Presentation!

We are having a slide show presentation!
Tuesday May, 27th
7 PM
Be there to see our amazing photos and hear of our stories

We're Home:(

hello everyone!

I'm not even sure if anyone will read this but I figured I would write one last blog. We are back in the U.S.A and right now I'm sitting in school. It's absolutly crazy! I never would have thought that two weeks could change me so much! But it has. I went from being the incridibly chatty person in class, to realizing that we all need to respect our teachers a little more. When i sat in band class yesturday I almost wanted to cry. We all take so much advantage of our lives. It's crazy to see how teens in America, escpecially in our little bubble of Jackson, can have absolutly no idea how good they have it. I hope everyone sometime in their life can come to this realization, and appreciate their education and all the everyday things that we take advantage of, such as clean drinking water, washing machines, paper, pencils, pens, and so much more! When you start to get furstrated with your life I chanllenge you to look at things from another perspective. If you're frustrated with money, do you make over 25 cents a day? If you are frustrated with school, just know that we are ignorant americans. If you are frustrated with your mother, think about not having one, or not having a father, or both and also missing your siblings. It's a very lonely world out there for many many people and we just need to be thankful every day of our lives for what we have!
Always
Gracey Lewis

Temples!!

Wow!! We have finished up our three days visiting the temples and they have exceeded every one of our expectations! The group favorite (well most of us) was Ta Promh, which was where Tomb Raider was filmed. It was unbeleiveable. After visiting Bayon, we road elephants! They were so huge and gentle and the view from above was awesome. Today we got to go to a GIGANTIC waterfall. It was one of the most beautiful spots I have ever witnessed. We waded in the cool water and swam by the waterfall which was such a spectacular experience for everyone. Today is our last day in Siem Reap. It's emotional for all of us because we have become so attatched to everyone and everything here. We almost feel like locals. We had to say goodbye to our tuk tuk drivers and it was terrible! haha Anyways, this experience is one that has been so beneficial to everyone and we have all learned so much. Traveling really is the way to learn about every one of life's lessons and I know cambodia will change us all. I'm not trying to be cliche, but it's true. Le'Ahi!
Love-Bri

The Art Project!

Today was super amazing! We went to the village. IT was a crazy bumpy ride to down a very bumpy road with children running out to the truck to wave and say sus s' dei (hello) They are all so cute!! It was so amazing because by some of the house we spotted the trailblazer water filters that we have been working so hard to make! It was great to see the in action. As we all swayed and bounced around with our scarfs pulled over our faces and big sunglasses bouncing the sun off we got a little preview of the temples. I can not wait to experience them. We got to the school and hundreds of children ran out and swarmed around us with smiling faces! It was so crazy!! We had such a wonderful time. First we gathered all our materials as the children went to their rooms. Then we went in. Oh the looks we got from the kids. They smiled shyly with big big open eyes! Maddie and I nervously started showing the kids the paper flowers we would make. It was the first time most had ever seen scissors, and at first they were very timid. Then Maddie and I went in a new direction and started showing individual tables. The kids are absolutely brilliant!! We showed the once, only once, and they did it perfectly! Could you even imagine a kidder being able to cut with scissors for the first time perfectly? Also, they were incredibly polite!! Never was there a tiff about not having anything to cut with or the right color flower. They were perfectly content. Some little girls even started taring their paper perfectly! It was such a great time! We taught them high fives and they would giggle out of control! After the projects most of the kids had to leave. Chris told us that they came from as far a 7 miles away! Not to mention that it was Sunday and they attend school 6 days of the week and came on their only day off! We played some volleyball with our truck driver as the cook made us a home cooked traditional Khmer lunch. Everyone here is obsessed with volleyball! Anna is just loving it! We played and man oh man I've thought I have been sweating bad but that surpassed it all! We were called in and sat down to eat. The rice was just out of the patties, so fresh! We also had chicken and fish we purchased and brought from the market. The chicken was all the chicken, I mean it all even the head and the feet! It was delicious though! I could eat it all day long! The cooked walked around to make sure that we were eating it and laughed as we tried our Khmer by telling her it was delicious! and of course the men of the group including the chief and Scott drank shots of whiskey wine. Trixy, our friend who owns the funky monkey bar, told me it was so strong and tasted like gasoline. We then climbed back on the bouncy truck and headed home as if we were a parade. What a fantastic day! It made my whole trip!! It seems as time goes by the days just keep getting more and more rich.

Always,
Gracey Lew

Pictures!

This took us about three hours, so we may or may not be posting any more albums. Enjoy!
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The Poor Childrens School

Hello Everyone!!

Today was such an amazing day! We spent our morning working at the sight, continuing cleaning sand, painted finished wells, stirring concrete, singing with our Cambodian friends, and sweating out every ounce of water in our bodies. Once again we were drawn to the crocks and a few times they jumped on the wall towards us and of course all eight of us girls screamed bloody murder!

After a afternoon nap (trip to the market;) ) and a fantastic lunch of Khmer coconut banana fried rice, tofu Curry, noodle soup, and much more, we traveled just 15 min outside the town to the poor children's school. When we first arrived there were not many children so we walked about 300 steps behind the school to a huge 12th century temple. I was taken aback! It's huge! I never thought they could be so amazing and when I talked to some Cambodians they laughed at me because Angkor Wat is so much bigger and more beautiful. I can not wait! As Scott and I walked around the temple he explained to me about how it was not finished because the king said something bad in it and so then it was cursed. After the curse was set upon the temple another man entered and said something bad and he died, after that they stopped building it. The stairs are crazy! So steep and uneven it's almost like rock climbing to get up.

I only have five minutes tell it closes so I must make this pretty fast. The school was absolutely amazing!! All the children as so eager to learn and full of energy and attention. We tryed our best to help them with their English and then played some games with them. Their teacher is so much fun! He's only 18 just like us and goes to high school in the morning, then volunteers as a teacher in the evening. He makes the children laugh all the time! After our school lesson we went outside and played games with everyone! It was such a blast! I will write about it more in detail soon but I have no time left. It's so amazing and today was the best ever! I've fallen in love with this country and don't want to leave. Everyone I've met so far has made such a big impact on my life! Som nn lalong ( good luck) Leeahi ( bye!)

Always
Gracey Lewis