We have made it and it has been a blast! I slept for most of hour 13 hour flight… which was amazing. I tried three separate times to watch The Book Thief on the plane… I got through it eventually. Kate on the other hand watched four movies. We arrived in Taipei, Taiwan at 5:30 in the morning and wandered the airport for two hours. There wasn’t much there and we finally got on our flight to Phnom Penh.. which taxied for like 45 minutes and overall our flight was delayed but we got there. Got finger printed and through customs to find Debbie (taking photos of us as we walked out of the airport). We got in our van for our hour drive to the orphanage. The city has cows and trash, everywhere. Cows laying down, walking in the streets, eating trash. Cows for days.

By the time we made it here, we had missed lunch so we put our stuff down and walked to a small store in the village to have some lunch. The noodles were SO good! It was the perfect meal after a long trip. We sat and talked, caught up, cried, and walked back. Debbie gave us a tour around the orphanage and we met SO many of the children here.

Almost all of the buildings here have murals painted on them. Painted by teachers, students, and visiting volunteers and they are just beautiful. Quotes, paintings… here’s a few:

Dinner is at 5:00 so we headed over to eat some more noodles, rice, vegetables, and they had chicken. I have been eating vegetarian here. I can’t get the idea of the animals roaming free, and they all do- chickens, dogs, cows, roosters- eating the garbage and then us eating them out of my head. Other volunteers eat it, I tried some once, Kate has had it a few times (if she can tell what it is) and it is perfectly fine. It’s just the idea of what they animals eat that gets me! So rice and veggies for me. Dessert so far has been mango and oh my lord, I kid you not, the best mango I have ever eaten. It is SO good. I could eat all day if they would let me.

I call this my fortress of solitude. We have nets, not even just mosquito nets- any kind of bug/insect/critter you can think of net. The nets we have tucked under the mattress so nothing can get in during the day or while we are sleeping. Bugs like this guy

Sorry it’s blurry. So far we have seen geckos, frogs, flies, ants ALL THE ANTS, lizards, snakes, and bugs that I am not sure of their species. Anyways, we walked around the outside of the orphanage, showered at Debbie’s, sat and talked more, the finally went to bed at like.. 8:30. The transition for Kate and I with the time change has been beautiful and easy. We slept well, both waking up in the middle of the night having to pee… but not wanting to climb out of our fortress’ because it is such work. OH! Also, when you use the bathroom, most of the toilets here do not have constant running water so in all of the Bathrooms are giant tiled basins that are filled with water. You do what you gotta do and then scoop about two buckets of water into the toliet to flush it down. And toliet paper doesn’t got into the toliet. For any reason. Just think about that one.

I am absolutely in love with the shoes off inside part of this culture. Being barefoot inside is lovely. The tiles are beautiful and so well kept here. It has truly been a beautiful start.

This morning we got up at 5:40 for breakfast at 6:00. We get to breakfast which is rice, eggs, and fruit. We eat, we talk, we head back to get ready for the day. This morning, Swimmer (the owners cat) had caught a snake. We happened upon her playing with it… while it was still so barely alive 😳

Today Kate and I were going around to different classes to help and teach the students different things. Kate’s AMAZING work donated over 300 hundred toothbrushes so each child was able to get a brand new tooth brush and go over dental hygiene with Teacher Kate. Kate as so nervous about teaching the kids and what they would know, how she would do it, but she KILLED it! As she reviewed with the students how many times a day we are suppose to brush our teeth, why we brush our teeth, how long to brush our teeth and the correct method. All of the students got to open their new toothbrushes and practice in class!

The kids here are so cute! Everyday they start school the same way. The teacher will stand with their hands together and the students will stand up and they repeat the same routine:

Teacher: Good Morning students
Students: Good Morning teacher (insert name)
Teacher: How are you today?
Students: I am fine, thank you. How are you?

And they go through this, each class period. The lower grades go to school from 7:10-3:10 and the higher grades go until 5:00! The students take a combination of classes in Social Studies, Science, Khmer, English, PE, traditional dance…and a few more that I’m sure I just forgot! They also get library time with teacher Debra! The entire school also gets an apple break and lunch. Lunch usually lasts about an hour and a half and after eating many of the students and staff with lay down and either nap or just relax until heading back to class. Today Kate and I were in two grade four classes and one grade six class. 


