Long Overdue

Peacock Dance- Apsara Dancing 

Apsara Dancing 

Temple at the 1st Pagoda we visited  

Moto Monks 

Mango O'Clock 

Measuring boards for the new desks 

Laying the foundation for the school 

Angkor Wat at sunrise 

Ruins at Angkor Wat 

Apsara 

Oh My Buddha look at that view! 

Bayon ruins 

Ta Phrom 

On the way to Siahnookville

Admiring Kampot before dinner 

Bungalow view at Koh Rong 

Sunset at Long Beach on Koh Rong

I chose my favorites to share with you, and I hope you all enjoyed them. They cannot tell the full story, but with any luck they convey how amazing of a place Cambodia is and how wonderful it was to participate in this trip.

Thank you all for supporting me along the way!!

Don't forget: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. (Mark Twain)

Home Again

What a crazy few hours it has been. And by that I mean that I have been traveling for the last 24 hours and only have about 9 more left to go before I get home to Phoenix. Currently I am sitting in LAX figuring out my next move. But before I do that, we have some catching up to do.

The last time I gave an update was oh about 9 days ago. Since then so much has happened so fast that it is going to take a long time to explain it all. So this is fair warning, if you do not want to read a lengthy post turn away now and wait for the next one.

Alright, I guess we'll start with goodbyes. The last 2 days we spent at Sarath's and Sopheak's schools were so much fun and yet a little heartbreaking. We reviewed all the things we had learned so far and played games and just hung out with the kids and with Sarath's family. On Friday, his mother Maleaop and aunt Malian allowed us to help them make lunch. Just being able to sit around a table and laugh and talk even with a language barrier with that family was such a blessing. At the end of the day we said all our goodbyes to the students and Sarath's family (I'll admit that there were a few tears) and went back to Babel - our guesthouse if I have not already mentioned it by name.

Then came the task of packing. One little bag for a week at the beach. Well in reality the trip to the beach was half the fun. We stopped in Phnom Penh to visit the Killing Fields, a place where hundreds  of thousands of lives were taken during the Khmer Rouge rule. It would be 100% accurate to describe the fields as one of the most painful places I have ever been. If any of you wonderful readers get the chance to visit Cambodia, I urge you to spend some time learning about the history of the country before during and after Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. And visit the killing fields. It is in places like it that you can almost see history happening in front of your very eyes.

We then continued on our 14 hour bus ride down to the coast. We saw a gorgeous sunset and sang along to songs both English and Khmer. There are songs that will always bring you back to a time and a place, right? Suffice it to say that Celion Deion's the Heart Will Go On will now be one of those songs for me. We made it to Otres Beach which is 20 minutes outside of Siahnoukville right around 8:30pm. All Sunday we spent at the beach, which for those of you who have spent more than an hour in the sun with me, means that I got a sunburn. Yep, before we even got to our beach getaway I was burnt. To a crisp. However, I didn't let it dampen my spirits because I still ended up on of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen.

We spent Monday- Wednesday on the island of Koh Rong. Which had no wifi by the way, otherwise I might have updated a little sooner. Or maybe not... We lazed about in hammocks, trecked to the other side of the island to watch another beautiful sunset and even swam with- get this- glowing algae!!! Thursday we took the boat back to Siahnoukville and almost missed our flight to Siem Reap because our driver to the airport was late picking us up. Had that happened - and since there's literally one flight to Siem Reap per day- I would have had to have stayed in Cambodia forever! Or just until I booked another flight. Honestly, either option would have been just fine by me. Luckily we did make our flight though and spent a last few hours in Siem Reap hanging out together and packing for our trips back home. Which brings us to now.

I must say though that what I can't put into words is all the little moments I spent with my new friends that helped to make the trip special. I could have gone alone to Cambodia and done all the same things, but it is in the in between spaces and times that were filled with stupid jokes and honest conversations that will stay with me alongside the obvious moments of awe and wonder. So I want to send out a big thank you to everyone in my group who helped make this trip one of a lifetime. If any of you ever read this blog, I hope it brings back all the good memories we made. So here's to you Erica and Stefan, Morgan and Lika, Sarah and Sean, Rylee and Jelica.

And thank you to all you wonderful readers who have stuck with me throughout this whole trip, even though I'm not theist consistent of writers.

In the next day or so I hope to upload some of my favorite photos, so as always stay tuned for more.

With love,
Mikayla

Impossible

You know how there are things in life which we are told will be impossible to do? Things that should be too hard or take too much time? Here in Cambodia such a concept is irrelevant. Nothing is impossible.

Over the weekend we were given a glimpse at what ancient Khmer people were able to accomplish in the building of the most magnificent temples of Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Phrom. We have seen the effects of the devastation the Khmer Rouge caused while in power, and we have seen hard working people of today's Cambodia who will not give up and will not stop trying to make life better. Sure, there are exceptions to every rule, but everyone I have met here in the past few weeks has been open to new experiences and learning from others , as well as extremely hard working.

