The Calm Before The Storm

Last week we went to Thailand for 5 days, with a group of about 14 other exchange students from our university here in Singapore. Yes, we had to skip a few days of school to do this, but it was worth it. We left Singapore Monday night, and returned very late Saturday night.

We flew from Singapore to Bangkok, Monday evening, and spent the evening at our really nice little hotel. The next morning we were catching an 8:45am flight to Ko Sumui, where we would then take a ferry to Ko Panyang. At least we thought we were. Turns out our flight was actually at 8:15am, and since it was a domestic flight, that half-hour makes a huge difference (we only showed up at the airport an hour before). So we missed our flight. Not a great start to the day, but what are you gonna do. Luckily, there was room for us on the next flight (very luckily, actually), but the only seats available were first class. So, we paid the difference for the first class ticket (which was only about $60 CDN, since it was just a short flight), and as a result enjoyed the many perks of flying business class such as the lounge where internet access, snacks and coffee/tea are offered......for FREE. Also, even though the flight was only an hour, we were served a full meal on the plane. Now if only we managed to get bumped to first class for our trip back to Canada, without the price tag....I think I'd be able to handle that.

Our first of two nights in Ko Panyang was the original reason we went on this trip: the full moon party. This is an all-night party on the beach that happens every month, with the full moon. Thousands of people come every month from all over the world, and it's one pretty crazy, but fun, night. It was basically like having 6 or 7 different night clubs but on the beach, in the sand, all with different types of music. We had a pretty large group, so we all felt pretty safe, adhering to the multiple-buddy system. Lots of fun. We got back to where we were staying around 6:30am, and watched the sunrise from some hammocks on the beach before we made our way to bed.

After two nights in Ko Panyang, we took a 1.5 hour catamaran ferry to Ko Tao, where we spent the final two nights of our trip. The first, we all stayed together staying on the main beach close to town, where we went out for some drinks and local food. By the way: street vendor Pad Thai is AMAZING......so are street vendor peanut butter and banana pancakes. Definitely a good night.

The second night, most of the group we were with had to leave the island to head back to Singapore, as they had booked an overnight bus back to Bangkok rather than the connecting flight that we had booked. Janene and I decided to branch out to see a bit more of the island, and to get away from all the touristy-stuff, so we did some research, and found a fantastic little 'hotel' on Freedom Beach, where we stayed in a cute little bungalow just steps away from the beach. We got there around noon, and it was absolutely inCREDible. There were probably only about 4 other people on that beach, which was a nice change from the busy beach we had just come from. We laid in hammocks and read our books, we swam, we floated, we ate lunch (twice in 2 hours, actually......which did not go un-noticed by the serving staff.......who were also not too shy to laugh about it pretty much right in front of us......) and it was exactly the afternoon that we were looking for. The water was crystal clear, and beautiful turquoise, there was not a single cloud in the sky, and the water was like bath water. I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep while floating on my back in the water....the ocean water is so salty that it makes it ridiculously easy to stay afloat. Unbelievable. That night we went out for dinner in the little village nearby, at a restaurant on a boardwalk that jutted right out onto the ocean.

The next day, it was time to head back to Singapore, and the trip was at an end. It was a great couple of days, with the perfect amount of relaxing beach time. I am absolutely, positively, head over heels for Thailand. I love it. If you haven't gone, you need to, because I'm pretty sure it's the definition of paradise. Out of all the places I've been on this exchange, Thailand has been the most beautiful, and Sean and I will definitely be going there together one day, hopefully in the near-ish future.

Coming home from Thailand was a bit of a sad return to reality......"what reality?" you may be asking yourself. Yes, you're right, I've had it pretty darn easy here these past few months, but now it's crunch time. For the next five weeks, we will be staying in Singapore (gasp!), to do schoolwork (GASP!!) and study for exams (crap). After exams, we have a week before we head back to Canada, which we will be spending in beautiful Bali, and then it's good-bye Singapore, hello regular life. I think I'm down to only about 41 more big sleeps before that day comes.

