I'm currently sitting in Taipei airport, 1/3 of my way through my journey back to Canada. Words cannot describe how much I will miss Cambodia. The people, culture, food, atmosphere, everything. The country captivated my heart and I know I will be back as soon as I can (and maybe for good).
This summer has changed me in so many ways. I don't feel like the same person I was when I left 11 weeks ago. Part due to seeing a developing country, but also in part due to being so impacted by so many wonderful people. I've met and befriended people from around the world; I've had experiences that will never be forgotten.
I'm so upset this summer is coming to an end, but at least I know I have somewhere to go back to and that will always feel like home.
Sunday 18 August 2013
Wednesday 14 August 2013
Last Days at Anjali & Thailand
Last Thursday was potentially the hardest day I've had to endure in my entire life. I said goodbye to my students at Anjali house who, over the past several weeks, have taught me more about life then I ever thought possible. I hope my students learned as much from me as I have from them.
It's easy to forget how easy we have it in the west until you teach in a school where almost every student comes from a family that makes less than $1/day. Ideally I'd like to work for Anjali one day, if they'd take me of course, but I can guarantee they have not seen the last of me. Those students will continually be my pride and joy; their infectious smiles will stay in my mind for quite awhile.
Once I finished at Anjali I went and met up with some fellow volunteers in Thailand. After spending a day in Bangkok with my fellow Eastern European volunteer, I headed to the island of Koh Chang for a reunion with my roommate. I sincerely don't think I'm cut out for island life. As touristy as Koh Chang was, I still didn't find it too enjoyable. Plus I was rented a faulty moto and almost crashed several times.
After staying on Koh Chang for a couple days we decided to move back to Bangkok, which is where I sit until I fly home on Sunday. This city is unlike anything I expected from Southeast Asia. I feel like I'm back in North America, not Asia. The contrast of the poverty in Cambodia versus Thailand is ever apparent and somewhat hard to come to terms with.
Bangkok itself is also hard to come to terms with. The amount of prostitution I have seen in the past couple days is so off-putting. I understand that's how it works in this part of the world, but finally seeing it for myself is another eye-opener. It is so astronomically uncomfortable, and yet it's the norm here. Sad life, but that's how it is.
Three and a half more days left in Asia before I head home. It's a bittersweet notion, but I have the most fantastic memories of my 11 smiling Anjali students to keep me going once Canadian culture hits me again.
It's easy to forget how easy we have it in the west until you teach in a school where almost every student comes from a family that makes less than $1/day. Ideally I'd like to work for Anjali one day, if they'd take me of course, but I can guarantee they have not seen the last of me. Those students will continually be my pride and joy; their infectious smiles will stay in my mind for quite awhile.
Once I finished at Anjali I went and met up with some fellow volunteers in Thailand. After spending a day in Bangkok with my fellow Eastern European volunteer, I headed to the island of Koh Chang for a reunion with my roommate. I sincerely don't think I'm cut out for island life. As touristy as Koh Chang was, I still didn't find it too enjoyable. Plus I was rented a faulty moto and almost crashed several times.
After staying on Koh Chang for a couple days we decided to move back to Bangkok, which is where I sit until I fly home on Sunday. This city is unlike anything I expected from Southeast Asia. I feel like I'm back in North America, not Asia. The contrast of the poverty in Cambodia versus Thailand is ever apparent and somewhat hard to come to terms with.
Bangkok itself is also hard to come to terms with. The amount of prostitution I have seen in the past couple days is so off-putting. I understand that's how it works in this part of the world, but finally seeing it for myself is another eye-opener. It is so astronomically uncomfortable, and yet it's the norm here. Sad life, but that's how it is.
Three and a half more days left in Asia before I head home. It's a bittersweet notion, but I have the most fantastic memories of my 11 smiling Anjali students to keep me going once Canadian culture hits me again.
