Cambodia Day 11

Today was by far the best/worst day of the trip, it started with us going directly to the orphanage on our last day with the kids. we hung out with them until about 11:30, and then went back to the Tatoo guest house where we are staying. We ate lunch and just relaxed from the long morning until about 1:30. In that time i fell asleep on the wood bench in the lobby... I was out cold and slept like a rock. At 1:30 we headed to the super market to get food and treats for the kids in the afternoon when we would have OUR go away party. Then we headed to the Russian market to pick up party supplies like party hats, hula hoops, bowling pins, and other fun little things. By then it was game time.

We arrived at the orphanage with our party hats on and ready to go. Each kid got a hat and then we fed them their special dinner, 2 slices of pizza, coke, and then for desert a banana split wit whip cream, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup. All of the kids were in heaven. Then we went to put in the new CD's we bought them but it didn't really work, but everyone danced anyways. After that i got to hand out my 50 brand new t-shirts donated by KIND DESIGN CLOTHING (www.kinddesignclothing.com), the shirts didn't fit any of the small kids so each of the big kids got two or three, they loved them. THANK YOU KIND DESIGN!!!!! after that all of the kids wore their new shirts for the rest of the night.

We hung around and played with all of them all night. I played with 15 year old Pow, we threw the foam football at each other as hard as we could... it was really fun, he drilled me a few times and then i would get him back, it was really fun.

But every good thing must come to an end sooner or later, and to me it came a lot sooner then i had hoped. At 8:00 it was time to say our final good byes. There was lots or crying on both ends, even i had to put my sunglasses on at 8 at night. The goodbye took about a half our itself, i gave every kid like three hugs. All of the kids were crying and so were we. I came into the trip saying there was no way it would be that bad, But being with the kids changed me completely, and i teared up pretty bad. I had to say goodbye to BONLU, TOP, LONG, BONTI, THONG, POW, POV, REIT, NOIT, SRYLAN, KEA, CHEAT, TIDA, ISAL, WITCHICA, SOCNEE, PION, and everyone else... It really sucked. WE did leave and everything was all good.

I am happy to say that the 2011 Cambodia trip was a huge success and i am proud to be apart of it thank you to everyone that has supported me, it has paid off.

Cambodia Day 10

Today was party day, a party for some of the other volunteers that were leaving that day and that was the last time they would see the kids. There were snacks and drinks as my little brother Cooper would say, and lots of Justin Bieber music... Everyone here loves him. We partied the entire morning and lots of the boys were doing break dancing moves, like spinning on there heads and jumping over their own legs. They were actually really good. Spent some time looking for the shy guys to tell them to come dance but they didn't listen they kept drawing or making origami. The entire morning was based on the party.

After the party we were all soooooooo tired, so we left and went to the VIP Sports Club where we all had shakes and a snack. We didn't bring any of the kids today, but we still had a good time we swam almost the whole time. at 1:45 we hopped back into the tuk tuk and drove back to the orphanage.

When we got there we were greeted and then back in the action. In less then one minute i was playing Frisbee with BONTI and a few others. The whole afternoon was a mix, we played Frisbee, soccer, climbed a tree about 20 feet up to look for more mango, then more soccer, and more Frisbee, and then keep away with the soccer ball. It was a full afternoon.

By 4:45 it was time to leave and all of us were upset to leave. We now are all thinking "We only have one day left with them... I dint want to leave". This trip has been life changing but has gone by so fast. I miss my friends and family but in a way i want  to stay here and be with these kids. I think everyone in the group said this... When i first arrived i was not a huge fan of the bugs and the heat but now its normal, driving in the left lane with oncoming traffic is normal. it's like my real home in the trip and here is home... It's all backwards now.

I thank everyone who has supported me on this trip and everyone who is reading this, i hope you all one day get to experience what i have these last 2 weeks. It has been really amazing!

Cambodia Day 9

Every great day begins with an egg omelet and a bowl of fruit in Cambodia.... We started the day by driving to the Internet place to contact all of our families. We couldn't do this on the normal computer because some lady put a virus on it. Anyways we all got a hold of our family's and it was a good way to start the day. After that we drove over to the orphanage, and gave and received lots of hugs. About 3 minute in BONTI and I were already playing Frisbee. After Frisbee i went into the boys lobby room and hung out with a older kid who is very good at piano and drawing. he was flipping through a magazine looking for things to draw, finally he found a picture of a man with a hat, sunglasses, a camera, a backpack, and an atlas. I thought it looked imposable to trace but he did it in about a half hour, and it was almost exact. I decided i would buy it from him for $1 dollar... He didn't want to take the money but i gave it to him anyways. Then i went to find some kids i hadn't really played with yet. The seven of us decided that it would be the day that we go and play with they shy kids and the kids that don't get much attention. Time flew by and it was already noon.

