Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Arn's House to Siem Reap
So I thought I'd start off by wishing my sister Jennifer a happy birthday. It was yesterday, the 27th, and she turned 19. So if you're completely bored out of your mind, call her up and wish her a happy birthday.
We left for Arn's house early in the morning, stopping first at his plantation where we got a very quick tour of the trees he grew there. Our second stop was at this very nice restaurant on the Mekong river, where there were no tables or chairs, just hammocks. We almost persuaded Jake to dive into the water, but Karen (always the logical one) talked him out of it.
Our first night at Arn's house was very simple. We all went to the market to watch Sey Ma and her astounding bargaining skills, and later set up our sleeping areas and ate dinner. We ended up going to bed at around 7:30, partially because there was nothing else to do an it was dark, and partially because we were exhausted. The next morning we woke up and had a breakfast of coconut waffles from the market. The day went by fairly slowly, with some of us going to the market, watching a presidential parade, playing frisbee, or lounging around reading. Arn showed us some of his music videos he had made of Sey Ma, some of them fused with hip-hop. One of the videos featured this one Cambodian kid who must have spent his entire life watching MTV, because he looked like a professional rapper from the U.S., including all the dance moves and fashion choices. At the end of the night, Sey Ma and Arn sang and played for us, accompanied by a guitar. In exchange, Mitch and Luke sang, and I played guitar for them. After that, Karen led a short acting lesson for the people that live at Arn's place (Arn's request. He wants them to be in his movie, but he feels like they need to get more used to acting). The next morning we got up early and left for Siem Reap, which took us about six hours total. Once again, we stopped for lunch at a place with hammocks, which was very relaxing, except they made you pay to use a squat toilet, and the woman who was collecting the money kept raising her price with every person who went.
After arriving in Siem Reap and getting settled, we took a tuktuk tour around the Angkor grounds (we'll update you more as we continue exploring the area). Once we returned to the guest house, we ate dinner at the star rise restaurant (a favorite of last year's travelers), and went to bed. This morning, we all met in Riege's room to take inventory of everything we had brought for Man Men's village. We have loads of stuff, and will be spreading out our gifts over the week so as not to overwhelm them on the first day. When we arrived at the village, we received a very warm welcome. They played music for us, and we presented them gifts of headlamps (for fishing), copies of the CDs they recorded last year, clothes, and toys. The bubbles were a huge hit- they were playing with them the entire time we were there. Many of the younger kids took all of the girls by the hand and ran them around the village twice for absolutely no reason. They also gave us lots of flowers, and later turned branches into crowns and covered them with more flowers. Several of the guys had fun playing volleyball with the older boys, and were later accompanied by our tuktuk drivers. It was a very fun and productive visit. We learned a lot more about the village and how it's changed in the past year. We think that only one of the trees planted last year survived, but the friendship hut is still standing strong, and seems as though it will continue to do so for quite a long time. We also learned that all of the rice patties were gone, which led us to worry about how they will eat, seeing as the price of rice tripled within the past year. There were also two new healthy babies, and Man Men (without being asked) told Karen and Reige that they wanted medicinal supplies for their village, which was exciting because it means that they are learning to trust us even more.
Later on, we ate lunch and made our first visit to Angkor. We visited Ta Prohm, which is impossible to describe in a blog, so you can just check out pictures of them when we return. We then ate dinner and saw Dr. Beat Richer play the cello for about 5 minutes.... then talk for 15 minutes.... then he showed us a 40 minute video about his hospital. yay music!
We'll update you all about our time in Siem Reap later this week.
-Sarah
We left for Arn's house early in the morning, stopping first at his plantation where we got a very quick tour of the trees he grew there. Our second stop was at this very nice restaurant on the Mekong river, where there were no tables or chairs, just hammocks. We almost persuaded Jake to dive into the water, but Karen (always the logical one) talked him out of it.
Our first night at Arn's house was very simple. We all went to the market to watch Sey Ma and her astounding bargaining skills, and later set up our sleeping areas and ate dinner. We ended up going to bed at around 7:30, partially because there was nothing else to do an it was dark, and partially because we were exhausted. The next morning we woke up and had a breakfast of coconut waffles from the market. The day went by fairly slowly, with some of us going to the market, watching a presidential parade, playing frisbee, or lounging around reading. Arn showed us some of his music videos he had made of Sey Ma, some of them fused with hip-hop. One of the videos featured this one Cambodian kid who must have spent his entire life watching MTV, because he looked like a professional rapper from the U.S., including all the dance moves and fashion choices. At the end of the night, Sey Ma and Arn sang and played for us, accompanied by a guitar. In exchange, Mitch and Luke sang, and I played guitar for them. After that, Karen led a short acting lesson for the people that live at Arn's place (Arn's request. He wants them to be in his movie, but he feels like they need to get more used to acting). The next morning we got up early and left for Siem Reap, which took us about six hours total. Once again, we stopped for lunch at a place with hammocks, which was very relaxing, except they made you pay to use a squat toilet, and the woman who was collecting the money kept raising her price with every person who went.