A few weeks ago the thought of leaving here broke my heart, and may have caused some palpitations as well, but now I feel like I'm ready to go home. I feel like I've done everything I've wanted to do here (save for Bali), and seen everything I've wanted to see. Perhaps this readiness to go home is a direct result of the fact that I'm going to be up to my eye-balls in boring, stinky school work for the next five weeks, and therefore have little to look forward to, or maybe I'm just ready to return to my normal life. I have a lot of great things to look forward to this summer, and I'm definitely missing my family and my insanely supportive husband.

I'm glad that I've reached this readiness on my own because I feel that, although it will be sad to say good-bye to Singapore and my temporary life here, it will be less heart-wrenching because I'll be looking forward to going home.

I register for my summer courses next week, and if I get the schedule that I'm aiming for, my class schedule is going to be pretty great. I have to take summer courses this year, because of the way my program is set up. UVic Business wants all their students to end on an academic semester, all together. I'm looking forward to this, because I haven't seen most of my school friends for 8 months or more, because of people being on co-op or exchange. It'll be nice to all be together again for our final four months. Come August, I'll be graduating, and then reality is really going to hit. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be 'when I grow up', so August can take it's sweet, sweet time in getting here. Ya hear that, August?

I feel like I'm all of a sudden going to have to start making adult decisions in an adult world, which I'm excited for, but terrified of at the same time. I'll have to make a career move, and Sean and I are going to be purchasing our first home shortly after that career move is made. Life all happens so fast sometimes, too fast.

Hopefully this whole "homework and studying" business will go by fast as well.........something tells me not quite fast enough.

I'm A Little Teapot

I got home from a week in Cambodia yesterday. I have to say that my trip to Cambodia was the most unreal experience, and was definitely the best trip I've been on so far. I can't even put into words the intensity of this past week, but I'll try best I can to describe what I experienced. I get emotional just thinking about it, because it was an extremely eye-opening experience that I am truly greatful to have had. Let me start at the beginning. We (myself, Janene, Tia, Lauren, and Mitch) landed in Phnom Phen, Cambodia's capital, around 7:30am.....a very early start to the trip. We crammed into a cab, and went directly to our guesthouse where we would be staying that evening. After checking in, and some breakfast, we booked a tuk-tuk for the day to take us to different "must-see's" around the city. For those of you who aren't familiar, a tuk tuk is a 2-4 seater cart hitched to the back of a motor-cycle. They're pretty bumpy, pretty cheap, and pretty easy to find in places such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The first shock about Cambodia was how unbelievable, scorching HOT it was. We weren't expecting the extreme heat, and it hit us like a tonne of bricks. So much hotter than Singapore. It must have been about 40 degrees every day we were there. I have never sweat so much in my entire life.

Our first stop on this day trip was the Phnom Phen killing fields. This was a pretty difficult place to be, emotionally. I didn't know too much about the genocide that took place in 1975 in Cambodia, but I sure learned a lot about it that day. First we went into a monument that was built by the government in remembrance of the victims of the genocide, and it contained thousands of skulls from those who were murdered in that very place, by the Khmer Rouge. If we looked closely, we could see that most the skulls had fractures in them, from blunt force trauma, which is how most of the victims were killed; this is because their murderers didn't want anyone outside the killing fields to be able to hear what was going on, so they would bludgeon them in the middle of the night, while they played loud music to muffle the screams. Shocked? So was I. I could tell you so much more in the way of details about what took place in those killing fields, but I won't. I won't because I feel if you're interested, you'll look it up, and if you're not, I don't want to burden you with the sadness of what happened. The Khmer Rouge were responsible for 1.5 million deaths, or 1/5 the entire country's population, and their motto was "to keep you is no benefit, to destroy you is no loss." Unbelievable. I learned a lot that day about what the Cambodian people had been put through just over 30 years ago, and I gained a deep respect for them.....especially those who were old enough to remember. I'm sure their life stories would be gripping. I also learned that humans can be extremely evil, and are capable of far more than I imagined. I no longer will take my sheltered life for granted.