We decided to take BONLU to eat lunch with us and hang at the VIP Sports Club with us. I bout his ticket in and others bout his food and drinks. He LOVED the pool,e come out for a quick break and he would look at me a point to the pool. He wouldn't even take the time to just drink his shake... He wanted to swim. Then we ordered him (I think) his first burger ever. He loved it he ate the whole think really fast. Then i covered one of the fries in hot sauce and gave it to him, he took one bite and his eyes lit up. He then took a hand full of fries and  smothered them in hot sauce... He was a big fan. After swimming for about another 1/2 hour, we got got in the tuk tuk and drove back to the orphanage... We went straight to the farm to take pictures of all of the pigs everyone bought, THANK YOU! Then we went back to the orphanage to hang out for the rest of the day. We played Frisbee and other fun games for the rest of the day. Then we all went back to the hotel and took showers... We were all sweating like crazy, at 9:00 we attempted to skype our school, but we didn't get it to work till about 9:30. Everyone was super excited to see all of our friend back home and it made all of us miss them a little more. By then we were all very tired and went straight to bed, it was a great day.

Cambodia Day 8

Today was bath day... but not for the kids, for the building itself. All morning we cleaned the girls building... scrubbing the walls, the floors, furniture, and everything that would be in an orphanage. Everything had tones of dirt and crap all over it, and was covered in bacteria. we spent about 2 hours scrubbing everything down in the entire house. I figured out that the paint on the walls wasn't the best when i tried to scrub really hard to get some dirt off, and i went all the way through the paint in about three scrubs. Oops. We woke up, ate, and then went to the market for the days supplies... Buckets, mops, brooms, cleaning detergent, sponges, and everything else. When we first arrived we were greeted with our normal "brother, brother". and then got and gave a few hugs. After that BONTI and i played our normal morning Frisbee, that is now becoming a routine. We will play Frisbee for about a half hour to an hour, and then do some work. We worked on the girls room for the whole morning.

When we finished the girls building it was time for lunch so we left the orphanage and drove to the VIP Sports Club. I had a delicious banana shake and a power bar, and then hopped into the pool. We swam for about an hour and a half. Today Lisa-Marie bought Lay the tuk tuk driver a pass in and he came into the pool, it was really cool, he was in heaven.

At 1:45 it was time to head back to the orphanage to clean the guys building. We went right to cleaning and this was a little bit crazier, the floor was super slippery so the younger boys used it as a slip and slide. They would start at the wall and push off and shoot themselves across the entire room. Then i decided to join them only i just slid on my knees , not my entire body... But one time i slid a little too far and was about to hit one of the girls so i bailed out into about 1 inch of water on to my back... i was soaked so i took my shirt off to dry then BONLU dumped a whole bucket of water on me, it was pretty funny.

Then some of us went and played some more Frisbee to distract while others did some lice hair washing. After that it was time to leave. I was kind of upset with this, I didn't want to leave them. We are all starting to get attached to the kids and don't want to leave them.

Day eight was a big success, and we are looking forward to tomorrow!

Cambodia Day 7

Today was a great day, it started off by going to the bank. We had to go to the bank because everyone only had giant bills like 20's, 50's, and 100's and nothing cost that much here so you need smaller bills. After that we drove to the Lucky Supermarket to grab some fiber since some of us haven't pooped in 9 days. Then we took the tuk tuk, like always, with are awesome driver Lay (LI) to the orphanage. When we arrive we are greeted by " Brother, brother, and Hello brother how are you, and then another Hi brother" all of the kids are great. Then we went into the church room to eat the doughnuts and drink the soy milk that we bought all the kids. We bought soy milk because all of the kids are lactose intolerant. Then Mrs. G led us in the prayer before eating. All of the kids wolfed down there doughnuts, and some chugged their milk. After that we opened up some gifts and played some more Frisbee. Then we played soccer, all of the kids are pretty darn good. the morning was awesome.

By then it was time for lunch. We went to the VIP sports club again, and i forgot my bathing suit so i used my shorts... Oh well. I had a burger and a banana shake... I was livin large as my dad would say it. After the VIP we went back to orphanage. The oldest boy at the orphanage there was 30 years old, and he was wearing the shirt i donated because it was too small. It was really cool to see someone enjoying something i gave them. Then me and some older boys went over to the farm, we saw the new pigs... There are five now and more are on the way. When i cam back i noticed Bonlu was limping and his foot was super swollen. I had an older boy drive me to the nearest shop for ice, we bought it then came back so he could ice his foot... It was really bad so Lisa -Marie took him to the hospital got x-rays, and three prescriptions for a grand total of $13.99! in the end it was only a contusion. So he will be fine, after that we came here and all is good.

