The Killing Fields

                After our extremely long flight and about four hours of sleep, day one finally began. Our orientation was at Star Kampachea and gave us all the information we could possibly need. We went over the language, the history, and what to and not to do while we are here (as an example, girls cannot touch a monk). But once we left the orientation I was faced with the first emotional challenge- the Genocide Museum. The whole museum is made of the old jail cells used to house prisoners during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, and more importantly Pol Pot. Millions of Cambodians were murdered during Pol Pot's attempt to return Cambodia to year 0. The cells are lined wall-to-wall with pictures and stories of old prisoners, most of the pictures were mere mugshots, others were of the prisoners' corpses. Not only had our guide lost family members to the wrath of Pol Pot, but we also got to meet two survivors. I had expected both of them to be quiet and solitary- but they were so full of hope and joy that you couldn't help smiling. After our visit to the museum, we went to the Killing Fields. The Killing Fields were where soldiers of the Khmer Rouge would kill prisoners. A huge gold and white stupa looms over the entire memorial, it's walls filled with the skulls and bones of the people who died here. As we walked around the fields, we saw many different kinds of weapons that were used for torture. We listened to a recording while we walked instead of a guide, but it wasn't just facts, we listened to the stories of several different people who had survived. The many different stories didn't just put together a puzzle, sugar-coated and already thought-up, but instead it painted a picture straight from the survivors' minds. Seeing and hearing all these things really snapped some things into perspective- there's a reason why we're here, and we wouldn't be here if we weren't needed, so I'm going to do everything I can to make a difference in these kids' lives.

                  On our van-ride to the orphanage I really didn't know what to expect. We drove by fields of trash with little houses made of tiny scraps of wood and metal with people huddled inside them. I was worried that after losing the first Cambodia Team, the kids wouldn't want to go through that again so they would close us off. But the second our van parked outside the orphanage I knew I was dead wrong. Kids poured onto the sidewalk, waving and wearing the biggest smiles and saying, "Hello!" Eager to meet everyone I jumped out of the van and immediately little eight year old Tok was clinging to my hand, her big brown eyes shinning with pure joy. The kids all greeted us and brought us onto the stage where they literally do everything and started playing alphabet games with us. Tok was positively elated to be playing with me and she did not let go of my hand. We were practicing the alphabet when Tok wrote in the dirt in front of the stage, "I <3 YOU" After about thirty minutes of playing I got to meet an eighteen year old girl named Srey Nuch. Srey Nuch is the kindest person in the world, when I walk over to her she holds my hand and asks if I want to sit down. Whatever has happened in their lives does not effect how they act around us. For someone who has so little, it is amazing to see how much hope and joy those kids can express in the one hour we got to see them. When it was time to go we got in the van and the kids were holding our hands through the window and saying, "I'll see you tomorrow!" I don't know when we go back tomorrow- but I'll be thinking about it until it comes.