Sunday 4 August 2013
Weekend Excursions
This past weekend a couple of us decided to venture out to Anlong Veng, aka the last Khmer Rouge stronghold during the war. To this day many of the affluent people in the community and/or politicians have descended from former Khmer Rouge officials.
Anlong Veng is a dusty little town situated very close to the Thai border. All it really has going for it are sights relevant to the Khmer Rouge, ie. Pol Pot's house & grave, Ta Mok's house & grave, etc. Citizens seemed a little confused to see white people wandering around the town.
We really only spent time seeing Ta Mok's house as everything seemed to kind of blend together and look the same.
After spending time in Anlong Veng we ventured to the hometown of our Khmer staff member. This was an extremely exciting experience for me as it gave me a chance to see what the real Cambodia is like, and it doesn't even come close to comparing to Siem Reap. The poverty was ever apparent, but so was the happiness. The experience was one that I will definitely remember from my trip and I hope I can experience something else like it before I head home.
Anlong Veng is a dusty little town situated very close to the Thai border. All it really has going for it are sights relevant to the Khmer Rouge, ie. Pol Pot's house & grave, Ta Mok's house & grave, etc. Citizens seemed a little confused to see white people wandering around the town.
Saturday 27 July 2013
Typhoid and Temples
I woke up Wednesday morning with a slightly upset stomach. Much to my surprise, half an hour later, I was burning up with a fever, so achey I couldn't move, had such a sore throat I couldn't even whisper, and felt like I was on death's doorstep.
I figured once I gained enough strength I would head on over to the doctor! He diagnosed me with tonsillitis, yay! He gave me a bag of medication and sent me on my way. I arrived home and within two hours my fever had skyrocketed and I was so out of it I was semi-conscious. So I headed on over back to the doctor, but this time with my roommate in tow as she was feeling ill as well! A thorough exam and blood test later we were both told we had salmonella typhi, aka typhoid. This is probably the most disappointing diagnosis I could've gotten considering I paid out the wazoo for the typhoid shot before I left home, but I guess it's better than dengue! There's 3 stages of typhoid and unfortunately mine came out the highest so I was admitted to the hospital and had my first overnight hospital stay ever! Needless to say I'm an expert in Cambodia's medical system after these few months.
However, I am now on a rigorous dose of antibiotics and slowly on my way to recovery! I've been given a bland diet (which I may or may not have swayed from one or twice ;)..) I was feeling well enough this weekend to head on over to Beng Mealea, which is another Angkorian era temple that was built in the 12th century that's roughly 70km from Siem Reap. Beng Mealea is the most perfect example of Mother Nature taking back what was once hers. The entire temple is in ruins, devoured by the tree roots that it once disturbed. It was definitely worth the MOTO!!! trip up there to see it. I've been dying to ride a moto ever since I got here and since Westerners can't rent them in SR (too many incidents) I had to resort to using our CVF staff as a driver. It was worth it though! Also, contrary to what you may believe it IS possible to fall asleep on the back of a moto..it happened to me several times, almost resulting in serious problems for me.
I've also developed an extremely bizarre food palette while here, including corn (I know mom and dad, don't be too surprised. Still probably won't like Canadian corn), cooked porks blood, fish sauce on almost everything, fermented fish paste (Khmer cheese aka. prahok), and an unhealthy amount of chilies.
I can't believe how fast time is flying here. This is the one trip I've been on that I have never wanted to end.
I figured once I gained enough strength I would head on over to the doctor! He diagnosed me with tonsillitis, yay! He gave me a bag of medication and sent me on my way. I arrived home and within two hours my fever had skyrocketed and I was so out of it I was semi-conscious. So I headed on over back to the doctor, but this time with my roommate in tow as she was feeling ill as well! A thorough exam and blood test later we were both told we had salmonella typhi, aka typhoid. This is probably the most disappointing diagnosis I could've gotten considering I paid out the wazoo for the typhoid shot before I left home, but I guess it's better than dengue! There's 3 stages of typhoid and unfortunately mine came out the highest so I was admitted to the hospital and had my first overnight hospital stay ever! Needless to say I'm an expert in Cambodia's medical system after these few months.
