we make eye contact he runs over for a hug.  Seeing him makes me want to work ten times harder.  His bright wide eyes inspire me to do more.  The language barrier makes communication nearly impossible but I can tell we share a love for each other’s hugs. He and I danced in the rain, we hold hands, play “ball” and I swing him around.  Every piece of trash, shovel of dirt, or lice bug I pick is all for him.  I do each thing for him and think of the orphanage in everything I do. 

On the tuk tuk ride home we were talking about how much we miss out parents and how much they impact us.  Then Courtney pointed out that the kids at CPO, the orphanage, don’t have parents and these bonds we share.  This made us realize how much we’re doing for these kids.

Later in our ride a little girl was walking across the chaotic road begging for food and money.  If the kids didn’t have CPO they would be the ones on the street begging for food and money.  I am so proud to be helping such a great cause.  I can see myself learning and growing so much and I am personally seeing the changes I make impact them.  In three days my life has changed and I can’t wait to see myself after three weeks.

Almost There

Just a few more weeks until I leave on a second life changing adventure with CGA! Up until recently, preparing for my trip included studying Khmer and raising money. Recently we have started to create lesson plans and collect supplies to take with us. It is becoming very real and my excitement is growing. The most difficult part has been the fundraisingbecause I raised all of my money by working. This took a lot of effort but I am very proud to say I did it! Learning the language really is a way of contrasting the U.S. to Cambodia. Many languages heard in the US have cognates or words that sound similar. In studying Khmer I have yet to find a cognate. Because I learned Swahili for my trip last year I am able to compare it to English and Khmer. All of these languages are so different, just like the world we live in.

We will be traveling to a place where people live in "shacks" and have nothing compared to us. This will be difficult, but my biggest fear is the emotional attachment I will have and loose with the kids in the orphanage. Many students from past trips have expressed how difficult leaving was for them. When we leave the only communication we will have with our new family is through the Internet. That means I will never again be able to hug the kids and people I hope to grow very close with. I have never experienced this type of loss and I am very scared to have to.

I have many goals for this trip, my biggest being my hope to inspire at least one student to further their education from the school at the orphanage and go as far as they can. I know all of the kids will most likely have this goal because education can take you wherever you wish to go, but I hope to inspire one student to do something incredible so one day they too can give back to those less fortunate. I will do this by working hard to teach students personally and make learning fun for them.  This will be a difficult thing to do, but I really hope to one day get a message that a student is doing incredible things.  A second goal, as the same for everyone on my trip, is to make an impact and change the lives of the students. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I hope we are able to impact them as much as they impact us. I plan to accomplish this just by giving my all every day I am working and every time I am in the classrooms.  One of my final goals is to teach all of the kids the Macarena. This may seem silly but in Tanzania this brought so much joy to the students of LOAMO and I hope to spark that joy in the kids in Cambodia.

Living on One Dollar

For this blog we were asked to watch the movie Living on One Dollar.  In the movie, four college students travel to Guatemala for two months and attempt to live on a dollar a day.  They struggle with a lack of food, health and financial stress and feel all hope is lost.  While in Guatemala, they received help from 20 year old Rosa and 12 year old Chino. Rosa and Chino help the students to use their money wisely, gain more nutrition and collect supplies.

I  was amazed to see how many people around the world are struggling with this level of poverty. 1.1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day all around the world.  This is just over 14% of the world. Until I watched this movie, even after my service trip to Tanzania, it never really hit me as to how huge the poverty problem is, and it still hasn’t completely sunk in.  Even worse, most of America does not realize that this is a problem in the world around them.  

I do not think I would be able to survive in these conditions.  I have grown up in a life where everything I own is more than one dollar and I am used to living in a world of expensive goods and taking things for granted.  Although I wish this was not the case, I know it is, and there is no way to change that.  I would be able try for a few weeks, with preparation.  This preparation need to require learning how to prepare food and learning what is best to eat. I would also need to be in great shape so I could endure the farming and labor that would come with living in these situations. If I had to go from what I have now to a life in that level of poverty, I most likely wouldn’t survive because I would be leaving everything I have adapted to and quickly need to adapt to a new way of life. I do not feel as though I am physically or mentally able to do that. I believe if I grew up with that life, I would find a way to survive.

