Since i have some more time to update on my travels, im going to give a play by play of the past few days i have had in Cambodia. (NOTE: Spell check doesn't work on these computers so i apologize for my stupidness)
Thursday July 1- We arrived after a long journey to the Angkor International Hotel in Phnom Pehn, where i learned that i was going to be a program leader at the Cambodia Orphanage program located in Kampong Cham. I traveled over here with another flight leader named Brent, who I met in Baltimore during my interview process in April. He has been a member of rustic pathways for 4 years and knows what is going so i was much more comfortable with everything. The other two leaders on my program are Emily and Katie, both of whom are new to Rustic, but Emily has been here for three weeks so already knows the lay of the land with the program. Anywho, Thursday was mostly a settling in day, and we ate dinner and passed out.
Friday July 2- early in the morning we head out for a short tour of the city which included the Kings Mansion and the Killing Fields. I wont go into much detail now because I'm going to be visiting these sites at least two more times and honestly was extremely tired through both tours. In the afternoon we stopped at a roadside stand on the way to kampong cham to try eating some spiders. When we got off the bus a hoard of little girls ran up to us and place enormous spiders on our chests and tried to get us to buy pineapple from them. Most of the students tried eating the spiders, including myself, and honestly it just tasted like a barbecued potato chip. Three hours later we arrived at the hotel and had a short meeting, dinner, and went to sleep to prepare for a day working at the orphanage.
Saturday July 3-Breakfast on Saturday was a treat. We eat in a restaurant named Smiles, that is right next door to the hotel. The restaurant serves a range of food, but for breakfast we get pancakes, eggs, toast, fruit, and an abundance of nutella since Cambodia is a former French colony. Also, the coffee is served in a french press, although we are pretty convinced that its instant put into a press. After breakfast we head off to the market for the girls to all buy sarongs and shawls to cover themselves when we head to the temple in the afternoon. the market is filled with fake watches and sunglasses, and just about anything you could possibly need for your entire life. The orphanage we are working at isn't the typical orphanage you would think of. Its a program set up by a monk that takes kids in during the day who live with foster families and gives them a place to play with other kids after school and learn about Buddhism and other things. there are several projects that the rustic pathways staff is working on. One is to help weed rice paddies and gardens that provide the center with food. Two is to build a patio for the kids to play on and for the staff to relax on(the project that I'm currently in charge of). Third is to build a playground. And finally is to help repair a road that has recently been flooded. This first day we only received a brief tour of the projects and the temple complex there.
Saturday July 4- This day was spent only doing volunteer projects. In the morning we helped build up a retaining wall in one of the rice fields (picture at top). We are fortunate enough to have kids who aren't afraid to get dirty and everyone was really willing to give a hand carrying large baskets of dirt and rocks into the waist high water and mud. There is a lot more to write about but i don't have much time and its hard to remember everything. I'll blog again in a few days but enjoy this so far!!
