Bangkok was ... in a word ... Bangkok. Awesome, grimy, smoggy, fun, and just a little bit inappropriate. An experience to say the least. Julian, Thomas and I had a great time enjoying the famous Koh San Road with a tad bit of sight seeing added in. From there it was the longest bus ride(s) ever into Cambodia. A 3 hour ride from Bangkok to the border (which in "Thai time" is 5 hours) followed by a fake border inspection in which they try to convince tourists to buy visas and visa photos from them. Once we realized the scam and started making a bit of a scene they were quick to show us the legit immigration office. From there it was a short bus to the official bus station followed by a 2 hour taxi drive crammed into a car with a couple other backpackers one of whom was mumbling and snoring the whole time. FINALLY we arrived in Siem Reap ready for a hot shower and sleep immediately but..."We overbooked and now you need to go stay at this other hostel but it's just as good". Wrong. What an adventure. But I was finally back in Siem Reap - my most favorite Asian destination.
When I came to Cambodia in March of last year I immediately fell in love with it. It was nothing in particular at first. I just loved the energy and the smells and even the obnoxious "Hey Lady! Want fish massage? Tuk Tuk??" The last day of that trip I discovered my real reason for loving it so much. We decided that we wanted to do some good on our holiday so we decided to take some rice and school supplies to an orphanage. There were over 100 to choose from in Siem Reap alone. The horrific genocide of the Khmer Rouge in the not so distant past left an entire generation of Cambodians with no families, no money and no education. Thousands of children were left to beg in the streets either because they were orphans or, even worse, they had parents who forced them to work the streets to support the family. We found the New Life Center Organization (NLCO) on a simple black and white flyer that was hardly noticeable and decided to take the rice and supplies to them. Within a couple of hours I knew that I had to come back...I just didn't know when.
Flash forward to now - We just finished a week in Siem Reap working soley with NLCO and it has been one of the most amazing, frustrating and rewarding experiences of my life. We arrived everyday around 11 when the children got out of school. One of my favorite things was when we would round the corner to the dirt road the orphanage was on exactly when the kids were walking home - their faces would light up and they would start jumping up and down screaming "Hello! Hello!" Truly melts your heart.
Throughout the past year Ratha, the founder and sole owner of the orphanage, and I have stayed in touch through email, so I knew of some of the major hardships these guys have had. Last year they had 18 children and it was tough for them to all fit in the two bedrooms they had. This year they had 25. Two rooms was simply not enough anymore. Mats and beds had been placed in the school room and the office just to accommodate all the kids. We knew immediately that we wanted to help with this, so Julian and Ratha hopped on a motorbike one day to look at wood and supplies while I taught a lesson. When they came back they had an entire truckload of wood, bamboo and roofing. It was incredible. In the next week the structure began to take shape and on our last day (yesterday) we got to see a completed roof, front wall and part of the other walls. Despite it not being completely finished, they moved three beds under the roof and a few of the children slept there for the first time. It was shady and cool and much better than the overcrowded rooms they were used to. Julian and a another volunteer also built a chicken coop and a compost bin. We pulled weeds in the garden, played with balls and hoola-hoops, completed puzzles and sang songs.
The biggest issue with the children's school is that they don't teach any English. With Siem Reap being such a huge tourist town, knowing English is necessary to get a good job. The only English the kids learn is taught by the volunteers that come to the center - The only problem is that no one stays longer than about 1-2 weeks and there are about 100 different volunteers a year, some of which have never taught before. All of this = no consistency. I hate to admit how frustrated I got, just knowing that no matter what I taught them that week, it would probably be forgotten in a matter of days without practice. I struggled with the idea of staying longer, but I know that in order to make a significant difference in their English I would need to commit to a year...and I'm just not equipped to do that (yet).
Here's what the lessons generally consisted of.
- "What day is it today?"
- SUNDAY! (this was the answer pretty much everyday)
- "Today I feel..."
- Insert happy face, sad face, angry face, sleepy face
- We had some issues with happy vs. sad. Several times when one of the younger kids would start crying the others would run up and say "Cha! (short for teacher) She happy!" so close...but yet so far.
- Colors
- Some of the more advanced kids learned how to make sentences like "The fish is in the water. The octopus is in the water."etc....
No matter what, the lessons ALWAYS ended with The Eensy Weensy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus and If You're Happy and You Know It. They just LOVED to sing.
My favorite thing of all was the hugs. So many hugs. All day every day they just wanted someone to hold their hand and give them a hug. I was more than happy to oblige. Even Julian who isn't the biggest fan of hugs or kids couldn't resist these guys. It was so special in so many ways.
When it was time to say goodbye we gave our last round of hugs and climbed into the tuk tuk. All the kids came out to the front to wave us off and say goodbye. I made it around the corner and out of sight before I burst into tears (I was pretty impressed with myself to be honest). Words can't express the emotions of that week, but I do know that those children have left a mark on my heart that will never go away. I hope that no matter where I am that I can always be involved with this amazing group in some way, and hopefully one day I will be able to go back.