Thank you everyone for your support and  i am happy to announce that the trip is going great... We'll see you in one week!

Cambodia Day 6

Toady we like to consider an off day, meaning that we didn't go to the orphanage. Instead we went to the killing fields about 15 kilometers outside of Phnom Phenn. This was one of the places where Pol Pots solders took people to kill them. There was about 20,000 people in this field, so relatively small compared to some. they stored hundreds of skulls and other bones in the main building. The skulls could show you how that person was killed... Hammer, bullet, and many more gruesome ways. In the field there were "mass graves" these were basically pits about 5 feet deep that were 10 feet by 10 feet that the soldiers would throw people in after they killed them. Some were larger then others. One about 15 feet by 30 feet and 450 people were thrown into these little spaces when they died. At these fields they would also torture people really badly to get last minute information out of them... One of the most popular torture was the pulling of teeth, the soldiers woulds yank out victims teeth one by one to get information. As you walk through the paths in the fields you will see actual teeth of to the side, as well as original pieces of clothing. This was a place were innocent people lost their lives for no reason, i was very excited that i got the chance to visit this place but seeing it made my upset, and angry at Pol Pot ( the leader of the Khmer rouge). I would recommend seeing this area if you ever find yourself in Phnom Phenn.

After the killing fields we took the tuk tuk back into the city and drove over to the National Museum. This was a museum that was made with amazing architecture... It was pretty big and had a open yard in the middle. In the yard, right in the middle was a giant Buda, and then around the buda there were four ponds with fish, Lilly pads, and flowers. It was pretty cool. Inside the museum there were mostly statues of buda and old kings and queens, there were hundreds of these statues. All of them were made from rock and were very detailed. I think this was a great museum and would go there again.

By then everyone was pooped so we decided we would hang around the hotel for the rest of the night. All in all this was an amazing day that i will never forget.

Cambodias Day 5

A lot of people like to use the phrase "Fresh Fruit", here in Cambodia that has an entire new meaning... One the kids at the orphanage today climbed a tree about 20 feet up to pluck a mango... He knocked it out of the tree and one of the other kids caught it. they brought the fruit and me straight to the kitchen. The kid grabbed a machete and sliced a nice big chunk out for me. I took my first bight less than a minute after it was plucked, now that's fresh fruit'. the mango was extremely sour but good. Today we started off by going straight to the orphanage, i pumped up the soccer ball and 30 seconds later we were in the middle of a game. The kids were actually really good. that went on for about half an hour before it was kicked over into the neighbors yard. Then it was time to go to the farm, we showed up to the farm and it had a pile of dirt and trash (we had cleaned about 300lbs of trash 3 days before). So the trash was kind of upsetting. We finished the roof of the chicken coop then we started picking up trash again. That took about 15 minutes. After that we had to move all the dirt across the farm to fill in a hole. I was a shoveler and i can tell you one thing and that is that i have NEVER sweat that hard in my entire life, the temperatures reached about 100 degrees today and that made the work harder.

After that we decided to visit the S-21 museum, a museum that is all about the Khmer Rouge. This was an event that happened in Cambodia to try and start the country over. It ended up killing millions of people. Everyone that had any education or any sense of intelligence  was killed and so was their family. Pol Pot and his army led this event. They would torture people in many different ways to get information. and the ways that they would kill people are so sickening. This museum helped me relies how lucky i am to have such a healthy family and how nothing bad has ever really happened to my family. Lisa- Marie sat on the plane with someone that had fled the country 40 years before, he said he was going back to see if anyone in his family survived and was still alive. This was a very touching museum.

After all that we returned to the orphanage for the afternoon, it started with Frisbee for about 45 minutes, and then wrestling... Try taking on two Asians at once, it's no different then taking on two awesome ninjas. They looked like the new some karate. At about 1:30 it was so hot you could not walk without shoes or you would burn your feet. In the end it was an amazing day that i wish everyone could experience, and same with this trip... I hope that one day everyone will have the opportunity to have this amazing experience.

