Camblogia #2: Tales from the Tuk Tuk

Hi Y'all, salutations from Phnom Penh,

I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on what I've been up too. The YAGM cohort, all 76 of us, spent a week in Chicago before departing to our countries. This orientation was packed with lessons, realizations, vulnerable conversations and team bonding. The coordinators, alum, other YAGMS, my small group and my country team truly made the week special.

My amazing Fambodia (Christiana, Lauren, Will, Sam, and Marissa) and I left Chicago on Wednesday the 22nd at 5 A.M. We had a short flight from Chicago to Detroit, a 13 hour flight to Seoul South Korea, and 5 more hours to Phnom Penh. These flights taught me the amazing power of Tylenol pm :). We got picked up at the airport by our Site Coordinator Stephanie, other members involved with LCC (Lutheran Church in Cambodia), and some of Stephanie's friends. A 30 minute drive plus some interesting stair climbing with our bags finally brought us to our beds and sleep!

Since our arrival, our days have been filled with delicious food, team bonding, language classes, and other fun activities. Our first day included basic orientation information, lunch and a much needed afternoon nap. To be honest I don't remember what I ate but I remember it was delicious! The next morning we got our first taste of typical Khmer breakfast. The streets of Phnom Penh have small street side cafes that serve amazing breakfast and coffee. Here I am smiling with my fish porridge!

We also explored the royal palace

The week came to a close with Sunday Church. We were able to meet people from the Lutheran Church of Cambodia (LCC) and spent a great morning being welcomed into the church community. After the service, we got to go to the market close by to grocery shop. Many foods look familiar but many are totally new and exciting. I love all the new fruits, my favorite so far is mangosteen!

After purchasing what we needed for our meal, we went back to the church kitchen to cook some Khmer classics. If anyone wants fun new recipes here they are! The Fambodia had so much fun cooking and learning together.

Monday brought us a whole new adventure. Back to School! Since many of the people we will be working with in the next year speak very little English, learning Khmer basics is important. We take languages classes in the morning, this involves eating breakfast at a street side cafe and leaving in our tuk tuk (a small 4 person cart attacted to a moto) by 7:30. I've certainly enjoyed learning Khmer though it is quite a challenge. Fun fact, Khmer has no translation to English letters, good thing my focus will not be on reading and writing. We learn by listening to the teacher and writing down our own phonetics. Everyone has a different way to remember how to say certain things and it's amusing to watch as each of us create our own phonetic language with symbols, combined letters, and tiny letters when the sound of the letter is soft. Though challenging, our teachers are amazing, patient, and full of compliments when (if) we say words correctly and are there for encouragement when we mess up.

The second Saturday in Cambodia was an certainly an emotional day. We traveled to Tuol Sleng (S21) prison and one of many Killing Fields (the one we visited was called. Choeung Ek). On April 17th 1975 the Khmer Rouge forced the whole city of Phnom Penh to evacuate to the country side with few belonging, promising that they could return in 3 days. Those with a professional backgrounds, teachers, members of the former government, and journalists were some of the groups killed immediately or shortly after being forced to leave the city. Other things that could get someone killed was wearing glasses, speaking a foreign language, or having soft hands, all indicators that someone was from the elite class and had been influenced by Western cultures. Around 12,000 people were killed in Tuol Sleng prison by ways of torture, malnutrition, and other autrocities. Others were forced to work on labor camps in horrible conditions with very little food and no modern health care. From April 17, 1975 to January 1979, 1 in 4 Cambodians were killed by starvation, murder, or illness at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, Every family in Cambodia was, and still is affected by the Khmer Rouge.

At Tuol Sleng, a monument stood that read "Never will we forget the crimes committed during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. Reading this monument, I was frozen in shame. I felt disgusted that these atrocities had happened and an overwhelming frustration that I had heard of the Khmer Rouge only briefly before coming to Cambodia. Looking at those words and knowing how many people have never heard Khmer Rouge or understand its affect on those still alive in the country today broke my heart. Every person living in Kampuchea (Cambodia's name during the Khmer Rouge) today over 40 lived through the events above. A whole generation of teachers, doctors, religious leaders and many others were killed. If a Khmer person didn't live through it, they were raised by people who did.

WIGIAT: Where Is God In All of This. When awful and horrendous things happen in the world, it is almost impossible to find God. Walking around the Killing Field I was stunned by the fact that plants would still grow on this earth that was so damaged by suffering and death. But beautiful flowers do grow.

What I need from everyone reading this blog is to learn more about this traumatic time of Cambodia's history. Khmer people want the world to know what happened. First they killed my Father is a movie that you can watch. It tells a true story about a girl and her family during the Khmer Rouge. Or visit this website (copy and paste) for more information as well.

http://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/khmer-rouge-history/

Please keep the people of Cambodia in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for reading,

Allyssa

Also if you would still like to financially support me in my journey follow this link http://support.elca.org/site/TR/Events/General?px=1052891&pg=personal&fr_id=1181