Through the eyes of a child...

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"He fell off his bike today and lost a toenail, got right back up and continued on...they don't cry because when they cry at home their parents beat them." Alex tells me this as we're taking a break from carrying sand bags to line the perimeter of the new pond watching an adorable 4 year old bomb around with no shirt on a pink bike with streamers..."60% of the kids are beaten at home and 30% experience some form of sexual abuse...families here are messed up." It's my first day in the village of 'Torilla,' a 30 minute drive by moto from Siam Reap ...I've just arrived at the school where I will helping Khmer teachers create an English preschool program and assisting others in classroom management.

My new boss, Billy who organizes funding and policies for the school, picked me up at my hotel and proceeded to flood my mind with information about Cambodia and the village...upon arrival everyone screamed as we drove by, "Hello Billyyy!!!"...I found out about Billy and his new school through a friend of a friend and inquired into volunteering and living in a village...the school has only been open a week or two and is taught by Khmer teachers who also live in the village...it's a vocational school for students who already attend Khmer government schools, and teaches a few trades, English and Spanish...it's in the process of becoming fully sustainable and it is Billy's hope that in 2 years it will need no outside funding due to the crafts, produce and pond fish it will sell to pay the teachers and supplies...

Apparently, it's rare for foreign volunteers like myself to ever request to stay with a family, and my nickname is already the guinea pig...I will be staying for $50 a week, with a man nicknamed 'frog' and his family who will offer me a place to lay my head and store my bag and provide me with food for 2 weeks.

This weekend, before I begin work, as the group of friends I have made through Vietnam and into Cambodia pass through Siam Reap and check out the sights, I'm finding it strange to be saying goodbye to them...usually it's me who is leaving as well, making those usual feelings of sadness pass quickly at the thought of a new town, new experiences, and new friends...this will be the longest I have stayed in one place in 5 months...

My back is sore from helping with the sand bags and I am a sweaty mess due to the immense heat of this place...we're heading on bikes to Angkor Wat in a few minutes, and again tomorrow to watch the sunset...

More later when inspiration or enough free time beckons me to write...

Erin

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