I think the most challenging part of living in poverty is the lack of food. In a blog from one of the travelers, he said they had to split 36 calories between the 4 people.  That is not nearly enough to sustain anyone.  Although many people are able to grow their own food, many problems can arise such as a drought or too much water.  Also people might grow sick and become unable to tend to their farms, leading to death of their crops.  At the beginning of the movie, they attempted to cook rice and beans.  Rice and beans have very little nutrition. Although they eventually learned how to get more food at the market and expand their variety, the students were still eating far less than they needed and not getting the proper nutrients from a variety of food. 
        A second most challenging part is the level of stress that comes with this poverty.  In the movie there were days in which the boys made no money.  Also, they had to pay $6.42 for rent with this income.  This was something they had to budget for and made it so they had even less money to use on what they needed, for example emergency medical situations, or other important materials.

The largest difference between my culture and the culture in Guatemala is many children do not go to school because they must stay home and work.  Only 60% of the school will graduate the sixth grade.  Many students fail classes because they often have to miss school to go to work.  Also many girls get married at the age of thirteen. This is a part of the Guatemalan culture. 

I think one value that is different for me and the people of Guatemala is how close their families are.  Although I am very close with my family in the movie it showed a couple, Rosa and Anthony, who live in the village.  They invited the students in for food. WIth them lived their three children, Anthony’s mother and Anthony’s Aunt.  This may have been due to financial struggles but in my eyes you live with your parents and siblings and only visit your aunts and uncles.

By watching this video I now have a better understanding of the struggle people go through every day and I understand how many people live.  This has again reminded me that often the things we want so bad are just material things we don’t need.   Although I will never understand how these people live, it opens my eyes to the world around us and how lucky I am to have what I have.  This movie has made me want to give so much more now and I know it will make me work harder while I’m in Cambodia.

Cambodia's History and Culture

For our past meeting with Team Cambodia, we were asked to research various parts of the Cambodian culture and history. Here we learned some interesting and incredibly tragic things.
Cambodia has a culture, much different to that in the US. One US dollar is worth 4,064.95 Cambodian Riel. The men do not show many feelings, and women are shy. Woman do not show their shoulders, or their knees when the dress. In Cambodia there are many farms. People often do not wear shoes, or they wear rubber sandals. When you approach someone, you must bow, especially when approaching an elderly. I also found it interesting that the head is sacred and it is considered rude to point with your feet.
About 95% of the population is Buddhist.  In Buddhism, people are trying to reach "Nirvana" by living to give back to the universe. You are never supposed to touch the Buddhist statute. When at the statue though, you must bow three times with your feet tucked.
Cambodia also has a very unique government.  In 1863 they were controlled and protected by the French. In the 1960's Cambodia becomes independent from France.  In 1975 Pol Pot over threw the government. Since 2004, Norodom Sihamoni has been the king. Since they now have a constitutional monarchy they are allowed to trade globally.  An interesting fact about the Cambodian government is that Pol Pot's sister was one of Sihamoni's father's wives.
Cambodia has a tragic history. The Khmer Rouge was the group of people who overthrew the government in the 1970's. They began to run a communist government and were aided by the Vietnamese. They wanted an uneducated peasant farming society.  In 1973 bombs were dropped killing about 3,000 people. This gained much respect for the Khmer Rouge. In 1975 they overthrew the government and Pol Pot became the dictator. 1975 was known as Year Zero, because they were looking to "cleanse" Cambodia and get rid of all outside culture. Foreign languages were banished and there were very few people in Cambodia who weren't Cambodian.  You had to work for the food you received. In 1976 they turned a high school into a torture center, the S21 Prison. This is the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide today.  Of the 14,000 people who were recorded to enter the prison, only 7 survived.   The executions were carefully kept track of and 6,000 portraits were recovered.  The head of the S21 Prison was Kang Kech Leu, also know as brother Duch. People would be beat and tortured so they would tell information but many times they made up false stories. There were many forms of torture including skinning and slitting throats.  People who were pale were executed because they were believed to be educated and spent a lot of times indoors. People with glasses must be executed because they need glasses to read. People with smooth hands were executed because they didn't work in fields. Families were split up. All of this killed between two and three million people, about 25% of the population. The killing fields where were thousands of people would lie dead after execution in open pits.
The history of Cambodia, though seems to be a nightmare is very real. Learning about this really opens up my eyes about the country I am lucky enough to travel to and has definitely changed my outlook on Cambodia.