Today (Thursday) concluded my orientation to Global Service Corps Cambodia and what a week it’s been. Tuesday morning I had a basic Khmer (pronounced kuh-my) language lesson, then went to meet the students and teachers at a school that I will be teaching at in August. The school is for the children of extremely poor factory workers and farmers in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. There is a huge problem in Phnom Penh, like in cities all over the world, with street-working children where poor parents send their kids out to sell things to tourists rather than attend school, so while my trip was supposed to be primarily orphan-oriented, I am more than happy to step in at this school. Other NGO’s and volunteers rarely visit this type of school which is unfortunate. I went in each classroom and introduced myself, then helped the teachers line the students up for morning dismissal where I got to take some pictures and videos. THANK YOU THANK YOU to my wonderful sister Amy for giving me a camcorder for graduation!! I already have amazing footage of the kids and can’t wait to collect more!!
So Tuesday started off pretty smooth, and I assumed it would be a typical day in Cambodia… but I was so wrong. I generally consider myself to be a pretty adventurous person, but never ever in my wildest dreams have I imagined doing something as daring, as risky, and as adrenaline-pumping as I did on Tuesday. Ok, so there I was having lunch with the Director of the school and his wife when she asked me what was in the neighborhood of my apartment. I replied that I had seen a coffee shop, some nice Khmer and foreign restaurants, a bookstore, a pharmacy, a salon, and casually mentioned that I thought about stopping into the salon for a haircut while I was here (but not seriously), and that was it. Game over. As if I had said I needed emergency surgery, she urgently sprang up and said she had a friend who would just love to do my hair!! Before I knew it, she had made me an appointment in 20 minutes and asked her husband to drive me over. Half of me didn’t have the heart to decline especially with how excited she was about it, and the other half was curious as to how this would end. I arrived at the salon and was escorted to a chair by the owner and presented with a “book of style” to pick a cut. I flipped through the pages and the worried feeling in my stomach grew with each page flip as the styles got worse and worse. Finally, I took a deep breath and thought to myself, “this is going to happen and there’s no point stressing over it. When In Cambodia. Just have fun. Go with it.” So I did just that and asked for just a trim, showing her that I just wanted about an inch off. 10 minutes and a heap of hair on the floor later, I looked in the mirror to see my mop/mullet/puff/Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club look for the first time. Some of my hair sits on my shoulders, but most of it comes right to my ears. It’s interesting to say the least but you know what, the smile on her face after I put my thumbs up and said I loved it was enough for me. Hey, it may not be the most stylish look but it was the most fun haircut I’ve ever had.
After I got all beautified, Sophy took me to a temple to learn about Buddhism, and then we went to a meeting with the director of Friends International. This NGO is an amazing organization that works with street children to give them resources to better their lives. They have helped over 2,000 Cambodian children get off the streets by providing education, vocational training, and employment opportunities. Tourists who come through this and other cities take pity on child beggars and children selling things, when the truth is the children rarely benefit from donations. There is almost always someone above them who will take all or most of the money. This is why you should never give money to street children even though it breaks your heart not to. You’re just fueling the cycle and making it worse for them instead of making their lives better. This is why NGOs like Friends International, and the school I mentioned earlier are such wonderful organizations. They are doing something about the problem and giving the poor youth of Cambodia brighter futures.
Yesterday and today were spent learning Khmer, visiting schools to assess their educational needs, and touring Phnom Penh. It’s interesting that I so far have only had one negative experience in Cambodia (no not the haircut) and it was with an American. I went to a school this morning to meet the teachers and find out what the educational needs of the school were and was treated terribly by an American teacher, a man probably in his 50s. This brand new school is operated by the CSCS (Cooperation for a Sustainable Cambodian Society) and I was asked to provide first aid and basic child health and hygiene training to the teachers as well as whatever they wanted to learn. He yelled at me for interrupting his schedule, though I was sent there by his own organization at that time, and tried to put me down in front of the other teachers. Lucky for me, I’m still in my haircut mindset of SO WHAT. I brushed him off; if he doesn’t want to learn it then he doesn’t have to come to my training. The other teachers were very nice, so despite his sour behavior, I’m looking forward to returning.
