So close

     "Everything worth doing starts with being scared." - Art Garfunkel. My fears for this trip are I won't be able to communicate with anyone. I know the basics of Khmer but I am not conversational in it and I don't know if I pronounce the few words I know right. Also, I am kind of scared to teach. When we do presentations in class at school, I get nervous. I feel well prepared, so I know I'll do fine, and I know everyone in the class. In Cambodia, I won't be presenting I'll be doing a whole lesson plan and in front of many people I do not know. I am really nervous for that. But I know that we will be preparing with lesson plans with CGA so I should be excited to teach. Last year I loved teaching in Nicaragua and I hope I'll love it just as much when I teach to the kids in Cambodia.
     I am really excited to meet new people. These people and kids I will meet I will never forget. I have experienced this by going to Nicaragua I still remember them to this day even what they were wearing the last day I saw them. Also, I am really excited to see Cambodia's culture, I know it is very different from mine and it will be exciting to experience new things. One of my goals is to try and communicate with someone so I can know what they experience and maybe just talk to them like I would with one of my friends. Furthermore, I want to be able to look back on this and know that I did the best I could do and gave all that I had. Also I know that from experience I will make great friends on this trip both on my team and with the kids, so I can't wait to see what I learn about everyone and to meet new people.
     My fundraising has been interesting this year some of the things I have tried to do to earn money for the trip, have not worked while others have. I had originally wanted to make bracelets to sell but they ended up taking me to long to make for what I would make from them. Also, selling my hockey sweatshirts has been hard because I thought there were a lot of people to sell them to but I just couldn't find the right way to advertise them, and therefore I wasn't able to get the word out to much. I am going to do concession at a hockey tournament next weekend and I am doing a lot of babysitting. So I am still finding ways to fundraise.
       I am so excited to go to Cambodia! I am really excited for the plane ride, I want to become a pilot when I grow up. I love the excitement of going some where new and trying new things and I can't wait to meet new people.

Learning from the past

     "Life is tough, but darling so are you." Stephanie Bennett Henry. In 1975, Cambodia was controlled by Pol Pot during his regimen 1.7 million people died from being executed, overworked, or starved they were put into mass graves known as killing fields. Everything was under a strict rule even the rice fields had to have a certain checkered pattern in them. Living under his regime was torture all the educated were tortured and executed, children were taken away from their parents to fight for Pol Pot. The country was put into chaos because Pol Pot was taking out all of the educated so he could have an uneducated society that he could mold and form into what he wanted them to do. They did this by closing schools, businesses, and killing all the educated. They took over a high school and made it a secret prison. They called it S-21. At S-21 many were interrogated, tortured, and executed, out of the thousands and thousands of people that were brought there only seven survived. They were innocent people tortured till they gave a false confession. Then they were taken to the mass killing field were a blow to the neck was given ant that was it. These people did not deserve this but the paranoid leaders thought everyone was a spy for the CIA or KGB. But in 1979 Pol Pot fled from the forces who captured Phnom Penh letting Cambodia be free of his tortuous regime. 
      Cambodia's culture is very religion based. There are many temples for Hinduism and Buddhism throughout the country. Cambodian's try to show a lot of respect to others. When meeting someone they greet with Sampeah, this is when they press their palms together and bow. The higher the hands are and the lower the bow the more respect is shown. I find it very cool that there is a way to show more respect to different people by doing a different bow, unlike how in America where we only have a handshake. Cambodia is said to have a collective society, which is when groups are valued over individuals. I think this is cool because it is different then what is in America.
     Cambodia's recovery has been rough. All of the educated were taken out when Pol Pot was ruling and he left the country in a pretty bad state. But just like Stephanie Bennett Henry life was tough but Cambodia was tougher and they will recover and rebuild. Fortunately my life has not has tough and hopefully will never be but fundraising always represents a challenge to me. I am doing fine this year and I am selling sweatshirts to my hockey team as a fundraiser. Through all my fundraising this year I learned that people were a lot more generous when they know that their money is going to a good cause. It was really heart warming to see people donate then add a little tip when they knew where their money was going to a good cause. All in all, fundraising has showed me that there is good in people, and learning about Cambodia has taught me that no matter what you can always learn and recover from your past.

A Fresh Start

         FEAR has two meanings Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. (anonymous) I learn't that it is usually better to do the last option, Face Everything And Rise. This year I will have less fear because I have risen from last year. I was scared and fearful because I was going on my first service trip to Nicaragua and I had never been away from my family and I had no idea what to expect. I chose to face everything and rise. I learned that these kids we go and help deserve so much more than they have, and that since I can help them I Will help them. 