I can't believe how fast time is flying here. This is the one trip I've been on that I have never wanted to end.
Saturday 20 July 2013
Markets and Olympics!
Last weekend my students participated in a Junior Olympics put on by the volunteer organization Globalteer. Globalteer works with many of the NGO schools in the area to provide a sports education to children who would not receive it otherwise. Sports education like they provide is virtually non-existant in Khmer public schools.
The students spent several weeks working on their track and field skills, as well as their potato sack racing, egg and spoon racing, and three legged racing skills as well! Eventually they all gathered at Siem Reap Stadium, which contrary to what you might think, is one of the hardest things I've ever had to get a tuk tuk driver to find here, and competed away!
Each NGO school was given a country to represent, and Anjali House represented Kenya! I had to teach the younger students a Kenyan song and dance, which was an amusing experience for everyone involved because I know virtually nothing about Kenyan culture; we also had to make flags for our country, and Taj Mahal class (my classroom) killed it!
Following the Olympics, each school was given a certificate as well as some medals! Overall it was an extremely fun, albeit ridiculously hot day.
I've also decided I need to be somewhat touristy while I live here and actually take photos of daily life here in Cambodia. Everything seems so normal to me now, but I know when I go home seeing cows grazing in the middle of the city won't be so normal anymore.
Yesterday I decided to have a market adventure. Cambodians are smart and have realized using all parts of the animal is better than nothing! (something we take for granted in North America for sure). I'm also proud to say I've eaten some of the stuff in the photos, but I'll leave it up to you to guess what it could've been!
The students spent several weeks working on their track and field skills, as well as their potato sack racing, egg and spoon racing, and three legged racing skills as well! Eventually they all gathered at Siem Reap Stadium, which contrary to what you might think, is one of the hardest things I've ever had to get a tuk tuk driver to find here, and competed away!
Each NGO school was given a country to represent, and Anjali House represented Kenya! I had to teach the younger students a Kenyan song and dance, which was an amusing experience for everyone involved because I know virtually nothing about Kenyan culture; we also had to make flags for our country, and Taj Mahal class (my classroom) killed it!
I've also decided I need to be somewhat touristy while I live here and actually take photos of daily life here in Cambodia. Everything seems so normal to me now, but I know when I go home seeing cows grazing in the middle of the city won't be so normal anymore.
Yesterday I decided to have a market adventure. Cambodians are smart and have realized using all parts of the animal is better than nothing! (something we take for granted in North America for sure). I'm also proud to say I've eaten some of the stuff in the photos, but I'll leave it up to you to guess what it could've been!
Wednesday 10 July 2013
Some Facts on Cambodia
Most of my blog posts have been riddled with photos of me having fun, getting tattoos, breaking bones, etc, but I feel like I should do a small post about Cambodia and some of the kids I work with. It's hard to describe what it's like here without experiencing it, but I'll try my best!
Cambodia's one of the poorest countries in the world. 30.1% of the population is currently living below the national poverty line, which is $0.61/day. This is an extremely high percentage for a population of 14.5 million people. 28% of children under the age of 5 are severely malnourished/underweight and 40% of children are chronically malnourished.
Unfortunately, the majority of my students come from families like this. When many families are unable to support themselves financially, they turn to their children to do the job. Almost every one of Anjali's students was a former street kid. That is, they had to beg or sell souvenirs to tourists in order to make money for their families. Many of these kids had to work during school hours and were unable to return home until they'd earned XX amount of dollars for their families, making attendance at school virtually impossible. Most, if not all, of my students have lived a life like this until they came to Anjali.
It might seem difficult to comprehend then why families would allow their children to come to Anjali instead of continuing to make money. Anjali subsidizes these families with bags of rice weekly. Every Friday the kids are given rice to take home to their families. This provides the families with some sort of food. They also provide interest free microloans to families whenever they may need it.
