We're back in the big city!
We spent most of last week (July 9-14) working with an orphanage in Kompong Chhnang. As the town is not a stop on the standard tourist circuit, we attracted a lot of stares and got a good dose of non-homogenized Khmer culture. To wit: in the market one morning, most of the group (10 out of 13, according to my count) ate fried crickets! Still, Kompong Chhnang is a province capital and fairly sizable town, so we did enjoy a few amenities. When a few students found themselves craving some comfort food, we were able to scrounge up a lunch of baguettes with peanut butter and jelly.
Our work at the orphanage was physically demanding and highly rewarding. We were asked to paint the entire girls' dormitory, interior and exterior, using rollers on bamboo poles. Our progress was slow at first, thanks to the unrelenting heat, our limited skills as housepainters, and the somewhat disorganized setting (think 60 children playing amid piles of newspaper).
We spent most of last week (July 9-14) working with an orphanage in Kompong Chhnang. As the town is not a stop on the standard tourist circuit, we attracted a lot of stares and got a good dose of non-homogenized Khmer culture. To wit: in the market one morning, most of the group (10 out of 13, according to my count) ate fried crickets! Still, Kompong Chhnang is a province capital and fairly sizable town, so we did enjoy a few amenities. When a few students found themselves craving some comfort food, we were able to scrounge up a lunch of baguettes with peanut butter and jelly.
Our work at the orphanage was physically demanding and highly rewarding. We were asked to paint the entire girls' dormitory, interior and exterior, using rollers on bamboo poles. Our progress was slow at first, thanks to the unrelenting heat, our limited skills as housepainters, and the somewhat disorganized setting (think 60 children playing amid piles of newspaper).
By the end of the four days, however, our skills as painters and self-motivators had improved greatly. We learned to work together as a Putney team, and to cooperate effectively with the children from the orphanage. In fact, the "chore" of painting quickly turned into a bonding experience, and our work partnership with the Kompong Chhnang children quickly turned into friendship. When it came time to decorate the interior walls with animals, vines, and butterflies, we found -- after some prodding -- that the orphanage kids were highly skilled artists!
Meanwhile, consistent with our broad Global Awareness in Action focus, we had intensive daily discussions about our work -- discussions about what community service work means in a global context, what it means to be a cultural ambassador, whether generosity can overlap with self-interest, and so on. Every single member of the group has made invaluable contributions to these talks.
We finished our painting in only three days, so we dedicated the last day to a field trip -- with all 68 of the children from the orphanage in tow! We drove to the nearby rice fields (Natalie Morin, Isabel, Caroline, and Lindsey all waded in the mud to try planting) and saw local potters at work. Then we relaxed by a lake, ate a pack lunch, and went on a fairly strenuous hike -- at least, it seemed strenuous in 100-degree heat and flip-flops. Then we returned to the orphanage for a celebratory final-night feast (roasted pig and Coke!) followed by a dance party with the children. They taught us some Apsara dance moves and we cranked dat Souljah Boy.
Now we are back in Phnom Penh at the Townview. We visited the genocide memorials at Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek -- not a fun afternoon, but edifying for everyone. We have also started working with other children's organizations in the city, including Friends and Aziza. (Since the Aziza students are older and speak more English than the kids in Kompong Chhnang, we are planning some more creative projects with them.)
We have also set up a series of informal mealtime speakers. So far we have heard from a U.S. Marine who works at the embassy, a Cambodian American who works in village political reform, and an Australian who works with the Work for Food Programme.
Goodbye for now,
Andrew and Shanti
Goodbye for now,
Andrew and Shanti