After a somber couple of hours at the killing fields, we continued our tour to the Genocide Museum. This was a highschool campus that had been taken over by the Khmer Rouge during the genocide, and used as a torture prison, before sending the victims to the killing fields....much like a concentration camp. There were rooms that showed the different torture devices used, and large rooms filled just with pictures of the victims. I didn't even get to see all of these rooms, as I was so overwhelmed with grief for these people, and shock about what took place there, that I had to remove myself and sit outside. Men, Women, boys, girls, young children. No one was spared. As sad and horrific as learning about this, and seeing these places was, I feel that it was an extremely valuable experience, as it not only gave me insight on Cambodia's history, it gave me extreme respect and understanding for the Cambodian people. It also made me truly thankful for living where I do.

After the genocide museum, we spent some time at a local market, and then headed to a beautiful monestary. When we arrived, we were all wearing shorts and tank tops, which is a big no-no in a monestary. No shoulders or knees can be shown. So, we all had to buy the T-Shirts being sold at the admission counter (I guess this happens often), and we used scarves that a few of the girls bought at the market to wrap around our waists as make-shift skirts. Let me tell ya, we were stylin'......and sweaty. The monestary was beautiful with dozens of monks walking around the grounds. There were about a dozen buildings which were all very ornate. I spoke with one of the monks for a while, who was staying at the monestary for 3 days to write his exams. He was 26, and could speak 6 different languages, including English quite well. I had an extremely blonde moment, and at the end of our conversation, I introduced myself and stuck out my hand to shake his. He looked at me like I had the plague, and stepped back away from me. Right. I forgot. I'm female, and to monks, I might as well have the plague, because they're not allowed to have any physical contact with females. Including hand-shakes. Whoops. So I gave a little awkward laugh, and an equally awkward little wave, and went on my way. Good thing I didn't try to give him a friendly hug, or a pat on the back.

The next morning came very early, as we got on a bus to take us the four hours to a village on the beach called Sihanoukville. We had to find a place to stay, so we looked at a few different options. At our last stop, a place which I don't even remember the name of, we took a look at one of the rooms to see if it was the place for us. Right before we got to the room, I said "my standards are pretty low, as long as it has air conditioning, and a decently warm shower, I'm happy". It had neither. But we stayed for two nights because it was less than a five minute walk to the beach, and that was a huge plus. That afternoon, we headed to the beach pretty much right away, and met many of the locals. We got beach chairs on the beach, and every 30 seconds (no exaageration) someone was coming up to us asking us to buy massages, pedicures, manicures, fruit, post cards, bracelets, or just plain asking us for money. The hardest part was the children. There were dozens of children walking the beach trying to sell their bracelets. These kids were anywhere from the age of 8 to 17, and their poverty was obvious. We spoke with a few of them, as their english was surprisingly comprehensive. At one point, one of the girls, 23, came to my chair, put her basket of fruit down at my feet, and plunked herself down in the sand beside me. She started asking me questions about where I was from, how old I was, etc. Then she noticed my wedding ring. She found the fact that I am married extremely interesting, and decided to tell me her boy troubles. We ended up having a half-hour conversation where she talked, and I gave her advice. I kept thinking "I sound like my mother", saying things that I'm positive she would say if she were sitting there at that very moment. At the end of our conversation, the girl asked me if she could make me a friendship bracelet. She whipped out some thread, had me hold onto the end, and very quickly made me a beautiful little bracelet "to remember" her by. It was adorable. When I saw her later, I tried to give her money for the bracelet, which she wouldn't take, saying that it was for friendship, not for profit. I instead bought some pineapple from her for a very self-inflated price, which she accepted.