In Cambodia, all public school has fees attached. Students have to pay for uniforms, books, exams, supplies, etc, which is difficult for many families. Anjali subsidizes public school for its students as well. Students attend Khmer school in either the morning or afternoon and then come to Anjali. This provides students with a well rounded education in both English and Khmer.
Siem Reap is also one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia, which seems bizarre considering the number of tourists that flock here annually. It's an unfortunate reality for the local population and has been a real eye opener for me.
Hope this provides some info on where I am and what it's like! Despite the poverty Cambodia is so beautiful. I never want to go home.
Cambodia's one of the poorest countries in the world. 30.1% of the population is currently living below the national poverty line, which is $0.61/day. This is an extremely high percentage for a population of 14.5 million people. 28% of children under the age of 5 are severely malnourished/underweight and 40% of children are chronically malnourished.
Unfortunately, the majority of my students come from families like this. When many families are unable to support themselves financially, they turn to their children to do the job. Almost every one of Anjali's students was a former street kid. That is, they had to beg or sell souvenirs to tourists in order to make money for their families. Many of these kids had to work during school hours and were unable to return home until they'd earned XX amount of dollars for their families, making attendance at school virtually impossible. Most, if not all, of my students have lived a life like this until they came to Anjali.
It might seem difficult to comprehend then why families would allow their children to come to Anjali instead of continuing to make money. Anjali subsidizes these families with bags of rice weekly. Every Friday the kids are given rice to take home to their families. This provides the families with some sort of food. They also provide interest free microloans to families whenever they may need it.
In Cambodia, all public school has fees attached. Students have to pay for uniforms, books, exams, supplies, etc, which is difficult for many families. Anjali subsidizes public school for its students as well. Students attend Khmer school in either the morning or afternoon and then come to Anjali. This provides students with a well rounded education in both English and Khmer.
Siem Reap is also one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia, which seems bizarre considering the number of tourists that flock here annually. It's an unfortunate reality for the local population and has been a real eye opener for me.
Hope this provides some info on where I am and what it's like! Despite the poverty Cambodia is so beautiful. I never want to go home.
Tuesday 9 July 2013
Temples and Tattoos
Getting my first tattoo was thrilling experience, but it opened a Pandora's box to something terrible...I've fallen in love with tattoos. Naturally, with some slight impulsivity, I decided to get another. I knew as soon as the gun finished the first one that I was ready for another so I spent three weeks in an intense thought process deciding what to get.
One other particular Buddhist yantra stuck out in my mind. Originally I had trouble deciding between my first tattoo and what became my second tattoo when I was selecting designs for the first one. Angelina Jolie popularized the five lined yantra, which has protection against bad karma, curses, and danger and provides the wearer with good luck for the future and attraction. I was upset with myself for falling in love with a design popularized by a celebrity; I wanted something original. So I set out trying to find the same kind of concept, but done in a different way, and boy did I succeed. The outcome is fantastic and contrary to what everyone was telling me, rib tattoos do not hurt in the slightest.
I think I've finally satisfied my tattoo craving, at least for the duration of this trip.
Now that I finally have a non-casted foot and am not being attacked by bacterial stomach infections, at last I was able to go and visit the wonder that is Angkor Wat & surrounding temples. Contrary to what I expected Angkor Wat wasn't too impressive. The exterior/facade of the building is unreal but once I got inside I wasn't too blown away. It were the surrounding temples, such as Bayon and Ta Prohm, that I truly fell in love with. Something about exploring crumbling temples is more exciting than exploring one that is in one piece.
One other particular Buddhist yantra stuck out in my mind. Originally I had trouble deciding between my first tattoo and what became my second tattoo when I was selecting designs for the first one. Angelina Jolie popularized the five lined yantra, which has protection against bad karma, curses, and danger and provides the wearer with good luck for the future and attraction. I was upset with myself for falling in love with a design popularized by a celebrity; I wanted something original. So I set out trying to find the same kind of concept, but done in a different way, and boy did I succeed. The outcome is fantastic and contrary to what everyone was telling me, rib tattoos do not hurt in the slightest.
