CRLS Goes to Cambodia

Our internet availability has been sporadic, so unfortunately we have not been able to post as often as we would have liked. Hopefully the posts we have put up and the pictures we've included have given you some sense of how truly amazing and educational this trip has been.

During our two days in Phnom Penh we were lucky enough to meet some incredibly influential Cambodians who are working to rebuild this country, and to address some of its deepest problems. Our two days in Kauk Rovieng were spent surrounded by eager school and village children, with whom we played, sang, wrote, and talked. Lastly we have spent two days in Angkor Wat, exploring remarkable ancient temples, with and without guides.

We so appreciate all the donors who made this trip possible, the parents who have supported this venture so fully, and Heather Faris and Lili Winslow who planned the most incredible and full 8-turned-6 days we could have imagined.

We hope to post more once we have returned: our after-thoughts, reflections, and continuing work, as well as photos from the rest of the days we were here, so keep an eye out for that. We have a few more hours here before we hop on a very late flight for a very long trip, returning to Boston at 10:30 pm on Sunday, in order to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for school on Monday!

Marya and Susie

On Tuesday February 16 we went to Somaly Mam’s main office which is also the office for Voices for Change. Voices for Change is an outreach program for young girls who are sex slaves or have escaped sex slavery. The organization also focuses on educating people around the world about human trafficking. The girls we met were incredibly positive and happy. They talked with us about their work and a trip they had taken to the United States to help educate people on sex slavery. The girls were all very beautiful on the inside and out. At the end of our time there we were able to individually talk to the girls. They were very friendly and gave us all giant hugs. I think it was an emotional experience for all of us. After spending time with the girls we went to the Bright Futures school and New Life orphanage. The Bright Future school is a school for gifted kids who are individually selected to attend and live at the school. A few of us taught some of the girls at the school how to make friendship bracelets. One of them named Hong Kong already knew how to make them and was in the middle of a very complicated stitch. Then we went next door to the New Life orphanage where many of the kids introduced themselves and told us a little bit about their lives. They all sang to us in Khmer and English and also danced for us. We then sang to them and taught them the Macarena and the Electric Slide. We ended our trip at the orphanage by playing Duck Duck Goose which the kids loved.

Natalia

The past two days we have spent at the Cambridge school andfrom the moment we got there it was nothing like anything I had expected.  As we drove in on our bus we saw two lines ofpeople forming an aisle.  The teachers were at the end and after bowing to them we walked through the students whocheered and clapped and waved Cambodian flags. We were led to a decorated tent with carpets and chairs for us.  We kneeled before monks who were dressed in avibrant orange and they chanted and threw flower petals at us.  Then we sat in chairs and finally had the chance to take in the rows of students and community members that were our three sided audience.   We were welcomed and then Heather, our teachers, and Lucy and I spoke briefly about how excitedand thankful we were to be here.  We listened to a couple people speak in Khmer and presented the declaration we received from the Massachusetts government.  Each of us was given presents and we also received a framed certificate.  We then went into the classrooms and handedout writing packets, Harry Potter books in Khmer, pencils and pens.  Then we made nametags with them and had ourfirst encounter with the language barrio. Most of them could write their own names in English and watching themwrite in Khmer was beautiful.  There were huge speakers outside that began blasting music so the rest of the day became agiant dance party.   We were full ofenergy and the kids were amazing.  The little boys were showing of their groovy dance moves while being just as adorable as they had been when we first met them.   They were also big fans of the fistpump.  When Askar brought out a soccerball some of them were confused wondering if they could abandoned us  which they soon did.  We all did the Macarena which everyone knewbut when we started “jerking” they were a little confused.   It was an extraordinary day and unforgettable.  By the end of the day wehad an unbreakable bond with all the kids!!