The following day, we had booked ourselves a day trip to some islands, which we got to by longboat. The day started off cloudy, but cleared up by lunchtime, giving us the perfect weather for our outing. The first stop the boat made was to snorkel near an island. Prior to the snorkeling, they had warned us all about the many sea urchins that lurked under the water, and told everyone to be careful as they were very dangerous. As someone who isn't really into snorkelling due to losing a contact lense or two in the past, I stayed on the boat. It wasn't long before one of the other tourists on our boat was dragging himself out of the water and holding his foot. Turns out he hit a sea urchin with his foot, and had 8 puncture wounds with purple ink in them. Me being "Soccer Mom", I whipped out my trusty (not so) dusty first aid kit that I had brought along in my day pack, and got to work. I gave him 2 benadryl capsules, cleaned the wounds with antiseptic first aid wipes, applied topical benadryl to the wounds, and then bandadged him up. He was about 25, and the woman he was travelling with looked to be his mother. She just sat there watching me, while I administered first aid to her son, while speaking to someone on a cell phone to determine if we should return to shore to seek medical attention for this guy. In the end it sounded like he would be okay, and that it would just hurt for a few hours. Thankfully he was. Janene also needed some patching up, as she hit her knee on something while she was in the water. One more example of why you should never travel without first aid supplies. It always seems to be needed. I got asked a few times that day "are you a nurse?" Nope, just overly prepared.

One of the islands we stopped on for a few hours was Bamboo Island, and it was absolutely incredible. We played in the water, laid on the beach, and hiked to another beach for more water and beach-laying. We also had lunch on the beach that was cooked over a small fire by some of the locals. Barracuda! It was sooo good, and something that I don't think I would have tried, had it not been the only option. Whatever the seasoning was they put on it, made it amazing, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Right before we sat down for lunch, one of the older Russian ladies from our boat was hobbling out of the water, and also needed some first aid due to a sea urchin injury as well. Thank goodness those things weren't lethal, or we would have lost a few that day.

I thought I was being careful, with my SPF50 that day, but turns out I could have used a lot more caution. I realized once we got back to where we were staying that I was burnt. Badly. Everywhere. My forehead, my nose, my chest, my arms, my shoulders, my legs. Everywhere. It's been almost a week, and I'm just losing the overall pink hue now......and my nose is peeling. Extremely attractive, I'm sure you can imagine.

That night,after taking a tuk tuk to up a mountain to watch a beautiful sunset, we went out for a delicious dinner on the beach at a small local restaurant with the ocean lapping only about 15 feet away from where we were sitting.

The next day was a long one. We had a 10 hour bus ride (split into a 4 hour, and a 6 hour, with a one hour stop in Phnom Phen for lunch), to get to Siem Reap. Our first bus was full, and the seats were pretty cramped and uncomfortable, with assigned seating. The next bus (the 6 hour ride) was also assigned seating, and Janene and I couldn't believe our luck. There were two seats at the front of the bus that were about 1.5 times larger than the other seats, upholstered in leopard print, and had about 5 times the leg room, with a front seat view of out the picture window at the front of the bus. Somehow we were assigned to these seats, making our 6 hour bus ride highly more enjoyable than the first four hours.

We arrived in Siem Reap around 8:30pm, after dark, and we were extremely happy at that point to have a male with us. The bus had pulled into a dusty small parking lot, off a dark alley where there were tuk tuk drivers waiting to drive people to where they needed to go. We got to the Mandalay Inn, and were extremely pleased to find that it was the nicest place we had stayed the whole trip. It was about 4 stories, with a large lobby, a small restaurant outside, and beautiful wooden bannisters that wound upwards with the stairs. Our room had air conditioning, AND a hot shower. I couldn't have been happier. Also at the Mandalay Inn, three other friends joined our group, making us 8.