Now that I finally have a non-casted foot and am not being attacked by bacterial stomach infections, at last I was able to go and visit the wonder that is Angkor Wat & surrounding temples. Contrary to what I expected Angkor Wat wasn't too impressive. The exterior/facade of the building is unreal but once I got inside I wasn't too blown away. It were the surrounding temples, such as Bayon and Ta Prohm, that I truly fell in love with. Something about exploring crumbling temples is more exciting than exploring one that is in one piece.
Each of the Angkorian era temples were built between the 10th and 12th centuries. They were built by various different kings and each was built in honor of someone different/for a different purpose. Some are more heavily influenced by Hinduism whereas some are more influenced by Buddhist style. Regardless, they're a wonder to see and I several things in and around the temples rendered me speechless.
I plan on exploring some of the other temples that are farther away from Siem Reap, and they have a tough act to follow so I hope they're impressive!
Tuesday 2 July 2013
Beaches and Teaching
It's been quite awhile since my last post! Mostly because it's been absolutely nuts on this side of the world. I started a new placement last Monday and had a wonderful beach excursion over the weekend and haven't had much time to update everyone on my life over here!
I began my placement at an NGO called Anjali House last Monday. Anjali's purpose is to provide education to former street children who come from very poor families in the Siem Reap area. The majority of these kids have seen and experienced things that Westerners cannot even fathom. Anjali provides an English and General Studies education as well as meals and hygiene facilities, while also subsidizing Khmer school for all 90+ of its pupils.
My job is to teach General Studies lessons twice a day to my class as well as assist in English and computer classes. I ended up getting to choose my class, and I don't think I could've made a better decision. My students range from 11-16 years of age and are the sweetest and most eager children ever. They constantly have smiles on their faces and are eager and willing to listen to whatever I have to say.
For more information on the NGO, feel free to visit their website or send me an email!: http://www.anjali-house.com/
This past weekend I spent down at the beach (tough life, I know). We spent a day at the beach in Sihanoukville where I ended up with a horrible sunburn followed by a couple days on the island of Koh Rong. Koh Rong is a relatively secluded island, and after living in an extremely rustic bungalow for two days with stray dogs and giant lizards I realized I'm not quite cut out for rustic island living.
I began my placement at an NGO called Anjali House last Monday. Anjali's purpose is to provide education to former street children who come from very poor families in the Siem Reap area. The majority of these kids have seen and experienced things that Westerners cannot even fathom. Anjali provides an English and General Studies education as well as meals and hygiene facilities, while also subsidizing Khmer school for all 90+ of its pupils.
My job is to teach General Studies lessons twice a day to my class as well as assist in English and computer classes. I ended up getting to choose my class, and I don't think I could've made a better decision. My students range from 11-16 years of age and are the sweetest and most eager children ever. They constantly have smiles on their faces and are eager and willing to listen to whatever I have to say.
For more information on the NGO, feel free to visit their website or send me an email!: http://www.anjali-house.com/
This past weekend I spent down at the beach (tough life, I know). We spent a day at the beach in Sihanoukville where I ended up with a horrible sunburn followed by a couple days on the island of Koh Rong. Koh Rong is a relatively secluded island, and after living in an extremely rustic bungalow for two days with stray dogs and giant lizards I realized I'm not quite cut out for rustic island living.
Two weekends ago I also went on the most wicked quadding adventure through backcountry Cambodia. Not only was it the thrill of a lifetime, but it also exposed me to a Cambodia I'd only seen while on a bus. Going only a few kilometers outside of the city gives visitors an entirely different impression of the country, and it's an area I'd love to explore more.
A month of my Cambodian adventure has already passed and it feels like just yesterday that I departed from Canada. 7 weeks left and I already don't want to come home. :)
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