Cambodia!

CAMBODIA DAY 2:

It was so nice to wake up in a hotel room with my mom and brother this morning.  Even though I haven’t been homesick once the entire trip, it has been great sharing my experience in person with my family.  My mom and I started the day with a great Western-style brunch then a Vietnamese couples massage.  Relaxed and ready to begin our adventure, the three of us met the Semester at Sea Parent trip and headed to the airport for Cambodia!  Our 2-hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was easy enough and before we knew it we were touring a beautiful museum of Buddha figures with beautiful landscaping and lily pad ponds.  On the way to our next stop we passed an elephant walking down the street! It was hysterical to randomly see an elephant with people riding it go past our coach window.  From there on out it was our goal to ride an elephant but we never had the chance.

During sunset we took a cruise across the river to see the floating fishermen’s village.  All along the river there were hand-carved wooden boats with fisherman and children rowing their day’s supplies of fishing gear back home.  The sunset was truly spectacular. The sky turned a vibrant orange with temples across the river shaping the sunset scene. As we left the shantytown fishermen’s village behind and headed back across the river, I again had a moment of appreciation for what life I’ve been dealt growing up in America.  This feeling became even more present at our next stop- Palm Tree Orphanage operated by Cambodia’s Hope. As we walked down a dark narrow street with children running out of their homes to say ‘hello’ we all held our clutched our purses a bit more than before.  However, when we turned into the entrance of the orphanage we were immediately greeted with open arms by many children.   One little girl, Samak, grabbed my hand in hers and gave me a huge hug.  We were best friends for the rest of the night, she showed me pictures of her mother and father, told me about her past and also showed me where she sleeps.  The orphanage was immaculate and the children all appeared clean, happy, and good-hearted.  Samak gave me a pink beaded bracelet of hers to remember her by.  As our time at the orphanage ended, some of the little girls and I sang Mama Mia, Dancing Queen and other fun hits.  It was such a great experience playing with the children, but also very hard to leave knowing that we’d all go back to our very different lifestyles.

To end our long day, we sat down to a traditional Cambodian dinner in a beautifully decorated indoor-outdoor restaurant.  My favorite dish was dried rice paddies topped with a sweet nut/beef sauce.  After checking into our hotel and barely making it through showers, my mom, Trent, and I fell hard asleep happy to be together.