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Published: March 12th 2009
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Scrapbook
These are the scrapbooks we made for the kids. They were pretty pleased with them I think and it was good to leave them with a message. Hello,
We've finally left Siem Reap and have safely made the trip to Phnom Penh. Me and Rich only just made the coach as we were naturally slightly late and also a car crashed into our Tuk-Tuk in some of the worst reverse driving I've ever seen. There were literally four people banging on the back windscreen of the car but it just kept on going until we heard a hideous crunch around the front wheel. I genuinely thought that was us for the day... but I forgot you don't bother about trading car insurance details in Cambodia. In fact, the two drivers never said a word to each other - there was no road rage, swearing, shouting or cursing of any sort. I might have sworn in disbelief, but other than that there was absolutely nothing. We just carried on. I genuinely expected to see some kind of wildebeest or jungle bear attempting to drive the car.
"It's my first day."
To my disappointment it was just a regular man, but I'm really missing the main point of this part of the trip. The journey was really a non-event except for that it was the first time
Me and Ratha
One final piggyback...displayed is the hat that was tragically lost forever as it flew off the back of a Tuk-Tuk. I had heard the new Sigur Ros album and also "All of a sudden I miss everyone" by Explosions in the Sky. We said goodbye to the kids that morning and we were all pretty cut up about it. We said "Goodbye Children" at the end of class for the last time and they repeated it as they always do, in their strange little Gooooodbyyeee Chiildren song and left the classroom waving.
For five weeks we've been seeing the kids:
Ratha, Phirom, Hack, A Choy, Vichet, Sonee, Tocla, Ro, Savong and Kakada (previously known as Crocadah, and prior to this Crocodile)
6 days a week and we've grown very fond of the little blighters. We told our morning class we were leaving with the help of Smi's translation at 9am before finishing everything off with a mask making session. Unexpectedly the class were completely silent for about 10 minutes and Ratha began to cry...it was awful. That day we went out and bought journal/scrap books for the 10 orphans living at Osbourne House and collected some good portrait photo's of each of them to put on the front. On our return to the orphanage I found one
Mask Parade
Looking pretty cool. of the kids (as usual) had grabbed my hat, so I went looking for the mischievous face belonging to Vichet. I found him by himself upstairs watching cartoons with the dullest face I've ever seen him with. I think all the kids felt exactly like we did. I really didn't want to go, but realistically it was the only choice because we've completely run out of things to do at night and we want to see more of Cambodia and Asia before we return home.
At night we bought cakes and had a mini celebration. We looked at the full moon through a telescope and gave the kids their journals. The intention is that when they have volunteers, visitors or an important event in their lives they can record it all in their individual books. They seemed pretty pleased about it and the glum faces went away for awhile. The moon looks incredible through a telescope - that was the first time I've seen it so it was an appropriate experience to mark the event.
I had intended to accompany this blog with photo's and also update the last blog with the same. I'm going to have to
He takes a bow...
Ni Morl's five week long performance comes to an end, and he takes his final bow dramatically in the classroom that is his stage. postpone this because I decided to give my card reader to Savong, who we've been giving camera lessons to. Learning to use something that none of the other kids can use has given Savong a huge boost in confidence. He hasn't been able to make friends through playing because he has no legs past the knee, so it's been fantastic to see him go from a lonely, shy kid into someone with confidence, character and a regular beaming smile. I love all the kids at the orphanage, but Vichet and Savong have had the biggest impact on me. They have both changed dramatically over the past few weeks and both seem to be much happier. I'll really miss them and I plan to head back there at some point to see how they're getting on.
We wrote in their books the next day and finally managed to tear ourselves away to attempt the Phnom Penh coach - back to the start - bear crashes car.
Today we visited the Killing Fields and S21. I'm really too tired to try and capture the experience in words right now. It was horrifying, sickening at times and very overwhelming. I saw
We'll miss you.
This is the kids reaction to hearing the news of our departure. the endless rows of skulls and blood stained floors, I saw the axes, bones and torture beds and then the faces of all the victims they cared to record. It was awful.
Chris
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