Eye-openers

Day 11

This was probably the hardest day here. Yes, yesterday was hard, leaving the kids, but today? Today was our first day away from them.
We did so many fun things today, which of course were fun, but I found myself wishing that I could be sharing it with my family: both here and in Colorado. I wish they could see the richer part of Phnom Penh, the splendor of the Royal Palace, and even the inside stores.
One of our experiences today was a cooking class. Our instructor was a graduate from a program called Friends. This program takes kids off of the streets and educates them in different fields, so they can earn a living. This man was well-spoken, and he could cook very, very well. He was very kind, and very funny, and I can only hope that more kids in Phnom Penh and in the slums can get chances like he had as well.

Day 12

Although today was a more quiet one, it was still an eye-opener for me. At the one bathroom-break that we took, there were kids selling fruit, fried grasshoppers, and fans. I wanted so much to buy things from them when I saw their faces, wide-eyed and innocent, but I knew that they needed to be in school, learning for their futures. It made me think of the kids at CPO. The little boys running around half-naked made me think of my baby boy, Roon. One of the girls reminded me of Srey Neath. And one boy that I began talking to had the same smile as Houen.

Now, everywhere I see, even in the littlest of things, it reminds me of those kids. I saw morning glory at the market, and thought about how we planted it in the garden that we made, and also worked on with Ranot and others. If I see a woman wearing a kroma on her head, I see Mama. I know that I will never be able to forget these children that have made such an impact on my life, and I hope that I have done the same to theirs. This eye-opening day made me realize this. I will never forget Sopia, the blind boy with the amazing way with words. I think about them, even in the strangest of places, with the strangest of triggers, and I know that I always will.

Day 13

We started by getting up at sunrise. We drove to Angkor Wat, a beautiful temple, that looked so picturesque that it could have just been a painting on the wall.

As the day went on, and we toured more temples, my favorite was Bayon. It had multiple towers, each with four faces on it. It was originally Buddhist, with the faces being Buddha, but it was converted to Hinduism, and unlike any of the other temples where Hindus took the Buddha statues, they left these ones be, for they saw them as the faces of one of their own gods, Visnu. This to me was amazing to think that the two rivaling religions could have something common together, each worshipping something similar, and yet hate each other at that time. I feel like I may have done that before. Disliked someone because they wore my same pants, or wore the same hairstyle, most in particular; my younger sister, Cayla.

I know that I won't do that again. This trip has changed me, in more ways than that. I will no longer be as selfish, or as vain. I know that I can't change those parts of me totally, and I don't want to. I just know that I am forever different, and forever a better person than I was before.