Case in point: Aki Ra. Today we visited his landmine museum which teaches about the millions of explosives still in Cambodia today left from the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge conflict. Aki Ra fought as a part of the Khmer Rouge as a child soldier for years before defecting to the Vietnamese army. After the reign of the Khmer Rouge he worked alone to diffuse landmines. He has since started an organization that not only diffuses mines all throghout the country, but also houses children hurt by landmines. And there is no way I am doing his story justice. If you can, try to look him up, he is one amazing man who thinks nothing of the word impossible. Oh by the way, Aki Ra alone has diffused something like 10,000 landmines. Seriously, holy cow that's incredible!

Also big news: we finished the floor of the school!!! Trenches with brick and sand = done. Rock and concrete layers =done! This place really will look fantastic!

The rest of the week so far has been much the same as far as teaching goes: I absolutely love it because the kids are so fun and so eager to learn. We will spend our last few days teaching this week and then over the weekend will move down to Siahnoukville.

For now, I've gotta get going but I will update again soon.

-Mik

PS. I found out that mangos does not have an e in it, so I thought I would share that little tidbit in case  anyone else was as clueless as me.

PPS. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Sook S'bye (Cambodian for what's up)

There is literally so much to say. And I'm writing this at a little before midnight on the eve of waking up at 4 in the a.m. to go see Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Why do I always feel inspired to post updates when I should be sleeping?

I havent really posted since Sunday. Oh wow, I am slacka-lackin. I digress. I guess since I was sort of vague when telling all of you lovely readers what exactly it was I would be doing here in Cambodia I should probably go into a little more detail about that before anything else. Part of what makesEDventure  unique from other volunteer opportunities is that it is a quite small company that focuses on making a global impact at the community level by working with leaders and passionate individuals from within a community. Research and development in essentially spending months in a location talking to a variety of such driven and passionate locals to determine where there is need and how EDventure can collaborate with the community to begin to make the changes that can be made. What this means for each project then is that what we are doing could change based on what the need is. So where before I thought I would be building bunk beds in an orphanage instead I have now found myself as part of the building team on what will be a new school and community center in the village of an amazing young man named Sarath. I will have to do a short bio on him in another post because he truly is an inspiration. Also, we are teaching in the small school that Sarath currently runs in his front yard for all his village's children to come learn at, as well as at Sopheak's school in another part of Siem Reap. Now that we're all up to speed, I'll dive in.

Monday was our first day on project working at Sarath's and Sopheak's schools and it was amazing. The young students are an absolute blast to work with as are my fellow volunteers. We taught 3 different classes from 2-7pm. Auntie, I appreciate what you do so mch more now that I have had to lesson plan and spend hours teaching 6-12 year olds. They are so excited to learn though, that it became infectious and I didn't notice I was tired until dinner that evening. Oh my Buddah, we ate so many mangoes too!!!! They are delicious and grow right in Sarath's backyard and his mother makes this outstanding mango fruit leather from it as well. Just wow. Anyway we taught our hearts out as well as played games (including a halfbreed of soccer and volleyball that is one of the most fun games I have ever played).

Tuesday was the King's birthday and so there was no school scheduled and we got to work on digging the trenches to lay the foundation of the school and chop down some nasty bushes and trees with the biggest red ants I have ever seen. Small tip, red ants here have giant mandibles and pack quite a punch. After lunch that day we found that even with a national holiday taking place and the kids were not required to come to school, they did anyway. Such a change from North American schools, and it was so fantastic to see the kids have such a desire to learn and improve.

Wednesday was much the same with chopping down trees and planting the seed of knowledge. More mangoes (I have no clue if I am spelling that right or not).  Plus I got to spend a little time doing more one-on-one tutoring about the concept of time with Somnah, Pana, Suek, and Machin, which was a lot of fun and really pushed me to find different ways to communicate.

Thursday was spectacular. We mixed concrete and laid brick alongside Sarath's uncles and father and cousins. It was a day of true back-breaking labor in the hot sun and I absolutely loved it. After work Sarath's mother, aunt, and grandmother made us all a delicious meal or chicken killed that morning with vegetables and rice. Of course while working I may have also eaten 2-3 mangoes. For dessert we helped make what will only be known as tasty balls. Here's what you do: make a dough mix of rice flour and water then put a piece of sugar cane into a small piece of the dough and roll it up. Throw it in a pot of boiling water until it floats to the top of the pot and then immediately transfer to cold wate. Serve with fresh coconut shavings and you have tasty balls. So good!!! We didn't work in the school that day as Sarath practically forced the students to take a day off (the last day of the holiday for the King's birthday celebration).

