Cambodian Village Life Gives Perspective

On the way into a CambodianVillage one early morning I found myself thinking how important it was for me to go into these villages with an open mind. I needed to observe, listen, and try to understand their struggles while reserving all possible judgements. This is not always an easy thing to do as we will often wonder why don't they do this, why don't they do that....it is not always that simple, that black and white. During the meeting - based on forestry inititatives, sustainability and conservation - there were many women in attendance (yay) but with women come children. They were often running around naked, topless or bottomless. I often could not tell if they were boys or girls. There was one moment when I looked into the faces of someone of the dirt covered gorgeous children and my mind flashed to the World Vision commercials we see on TV at home. They have been dealt some unfrotunate circumstances, yet they are still children, full of hope and innocence. It often seems unfair to see any human living in poverty but children are often the hardest. This village was not at the bitter end of the poverty scale which allowed me to believe they weren't starving or suffering.

One thing I struggled with was how they dealt with garbage. They don't. Garbage is thrown on the ground or in the ditches along the roads. Now obviously they do not have a garbage service where someone comes along and picks up each households trash everyday so what else are they to do. On our ride home from the village the skies were clouded with a smokey haze often from burning piles of garbage. I have learned this is their basic solution to garbage accumulation.

There were many times on this day I felt my presence was useless haha. I could not speak to the villagers as they spoke Khmer and I speak English. I was asked to help entertain the kids so they wouldn't distract their mothers - I feel like I failed horribly at this task. I did not understand an iota of what was said or what was going on haha. All I could do was smile and hope to be accepted as a foreigner not only in their country but in their home as well. Being there all I wanted to do was see everything and HELP. Buuuuut I came to realize as I was riding on the back of a moto back to Siem Reap that my purpose of visiting these villages was not so I could help these people or change their circumstances ... it was for me, for me to gain perspective and observe. I have been given a wicked hand in life and it is because I am so fortunate that I got the opportunity to go to these villages and see some NGO work being done. These experiences can only enhance my own future and my understanding of this world.

I wish I could have or would have learned more about the people but it was difficult and I STRUGGLE with language barriers, it is one of the hardeast things I deal with while travelling, honestly. Just one of many challenges I encounter along my journey. But I leave you with this - always think twice before you judge someone elses circumstances and always think twice when you build up expectations of an experience to come. Life often plays out in a way that we never expect it to. Someone once shared with me a wonderful way to look at life.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it, or basically life is what you make of it, so go out and friggin live it guys!!  

I send good vibes and love from Cambodia! xoxox

Battambang!!

This blog post is a little delayed as this is what I did LAST WEEKEND. But it deserves its own entry because I loved loved loved this place so much. I only spent 2 and a half days there but jammed in quite the itinerary.  It was a place that always left you with a smile on your face and a warmth in your heart. It gave me a true Cambodian feel!

My trip started with a short 3 hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Battambang- there are always multiple stops along the way and you are never quite sure when exactly you arrive at your stop -  for me it is generally when most people get off – follow the white people! Haha Once you get off you are bombarded with tuk tuk drivers trying to take you on tours and others yelling to see if you have a hotel booked and they all stand right outside the bus door so you can barely get out.  

I weaved my way through and met up with a couple volunteers who made the trip up from Phnom Pehn. The first afternoon we did a tour of the countryside and some of the smaller villages along the Sampeoung River and ended with the killing caves and finally the bat cave! The killing caves were yet another place to see and remember the reign and terror of the Khmer Rouge. This place has a local temple which during the reign was used as a prison where prisoners were then thrown through a gaping hole into a deep cave. Could you imagine? Pretty eerie and one of those situations where it is so hard to imagine, visualize or know what to say, think, or do.

Our moto driver/guide was a young boy trying to make money to finish highschool. He told us something interesting... they don’t teach the history of the Khmer Rouge in school. He is very interested in that time but has to go to outside sources to learn. I wonder if they don’t teach this history because the horror is still so fresh in many people’s minds. Our tuk tuk driver lived and survived the time of Pol Pot and still fears of a Communist return.

