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!