The last couple of days we did some sight seeing in Phnom Kulen with a group of 7. We saw the most sacred place in Cambodia, a natural spring and the amazing waterfall from Tomb Raider. Amazing. We made some new friends, danced the night away at Angkor WHAT? and enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner at the hostel. Needless to say, Siem Reap hasn't disappointed me once.
After an early mini van that took us to a bus parked on the street less than a mile away that took us to the actual bus station - we had a seamless 3 hour bus ride (which we were told would be 5) and arrived in Battambang right at lunch time. Cambodia round 2 begins...
When I came to Cambodia in March of last year I immediately fell in love with it. It was nothing in particular at first. I just loved the energy and the smells and even the obnoxious "Hey Lady! Want fish massage? Tuk Tuk??" The last day of that trip I discovered my real reason for loving it so much. We decided that we wanted to do some good on our holiday so we decided to take some rice and school supplies to an orphanage. There were over 100 to choose from in Siem Reap alone. The horrific genocide of the Khmer Rouge in the not so distant past left an entire generation of Cambodians with no families, no money and no education. Thousands of children were left to beg in the streets either because they were orphans or, even worse, they had parents who forced them to work the streets to support the family. We found the New Life Center Organization (NLCO) on a simple black and white flyer that was hardly noticeable and decided to take the rice and supplies to them. Within a couple of hours I knew that I had to come back...I just didn't know when.
Flash forward to now - We just finished a week in Siem Reap working soley with NLCO and it has been one of the most amazing, frustrating and rewarding experiences of my life. We arrived everyday around 11 when the children got out of school. One of my favorite things was when we would round the corner to the dirt road the orphanage was on exactly when the kids were walking home - their faces would light up and they would start jumping up and down screaming "Hello! Hello!" Truly melts your heart.
Throughout the past year Ratha, the founder and sole owner of the orphanage, and I have stayed in touch through email, so I knew of some of the major hardships these guys have had. Last year they had 18 children and it was tough for them to all fit in the two bedrooms they had. This year they had 25. Two rooms was simply not enough anymore. Mats and beds had been placed in the school room and the office just to accommodate all the kids. We knew immediately that we wanted to help with this, so Julian and Ratha hopped on a motorbike one day to look at wood and supplies while I taught a lesson. When they came back they had an entire truckload of wood, bamboo and roofing. It was incredible. In the next week the structure began to take shape and on our last day (yesterday) we got to see a completed roof, front wall and part of the other walls. Despite it not being completely finished, they moved three beds under the roof and a few of the children slept there for the first time. It was shady and cool and much better than the overcrowded rooms they were used to. Julian and a another volunteer also built a chicken coop and a compost bin. We pulled weeds in the garden, played with balls and hoola-hoops, completed puzzles and sang songs.
The biggest issue with the children's school is that they don't teach any English. With Siem Reap being such a huge tourist town, knowing English is necessary to get a good job. The only English the kids learn is taught by the volunteers that come to the center - The only problem is that no one stays longer than about 1-2 weeks and there are about 100 different volunteers a year, some of which have never taught before. All of this = no consistency. I hate to admit how frustrated I got, just knowing that no matter what I taught them that week, it would probably be forgotten in a matter of days without practice. I struggled with the idea of staying longer, but I know that in order to make a significant difference in their English I would need to commit to a year...and I'm just not equipped to do that (yet).
Here's what the lessons generally consisted of.
- "What day is it today?"
- SUNDAY! (this was the answer pretty much everyday)
- "Today I feel..."
- Insert happy face, sad face, angry face, sleepy face
- We had some issues with happy vs. sad. Several times when one of the younger kids would start crying the others would run up and say "Cha! (short for teacher) She happy!" so close...but yet so far.
- Colors
- Some of the more advanced kids learned how to make sentences like "The fish is in the water. The octopus is in the water."etc....
No matter what, the lessons ALWAYS ended with The Eensy Weensy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus and If You're Happy and You Know It. They just LOVED to sing.
My favorite thing of all was the hugs. So many hugs. All day every day they just wanted someone to hold their hand and give them a hug. I was more than happy to oblige. Even Julian who isn't the biggest fan of hugs or kids couldn't resist these guys. It was so special in so many ways.
When it was time to say goodbye we gave our last round of hugs and climbed into the tuk tuk. All the kids came out to the front to wave us off and say goodbye. I made it around the corner and out of sight before I burst into tears (I was pretty impressed with myself to be honest). Words can't express the emotions of that week, but I do know that those children have left a mark on my heart that will never go away. I hope that no matter where I am that I can always be involved with this amazing group in some way, and hopefully one day I will be able to go back.
The last couple of days we did some sight seeing in Phnom Kulen with a group of 7. We saw the most sacred place in Cambodia, a natural spring and the amazing waterfall from Tomb Raider. Amazing. We made some new friends, danced the night away at Angkor WHAT? and enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner at the hostel. Needless to say, Siem Reap hasn't disappointed me once.
After an early mini van that took us to a bus parked on the street less than a mile away that took us to the actual bus station - we had a seamless 3 hour bus ride (which we were told would be 5) and arrived in Battambang right at lunch time. Cambodia round 2 begins...
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