Cambodia Day 4

Wow, today was the hottest and one of the longest days. It started off with me getting up at 6:20 and not being able to find my important bag. This bag had about $40, my debet card, my membership to the VIP Sports Club, and my room key. By 7:00 still hadent found anything...7:40 everyone has left the room and eatin their breakfast and we are leving in 5 minutes, i still havent found it. 7:43, Lisa-Marie walks in to help and finds the pack in less the two minutes. I feel like a total idiot. We start off by going to the internet place were we attemp to skype, i say attempt because only one of the seven off us had skype actually work. Oh well. After the internet cafe we head to the orphanage, we arrive and everyone says to me "Hello brother"," how are you brother?''. Then i get poke and chased for about 10 minutes and all of us have a few laughs. We hung at the orphanage till about 3:00. this was the first day that i was upset to leave the kids, this was the first day that i really got attached to them. All of the kids are so nice and are really awesome. We gave each kid a set of new clothes and they were sooooo excided. My two personal facorite kids are 14 year old THONG, and 13 year old BONLU. Both kids are really cool. BONLU goes to privet school, he is one of the three kids at the orphanages that get to do this. It cost $500 for a kid to go to privet school, with no extra costs, BONLU is sponsered by someone who pays fo his school... if you would like to sponser a child to get a good education go on to http://www.childrensglobalallience.com/. this would change a kids life.

After the orphanage we came back to the hotel to be picked up for our city tour. We saw the olympic stadium, the monument for the woman that founded phnom phenn, and the building that marks the highest part in the city of phnom phenn. It was a great day and i was happy to be back to the hotel and go to bed. The trip has been a great success so far and i am looking forward to the end of the trip... I hope you will be able to sponser a child! 

Cambodia Day 3

Today was another day of chickens... or at least the chicken coops. We started the day off by going to the orphanage. We played and hung out with the kids for most of the morning. They all seem to know how to play Frisbee, and were pretty good at it. We took care of two kids who had gotten sick the knight before. Today was also shower day! Most of the kids were free of lice but some had still some. We filled up a GIANT bowl of water then the used pots to rinse off. The lice shampoo had to stay in the hair for ten minutes before they got to rinse. some of them didn't mind others didn't like it so much. After this we left for our lunch breach to the VIP Sports Club, it was very nice and the pool felt great. Then some of us put our feet in the fish massage tank. This is a tank filled with little fish that eat the bacteria off of your feet, its kinda gross but really cool. Then we came back to the orphanage to go the farm, we took off the entire roof of the chicken coop, and then replaced it with a newer and nicer roof. We had to take off rusty wires and leafs with tons of  bugs. This also involved hammering, in American we use hammers... in Cambodia we use rocks. We did not get to finish the coop we only finished one half so we will do the other half tomorrow. Today was the hottest day yet, but lisa-marie still says it really wasn't that hot for Cambodia, which surprised us all. today was a great day and I am looking forward to tomorrow!

Blogs from others in our group!

http://gutmanncambodia.blogspot.com

http://childrensglobalalliance.blogspot.com

www.jackskidmorecambodia.blogspot.com

www.journeytoacambodianorphanage.blogspot.com

www.taborwhitney.blogspot.com

www.cambodiablog2011.blogspot.com

www.wix.com/nferzacca/cambodia

Cambodia Day 2

Today was the first day of hard labor... First we went to the farm to fix up the entire farm. We worked for about 3 hours in extremely hot temperatures, I now have a farmers tan. We picked up about 300lbs of trash in the farm then moved probably a total of 500 lbs of dirt around the farm, we had to cover the chicken poop and the swap like areas to prepare for the pigs. The kids thought that we were funny because we used boots to work in the chicken poop. After working at the orphanage we went to the VIP Sports Club were we hang at the pool for about an hour and a half. the day has been hot and we are all a little sun burnt. We met our Tuk Tuk driver who's name was also Jack. But about hour ago we met our permanent tuk tuk drive his name is Ly. He will wait out in his tuk tuk 9 hours if you need and wont leave. He is very nice... we are about to go out to dinner  at the riverside. I am looking forward to tomorrow where we will fix the roofs of the chicken coops.

Day 1 (sent via email to fam)

hay so i have to tell u this because my blog isn't working so here is my day, 
first we get on a tuk tuk and travel to the orientation, we learned about the history, the language and other stuff too, everyone here rides the streets on motos (dirt bikes) and there are no trafic lights or stop signs so it is com pleat chaos it is like 95 degrees here and i learned that instead of girls touching and playing with one and other, the guys play with each other... kinda weird we arrived at the orphanage and everyone loved us they are awesome kids... most kids there are smaller then max(Jack's 7 yr old cousin)... i met a kid probably a little smaller then max who was 14 there is about 70 kids there now, we went to the Russian market and i got to bargen for a buda that was kinda cool, a lot of people speak English here so its not too too hard to communicate. well thats kind it... till tomorrow,

Leaving

less than 24 hours away from being in DIA super pumped, thanks everyone for tour support!