Finally, that brings us to today. I spent the day at Sopheak's school helping come up with lesson plans and later teaching. I'm so excited that I got to teach verb tenses today. They were my favorite thing to learn in high school Spanish classes. The kids there were awesome too, and I can't wait to see what next week will bring.

This trip has been so unbelievable so far and has already exceeded every expectation I have had/ I have now officially been here for 1 full week and still cannot believe how lucky I am to have made it here and to have this opportunity. I am sailing away from the safe harbor and have never been more glad for it. 'Til next time.

-Mikayla

Small Talk

Too tired to write. More this weekend.

Mikayla

Weekend News

Nothing has happened. The end....

JUST KIDDING!!!

Holy smokes so much has happened in the last few days. Not only have I gotten to meet some of the most amazing people in my life, but I've gotten to see fantastic things and taste the most wonderful foods. Not to mention the shopping! Let's just say someone in my group bought a full on gorgeous bag for like $6.00 What? So, where to begin?

How about Saturday morning, when I had the most delicious fruit platter. Or my first night on the town. Or the time Morgan almost got run over by a motorbike. Alright, alright. I'll just start at the beginning.

So, after my first half day in Siem Reap I was asleep within minutes. We're talking passed out. Holy cow can you say jetlag? However the next morning was very nice to be awake and showered by 6am and ready for the day before it got sweltering hot. By the way if you think you know what heat is, reconsider that thought if you have never been in 36 degrees Celsius  (104 Fahrenheit) weather with oh about 90-95% humidity. I too once thought I knew heat, but I was so very wrong. Anyway, woke up Saturday and ate this great fruit platter with pineapple and watermelon and banana and dragon fruit. Delicioso. Hung out with my group (Morgan, Sarah, Shawn, Jelica, Rylie, and Leka). Then we mosied on over to Khmer lessons. We trudged on through the previously mentioned heat for roughly 20 minutes before we came to stop at a place called Vitking's vegetarian Khmer food. So good! I will probably say this again a million times, but everything I have eaten here has been so amazing.

Khmer lessons were hard. Whatever you think a word looks like it might sound like, you're probably wrong. But it is a beautiful language to listen to. I am proud to say that I can say hello, yes, no, thank you, and brother/sister. Also egg. The rest I'm working on. From there we traveled back to our hostel the Babel (pronounced bah- bell) inn and rested up for an hour or so before we went out to dinner at a place called Temple Club. Oh, the curry was fantastic! We also saw a show in which college Cambodian university students performed traditional Apsara dances. It was so much fun and so great to get a lttile bit of insight into the culture and how people are able to preserve it. Later that same evening myself , Sarah and Shawn walked the night market and saw everything from tshirts to fish pedicures. I will definitely be going back soon.

That brings us to today. I swear, I feel as if so many things have been happening every single day that I don't know what to do when it comes to writing it all down. Anyway, we all started the morning by walking to a pagoda for what turned out to be a very enlightening discussion between my new friends and our group leaders Stefan and Erika. Let's just say that I have the utmost respect for each and every one of these incredible people that I am so glad I get to spend the next few weeks with. Also, I got to learn a bit about myself as well, which can always be good for personal growth. From there we braved the scorching sun to find a place for lunch. I had yellow noodles with vegetables and a fried egg with Khmer sauce. Tastebud explosion! So amazing. We then made it back to Babel for some lesson planning. First day of school is tomorrow, and I've got to admit that I am both excited and perhaps a little bit afraid. But do what scares you right?

So after brainstorming for a few hours we finally packed ourselves into tuk tuks - the only transportation you will ever need in Cambodia, look it up they're awesome- and headed off to meet Raan. He's a monk by the way. No big deal, but y'know super cool. We spent about two hours just learning from him about Buddhism and himself. Such a fun guy! And so informative and kind. After eventually saying our goodbyes we walked back to Pub Street - the central hub- and walked around a bit before having dinner. Anyhow , dinner was once again splendid. I have not had a single meal here that has not been super delicious. We rounded out the night with a nice walk back to Babel in the cooling evening.

Overall, Cambodia has been so incredibly beautiful and I am more thankful everyday that I am here right now. I can only hope that the experience continues to be this amazing.

Also, please have patience as I am currently working on being able to upload videos and photos.

'Til next time,

Mikayla

The Start of an Adventure

Well, I made it!

After a rocky start on Wednesday morning (i almost didn't get on the plane because of a lack of a visa for stay in China) I finally got to Cambodia after about 28 hours of travel. Word to the wise: always know what the policies are of the countries you'll be staying in.

All of yesterday was fantstic getting to meet everyone with whom I will be spending the next three weeks. Also, four words for ya- fried ants with beef.

Anyway, today we will be spending in orientation and learning the Khmer language.

Stay tuned for more updates.