Normally on Mondays there are Khmer classes but today, the government pulled all of the day Khmer teachers who get bused in for something. No Khmer classes meant we were done at lunch and got an extra afternoon! Debbie was really excited because there is another local village and a wat she wanted to show us but just wasn’t quite sure if she would be able to get it all in- but now with this extra afternoon we had plenty of time! 


So after lunch, we went back to our rooms, drank some electrolytes, switched into our not modest shirts (tank top), got water, put on some trekking shoes and headed out! 


First Debbie wanted to show us a neighboring village. We walked out of the orphanage, down the road a ways, and caught a boat to the other side. Usually there is a bridge, but with recent storms the bridge was flooded and unable to be used so we took a boat run by the locals. It cost $1USD for the three of us round trip. We got on. Oh! Also, because the bridge is down the motors take the boats too to get across! They just ride on in! Our boat across had three motors, five passengers, and the..captain? Ferry guide? Dude in charge of the boat? I’m not sure what to call him… but he was there as well. I got the impression that people generally stand as the boats go across but Debbie preferred to sit. 

We got across, walked up a path and were immediately in this neighboring village! It was so beautiful and so quiet! We began walking around looking at all of the houses. Debbie thinks this village has more money than the village we are in and I would have to agree, just based on the houses. Oh the houses! Some are just so beautiful! Between their colors, designs, tapestries, and stairs. Yes, the stairs. Kate loved the stairs! She was obsessed, in the best way. They did not have railings and were just so lovely to look at!

Ugh! I know I just talked about how the stairs didn’t have railings and here are photos where two of them do have railings! I promise you, most did not! I did not take pictures of my favorite ones because I was.. well, you know, looking at them and not thinking of pictures. 

We walked around this village, taking in the quiet, as I’m sure most people were at work. We mostly saw children, who loved to scream hello and wave! Some would ask our names. We saw chickens with their chicks, beautiful roosters, cows (whaaaat??? A cow? ALL THE COWS), and dogs. These dogs. For as many cows as there are here, there are certainly a lot of dogs roaming around. However, some are pets, some are feral. There is just something about the dogs here that seem less..friendly? More aggressive? We walked by a few who would bark at us, defending their people or their pups, like at home.. but it was just different. We walked around this village for a while, wanting to go to this store Debbie likes to go to and get a drink, but it was closed. We walked past a house that had some very sweet men outside asking if we would come sit and talk about our country and learn about theirs. I know this sounds kind of weird and creepy, but I promise in the moment it really wasn’t. It would be like walking by your neighbors house and them offering you a beer. Debbie was very kind and told them we were on a time crunch and had to go! On our way out we walked past a man herding two cows. On his motor. With a cigarette. Oh the times. We herd cattle with motorcycles now, not walking! But in all seriousness these cows walk around wherever. Seriously, wherever they want, everywhere. I don’t know how anyone knows whose cow belongs to whom, but they do. They all look the same to me. Big, white, and skinny. Although in this village we saw our first brown cow! We finished our walk and got back on the ferry across. 

The next part of our adventure we were headed to Debbie’s favorite wat. For those of you reading (if you’re still reading this- you are awesome- thank you) who don’t know, a wat is a Buddhist temple. Monks often live there and it is a place with shrines to ancestors. There is a wat closer to the entrance of our village but Debbie wanted to show us (and we wanted to see) her favorite one, which was just a bit farther off. We walked down the path a while and got to where a bridge should have been.. but was not. Recent weather or construction, the path to continue across was now interrupted by a steady flow of water. As we looked at it, trying to determine a way across, a man on a motor (remember this guy) drove past us. We watched him go down the bank, ride straight through the water, and up the other side. We saw a footpath to the left that followed the bank of the river, hoping we could find a connecting spot ahead. We walked down this path and as we got farther down, we realized there was no real way across that did not involve getting your feet wet or crossing your fingers that you could clear the river after a big jump. There was no way either of those was found to happen for the three of us. I was in chacos, which could have walked through, but Debbie and Kate had gym shoes and there was no way they could have spent the rest of the day in wet shoes. Debbie went off farther down to explore and see if there was a narrower part of the river or a way across. As Kate and I discussed/figured out options of walking or jumping, a man on a motor (the same man I told you to remember) was atop a hill on the other side of the river watching us. He called down gesturing to us, to walk towards a certain part of the river, like he knew it would connect. We found the area he wanted us to get to- which was the same narrowest part where Kate contemplated her jumping skills, and he took off his sandal and started waving it in the air. I said to Kate “Awww, how nice he is offering his shoes to help cross” and we just though he was so nice. We said thank you and he was off. Debbie came back, with no luck, and we told her about the kind man on the motor waving his sandal and she said “Oh, I think he was just telling you to take your shoes off and cross.” He was. He absolutely was. I am just an idiot. In hindsight, he 100% was just telling us to take our shoes off. Why that did not occur to either Kate or I? I have no idea. We laughed. We decided that there really was no way across so we were just going to head back to the orphanage. The only other way to the wat was now a 45 minute walk back in the direction we came from, going around and over a different bridge.