The next morning we went to see the floating village. Apparently there is a fairly substantial group of people who, because of their Vietnamese descent, are not welcome in the city of Siem Reap, and have been banished to live on a river located out of town. We took a boat to take us to the village so we could see what this was like. Like most other things we had experienced in Cambodia, it was shocking. These people were extremely poor. They lived in floating shacks that they had built. The water was a disgusting shade of brown, which smelled like feces. This water was their toilet, their bath water, their source of food (fishing). I could only imagine all the different diseases they had purely from this water. It was sad to see how they lived, but again, an eye-opening experience causing me to be extremely thankful for what I have.

That afternoon was the best part of my entire Cambodia trip, and my entire exchange. That afternoon, thanks to some research and planning by Lauren, we had the opportunity to volunteer at a school and orphanage. I'm going to have to try very hard here to convey exactly what I experience that afternoon, because it's so overwhelming that I think it will be a challenge.

We were picked up a a few boys who looked to be around 18 years old. They drove us about 20 minutes outside the city to the middle of pretty much nowhere. We arrived at a small four-room concrete block, and when we got out, we were greeted by a small crowd of small, smiling faces, who each said "Hi my name is ------, what's your name? Nice to meet you", while extending their arms for a handshake. We had arrived at the orphanage, and I immediately fell in love with each of them. We then met a man named Savong, who is 27, but with a tired looking face, looks to be in his mid thirties. He welcomed us, and we crowded around him in a circle on the front porch of the orphanage while he told us a little bit about it. I'll try to remember as much detail as possible.

Savong, like many Cambodians, grew up in a very poor family. As a boy, he desperately wanted to go to school, and in Cambodia going to school costs money. Most days, he would end up going without a meal or two each day, so that his parents could send him to school. Finally, this was no longer an option, and he had to leave home to work, due to the lack of funds. He got a job working in a guesthouse, where he made about $15 a month. He studied hard, whatever he could, in the evenings, and worked hard during the day. Finally, he joined a monestary, where he was given education, a place to sleep, and guaranteed three meals a day. He lived in this monestary for four years, while he studied, and once he achieved the level of education he wanted, left the monestary to pursue his goal. His one goal, his one wish, was to meet people who could help him create a school where he could provide free education to children like him who otherwise wouldn't be able to go to school. He achieved this goal, and in 2005, with the help of some sponsors, built a school, which now educates many children. At this school, he often has people from other countries volunteer for extended periods of time; anywhere from three days to three weeks, teaching the children in English.

After opening the school, Savong came into contact with some children who needed so much more than an education. These children had no parents, no place to live, nothing. He desperately wanted to help them, and through the one-time donation of a man he knew about a year ago, he built a four room concrete block, to house these orphans. He has taken in 9 boys, who range from the age of 6 to 17. These are the sweet smiling faces that greeted us when we arrived. The most recent addition to the group is a 6-year-old boy who was rescued by Savong when his mother tried to sell him into slavery. Savong heard about this through a friend, and took the boy in.

Savong pays for these boys to live out of his own pocket. He has no sponsorship for the orphanage. It costs $15 a day to feed these 9 boys (and this is on a simple diet consisting of mostly rice), and often he has only $3 or $4 to buy food for them. When he can, he works giving transportation to tourists in a tuk tuk or the one vehicle he has. He also has his own family of a wife, a 4 year old, and a 6 month old. He is at the point where he is turning away boys in need because he simply can't afford to take them in. The boys each have one set of clothes, none of which fit them well. One of the boys was wearing a pink zip-up girl's hoodie, and it was about 40 degrees outside. That's all he had. They had no shoes. They sleep on the hard concret floor each night with no pillows, no sheets. Their toilet is a hole they have dug deep in the ground. I don't even know what they do for water.

After hearing his story, and most of us were in tears, we felt compelled to do something. We had brought a bag of school supplies with us, but that seemed like so little compared to what these children needed. So, Savong and his brothers took us and all the boys to a nearby market. Here, we bought all the boys clothes, and shoes, toothpaste, and food for the next few weeks. They were ecstatic. I'll never forget the smiles on their faces while they were picking out sandals from one of the stalls.

