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.