Once we descended from the killing caves we sat at the bottom of this “mountain” with a slit opening in the side which is the home of millions of bats you can see them fly around inside. But right around sunset all of the bats fly out in a swarming cloud. They do this each night to go and feed and return to the cave in the early morning. The clouds of bats reminded me of the clouds of bugs you see in movies like the Mummy! Nature never fails to surprise me!

The following day we did a bike tour through the countryside and parts of the city where we saw how rice paper was made – I even made a couple! :P, we saw how banana chips are sliced and dried, moved onto a rice wine “factory,” a fish paste market and finally another killing field (Killing fields are found all over Cambodia – over 300 places throughout the country) A great bike tour with a little exercise too! J

I do want to share one story of one of the families we visited during our bike tour – They were the ones who sold dried bananas. They can earn between 5-8 dollars a day and must support a family of 8. You can imagine the difficulty it must be to support a family of this size with such a small income even in Cambodia.  Before Pol Pot took control of the country this family was relatively comfortable all things considered. They had a home of their own and land to grow gardens and raise some livestock. When Pol Pot ordered the evacuation of the cities the family was forced to leave their home and all of their possessions. Many of the members of this family were lucky to survive the 4 years of the Khmer Rouge but they were late returning to their home and found others had taken it as their own. There was only so much they could do and attempted to take legal action, though many obstacles stood in their way. First of all Cambodia did not have any legal property rights before Pol Pot took power so there was no legal rights of this family to their home or their land. Second, legal advice and a lawyer cost money something they obviously had none of after slaving in the fields- they were lucky they had their lives. After 20 some years they did finally gain their house back but not their land and now try and make a living selling dried bananas. A middle man will come to their home every few days and buy the product and take it to the markets to sell. There are so many untold stories of the victims and survivors of the Khmer Rouge. Its unfathomable.

Ok onto happier and hopeful things – the Battambang Circus!!

This circus performs 3-4 times a week by students. There is a school in Battambang dedicated to the arts, music, drama, and acrobatics where street or orphaned children can attend and learn these skills. The performances support the school and the children. It was such a happy experience- left with such a happy heart seeing the smiling faces of these kids and how much fun they seemed to be having during that performance – spectacular!

My weekend came to a close with a morning Kayak tour down the river before taking the bus back to Siem Reap– another view of the various villages. At one point I was bombarded with smiling Cambodian children where they almost flipped my kayak! Haha It was scorching hot on the water but it was again such a “beautiful” site. I say “beautiful” because the water is murky and muddy, the banks are lined with garbage and you see the poor conditions many people are living and yet.... there is a sense of beauty and simplicity in it all. As I was floating down the calm almost glass like river, I was heated by the warmth of the sun, I heard the cries of the cicadas in the trees and received big “hellos!!” from kids in every village or home we passed. It is such a contrast to our way of life back home.  These are the things I love about travelling, seeing the diversity and variability in how people in this world live....and with how little.

Think about what you could live without...

Still to come àMY FUNDRAISER!! J Ive organized a fundraiser for next Friday March 29^th J

CHECK OUT MY Gofundme page - http://www.gofundme.com/2crvfc?pc=fb_cr
 Its another way I am trying to support my organization and raise funds for a well-deserved project that I truly believe in. Was that not a message I left you with before – Whatever you do, Believe in it! ;) Be The Change You Want to See in This World J I am trying!

Whatever your doing- Believe in it!

I have now been in Cambodia for 2 weeks time and I am loving this place. Yes it is extremely hot with little to no relief from the heat (unless you go away on the weekends and book a room with A/C haha) but it is slowly capturing my heart.

I was told many times how nice the people of Cambodia are and this has been a proven fact to me on many occasions. Not only are the tuk tuk drivers willing to just give you a smile, hotel managers will go out of their way to make sure your needs are met and the cooks at my volunteer house are always worried about us eating enough. But the one person who has impressed me the most is the director of my organizaiton that I am volunteering at. She is truly a phenomenal woman. She started the organization called Rachna Satrei, meaning Womens Empowerment in Khmer, in 2005 with her own money. This was after she had volunteered full time while going to school with other local NGOs. Once she had graduated from university, where she received a degree in management and accounting, she was recruited by local trade unions to advocate and lead their cause against the government. 

