The most beautiful last day in Cambodia

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As you have probably gathered from the heading to this entry, today was our last day in Cambodia, after a great 10 days in this fascinating country. And although there is some sadness that we are moving on, the overwhelming feeling I have in my heart right now is just gratitude, for I feel so enriched by the Khmer - their smiles and laughter, their humility even in the most dire of circumstances. And today just re-enforced everything I already knew about Kampuchea.

We struggled out of bed at 6.45am this morning, and for me, this was definitely a struggle. Unlike most bugs I have had in Australia/Germany, this one is really giving me a solid workout, as I have little energy, and any rapid movement (like sitting up in bed) just makes we want to vomit all over again. The girls keep telling me to 'toughen up a bit', and after the stories I heard today, I think I would be glad to put up with my little virus for life, compared to some of the things these Khmers have braved through.

Anyway, Kirk picked us up at the guesthouse after we had a quick breakfast (I forced down about 5 spoons of steamed rice), and we headed off to the Happy School for the second time. We stopped off at 'Beautiful Shoes', where Eva picked up her newly made beautiful shoes (the shoe maker next door was ironically called 'Tuol Sleng', the same name given to the genocide museum in Phnom Penh!).

Once we arrived at the Happy School, the kids were busy painting the concrete pillars on which one of the dwellings stand. Their painting skills were atrocious, but they had so much fun with the colours, that you couldn't help but nearly encourage them with their carefree splashes (more on themselves and each other than on the pillars). The water puddles around the pillars ended up red, blue, green, etc. We all smiled, and smiled.

After the rather quick Happy School clean-up, we all piled onto a bus - kids, teachers, Westerners - like sardines, and sang karaoke all the way to the Mekong River, where Nika and Kirk had planned a fun day out for everyone. I am not entirely sure where we ended up, but we drove south of Phnom Penh, over the River, and along the Eastern bank of the Mekong (I think).

The kids were estatic. I imagine the fewest of them would have been to the river where we went, and to have the luxury of our own floating hut and boat for the day - well, it is always hard to tell with kids, but I can't imagine that this was everyday life for them.

I guess I will describe the scene... The families living along this part of the Mekong, on either side, have built small bamboo huts in the river, covered with reeds. The huts stretch right along the delta, and Khmers from Phnom Penh reportedly pile into the area on weekends to eat, drink and swim with their families. Basically, you hire a hut for the day (around US$1) and you can also hire a boat (venice style) for around US$2.50 per day (with 'driver'). Most Khmers bring either a picnic or buy roasted fish and chicken, rice, yams, even grilled snake! from the street stalls close buy (as Nika did), though the more wealthy may purchase food from the family who run the particular huts (Nika was going to get me a soup, but at US$5, I decided to resist).

The day was absolutely beautiful. It was a little bit like Denis the Menace, only there were 29 different versions of him, all running around like headless chooks on the bamboo matting, screaming, yelling, laughing, fighting, crying, and always smiling. Once Nika had agreed on a price with the boat lady, most of the louder, more energetic little munchkins hopped on with Kirk and Leens and went for a ride down the river. Meanwhile, Eva had gone with Nika to bring all the food back for lunch. So I had some time out with the staff and some of the older kids, though I must admit, for most of it, I just sat and watched them. And smiled. : )

The boat and the food seemed to all arrive simultaneously, and the kids howed in. And when I say howed in, I mean they ate like Sumo wrestlers. Most of these kids had two helpings of huge bowls of rice, as well as grilled whole fish, marinated chicken, pickles, etc. Nika spent US$50 on food, and the large fish cost around US$2.50, so that gives you some idea of how much these kids put away. I think their toes even expanded? I asked Nika whether the kids all ate well at home, and she seemed to think they did, though judging from their appetites at lunch, I wasn't so sure. But then again, they expend a lot of energy in their play. Hmmm.

Lunch was devoured on the five seperate plastic matts spread out in the floating hut, and adults and kids huddled around each to feast away. The four snotty young kids looking on (probably from one of the families in the area) were also well-fed by Nika, though they bagged up nearly everything she gave them, probably to take to their brothers and sisters. Judging from the sizes of their bloated little stomachs, these kids were fighting back hunger as they packed everything up.

