The Last Post from Kampot

The pace here in Kampot remains fun, yet relaxing. It's been wonderful getting to work with the kids at Epic Arts, especially because we see them all around the town and they always stop to say hello and teach us more sign. Sometimes they even ride by our hotel just to say hello to us as we ride our bikes in circles around the front courtyard. It's really amazing how much they appreciate our company.

Yesterday morning we loaded ourselves into a van and headed towards the Vietnamese border to visit the pepper plantation. On the way there, we were warned to stay on the paths of the plantation because of the landmines that still might be in the ground from the times of war. The ride was maybe 45 minutes long, so it seemed exceedingly short compared to adventure out to the beach in Kep the previous day. We arrived and our guide showed us through the rows and rows of vines of pepper and fed us fact after fact about the pepper plantations, for instance how long it takes a pepper vine to reach 7 feet tall, when they harvest and things of that nature. While some of us went off and explored through the rows on our own, we bumped into a new-born calf that we think lost his mother. Some of us even got close enough to pet it. After a while, our guide took us away from the vines of pepper and beyond the houses where the pepper farmers lived. There we spent a while taking pictures and videos of about a dozen piglets and a few very, very fat mothers. Our guide told us that at the farm, within 3 months the piglets weighed 220 pounds. Quite the operation!

We left the pepper plantation and returned around noon, just in time for lunch. Then we had a free afternoon before leaving at 4:00 to visit Sey Ma's mother's home. I, unfortunately had to stay behind feeling a little sick, but I gather from everyone else it was a great time. The ride to her house took about a half an hour and there they met Sey Ma's mother, daughter, as well as her sister-in-law and her daughter who lived there. For a while, Karen had been looking for this type of Buddhist banner and after asking around several of the markets in Phnom Penh and Kampot she came up unsuccessful. However, Sey Ma's sister-in-law made this particular banner specially for Karen and gave it to us yesterday, so that was a highlight of the day. Karen and Mr. Riege plan to give the banner to Watkinson as a gift. They left Sey Ma's mother's and biked on for another half an hour and reached a stream where a few of the travelers chose to swim, but most stayed out of the fresh water. They returned briefly before going back out to dinner and returned a little after 9, and that was the end of our day.

Today was our last day getting to work with the people at Epic Arts. This morning we ran a workshop with the older students and played some more advanced games than we had the previous times. We made group machines that had feelings, we made frozen group pictures in groups of three, we marched around the room as though the floor were a grid and participated in several other activities that we all enjoyed. Everyone was a little sad when it came time to say goodbye, especially because the students were so sweet to us. As we said farewell, they told us that they would remember us and think of us all the time, but most of all that they would miss us.

So all in all, our stay in Kampot has been really great. Now we look forward to spending a few relaxing days at Arn's house before going to Siem Reap. We won't have internet for the next few days, but you can expect to get an update when we reach Siem Reap.

--Annalise