Tomorrow I am going to Wat Opot and I could not be more excited!!!!!!!!! I posted the link on the right hand side of the blog page if you want to check it out. This is the orphanage that I told a few family and friends about that was opened by a former US Marine that cares for orphaned children, and adults incapacitated by AIDS. This should be a very life-changing experience that I look forward to sharing when I get back. I’m going about an hour outside of the city with no internet connection, so check back into my blog on August 6 when I return.
Thank you to everyone who is actually reading this! And as always, THANK YOU again to everyone who offered their money, prayers, and support to get me over here. Have a great day and a great 2 weeks :)
PS Sorry about the lack of pictures, I'll be sure to post some in my next entry about Wat Opot!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Day 1
After 6 months of planning and fundraising and 32 hours of traveling, I arrived in Cambodia late Saturday night. I was greeted by a humid, vibrant, busy city that won me over in the first ten minutes by its colors, sounds, smells, and its friendly people.
I got settled into my air conditioned (!!) hotel and got, surprising, a great and refreshing night’s sleep. Sunday morning I got up and set out to explore the intriguing Phnom Penh- but don't worry Dad, I didn't wander far from the hotel by myself. I managed to get a phone and SIM card and lunch without speaking a word of Khmer. Most people speak at least some English, but those who speak none are still very nice and try to help. In the afternoon, I had a visitor at the hotel- Sophy, the GSC Cambodia In-country coordinator, who came to move me to apartment where I will be staying during my time in Phnom Penh. Sophy is very sweet and smart. She has a degree in Food Technology and studied HIV mutation in a laboratory in Phnom Penh for 2 years before taking on this job with GSC. The apartment is a spacious 2 bedroom unit with a wonderful balcony. I will be living here alone until another GSC volunteer arrives in August, which normally would terrify me, but private security guards monitor the street and there are residents above and below me.
Today, Monday, began my orientation week in Phnom Penh and was focused on Cambodian history, especially the Genocide. We first visited Tuol Sleng prison which was a secondary school converted into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. The classrooms had been converted into cells and torture chambers. We walked through the rooms that were covered in pictures of the victims, as well as actual photographs taken of the prison during its use. Anyone who is not familiar with the Cambodian Genocide of the 1970s should research it because it is really worth studying. Between 2-3 million Cambodians were killed during 4 years under Pol Pot. The devastation is being felt even today, and families are still grieving. Sophy’s parents both survived the Khmer Rouge, but her grandparents and all other family members were killed. We never learn about this in American schools, and while I understand there is a lot of world history to cover, I feel that this is too significant to skip over.
After visiting the prison, we traveled 15 km south of the city to the Choeung Ek killing fields where 20,000 prisoners from Tuol Sleng were taken to be killed in mass graves. Seeing this place was very disturbing and numbing. I won’t go into much detail, but the kinds of things that these people did are just beyond sick. Some of the leaders are just now being tried by the UN but no sentence will make up for their actions. In 1980 some of the mass graves were dug up to find and count remains. Over 8,000 bodies were uncovered before efforts ceased, though only about 60% of the graves were explored. A monument was constructed at the site to house the remains in 17 tiers. The bottom tiers that were visible to us featured countless skulls that left an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
When we were still at Tuol Sleng, Sophy pointed out a man to me who was sitting on a bench in the prison courtyard and shared with me his story. He was a prisoner at Tuol Sleng and was sent to the killing fields. Standing in front of the mass grave, a Khmer Rouge soldier hit him in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious into the grave below. He laid unconscious all day and the soldiers assumed he was dead, but during the night he came to. When he realized where he was he quietly looked around to find no guards present, got out of the grave and escaped to the forest where he hid until the regime was over. He is one of 7 people to survive Tuol Sleng and today sits quietly in the courtyard and reflects.