Once we were headed back, Debbie suggested we had to Cafe again and maybe get some ice coffee. Many of the teachers love it from this cafe and it would be very refreshing on this hot day. Yeah, it was SO hot today, even though some of it was cloud. Kate and I both got a lot of color, but Kate’s tank top lines are unreal! Two total separate shades. We went to the cafe, and as we arrived the tiniest tiniest girl, she had to have been 2 years old, from the school that Kate had seen the day before saw Kate and yelled “Teacher!!” And ran towards her with open arms. I wish I could have taken a picture of it, it was seriously the cutest thing!! She gave Kate a big hug and ran back to her mom. The orphanage also had day students, who do have families, but the
children come in for schooling and medication. Anyways, we ordered some ice coffees grabbed some waters and went and sat in the back. Every time we have come here, we have sat at the same beautiful table in the back with a lovely breeze. I’ll have to take a picture of it. We sat here a while, talking about education, traveling, people from home. We just enjoyed our coffee, enjoyed our breeze, and enjoyed our company. 

 

After sitting and cooling off, we decided we should walk to Debbie’s favorite wat, the long way. Because we had decided to go to the cafe, which was 15 minutes past the orphanage, it would only be a 30 minute walk. The clouds were out, it was cooler, so we decided to do it. This walk was a straight shot along a river. Our side of the river was mostly flat, but had a lot more uneven ground, trash, and holes. The other side of the river was smooth dirt, but Debbie said many cars and motors used it, and she didn’t like that as much. And they did. We saw tons. That would have been a lot of dirt and exhaust on us. We walked a long while, talking more, taking photos. Kate and I looked down at our hands only to see how swollen they were from what I assume was all the walking and dehydration. We have been drinking so much water and electrolytes, but still it seems we are sweating out more than we are taking in! We got to the end of this road, that stopped at a Buddha Tree. It was so beautiful! Debbie told us about the smell of the flowers, how when they are in bloom they just smell so good. We looked at the few bloomed flowers on the tree and ground. Kate stopped to pee, which is just peeing on the side of the road, for anyone, and we crossed the bridge and headed towards the wat.

As we approached the wat, we saw a woman and her cow, preparing to do laundry in the river. We walked around the perimeter of this wat, getting to entrance for a little. This wat was huge! So many shrines, statues, and space gated in. We ran into some students from the orphanage (some really do walk this far to school every day) and you could always tell because they would yell “Teacher Debra!!” Everyone knows Teacher Debra! And they all absolutely love and adore her. It is truly so beautiful to see so much love and happiness come from these kids towards Debbie. They love her so very much. It is clear that not only have these kids impacted her life since she has been here, but she has clearly changed theirs. You can see it. They love to read to her, will ask her about the library and the books. It is amazing. (Don’t cry Debbie)


Back to the wat. It was beautiful! So many statues to different Buddhas, including the woman Buddha, and shrines to ancestors. We saw passages written on walls in Khmer, monks, people napping, and cows. We had to cover our shoulders in the wat, but got explore. We looked at all of the different things. We saw strange bugs. And took our shoes off to enter the wat. The wat was actually closed, but we could walk up to it and around it. The work on these are just amazing. It so so beautiful. The tile. I’m loving the tile in all of the places here in Cambodia. It is just so beautiful! Debbie shared stories of when she brought the kids here, what they told her and what they did.

