Prek Pdao

I have survived my first one on one homestay. And not just survived, but lived it. I admit I was nervous going into it. I've never been by myself with a host family. The village is very rural and about an hour north of the capital, Phonm Phen. It is the hometown of our guide and good friend in Cambodia, Mara. In villages that are that rural the workforce consists mainly of farmers. They farm in the rainy season and bascially have summer break in the dry season, which is now. The majority of the time is spent sleeping in hammocks lol. But we did much more than that. Our daily routine consisted of going to language lessons in the morning, as well as discussions about the core values under global citizenship that dragons likes to follow and set as an example to for the students. Then we biked back to our houses on the red dirt road that runs throughout the town and is lined with various stilt thatch houses. After a heavy lunch was the communal napping period. Then some days were spent swimming in the Mekong, or going to English classes with my host sisters. Two days we even taught English at two different schools. It was a very rewarding experience. One class was three hours long, and we were told they were a little past beginners in English, so my partner and I were pleasantly surprised when they were much smarter than we thought. Not only smart, they also participated and loved the games we taught them. The other class was completely different. It was in the actual village, and the kids were shy, didn't want to participate, and quiet. I was actually teaching my host brother. He was in my class. But they participated if we asked them too and by the end of the class were more comfortable with us. I don't think being a teacher is in the cards for me, but I can definitely see the appeal.
My host family was so wonderful. The whole community was. My days consisted of me riding my bike and little kids saying hello in English just to get a hello back. My host mom always made sure I was fed, more than enough lol, and my host sisters always wanted me to participate in what they were doing. My host brother was shy towards me because I'm a girl lol. Such is life. My host father kept to himself mostly because he couldn't speak any English. Cambodians are wonderful. One night our host sisters and the group all got together and dressed up to go to a local dance party. It was the fruit and nut festival, but the dance wasn't really for that. It was funny haring American pop songs in Khmer. And then of course we learned how to dance traditional Khmer when the traditional songs came on. It was so fun. The little kids loved us dancing and were going crazy. It was the best part. The whole community was there just relaxing and enjoying the evening and probably having a good laugh at us foreigners. The last night was the traditional end of the homestay party. I think our host families were most excited for that. They sewed, by hand, our very own traditional Khmer dresses. They are beautiful. And, generous as they are, gave us presents constantly during the week mostly to wear for the party. I got a lot of jewelry. Then they caked our faces in makeup. It was very fun. Then we all went to Mara's house and ate a delicious feast, and danced the night away.
Leaving was harder than I imagined. My crying may have been partially sparked by my homesickness, but I was genuinly sad that I was leaving. What if I never see them again?? So it was a very emotional morning. Lots of tears, hugs, and goodbye waves. I have promised to keep in touch with my host sister that I absolutely adore. She is so sweet. All good things must come to an end I suppose. Now we are headed of to an island on the Mekong to do service work with an NGO called CRDT. It's supposed to be gorgeous. I will blog as soon as I can!

Phonm Penh

sok sabiy! that means hello. along with my language lessons the team has been very busy. after orientation at Kirirom National Park, which was a good start to our journey, we headed back to Phonm Penh. One quick note I am very proud to share is that in Kirirom I took my first bucket shower. Bery interesting. Countryside villagers don;t have showers so they put water into huge urns and pour water over them to shower. So me and the girls headed out in the traditional sarongs and kramas to bath in. It was a very cool experience. Not at all what I expected. The krama is used to cover our shoulders because it is inappropriate to show your shoulders here as girls. So, Phonm Penh. A bustling city, the capital, and similar to most third world cities you will visit. There is trash on the ground, geckos on the walls, sewage lakes in public view, outside vendors, controlled chaotic traffic, and much more. The equivalent to hostels here are guest houses. Were staying at one called Tatoo and its nice. So are the people. Out of all the countries I've visited, I've never met a people as kind and friendly as Cambodians. They will always grace you with a smile, and help if you need it. The food here consists of noodles in various combos, rice, and those two mixed in stir fry from with vegetables and meats. Not much variety, but its good eating. Fruit is also available in all the street markets. A couple days ago we went to basically the slums and into an apartment where the cambodian living arts dancers practice. They were very good. A big thing in their type of dance is to bend your handa backwards, which they do for hours a day so they can bend the back of their hands to their forarms. It's a painful process but looks so graceful. Yesterday we went to a monastery and had the god fortune of being blessed by four monks. They chanted scripture that wished us luck and happiness on our journey. It was the coolest sound I've ever heard. They have us red bracelets dipped in holy water to make it complete. That was an amazing experience. Today was filled with intense emotions. We visited S 21, a torture and prision camp during the Pol Plot regime. Then we visites the Killing Fields. WE were standing over the bones of thousands of lost souls. The mass graves were literally at my toes. It was brutal. The crimes the soliders commited were horendous. After that we came bak to the guest house and embarked on a journey to find two traditional healing methods that are popular here. Cupping and coining. Cupping is where they coat many cups with alcohol, then quickly put a flame inside to suck the oxygen out and put it on your back. Then your skin literally rises about an inch inside the cup. It feels like a thousand pounds of pressure was just placed on your back. A very uncomfortable experience. Coining is even more intense. They take a coin and in smooth, but hard strokes, rake it across your back, arms and chest many times. It just hurts. A lot. I had both done to me today. It was a good experience, but one I'm not so keen on doing again any time soon. Tomorrow we head to Siam Reap. Almost a week has gone by!

Hong Kong

Well, this is very fortunate. I have just spent 16 hours in a tiny cubicle watching all sorts of new movies and t.v. shows. Sleeeping was difficult. Overall, the ride wasn't bad. I have just discovered that the Hong Kong airport has free internet!! Awesome. So I decided to blog while I wait our next flight to Phonm Penh, Cambodia. It's only a three hour flight. Sooo....first impressions....we, as in the groups going to the Himilayas, Cambodia, and India, all met at the Hacienda Hotel. I immediately knew I was going to like my group. One, because it only consists of 8 people, which I am actually happy for, and two, because they are already cool. Maybe better than the people on my last trip lol, but I don't want to decide yet. The girls consist of me, Kim, Paige, Taylor, and Heather, a girl who's meeting us in Cambodia. The boys are Gabe, Jonny, and Robin. Everybody is chill and nice. So well see how group dynamics unfold. First thing I noticed, well that we all noticed once we arrived, was the humidity. It was only 5 in the morning but the temp was at 80 degrees. Were in for a treat. It's very quiet here, not many people in the airport. So I made it safe and sound for the biggest part of the trek, and I'll soon have more updates!