It was during this time that she was a strong advocate for women working at the temples in Phnom Pehn and had to deal with many misgivings as the government and many others did not like what she was doing. So in between speeches in court and rallies in the streets she was working towards getting her organization off the ground. It was in 2007 when she received her first big grant to begin her projects. Her projects embody many different directives including advocacy, agriculture and skill development, women's empowerment, networking, food security as well as women's rights and gender equality. 

But as I spent only 2 hours with this woman learning about herself and her organization I saw emotions of all kinds. She showed me determination, passion, love, tears and tried to explain to me she just wants to help the women of Cambodia. She has experienced and seen victims of trafficking, domestic violence, rape and many other atrocities that women in this world experience everyday. The one message she left me with was that whatever we do in this world- Believe in it! And it doesn't have to be on the scale of starting ones own NGO,  it could be as a teacher and believing in the value of education, a daycare worker enjoying the priceless smile of a child, the soft hum of a newly tuned engine by a mechanic who loves working with his hands or the stroke of a paint brush by a professional or amateur artist. As long as you believe in the value, the beauty or the importance of the things in your life you're living a good one!! 

Sheer Magificence!

Cambodia has been a place which has shown me some truly majestic sites and true inspiration. 

My second weekend in Cambodia, after spending just a few days orienting myself in Siem Reap, I became the volunteer with the "local knowledge" of what to do and see by my fellow volunteers who travelled up from Phnom Pehn. We shopped, we ate, we bargained the hell outta those markets and got some really amazing keepsakes. Not only did we shop but we pampered ourselves with massages and pedicures followed by some much deserved icy blended fruit drinks - some may have called them margaritas :P

But the truly amazing experience of the weekend was visiting the temples of Angkor Wat. We spent one full day touring the majestic temples of Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, the Bayon, the Elephant Terrance and ending the day with the sunset viewpoint where we could see Angkor Wat popping out of the jungle in the distance. The following day we awoke before the sun was even thinking of rising and made it to Angkor Wat before the sunrise. The rest of the morning consisted of a couple more temples one of which wasa named Prah Khan and wow was it magestic and wicked! The walls had amazing colours painted on them, there were trees surrounding the structure in all directions, the carvings were fading as time laid its toll.

It blows my mind the capacity and ability of the people who built these temples. How could one build such magestic and gorgeous pieces of art and on such a massive scale. I dont know a lot about the history or how these structures were built but they were beyond words phenomenal. We spent our time weaving through fellow tourists, snapping pics, and wiping the sweat off our brows as we got to soak up the wonder that surrounded us. Could you imagine the one to have discovered these temples? Built up in the middle of the jungle come these massive temples, covered with carvings, and surrounded by nature on all sides. Gah so amazing!!!!!!! In hind sight we should have hired a guide for even a couple temples to learn a little about the history- NEXT TIME! :P

Cambodia Day 1- the Killing Fields

I arrive in Phnom Penh this morning bright and early after my flight from Bangkok. I picked up my visa and my baggage and was through customs in a flash where Someone from my organization awaited my arrival just outside the airport doors. A short tuk tuk ride later and I was at the volunteer house. It's a simple little place with a tiny kitchen, a few floors with rooms for us volunteers, the bustle of construction outside my window and the sounds of the neighbour kids laughing. This is more what I had imagined for my Asia travels.

Phnom Penh is far from a glamorous city- at least what I have seen of it. We aren't located in the tourist district at all but tend to get starred at by the local people. This I have confirmed by two volunteers in the house who have been here for 2 weeks time. I was lucky enough that they had planned to go to the Killing Fields this morning- a must see memorial of the Khmer Rouge genocide. My placement is going to be in Siem Reap so after my orientation tomorrow I will be leaving the capital and heading up North to the more touristy city of Siem Reap- the home of the Angkor Temples!!