My first day orientation day in Cambodia was jarring, yes, but has already made me appreciate this culture so much. It’s been only 31 years since the Khmer Rouge lost power and in that short time, this country has come back to life. In 1979 there was no religion, no education, no economy, no electricity, no family networks, nothing. But here they are 31 years later, alive and thriving.
I found free Wi-Fi at a coffee shop down the street close to my apartment, but it’s starting to get dark so I better be getting home. I hope everyone has a great day, and thank you again to all who helped me get here :)
I got settled into my air conditioned (!!) hotel and got, surprising, a great and refreshing night’s sleep. Sunday morning I got up and set out to explore the intriguing Phnom Penh- but don't worry Dad, I didn't wander far from the hotel by myself. I managed to get a phone and SIM card and lunch without speaking a word of Khmer. Most people speak at least some English, but those who speak none are still very nice and try to help. In the afternoon, I had a visitor at the hotel- Sophy, the GSC Cambodia In-country coordinator, who came to move me to apartment where I will be staying during my time in Phnom Penh. Sophy is very sweet and smart. She has a degree in Food Technology and studied HIV mutation in a laboratory in Phnom Penh for 2 years before taking on this job with GSC. The apartment is a spacious 2 bedroom unit with a wonderful balcony. I will be living here alone until another GSC volunteer arrives in August, which normally would terrify me, but private security guards monitor the street and there are residents above and below me.
Today, Monday, began my orientation week in Phnom Penh and was focused on Cambodian history, especially the Genocide. We first visited Tuol Sleng prison which was a secondary school converted into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. The classrooms had been converted into cells and torture chambers. We walked through the rooms that were covered in pictures of the victims, as well as actual photographs taken of the prison during its use. Anyone who is not familiar with the Cambodian Genocide of the 1970s should research it because it is really worth studying. Between 2-3 million Cambodians were killed during 4 years under Pol Pot. The devastation is being felt even today, and families are still grieving. Sophy’s parents both survived the Khmer Rouge, but her grandparents and all other family members were killed. We never learn about this in American schools, and while I understand there is a lot of world history to cover, I feel that this is too significant to skip over.
After visiting the prison, we traveled 15 km south of the city to the Choeung Ek killing fields where 20,000 prisoners from Tuol Sleng were taken to be killed in mass graves. Seeing this place was very disturbing and numbing. I won’t go into much detail, but the kinds of things that these people did are just beyond sick. Some of the leaders are just now being tried by the UN but no sentence will make up for their actions. In 1980 some of the mass graves were dug up to find and count remains. Over 8,000 bodies were uncovered before efforts ceased, though only about 60% of the graves were explored. A monument was constructed at the site to house the remains in 17 tiers. The bottom tiers that were visible to us featured countless skulls that left an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
When we were still at Tuol Sleng, Sophy pointed out a man to me who was sitting on a bench in the prison courtyard and shared with me his story. He was a prisoner at Tuol Sleng and was sent to the killing fields. Standing in front of the mass grave, a Khmer Rouge soldier hit him in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious into the grave below. He laid unconscious all day and the soldiers assumed he was dead, but during the night he came to. When he realized where he was he quietly looked around to find no guards present, got out of the grave and escaped to the forest where he hid until the regime was over. He is one of 7 people to survive Tuol Sleng and today sits quietly in the courtyard and reflects.
My first day orientation day in Cambodia was jarring, yes, but has already made me appreciate this culture so much. It’s been only 31 years since the Khmer Rouge lost power and in that short time, this country has come back to life. In 1979 there was no religion, no education, no economy, no electricity, no family networks, nothing. But here they are 31 years later, alive and thriving.
I found free Wi-Fi at a coffee shop down the street close to my apartment, but it’s starting to get dark so I better be getting home. I hope everyone has a great day, and thank you again to all who helped me get here :)
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