Friday, June 30, 2017

The start of an adventure of a lifetime


                 After 8 months of preparation and over 30 hours of travel, I’ve finally made to Cambodia. It is amazing being here all of the preparation, every minute, every second, was worth it.

                On the first day we went to S-21, a genocide museum, and the killing fields. Cambodia has had a very difficult past that started with a genocide lead by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s. At S-21 they would torture the innocent people until they got confessions out of them, like they were CIA spies or Russian spies, if the confession was not what they wanted they would keep torturing the person. After they got a confession out of that person they were taken to the killing fields. At night the Khmer Rouge would play loud music and a diesel engine to drown out the noise of their screams. The music kept the secrecy of what was going on in the killing fields. They had an audio recording of what it might have sounded like and it was haunting, it sent chills down my spine. All I could think of was these innocent people not knowing what was going to happen next and then they were beaten to death. It brought tears to my eyes; I just can’t comprehend how people can do that to their own kind. All of this happened from 1975-1979 so it wasn’t that long ago, and now the killers and the victims all live together, and that astonishes me.

                Now knowing the background of the people I feel like I can understand more of why there is so much poverty. We arrived at the school and all the children ran towards the tuk-tuks and were yelling hello. A girl named Sery Tom pulled my hand and introduced herself. She was so welcoming I knew I would be able to remember her for a lifetime. Teaching in the classrooms involves a lot of repetition, it is read and repeat read and repeat. This is the one time out of the whole year that they get a native English speaker that has come to teach them, so I am glad that I can help them with their pronunciation. Today I did some manual labor around the orphanage. I didn’t know that I could sweat so much! All of us had sweat dripping down our faces, but at the end of the day the feeling was so rewarding when you see the kids smiling faces and you know you what you did was for them.

I love spending the end of the day with all of the kids. Yesterday we played a type of jump rope with some 10 year old girls.  The “rope” was like a big rainbow loom bracelet.  They would hold the rope on top of their heads and then they would jump over the rope. This rope was at my shoulders when the girls were only as tall as the middle of my torso, and they were able to jump over it, it was impressive to see how high they could jump. Today we played some volleyball and then we had a dance party. Srey Neath, a girl who lives at the orphanage, showed us all the dance moves. It was so much fun, it felt like all worries, pains, and problems, melted away into thin air.

                To wrap it all up I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. All these kids have a huge smile and when they smile at you it makes you smile almost as big as them. I love the rewarding feeling of knowing that, I have helped even if it’s only picking up a bottle cap or helping them pronounce ‘very’. I can’t wait for all of the surprises the rest of the trip holds.

8 comments:

  1. What an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing it with us.
    Auntie Alana

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  2. What an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing it with us.
    Auntie Alana

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  3. Fantastic powerful experience lifetime in a day nana

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  4. Not sure why but my comment didn't go through yesterday :(
    Thank you for sharing!! You are so blessed to be learning the lessons that you are learning so early in life. There are people that never fully understand the beauty in helping others! I love that I hear in your blog the fulfillment you are getting from it! Be safe, have fun, go out of your comfort zone to experience new things, and keep sharing that beautiful smile of yours!!! Love you and miss you sooooooo much!!!!!

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  5. What a mixture of emotions from the excitement of starting your trip and finally getting there to witnessing one of the world's most horrific human atrocities. Amazing experiences for sure...
    Your trip will probably have many of these contrasting pulls on your heartstrings.
    I love seeing the few photos that Lisa Marie posts to catch a glimpse of where, what and whom you're hanging out with. Each blog, post and photo makes me relieved you're doing well and helps knowing the incredible impact you and your friends are having on some very needy people. So proud of you. You will never know how much I love you! Be safe and careful. Enjoy yourself. Can't wait to hear more from you. - Love, love, love you- Papa

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  6. I miss you and can't wait til you come home!
    Love Declan

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  7. How amazing Berkley! I am so excited for you to be on this inspiring journey! I still vividly remember my trip to Cambodia; it will stay with you throughout your life and instill lessons you can only learn through an experience like this.
    Don't forget to take lots of pictures and buy "treasures" that will make you smile every time you look at them, remembering all the exotic places and beautiful people you meant on this trip
    Safe travels and lots of love from back home
    Amy May

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  8. Hi Berkeley! I am in awe of how you have opened your heart, your mind and your soul to be in Cambodia and connect with young people in a very different culture. There must be numerous differences that you notice right away like what language is spoken, what clothes people wear, what homes look like, etc. But from what you have written, you have already come to know how similar people are all over the world. If only everyone realizes, like you do, that we all respond to a smile and kindness, we would live in a world that may not have killing fields anymore. You are an inspiration to me. Seeing what you are doing reminds me to be a kinder, more helpful person! I too love seeing the pictures posted on FB and check everyday to see if there are new ones. We all miss you and look forward to talking with you when you are home. I'd love to hear you tell about your experiences. Hugs and a ton of kisses for my Berkeley! xxxx

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