Nora

I CAN’T STOP SMILING! I’m struggling to find the words to describe all the unforgettable memories being made in Cambodia.  Everyday I reflect on what we did and I say to myself  “today was the greatest day of my life” then the next day I say the exact same thing!  So far each day has been incredible and its true what they say about Cambodians; they are the warmest people you will evermeet.  Before we do anything I imagine what it might be like, so far everything has acceded my expectations,especially the dedication ceremony yesterday. I expected to be greeted by a few teachers and for the kids to be inclass.  I assumed we would take a tour ofthe school and then talk to the kids for awhile but that would be it.  To my surprise we got off the bus and all the students were lined up ready to welcome us along with the leaders of thatvillage.  We walked toured the school as everyone clapped for us.  When we stopped we were in front of a small pavilion  it was colorful and everything about it was beautiful I figured this was where themonks and leaders would sit but again to my surprise this beautiful pavilionwas for us as well.  I almost felt like crying as I looked out at all the smiling kids and members of the community notbecause I felt sad but because I was over come with joy.  As people came up to make speeches,  I wish I had a tape of this ceremony but I’mso thankful for the memory itself.  I remember when my friends and family were apologizing that our trip got cut twodays short but I’m just so happy to have been able to come at all!

Violet

Onour second day we visited both the Choeng Ek killing field outside of PhnomPenh  and S21 inside the city. S21 standsfor “school 21”; this is because these massive concrete buildings used to be a school but during the time of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge it was turned into aplace of torture and captivity. We walked around and saw the big rooms meant for torture. On the metal bed frames there were such devices. As we kept walking, our guide, Sam, ran into someone who lived right next to him. A man named Chum Mei. Little did we know this man was one of the only three living (one of seven total) survivors of S21 after liberation. Using Sam as atranslator, Chum Mei described to us his whole story; from how he was taken from his job where he sewed black clothing for the Khmer Rouge and told he was going to Vietnam to learn new skills to showing us his exact cell inside one ofthe buildings. He vividly dictated all the horrible things that happened to himand other prisoners of S21. It was such a unique opportunity to hear his story firsthand. It turns out that he is the main witness of the tribunals we went to see.We learned that Chum Mei is the only one of the three living survivors of S21who will speak out about what happened or set foot back in that space. The other two will not go near the buildings because it just triggers so much emotional trauma. The experience of having Chum Mei tell us ourselves about thefour months he spent in S21 was unbelievable. The cruelty he endured was horrendous. The fact he is still alive to tell his story during the tribunals is key.

Lucy

It's been a whirlwind two days in Cambodia, and though I'd rather let the students do the blogging, we thought allowing them to sleep was preferable, as that's been a rarity! Here's a quick bullet list of what we've done, with their narrative blogs to follow soon:

Monday

• Watched morning session of international tribunals: pre-trial for Ieng Thirith
• Visited and had a tour of Peace Handicrafts, a store founded and whose products are all made (many on site) by handicapped people (polio, landmine victims, deaf)
• Lunch at Lotus Blanc, staffed by former Meanchey Dump scavengers, and visited Dump

• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0912_030912_tvtrashdump.html

• http://www.cambodianlivingarts.org/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_doWZO2S0

• www.somaly.org

Tuesday

• Visited and were given a tour of the Genocide Museum, the Killing Fields (which are only so called b/c of the movie, btw), and Toul Sleng Prison Museum. We were given a tour by Sam, who lived through the Khmer Rouge and gave a firsthand account. We also were honored to meet Cheung Mey, who was one of only 7 survivors found at Toul Sleng on "liberation day," January 7, 1979, who told us his story.
• Lunch at Friends Restaurant, associated with an NGO getting kids of the streets

• http://www.mithsamlanh.org/

• http://www.somaly.org/programs/voices-for-change/

There is surely more, and there are surely typos, but I too must sleep, and will leave the longer narrative relating of these remarkable journeys to the students. We will hopefully add these blogs (and lots of pictures!) over the next two days, while we visit the Cambridge School!

Thank you for following our incredible trip!