So, the cows. As you may have seen, posted a picture of Debbie putting her shoes back on as we were leaving the wat and a cow walking up the stairs past her into the temple. This really did happen, it casually walked by as she sat there, however as relaxed as Debbie looks in the picture, she definitely was not. This photo came with a lot of “Oh my gosh! Guys! Guys! Cow! Ah! There is a cow walking past me!” And slight panic for fear the cow was going to just kick her. They’re known to be a little aggressive too. I just documented the occasion, Kate watched unsure what to do, and Debbie panicked for a moment, and the cow was up. Because cows roam wherever. Because cows can do whatever they want. There is no exception for Buddhist temple cows. They walk as they please. This was a hilarious moment on our way out that we all enjoyed.

We began our trek back, talking some more. Cause all three of us can do that a lot. Kate and I are really so very lucky to be here with Debbie. We are so lucky she is willing to share this space with us, show is around to all of her favorite beautiful places and see the world she and the people here live in. Debbie has been amazing to us, giving us electrolytes, coffee, showering, helping us, pointers, and just being her. It’s nice to be around another one of my Mom’s in the world and I know she is so very happy we are here. There’s been a decent amount of crying at this point. But how do you not? Debbie has been here since September and some of her home has finally come to her. I know she misses my mom a lot and I know my mom misses her. I also know both of them are reading this. I kept forgetting to explain to Debbie who Kate was to me. In that, Debbie knew her. You see, Debbie has met Kate’s mom while on a trip with my mom. Debbie knows who Kate’s family is to us- but did not realize this Kate was my Kate and part of that family. Once that was realized more hugs and crying commenced. It’s been emotional here and I can see why. We’ve talked about it many times with Debbie and her time here. Wanting home, but also getting attached to these kids. It is so easy. So so easy. They just want to be loved, held, and played with. They really do. It is so easy to fall in love with them and feel torn about ever leaving. 

By the time we got back, it had started raining. We had walked closed to 7 miles. At one point during our walk back Kate was talking, in response to Debbie. I was still looking at Debbie as Kate began to talk because I remember seeing Debbie look up over to Kate. Just as she did that, and I was about to look at Kate Debbie stepped into a hole! A deep hole. I mean, her entire leg almost up to her knee went into this hole as the ground just gave away. Her leg stayed. She fell forward slamming her opposite knee into the ground. We were all taken by surprise, worried about Debbie being hurt, and also wanting to laugh? It was a confusing moment. Debbie was okay, shaken a little and muddy, but good! All I thought was “This would have been a moment my Mom would not have enjoyed about being here.” (Hiii Mom!) but all was well. We got back, it was raining. It’s not the rainy season, but they call it the mango rain. Which is fine by me- I can’t get over the mango! We sat outside Debbie’s room with other teachers ate chocolate and licorice, drank water, and just talked some more. 

On our way back in we had to stop to close the windows to the library because of the rain. Therith found me, soaked, and gave me a big ole hug. I’ll talk more about him and the other children soon.

By 5:00 it was dinner time. We ate and everyone was really too exhausted to to play with the kids. I forgot to mention that yesterday. After we ate, the kids were all just running around outside playing. So we went to play and hang out with them. Kate played basketball with kids and some other volunteers, and we just met, played hugged, and laughed with so many of the kids. Lap sitting, song singing, running, tickeling. They are so shy at first but just want to be loved. I was standing there watching Debbie sing Monkeys on the Bed to a toddler and a little 8 year old girl just walked up to the side of me and held my hand. She just stood there, right next to me, just wanting to old my hand. It was so sweet and touching. That is how I met Thereith. He is a crazy crazy boy. He came up to me, poked me and began to laugh. Instantly as we talked and played he sat on my lap and we just played. He is a ball of fun. All of these kids. I can’t explain. They just want to play, have fun, and cuddle. They love love love their photo being taken. They really do, and just want to see it once it’s done.

We walked around a little after dinner. Debbie showed us where we would be working tomorrow and we got to see library! It is so beautiful! Debbie was angry today because she is having a huge termite infestation problem and they got to another section of the library. We saw the books, the DVD drop the students use and headed in for the night. We came across a lovely young ladies who wanted to make us jewelry out of palms. She made Debbie a beautiful ring and Kate and I bracelets. It was so impressive! It reminded me of being a kid and playing with palms on pam Sunday. I still have my bracelet on, dried out palm and all.

We showered and Kate went first. Upon getting out of the shower and changing, Kate somehow managed to get her towel (provided by the orphanage) stuck in this brown sticky goop that is used a rat trap. She felt so bad! We think the trap got pulled out from under a shelf during cleaning. It was gross. Debbie said the towel would be lost forever.