After arriving in Siem Reap and getting settled, we took a tuktuk tour around the Angkor grounds (we'll update you more as we continue exploring the area). Once we returned to the guest house, we ate dinner at the star rise restaurant (a favorite of last year's travelers), and went to bed. This morning, we all met in Riege's room to take inventory of everything we had brought for Man Men's village. We have loads of stuff, and will be spreading out our gifts over the week so as not to overwhelm them on the first day. When we arrived at the village, we received a very warm welcome. They played music for us, and we presented them gifts of headlamps (for fishing), copies of the CDs they recorded last year, clothes, and toys. The bubbles were a huge hit- they were playing with them the entire time we were there. Many of the younger kids took all of the girls by the hand and ran them around the village twice for absolutely no reason. They also gave us lots of flowers, and later turned branches into crowns and covered them with more flowers. Several of the guys had fun playing volleyball with the older boys, and were later accompanied by our tuktuk drivers. It was a very fun and productive visit. We learned a lot more about the village and how it's changed in the past year. We think that only one of the trees planted last year survived, but the friendship hut is still standing strong, and seems as though it will continue to do so for quite a long time. We also learned that all of the rice patties were gone, which led us to worry about how they will eat, seeing as the price of rice tripled within the past year. There were also two new healthy babies, and Man Men (without being asked) told Karen and Reige that they wanted medicinal supplies for their village, which was exciting because it means that they are learning to trust us even more.
Later on, we ate lunch and made our first visit to Angkor. We visited Ta Prohm, which is impossible to describe in a blog, so you can just check out pictures of them when we return. We then ate dinner and saw Dr. Beat Richer play the cello for about 5 minutes.... then talk for 15 minutes.... then he showed us a 40 minute video about his hospital. yay music!
We'll update you all about our time in Siem Reap later this week.
-Sarah
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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
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
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Cambodia travelers in Kampot
So, we are out of the big city of Phnom Penh and in the smaller town of Kampot. The pace is a lot easier here. Less cars, less beeping, less tuk tuks. We've rented a bunch of bicycles and this is our main way of transportation... assuming that the chains are still attached.
A lot of us have started to get sick. I won't go into the details, but we're all being cautious of what we eat. Some of us (no names) have even been taking immodium even though they don't think they have anything. Better to be safe than sorry, I suppose.
Especially on the hour and a half hay ride (sans the hay) to the beach that we had today. We met up with the kids from Epic Arts that we had met the day before. For those of you who don't know, Epic Arts is an organization for deaf (and some handicapped) children. Though, a lot of them aren't really kids. Some of them are actually over 20.
Yesterday, when we were first introduced, the "children" all gave us our own names. I'm sure your kids can show you their sign when they get home but some of them were:
Mitch- signing his corn rows (The people here are fascinated with his hair. It's incredibly hard for the kids at Epic Arts to not touch it. He doesn't seem to mind, though)
Connor- signing his braces
Annalise- Signing to her head band
Basically, they find features about you and make a sign for it. They saw my bracelet and made a sign of running your pinkie over your wrist. Unfortunately, this looks like a slitting wrist motion which is similar to Sarah's slitting throat motion in reference to her necklace. But, we take this all in good fun.
After being introduced, we went through a series of acting/kinesthetic activities that Karen has been planning out over the past week. Let me tell you, these kids know how to be expressive. They even performed a few skits using masks and miming.
We all became well acquainted and today, as I said earlier, we went to the beach. Ask anyone who went, the scenery was beautiful. The water was a little brown but I think we were all appreciative for the swim anyways.
Well, that is until we wandered a little too far down and hit the sharp rock beds. Parents, if your kids come home with scarred feet and hands, it wasn't our fault. There was no escaping the jagged fate that awaited us. It's okay though, the salt water stopped the bleeding. We just had to protect our wounds from the flies.
All in all, the day was nice with hammocks, coconut water, and a picnic by the beach, even though we all got sun burnt. When we got back to the hotel, we all were kind of beat, though some of us went to a neighboring school run by Buddhists. We taught English to the kids (I was not one of this people, so unfortunately, I can't give more details).
That's it for now. Things are slower here in Kampot. So you'll be happy to know that when we're not resurfacing our last meal, we are quite relaxed.
A lot of us have started to get sick. I won't go into the details, but we're all being cautious of what we eat. Some of us (no names) have even been taking immodium even though they don't think they have anything. Better to be safe than sorry, I suppose.
Especially on the hour and a half hay ride (sans the hay) to the beach that we had today. We met up with the kids from Epic Arts that we had met the day before. For those of you who don't know, Epic Arts is an organization for deaf (and some handicapped) children. Though, a lot of them aren't really kids. Some of them are actually over 20.
Yesterday, when we were first introduced, the "children" all gave us our own names. I'm sure your kids can show you their sign when they get home but some of them were:
Mitch- signing his corn rows (The people here are fascinated with his hair. It's incredibly hard for the kids at Epic Arts to not touch it. He doesn't seem to mind, though)
Connor- signing his braces
Annalise- Signing to her head band
Basically, they find features about you and make a sign for it. They saw my bracelet and made a sign of running your pinkie over your wrist. Unfortunately, this looks like a slitting wrist motion which is similar to Sarah's slitting throat motion in reference to her necklace. But, we take this all in good fun.
After being introduced, we went through a series of acting/kinesthetic activities that Karen has been planning out over the past week. Let me tell you, these kids know how to be expressive. They even performed a few skits using masks and miming.
We all became well acquainted and today, as I said earlier, we went to the beach. Ask anyone who went, the scenery was beautiful. The water was a little brown but I think we were all appreciative for the swim anyways.
Well, that is until we wandered a little too far down and hit the sharp rock beds. Parents, if your kids come home with scarred feet and hands, it wasn't our fault. There was no escaping the jagged fate that awaited us. It's okay though, the salt water stopped the bleeding. We just had to protect our wounds from the flies.
All in all, the day was nice with hammocks, coconut water, and a picnic by the beach, even though we all got sun burnt. When we got back to the hotel, we all were kind of beat, though some of us went to a neighboring school run by Buddhists. We taught English to the kids (I was not one of this people, so unfortunately, I can't give more details).
That's it for now. Things are slower here in Kampot. So you'll be happy to know that when we're not resurfacing our last meal, we are quite relaxed.
-Diana G-
Saturday, June 21, 2008
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