Puppy

Just so you know, the MCC Cambodia office got a puppy and it's the highlight of my week.

Homestay

So the truth is I was really not looking forward doing a home stay. I don't think I'm to the happy I'm doing it anyway point yet, but it is nice to go home to a house with adorable children.

I'm living with a multi generational family. My host mother, hence forth called Maac (Khmer for mother), has her daughter and the 2 granddaughters living with her. One of her sons and his family live in an apartment downstairs. The two nights I've been there all of us have eaten dinner together.

The apartment is small. The main room functions as a living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom for the family. Maac sleeps on the only bed while her daughter and grandchildren share a mat on the floor. There are 3 little side rooms. One is a bathroom, one functions as a closet and storage area, and the other was converted into a private bedroom for me.

Though I am still a bit trepidacious about this whole host family thing, I'm looking forward to the adventures these next 2 months will hold.

Oooh! I finally got a bike! I have freedom of movement... not that I know how to get anywhere...

Phnom Penh and Prey Veng

 I can't believe I've been in Cambodia for more than a week. I also can't believe it's been only a little more than a week. I spent the first week in Phnom Penh, getting oriented to MCC Cambodia and to the city, then I spent the last few days out in Prey Veng.

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is different than any other city I've ever been it. It's very.. hectic. The streets are super narrow and dirty. The buildings are really close to the roads, with big fences and gates, and each building varies drastically from the next. There'll be a big multi-story new looking building next to a tiny tin roofed shack. There are always cars and bikes and countless motos driving in every direction. I haven't figured out geography yet. I'm normally pretty good at geography, but this city has me constantly feeling lost.

Prey Veng

Prey Veng is a town out in the country. It's a beautiful town, with grass and trees everywhere, only a few of the road are paved. It is surrounded by rice fields, which are flooded this time of year.

I went out to Prey Veng with this year's group of SALTers, MCC Cambodia's Yamen participant, and their Program Coordinators. While there I stayed with two of MCCs Service Workers. We explored the town, climbed a very small mountain, visited a Wat, had Khmer BBQ, tried dog meat, visited Monkey Island, got an introductory moto driving lesson, and talked and talked. It was interesting to get a quick glimpse into rural Cambodian life. I hope to be able to visit Prey Veng again soon.

Ba Phnom

Later today, I am moving in my host family, who I'll live with for two months. Then tomorrow morning I start Khmer (pronounced ka-mai) lessons. Here's looking forward to a busy, intense week.

Visiting the Killing Fields

Stupa at the Killing Fields in Choeung Ek.

As I sat on the bench, looking out across the gravel path at the pond, it could have been easy to forget. It could have been the simplest thing to pretend that this was just what it appeared to be: a beautiful garden, with trees and green space and little chicks running after their mother hens. But the voice in the audio tour around my ears and the shards of bone and cloth poking out of the ground forced me to face reality. This was not a beautiful, peaceful place. This was a place of horror, where thousands of people were brutally murdered. This was a Killing Field.

From 1975-79, Cambodia's government, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, imprisoned and killed anyone seen as a threat to their strict communist ideals. This included, but was not limited to, anyone with connections to the former government or foreign governments, professionals, intellectuals, ethnic and religious minorities, religious leaders, and their families- including children and babies. Over a million people were arrested and many were tortured into confessions. They were then brought to what we now call Killing Fields, where they were blindfolded with their hands behind their backs, made to kneel next to a pit that would be their graves, and then bashed in the back of the head and neck until they were dead.

After the Khmer Rouge fell from power, these Killing Fields, covered in mass graves, were discovered by the public. The graves were excavated so that the victims could be buried with dignity, in the Buddhist tradition. Still today though, they are still finding fragments bones and clothing scattered throughout these mass killing and burial sites.

One of the first things I did upon arriving in Cambodia, was visit the Killing Field in Choeung Ek, which has been establish as a memorial to those who were killed under Pol Pot's regime. It was a chilling and heart breaking visit to say the least. It was a reminder of why I am interested in the work that I do. Humans, despite their great ability for love and compassion, can, and have over and over again throughout history, enacted horrors upon each other for little or no reason. I hope that the work I do can contribute to a world where events like this one will never take place again.

I remember and pray for the victims of genocide and war and injustice in Cambodia and throughout the world. I pray for all those who have been effected by such devastation. And I pray that we all work towards a world where such things are unimaginable.

Here We Go!

Well today's the day. Here I am sitting in the Philadelphia Airport, waiting for boarding to start. I've said my goodbyes to my friends and family. I guess this is really happening!