Impressions about Cambodia by Mom

Ferry crossing the Mekong from Prey Veng to Phnom Penh

Sam visiting Mekhala House, an organization she works at

I’ve been home for awhile since our wonderful trip through Cambodia with Sam.  I am more comfortable with visual than verbal expression, but I haven’t been able to sort through all the photos I took there either.  There is so much we was and did.  But I think daily of Cambodia and the people we met there.  When people ask about the trip, I find it hard to distill it into words.  I can only imagine how powerful this experience has been and continues to be for Sam, but it was a privilege to share at least these few weeks of experience with her.  I know that she has had a deep effect on the lives of those with whom she has spent time, and that she’s taken a lot from her relationships with them as well.

Bike loaded up with cleaning goods for sale

Pagoda dogs and kids

Map of skulls in the shape of Cambodia in remembrance of the Khmer Rouge genocide at Tuol Sleng

The beauty and simplicity of life in the Cambodian countryside has deeply affected me, though there are few things that directly relate to my life in Berkeley, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.  There is so much that we take for granted here, in our privileged society.  Our education, our cultural heritage, our sustenance are all remarkable and yet we feel entitled to them.  The hardworking, straightforward people of Cambodia in many ways have more, though I see their culture being encroached upon by our many western “advances”.  I do hope that they can grow and share in the world’s wealth without the corruption that usually accompanies societies as they are modernized.  Cambodia is blessed with generous and beautiful people, and I am thankful to have had this chance to experience life there, however briefly.

Our guide in Battambang at the top of Phnom Sampeau

Praying at Phnom Kulen in Siem Reap province - this monk was covered in tattoos about Buddhism

Thanks Mom for your valuable insights! Dad and Lex, I challenge you to do the same...

Projects: postcards and yoga

2^nd year sure feels different than where I was a year ago, especially when it came to how I handled a less than desirable situation I found myself in yesterday. I was on my way back from celebrating the Pchum Ben holiday with some good PCV friends in Kampot. When one goes from Phnom Penh to Prey Veng, they usually must cross the Mekong by car ferry that only takes 5 minutes to go from one side to the other. There is usually a short wait to get onto the ferry where women are hawking various delicacies: crickets, larger beetles, sticky rice, mangoes and much more. During the big holidays of Pchum Ben and Khmer New Year, the lineup for the Neak Luong ferry can supposedly be several hours in duration (http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/at-the-neak-leung-ferry-terminal-bribes-pay-the-way-44330/). I figured that luck was on my side as I saw the lineup on Thursday purely in the opposite direction I was heading: toward the countryside and away from Phnom Penh. I was very wrong. Our Country Director in Cambodia says that PCVs around the 1 year mark are at the height of “arrogant ignorance”, meaning we think we know everything based on our experiences thus far, and at this point I should be starting to realize that my accumulated knowledge reveals all the intricacies I have yet to unveil. My old rickety bus arrived at the lineup and quickly turned around to find a “shortcut” where an official was bribed and we sped down a small muddy road…until we hit the rest of the buses and tooris who had the same idea. After we were stopped for maybe 30 minutes without making progress, I figured we would be there for awhile, but my estimation did not match that of my driver who told me we might arrive at my destination around 10 PM. I was aghast as that was 7 hours later and we were only 30 km away despite the ferry crossing. The driver and the bus attendants quickly acquired some BBQ and beer (don’t worry the driver only had a couple over the 3.5 hours wait) and I continued to read my book. It was that moment of incredulity that a year prior would have maybe driven me to tears as a result of extreme frustration over my lack of control. But now, I just accepted it and sat calmly. I arrived a couple hours before the ETA, happy to see my family and arrive home.

Along with emotional wisdom, things are a bit smoother in the 2^nd year as my expectations adjust accordingly to schedules around holidays and commitment of my students to studying. I am also about to start up 2 projects involving postcards and yoga, respectively.

The first project is called Cambodian Correspondence and its success depends on the involvement of you, your friends, family, co-workers and anyone who is willing and able to send a postcard to my students here. Big thanks to my friend stateside, Jen Renteria, for setting up this blog for me. Check it out!!: http://cambodiancorrespondence.tumblr.com/

The second project is called the Village Yoga Project, started by a K5 volunteer, which I will be beginning this weekend at the orphanage I work at here. Thanks to the generous donations of family, friends and anonymous donors I am able to connect two NGOs to build physical and mental health through regular practice of yoga. Krama Yoga (http://www.yogacambodia.com/Templates/KramaYoga.html) will send two trained Khmer teachers once a month to provide classes at Mekhala House which I will support along with staff from the orphanage. In the following weeks, I will teach classes to reinforce and practice what the students learned already. This project will continue for 8 months, and I will continue to document it here. 

write us!: http://cambodiancorrespondence.tumblr.com/