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
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
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
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
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Our First Day on the Job Site!
Sua s' dei!!!
Today was our first day on the job sight with the trailblazers foundation! It was so amazing! We got in our tuk tuk's and traveled down the road over the river and past the market. When we arrived we were able to check out the Crocodile farm in front of the work site. It was crazy!! Hundreds of crocs in a very small area all seemed to be smiling at us. It smelt like a pig pen. We then were taught about the water filters. The young Cambodian men all 21 years giggled as the nervously taught us how to do the jobs. They are all so cute and shy! We had to shovel shifted sand into buckets to clean by pouring water in and swishing it around. It's pretty hard work, I think my arms may be a little sore and of course like usual we were all pouring sweat! By 11 we were all ready to stop. It was great though! Our new friends sang to us and we had a little Mini Khmer Language lesson. This whole trip has been absolutely amazing!! I love the pace of life and how happy everyone is. I feel the all Cambodians are very grateful for their lives and it hurts me that sometimes I can get so upset about mine. I feel as if my eyes have been reopened and I' m seeing the world for the first time. The Khmer Rouge have defiantly left a huge mark on this country. There is just something about looking out your window of a very nice guest house and seeing mounds of mass graves. I will never forget the sadness I felt as I walked the halls of S-21 (the Khmer rouge torture center) were the tiles were stained with blood, or stood at the base of the Wat at the killing fields four stories high filled with 9,000 human skulls. This world is amazing and we never should take what we have for granted.
Today was our first day on the job sight with the trailblazers foundation! It was so amazing! We got in our tuk tuk's and traveled down the road over the river and past the market. When we arrived we were able to check out the Crocodile farm in front of the work site. It was crazy!! Hundreds of crocs in a very small area all seemed to be smiling at us. It smelt like a pig pen. We then were taught about the water filters. The young Cambodian men all 21 years giggled as the nervously taught us how to do the jobs. They are all so cute and shy! We had to shovel shifted sand into buckets to clean by pouring water in and swishing it around. It's pretty hard work, I think my arms may be a little sore and of course like usual we were all pouring sweat! By 11 we were all ready to stop. It was great though! Our new friends sang to us and we had a little Mini Khmer Language lesson. This whole trip has been absolutely amazing!! I love the pace of life and how happy everyone is. I feel the all Cambodians are very grateful for their lives and it hurts me that sometimes I can get so upset about mine. I feel as if my eyes have been reopened and I' m seeing the world for the first time. The Khmer Rouge have defiantly left a huge mark on this country. There is just something about looking out your window of a very nice guest house and seeing mounds of mass graves. I will never forget the sadness I felt as I walked the halls of S-21 (the Khmer rouge torture center) were the tiles were stained with blood, or stood at the base of the Wat at the killing fields four stories high filled with 9,000 human skulls. This world is amazing and we never should take what we have for granted.
sua s'dei...(hello) from seim reap,
we are sitting here having siesta time, as it is 2 in the afternoon and HOT. today was our first day at the trailblazer worksite where we met " the boys"and sifted sand and rocks all morning. the filter system is incredible and i FINALLY figured out exactly how it works. such a unique place that is bustling with people on mo-peds, and motorcycles, tuk tuks and bikes. people that are soo nice and welcoming, content with their place in the world. yet the wieght of the khemer rouge is still very present. i have learned so much and we have only been here 3 days. it has been absolutely amazing. well, thats it for now. the pool is calling my name. i promise i will fully describe everything later...
we are sitting here having siesta time, as it is 2 in the afternoon and HOT. today was our first day at the trailblazer worksite where we met " the boys"and sifted sand and rocks all morning. the filter system is incredible and i FINALLY figured out exactly how it works. such a unique place that is bustling with people on mo-peds, and motorcycles, tuk tuks and bikes. people that are soo nice and welcoming, content with their place in the world. yet the wieght of the khemer rouge is still very present. i have learned so much and we have only been here 3 days. it has been absolutely amazing. well, thats it for now. the pool is calling my name. i promise i will fully describe everything later...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Arrival
Hi everyone! We are all here in Phnom Penh after a REALLY LONG plane flight. We're having a great time! It's amazing here, a little scorching though. Haha. The people here are very friendly. Today we saw the genocide museum and killing fields, which were quite sobering. We also shopped at Central Market and visited the Royal Palace. Tomorrow we get on the bus for Siem Reap. We've taken tons of pictures already, and hopefully some will be posted soon. That's all for now, we'll try to update you later.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
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