So here it goes, the start of another incredible start of a journey on Day 1, Day 2, and of course the start of Day 3!! A struggle to find words to tell you all about the many experiences I have had and the many children I have met who have already had an impact on my life!
Day 1 began with orientation at Star Kampuchea! Here we learn more about the Cambodian culture and language! We then left and we traveled to the S21 Genocide Museum! This museum is an old high school, which had been turned into a prison in the Pol Pot Regime. The images, the real life signs, and the remains of old techniques for killing still so real and heartbreaking. Soon after we went to the Killing Fields. The Killing Fields are where the people were taken to be killed. There they were tortured with loud music and the sounds of diesel run generators to scare them and not let them hear the sounds of the others being killed. Ugh! Still after seeing this for my second time it hurts me but it drives me to better everyday when working with these children because they deserve a better life. I am grateful I was given the chance to experience this day again because you always learn something new by listening to stories and it continues to remind me why I am here in the developing country Cambodia- doing the work I am doing. My group of students here did great this day considering the emotions and the intensity of all that we were seeing! I am proud!!
Later that day we went to the orphanage where I will be spending the most of time working - CPO. CPO is located up on the countryside about 40 minutes from where we are staying in Phnom Penh. Pulling up on the first day, was so exciting! The thought of pulling up in our van that day and having precious Cambodian children's faces looking up to you with the upmost love and admiration is simply incredible. These children think of us as if we are the king and the queen and they will not waste one moment of our precious time. They soak you up, and we blow up! Meaning they will take every word and every hold that you give them and use it to their advantage. We blow up as volunteers here by getting challenged everyday and giving the children new information and more love then we gave them before! I love it and thrive off it!
Day 2 was spent entirely at the orphanage! We helped prep a garden for them, we cleaned bathrooms, we de-liced, we played endless amount of games with the children, and we learned so much about ourselves. The garden work was a great amount teamwork and a test of our strenghs! For some of the students on our trip it was the first time they really had manual labor of this intensity in the hot weather and humidity. It is great for the students to struggle with this know their limits, strengths, and weaknesses. I am proud of them for getting through and all growing from it immensly. A great day of learning great stories of the children and giving them everything we got!
Thank you everyone back home for all your love and support to get me here! I love all of you and am so happy I can share this journey with all of you!
love
Anna
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