After lunch, I braved the boat with Nika and Eva, as well as some of the kids, though I was a little sceptical as to how my stomach would cope. But I think the deep conversation we got into removed my mind very far from my own wellbeing...

Nika, the Happy School Coordinator, is the third oldest girl of 9 children of a family formerly from the provinces. She grew up with her family in one of the far Western provinces of Cambodia, close to the Thai border, and was able to finish only year 6 at school, as she had to take care of her family in order for them all to survive. In her early adult years, perhaps even earlier, Nika moved from the provinces to Thailand, in order to work as a maid and send money back to her family. After two years in Thailand, she returned to Cambodia, this time to Phnom Penh, where she started work for the Yellow Pages (she had learnt some English from the family she worked for in Thailand). Her shift went for around 10 hours every day, following which she worked a second job through the entire night. She had three hours sleep before the next shift begun. All of this, Nika did in order to support her family of 11, of whom her two older brothers were studying, her mother unemployed, her father running a small business unable to support even him, and her other siblings still at school. She worked like this for two years, and earnt only enough for her family to survive, and for her to save up a small sum of money in order to build her family a house on the outskirts of Phnom Penh - she earnt around US$250 per month, sometime slightly more through the sales incentives that Yellow Pages offered its employees. She was then offered a job to run a Western bar in Phnom Penh, which she took, still saving money in order to realise her wish of building her family a house to live in. Sharni, from the Happy School, approached her, and offered her a job as School Coordinator, paying US$200 per month, and Nika promised to take it, though she felt she had to stick out the bar job (paying less than what Sharni had offered her), as she had promised her boss she would run the bar until he returned from overseas.

Nika has now built a house for her family with the US$500 she had saved up over the years as well as the US$500 her Belgian boyfriend chipped in. Not that Nika lives in the house she just built - she rents a small place just near the Happy School, big enough for her to live in.

Her story nearly brought me to tears, and even as I write, my eyes are whelling up again. And the most amazing thing is she says all of these things with the belief that she is doing nothing abnormal, nothing someone else in her shoes wouldn't also do. She gives so generously from the bottom of her heart, even at lunch, she wouldn't settle down to eat herself until absolutely everyone, even the little bloated bellies and the boat lady, whom most of us wouldn't have thrown a second look at, were fed. She has so much love and charisma, and I think it is so important to do her at least the little bit of justice of sharing her story with some people who care.

The funniest thing is, she was telling Eva and I that she had met someone who wanted to sponsor her through university in Australia. Her dream is to study law, though she thinks she is not bright enough, something I found impossible to fathom, as most of us would only fanticise about having her determination and courage. We have promised her to find out as much as possible about gaining entry into an Aussie uni, given that she has only completed Year 6 in Cambodia. It seems like such a small gesture when I look at all of the sacrifices she has made in her life for the people she loves and cares about. The most beautiful thing is that she has no regret, no anger, no resentment, that she didn't have the opportunities which she is now creating for her younger sisters. She wants them to become highly successful, to show the world that the women of Cambodia can be smart and amazing. I think her story is enough to prove that...

xoxo Maz

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Comments

[Gabi K.]

It isnow 5 am in the morning for YOUS, and I wonder if you got any sleep on the boat. Very moving story, probably no way she can attend a univ. in any country, maybe most likely in der own, regarding the history and circumstances.Maybe we can help and at least make sure that her siblings actually finish year 12 or whatever is their final year over there and thus, guarantee them a better future? Did you try grilled snake?I can probably betthe little that is left in my bank account (at least very soon!), that you didn't. Have to fill in more forms today, search for proofs of when we did what and for how long at the flats and at the moment, I am so p... off that I don't feel like even going there at all. Also think I should not do any renos. until this "nightmare" is over, what do you think? All of our problems seem so unimportant in comparison to their everyday struggles, and I think you have not even encountered the worst during your travels. Let you know reg. MICK! Have a great time in Vietnam, curious if communism is more present there and influences everyday life and your stay at all.In other words"HURRY WITH THE NEXT BLOG!!! Save trip to all of you,many kisses, mum P.S." separate, not seperate", NEGS!!!