Marya and Susie

Our day started off on February 13, 2010. We woke up in sunny Los Angeles and headed to LAX for an 11:00 o’clock flight to Seoul, South Korea. As usual we spent the majority of our time at the airport checking our luggage. As a group we check 25 bags each time we get on a flight, we are bringing 12 bags of medical supplies to a hospital here in Cambodia. The rest our time in LAX was uneventful and we soon boarded the 12 hour flight to Seoul. We each had our own personal TV and watched movies such as Post Grad and Fame. There were mixed reviews on the food front, many of us tried Bi-Bim-Bab an authentic Korean dish of rice and vegetables. We all agreed that the flight attendants were all very nice, they constantly were bringing us water and juice. We landed in Korea at 5:30pm February 14, 2010 after having crossed the international date line. We spent an hour exploring the Korean airport and getting food at the Korean Dunkin Donuts. Then we boarded a plane for Phnom Penh at around 1 in the morning L.A. time. There was some slight turbulence to say the least but many of us were able to sleep through it. We arrived in Phnom Penh at 10:58pm, Cambodian which felt like 8 in the morning or so for us. It is currently 1:30 am on February 15, 2010. While we slept some on the plane this will be our first extended rest in over 24 hours. Tomorrow we start our journey in Cambodia!

Natalia

Our day began at 3:45am California time. Rusing to the airport, we caught a flight to LAX, hoping to get standby on a flight so Seoul. Unfortunately, there was not enough space for us on that flight so we are taking our planned flight tomorrow morning. We are spending the day bonding - LA style. Maybe we'll run into some celebrities? Our excitement is building is palpable, knowing we are getting closer and closer to our destination... CAMBODIA!!!!! As we go from airline to airline, airport to airport, terminal to terminal, we grow more attached to the medical bags we each carry. 12 in total! Time to return to a game of cards... but keep posted!!! -Lucy + Isabel

We have arrived, safe and sound, in San Fransisco. We didn't manage to get out to LA on standby, so we are sticking with our early morning flight tomorrow. We'll try to standby from LA to Korea tomorrow, but in all likelihood will end up on the flight we booked yesterday, leaving on Saturday morning and getting us to Phnom Penh on Sunday night.

Wish us luck!

Marya

So thanks to New England’s unpredictable and untimely weather patterns, we very nearly lost out on our entire trip today!

At approximately 11:30 am, we learned that our 7:00 am flight tomorrow (Thursday) morning (Boston – LA) was cancelled. Bad enough, right? As we started calling around to try to deal with it, it seems that all we can learn is:

All flights leaving anywhere from the eastern seaboard are cancelled, for at least 24 hours. Because of where and how we are traveling, basically…

If we can’t get to LA….we can’t take this trip. From 12 – 3, all adults involved in this trip spent hours on the phone with myriad employees of every business that could possibly aid us in getting out of Boston…United Airlines, our travel agent, our travel insurance agent…you name them, we talked to them. No luck. We plan to head to the airport and, well….beg. Despite the fact that all flights out of Boston are cancelled.

3:30: Our travel agent books us on a new flight leaving Boston at 5:40 pm. Flurry of emails and phone calls, as everyone jumps in cars and races to airport. (Did I mention not everyone was packed yet?)

En route: Flight is cancelled. New plan: go to United and, well…beg.

4:00: 6 students, 2 chaperones, 3 community members, 2 12 year-olds, 7 parents camped out in front of a row of United desks in a deserted airport. Bryan Giddins tries to help us, but there are no flights. NONE. We end up getting on a waiting list for a flight to LA 7:00 pm, Thursday night. We have to pray 13 people don’t show up for that flight, and that only gets us to LA…no news on whether we can get another flight to Phnom Penh.

Students? Good spirits, staying positive. Go ambassadors!

5:00 – 7:00: running around to American, Jet Blue…on phone to several travel agents…Begging, begging. Devon Sullivan (our hero) hard at work on United computer, trying desperately to help us. Finally, many miracles later, a new plan:

Thursday, 12:00 pm – fly to San Francisco

Friday, 6:30 – fly to LA

Saturday, 11:50 (two days behind schedule now) – fly through Korea to Phnom Penh.

So this is the new plan…wish us luck! Along the way we plan to attempt standby on each leg, but worst case scenario (we hope!), we lose two days in Cambodia, but hey – better than losing all nine. More posts coming soon!

Marya