        That is why this year I am going to Cambodia to help teach, clean, and improve the Cooperation of Peace Orphanage outside of Phnom Penh. I am going with CGA to an orphanage with 57 orphaned and abandoned kids. Last year I wished I was there longer so I could spend more time with the kids and be able to help them more, now with this trip there is more manual labor and it is longer so I will be able to do both those things. The kids showed me that even though life is not perfect and you don't live in a mansion you can still make the best out of everything. I want to do this because the world has given so much to me that it is time I give back to the world.

         My name is Berkeley Kelly and I am 13 years old and an 8th grader at Eagle Valley Middle School. I love to make crafts and art ,anything from making jewelry to drawing pictures, and play hockey , I been playing for 9 years. I have an amazingly supportive family who are my mom, dad, and my brother, Declan,  he's 10 years old. They are happy that I am doing this and I hope I can talk Declan into going on a trip. 

          This is my chance to help others and I am going to take it. I can't wait for the upcoming meetings, learning about the people in my group, and my trip to Cambodia!! 

Wrapping up

If you take a moment to stop what you’re doing and look around you will see happiness everywhere around you. On my afternoon home visit on Wednesday, we visited Anjelica. When Mario, our translator, fell out of his chair it made Anjelica laugh so hard that everyone started to laugh too. Anjelica is 26 and when she was 7 she fell out of a tree. She had liquid in her spine and they had to remove vertebrae, which made it hard for her to move or walk. On another home visit we met Esteven. He is 6 years old and has one of the most heartwarming smiles in the world. Esteven has PC and could not walk but he was one of the sweetest kids ever.

When I was in Mrs. Rosivals class yesterday Greybi would smile every time he got a question right or someone told him his picture was bonito. Jose Carlos would smile every time he got a math problem correct. Both Greybi and Jose Carlos loved to play around and they loved to laugh and smile. All the kids at Esquela Especial are some of the happiest people I have ever met. 

              Today I went on three morning home visits to meet Mateo, 2, Gary, 3, and Iriany, 2. Mateo has liquid in his head which they have to drain and he does physical therapy four times a month.  He has a really nice family, and is one of the most joyful and smiley kids ever. Gary has Down syndrome and was really antsy but I was told he loved to dance so I can't wait to see him dance tomorrow at the Fiesta. Iriany has Down syndrome and a heart problem. We met her at the local town clinic and I can't wait to see her again tomorrow.

               When I got back to the school I went to the class room for the young men and women who are deaf Alaina, 17, Christian, 16, Carlos, 10, and Juan Luis, 16. They were all very nice and where very understanding. If I didn't get something they would try and help me understand by signing slower or pointing to what they were talking about. Alaina is studying to be a hair style list and braided my hair. She is amazing. They were learning math so Margaux and I got to go up and do a couple problems too. The intelligence of the people at the school truly amazes me.

                 I really don't want tomorrow to be my last day. I love all the kids there and seeing them smile and laugh makes all my troubles go away because happiness is contagious. I know Alaida won't be at the party tomorrow because she has to work and that just crushes my heart because I want to spend tomorrow with everyone. During the Fiesta I plan to give Alijandra a bracelet I made for her. It is a turquoise stone wrapped in silver wire with a white and blue wrist band. I really hope she loves it because now whenever I see turquoise I will think of her and Nicaragua and I hope whenever she looks at the bracelet she will think of me. 

                The Spanish here has been really cool to show me how different countries speak different languages and how diverse our world really is. It has been really eye-opening for me to see the world I live in and not just to see "perfect" America. I really do not want tomorrow to be my last day with the kids because I am going to miss them all so much and I will treasure the time I spent with them forever.    

