Comparisons

Day 3 1/2

Today we are visiting the different orphanages. At first, we went to SFODA. We started out by getting lost a little bit, then crossed the Tonle Sap River (on the sidewalk) and a tuk-tuk breakdown. We finally got to SFODA and started playing with the kids. The actual orphanage was so different than the CPO orphanage. They had individual beds for each kid, and a different room for both boys AND girls.They had a decent kitchen, an office, and even a library of their own. They had picnic tables, and they had lots of motos. It was so nice! And all of the kids were pretty decently dressed, as in their clothes were clean. Anyway, my time is up at the internet cafe, and I will try to blog later!

Beginning of Opportunity

Airplane

The minute my mom and I got to the airport at 7 am on Tuesday morning, I was buzzing with excitement. Throughout all of the plane rides and airports, I was ready to get to Cambodia and sleep, and think about my first time out of my home country. The thing about the travel that I remember the most vividly? A blood red sun that lit up the sky in the South Korean evening.

Day 1

We got to Cambodia at 11:30 at night their time, and we had barely slept in the past 32 hours. We were exhausted, excited and completely unaware what was going to happen. We got maybe 3 hours of sleep, and were up and ready by 7:30, and had our orientation at Star Kampuchea. We actually did so well on time that we got to go to the orphanage for an hour that first day. I met so many kids, heard a few inspiring stories, and watched my little monkey child swing from the tuk-tuk bars (more on that later). We got home, and I fell asleep immediately, as I was, and still am a little tired. Day 1 went as perfect as it could have.

Day 2

Day 2 was all about the kids. We went, and had our first full work/play day. I got so attached to 3 kids in particular: Roon (which I think is how I spell his name), who is 5 years old, is my little monkey child, and who I had to comfort today when he started crying after a red fire-ant bit him; Sreg-neat, who is 12 years old, and the girl that I have come to love in such a small amount of time; and Houen, who is 15 years old, and has a hurt foot at the moment, changes his own bandages every day, and took amazing pictures with my camera. I had no idea that my attachment to the kids would be this strong within a matter of hours, and none of us will want to leave.

Imagination

Today I read Jamie Dahlquist's blog about their last day with the kids at CPO. It made me cry when I knew that those kids were so upset to see their friends and newfound family leaving. I only hope that we can make them as happy as the Cambodia 1 travelers made them. I can't wait to get off of that plane into a foreign country, the first time I will ever step onto foreign ground, and look around. To see everything, to feel the excitement, to know that I will soon be having the experience of a lifetime. I want to hug them and never let go. I want to make an impact on their lives, and give them a spot of happiness in their tough situations. I want to see their smiles, and hear their laughter, and let them know that we will be back for them, and that they will always be in our hearts.
Of course, this is all my imagination. These are the things that I want, I need to accomplish in Cambodia. I want to change their lives.

Preparation

"How did it get so late so soon? Night is here before afternoon. December is here before June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?" -Dr. Seuss
Cambodia 1's D-Day is only two days away, and many of them leave tomorrow to spend the night in Denver. I can't help thinking of how fast this time has gone by. It's been exactly 6 months since I interviewed for the chance to go to Cambodia to help orphans, and when I got the call just a few days later, I still had no idea how much physical and mental preparation that I would need. As of now, I may be prepared physically, but I don't think that I'll ever be prepared mentally. You can't be prepared mentally and emotionally for something like this. We don't experience the conditions and situations that they do. I wish all the best to the Cambodia 1 travelers: Haley, Creek, Keavy, Schariar, Gena, Nicole, AJ, Jack, Ms. Gutmann, Lisa-Marie and Jamie Dahlquist. Please, please, please, please, email me!