I'm a planner by nature. I love to plan events. When we get home to Canada, the girls and I are going to plan a fundraising event to raise money for this orphanage to send to Savong. I need to do something to help these kids. Forgetting about them is not an option. Not doing anything is not an option. They need help, severely, and I need to do what I can to assist them. Also, I want to see about setting up some kind of fund or something so that funds can be raised and money can be sent to them on a regular basis. I have no idea how to go about this, but if any of you know someone who has done something like this before, or has any idea about how to go about setting something like this up, please let me know. My email address is terracasey@shaw.ca.

After the market, we got to spend a few hours at the school. First we did some speaking in front of a class of older children, and then got to sit and talk with them for about half an hour so they could practice their english. Then we got to teach a large class of smaller children, around the age of 10. Their teacher asked us to teach them a song from where we are from. We chose "I'm A Little Teapot", and for the next hour we taught them the lyrics and the actions of the song while they practiced over and over again. It was priceless. That song now has so much more meaning for me, it was so adorable to hear all their little voices trying so hard to get the english pronounciation of "here is my spout".

This was by far the best day of the trip, for me, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet those boys, and Savong, and to help them in the small way that we did. I'm excited to see what more we can do for them, and I have high hopes that we can help them significantly.

The next day was our temple day. We left our hotel at 5am to go to Angkor Wat, so that we could see the sunrise over the temple. This is apparently THE thing to do in Siem Reap. I personally would have been just as happy to arrive at 9am. The sun didn't really "rise" over the temple, it just gradually went from dark to light. However, we did get to take advantage of the coolest part of the day, which was definitely beneficial. Angkor Wat is so much more interesting than I thought it would be. It was huuuuuuge, and so neat to be able to walk around such an old temple that was such a symbol in the Cambodian culture (it's even on their flag). After walking around the temple for a few hours, we had breakfast at a nearby local restaurant, and took our tuk-tuk to another temple. This one was even cooler. Parts of it were crumbling and I would call it "ruins" more than a full on temple, but it was so neat to see it. There were huge trees that the temple was built around, with their roots winding in and around the structure. I can only imagine what it would have looked like so many hundreds of years ago when it was first built.

Since we had been up extremely early that day (4:30am), we headed back to Siem Reap for a one-hour full body massage at a local spa, and a much-needed afternoon nap. Later that afternoon, we went to a third temple, which was also very interesting, and then headed to a fourth located about a 1.5 KM hike up a hill. We arrived at the top (very, very, very sweaty) to watch the sunset, with a couple hundred other tourists. It was a little cloudy, so the sunset wasn't as incredible as we had hoped, but it was a cool experience nonetheless.

The next day, we flew out of Siem Reap early in the morning, and arrived back in Singapore around noon (Sunday).

When I left Vietnam, I couldn't wait to get back to Singapore, but leaving Cambodia was a different story. I felt connected to Cambodia, after learning all that I did during the week I was there, and I wasn't ready to leave. It was sad to say good-bye. Despite the extreme poverty, the people there are truly kind-hearted, and I was happy there. I almost went to Bali for reading break instead of Cambodia, to lie on the beach for a week, and relax. Cambodia was anything but relaxing, but I am so glad to have gone. I think that week was a huge eye-opener, and a life changing experience. I couldn't have asked for a better trip.

I am leaving for 5 days in Thailand next Monday night. We are going, with about 20 other exchange students, to a full moon party in Thailand on March 10th, and then staying for a few extra days to check out some of the nearby islands. I'm looking forward to it, but have a lot of school work to get done this week before going, so it's going to be a busy week. Quiz in Corporate Lending tomorrow, so I guess I should go study.

I am officially past the half-way point, and down to less than two months until I return to Canada. This saddens me. Although I miss home, I am experiencing things here that I know are once-in-a-lifetime, and I'm so thankful to be here.