The adventure continues

        So far this trip has been amazing. Yesterday I taught with Mrs.Yahoska. She only had one student show up because one student was sick and I don't know why the other wasn't there. The name of the child who was present was Jesus. He is blind and a very nice kid. So while we were waiting for Jesus to come Mrs.Yahoska and I tried to talk. She showed me how to write in Braile, how everything has been modifyed for the blind in the class room and alot more.
       Jesus arived and then a little 2nd grade girl came into the class room too. Her name was Rachel and she was not blind but she is autistic and has a ton of energy. She was playing and thouching everything so I took her out side to the swing set. We were swinging for around 10 minutes then we went back inside.
       When we went to lunch where all of the students were hugging everyone it was really sweet to see how loving they are. That was where I met Winder. Winder is deaf. He a very sweet, and seeing and hearing him laugh makes my day. We had a  recess and since Jesus was just sitting on a bench and all I could really say in Spanish was ?como estas? I let him play with my bracelets. I have around 15 rubberbands on my wrist so I bunched them together and let him feel them. When Jesus left, Winder came in and played with my legos and drew in my note book. I find it easier to communicate with Winder because I don't have to speak Spanish for him to understand me.
         When everyone was getting ready to get on the bus I sat next to Julio who was all alone on the bench. He wouldn't respond to me so I stopped tring to speak Spanish and tried a new way to communicate. So I waved infront of my face as if I was hot to see if he was too. I guess he really liked that because that was all he did until I left. Whenever he needed my atention he woiuld tap on my shoulder and fan in front of his face and smile.
          Today I was teaching in Mrs.Raquel's class. There were seven or more kids in her class with a range of special needs. It was a preschool/kindergarden class. I don't know what special needs Yondell has but he was really energetic. There was a toy where you could stack blocks on top of each other but Yondell would just throw the blocks across the room and bang the base on the table. He was really sweet. For the rest of the day I just tried to interact with the kids and keep them occupied. At lunch I helped  Erick who is very malnurished, and Alejandra who was nice and friendly.
           At the end of the day Winder came in and gave me a big hug. Then I watched Michal who has Down Syndrome and was in a high chair because he was so young. He would throw everything I gave him and slapped me in the face but he was really cute.
           I am really excited to see what tomarrow has to bring and I cant wait to get back to the school.

The Beginning

It's the first day of our trip and the second I walked out of the airport I started to melt because it was so hot. On our plane ride to Managua, there was a lightning storm and it looked very cool form the plane window.
      When you get to Nicaragua, you see many big colorful flowers and all the lush greenery every where. There are also a lot of birds and some of the them sound pretty while some are really obnoxious. All of the houses in Nicaragua are bright and colorful - some are blue, pink, green, etc. All of the people here seem very nice and happy. I have heard music since I have gotten here and it has not stopped. When we got to our hotel last night we it was around 11 o'clock and there were multipule parties going on. They were not small parties either and I'm pretty sure they went through the night.  It is very nice music so I didn't mind.
       When I woke up this morning I relized that it was "cold" last night and it was going to be a lot hotter during the day. It was one of the hottest days I can remember, so all of the dirt stuck to my sweaty body. While driving to the school I noticed how the bottom half of all the trees are painted blue, pink, or white and I was told it was just for decoration. We cleaned the school today and there are 14 rooms total. There is a kitchen, a construction room, an art room, and 11 class rooms for children with different special needs. I cleaned Mrs.Olgas room and Mrs. Yahoska's class room.Cleaning out the rooms today showed me how I shouldn't be complaining about the little things that don't really matter because in the class rooms there is dirt every where you could think of. So I have it pretty lucky.
        In one of the class rooms we found half of a dead lizard - no tail just half of its torso and its head. It was really gross and neither David nor I wanted to touch it so we got Becca to put it in the trash. Also, while at the school today I heard singing and saw a small parade. Whitney said it was a funeral and since the coffin was so small it was probably a child's funeral.
        On the ride home there was a horse show and it was sort of like a parade too. We were behind a float trying to get to our hotel. While we were waiting for the float to move we got melons from the back of a truck.
        Tomorrow I am teaching in Mrs. Yohoska's classroom. I will be teaching children who are blind and I am nervous because I don't know if I will be able to understand them.
         So far this trip has been amazing.

                                  -Berkeley

All most there

     I'm all done with my fundraising so I don't have any fundraisers planned currently.  Some of my fears for the trip is that I will not know enough spanish and I will not understand if someone is speaking to me in spanish. I am taking a spanish class in school and I'm learning about food and family but I do not feel to confident speaking in spanish and I stumble across my words. Also I don't know if I'll do good if I have to teach a subject because I might skip over something important or I might pronounce something wrong and it could mean a totally different thing than what I meant to say.
   My personal goals on this trip are to try and communicate well with everyone because, I think that communication will be essential for this trip. Another goal is to improve some of my spanish. I think actually speaking spanish will help me develop better language skills. I also think this will be a great way for me to see whats going on in work out side of my small town. I am really excited and nervous for this trip so I hope this will be a wonderful experience for me.