First I must tell you about the Killing fields. Not a glamorous site to visit but a must see for the city of Phnom Penh. We haggled our tuk tuk ride there and paid our 5 dollar admission for a headset audio tour. I thought the audio tour was fantastic and very easy to follow as it instructed you to different locations and explained the history and events that happened there.
For those of you who don't know much about the Khmer Rouge I will explain a little here. In 1975 Pol Pot took the city of Phnom Penh (forgive me I am not a historian at all and am going from memory of what I had learned this morning so if some details are off I apologize). Ultimately Pol Pot's goal was to create a land of complete equality. He began this process by shuttling people from the cities and into the rural countryside where they were sent to work on collective farms. The goal was to triple rice production- an unattainable goal by any standards. Many people from the cities lacked the knowledge or skill to work in the agricultural fields and many died of starvation and exhaustion.
The killing fields and the Tomgle Sap s21 prison were where other major atrocities took place where the elimination of intellectuals, politicians, teachers, religious figures and even people with "soft hands" took place. Anyone considered in a position to counter Pol Pot's regime were sentenced to death. Many were first taken to the prison where they were tortured to give confessions of their plans to thwart the regime. Throughout Cambodia there were over 300 killing fields, the one in Phnom Penh is just one site. Over 3 million Cambodians were killed during the murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge. At the killing fields we saw mass graves, truck stops where the people were shuttled in, clothing and a large stupa in the centre which was built to house and display over 9000 skulls of the victims who were recovered.

The site which took over me and all my senses was the Killing Tree. This was located near a mass grave. When the site was first found the tree was covered in blood and held fragments of bone and brain and it was uncertain as to why. When the grave was uncovered 166 women and children were found. Babies and children were thrown against The Killing Tree where their skulls were bashed in, their bodies then thrown in the adjacent grave site. I can't even imagine this is my mind without wanting to throw up, I couldn't hold back tears. Around each grave site people have left bracelets in memory of the victims- this is where I chose to leave my Livestrong bracelet, a bracelet I have worn since high school. I felt it was a good fit to put a positive thought into a negative location to represent strength and hope.

Over-all I am so glad that I went and visited this site despite the brutality of it all. This was a reality for the people of Cambodia and is something I must understand in order to build relationships with people during my time here. We are so fortunate in Canada- us white European descendants anyway- to never have to live, see, or even speak of atrocities such as these towards one another. I am forever grateful for the amazing country I live in and the safe haven it provides for me.

HELLO CAMBODIA- TUGGIN AT THE HEART STRINGS ALREADY-On Day 1

Full Moon and Goodbyes!

FULL MOON and Goodbyes!

Bear with me folks this will be one of my longer entries since I have been slacking! Give yourself a couple extra minutes of distraction for this one

Now my memory is a bit foggy as to where I left off last time and my wifi is currently lacking but I'm writing an entry anyway and will post it when the connection is better.

So I will start with my departure from the majority of my FNEZ group. There were 6 of us who were travelling back to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon where the rest of the crew would be heading back to Bangkok. Goodbyes are never fun and always produce tears in my eyes cause for me there is no knowing when or if I will see these wonderful people again- one of the downfalls of group travelling.

But the main thing to remember is not to cry cause its over but to smile because it happened :)

FULL MOON!! Man the anticipation of this thing was huge! We had 3 full days back in Haadrin before the party. So naturally I spent way too much money on Full moon swag! It was just too easy and you all know I like a good party :) My group and I painted ourselves up reeeeeal good- pictures to come on Facebook soon! I promise! The beaches were lined with bucket stands, stages and huge poppin speakers!  We hopped from one beach bar till the next, danced till we were dripping with sweat and howled at the moon--- all till the sun decided to rise! Now I can Cross that off the bucket list!! Yeeeeah buddy!!

I luckily had a full day of recovery to sleep and pack up my stuff once again before heading back up to Bangkok. Now travelling from any island requires multiple forms of transportation. From Koh Phangan to Bangkok we had to take a taxi to the pier, a 2 1/2 hr ferry, jumped into a coach bus for another 2 hours till we finally reached the train station to catch our 12 hour night train to Bangkok! Yep it's that crazy! But I made it safe and sound where I had to leave my final Free and Easy travellers as they continued north to Chang Mai. My first time alone in Asia!

I am off to Phnom Phen in one days time where I will have a 2-3 day orientation. I just received my placement where I will be for the next month and a bit! Ill be lending my helping hands at Rachna Satrei Organization located in Siem Reap! I can't wait for the next chapter to begin!!
N
GOODBYE TO THE LAND OF SMILES AND HELLO CAMBODIA!!