I just wrote a blog and posted it...but I'm not sure if it did because this computer is being weird...sorry if it didn't. I'll write later from Phnom Pehn!
Raina
Saturday, January 17, 2009
T-shirt capitol of the world!
Hi!
This is Raina.
It's been non-stop here in Siem Reap since we only have a short time here. We went to most of the temples yesterday and the day before. They are beautiful. Some of them have trees growing ON them! Any description I can give right now will not do justice, so I took a bunch of pictures.
I want to thank you guys so much for the donations and everything, it means so much to me and I know it will mean so much to those girls. I am definitely getting their address so I can hopefully keep in touch, although snail mail isn't always reliable here.
We have bought so many souvenirs here...it is all super cheap and the vendors here invite a haggler. We got 11 shirts for $16 at one of them!! We got some other really col stuff including scarves, a painting, a framed relief sculpture, t-shirts, more t-shirts, and....I think some more t-shirts! There is a night market here that is open 'til midnight! Most others close at 5PM.
The only thing we didn't get to do was ride an elephant. We were going to do it today but we didn't want to have to rush. We'll just have to come back then...!
Here is part of an e-mail I wrote to my mom because we have to go pack now:
All of the temples and ruins here are beautiful!
I used up all 3 cards (5GB worth) of pictures, so I bought a 4GB for $25. They had two GB for $20...um...ok? Who wouldn't get the four GB?
Oh well.good deal...but today my camera battery died. I had another one with me, but it died too...i guess it wasn't charged all the way? It's weird, I feel like it has been doing that a lot lately, but maybe I just mix them up.
We leave Siem Reap tom. I love it here though. I bought a lot of souvenirs for people and some things for myself. Jordan got a painting today that she loves.
Love you all!
Raina
This is Raina.
It's been non-stop here in Siem Reap since we only have a short time here. We went to most of the temples yesterday and the day before. They are beautiful. Some of them have trees growing ON them! Any description I can give right now will not do justice, so I took a bunch of pictures.
I want to thank you guys so much for the donations and everything, it means so much to me and I know it will mean so much to those girls. I am definitely getting their address so I can hopefully keep in touch, although snail mail isn't always reliable here.
We have bought so many souvenirs here...it is all super cheap and the vendors here invite a haggler. We got 11 shirts for $16 at one of them!! We got some other really col stuff including scarves, a painting, a framed relief sculpture, t-shirts, more t-shirts, and....I think some more t-shirts! There is a night market here that is open 'til midnight! Most others close at 5PM.
The only thing we didn't get to do was ride an elephant. We were going to do it today but we didn't want to have to rush. We'll just have to come back then...!
Here is part of an e-mail I wrote to my mom because we have to go pack now:
All of the temples and ruins here are beautiful!
I used up all 3 cards (5GB worth) of pictures, so I bought a 4GB for $25. They had two GB for $20...um...ok? Who wouldn't get the four GB?
Oh well.good deal...but today my camera battery died. I had another one with me, but it died too...i guess it wasn't charged all the way? It's weird, I feel like it has been doing that a lot lately, but maybe I just mix them up.
We leave Siem Reap tom. I love it here though. I bought a lot of souvenirs for people and some things for myself. Jordan got a painting today that she loves.
Love you all!
Raina
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Off to Siem Reap
Hi guys!
I'm sorry that we haven't been able to go into much detail lately, it's just been so busy...whatever we don't write about now we will write about when we get back from the trip.
Our NGOs are moving along. We have a few more sessions with most of the kids before we are done.
Jordan is going today to work on a mural which she likes. The mural is of the Cambodian landscape, ranging from buildings in the city to the countryside. Landscapes in Cambodia never includes cityscape so she is breaking the rules a bit. Everywhere there are landscapes of Angkor Wat, so she is finding other things that they can be proud of in Cambodia.
Raina is making nets with one of her NGOs, Lakeside. It is a school in a neighborhood where the houses are on stilts over the lake. Very poor slums. The lake is very dirty and people litter and don't try to take care of it, so we are making nets for the kids to use. We are using bamboo for the stick, mosquito netting that is doubled for the net, and a coat hanger to put the net on. Our student from PUC that is working with us is going to bring someone tomorrow to help reinforce them so that they can be used for a l0ng time. There is a rewards system for the kids cleaning up the trash. We also painted trashcans with them. They then glued on pictures that they had taken of outside and the lake and neighborhood onto it. Next time, we are going to plant a small tree in each. We made two.
At her other NGO, CCPCR, Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, the final project, although the girls there don't know it yet, is a journal. We are taking the projects that they do each time and making the first pages of the journal. More detail as it goes on. And pictures will help. First class we made nametags that we personalized. Monday we made collages of things that they think are beautiful. Today we are going to draw/paint about past experiences and then share them.
My heart breaks for them:
Some of the girls are dropped off here by their families. They aren't all rescued from sex trafficking like I thought before. They are so poor, but they have just enough. There are 15 of them, but we only know 10 because the other ones go to high school. To go to high school you have to have a "family book" as I've had it described to me that says where they are from (probably like a birht certificate), and so the ones that don't have it have to learn at the center. They have computer class, but now they only have 1 hour of instruction. THey used to have 1 hr instuct. and 1 hr. to practice, but because of cut funds they have to let some things go. They learn skills they can use to get a job, such as cooking, and sewing. They want to have someone to train them to cut hair because a number of them want to do that, but they don't have the money. They also have a counseling room, but it is used as a laundry room because they don't have any money for therapy. They now eat half as much food as they used to. If they lose any more funding, they are going to have to let some of them go, which is heartbreaking because they are like family to each other. They look out for each other, and they don't fight. We told them that we would try to get them some money, so I'm looking for anyone that would like to donate. I asked them how much, and they said anything helps, even if it is just $10. They said they would rather eat even less food than have any of them leave. If you think you can contribute, please let me know. You can send it via paypal to milanorain@yahoo.com. As John Tucker at the other site we talked a lot about says, "Pray for us, and if you don't pray, just send money."
I promise I will give you more info about these girls as soon as I get a chance. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.
Tom. we leave for Siem Reap, and it's six hours away by bus, we'll see how that turns out!
We are excited, and it will be a nice break from NGOs.
Thanks guys,
Raina and Jordan
PS if anyone needs anything let us know bc its really cheap here. and clothes.
I'm sorry that we haven't been able to go into much detail lately, it's just been so busy...whatever we don't write about now we will write about when we get back from the trip.
Our NGOs are moving along. We have a few more sessions with most of the kids before we are done.
Jordan is going today to work on a mural which she likes. The mural is of the Cambodian landscape, ranging from buildings in the city to the countryside. Landscapes in Cambodia never includes cityscape so she is breaking the rules a bit. Everywhere there are landscapes of Angkor Wat, so she is finding other things that they can be proud of in Cambodia.
Raina is making nets with one of her NGOs, Lakeside. It is a school in a neighborhood where the houses are on stilts over the lake. Very poor slums. The lake is very dirty and people litter and don't try to take care of it, so we are making nets for the kids to use. We are using bamboo for the stick, mosquito netting that is doubled for the net, and a coat hanger to put the net on. Our student from PUC that is working with us is going to bring someone tomorrow to help reinforce them so that they can be used for a l0ng time. There is a rewards system for the kids cleaning up the trash. We also painted trashcans with them. They then glued on pictures that they had taken of outside and the lake and neighborhood onto it. Next time, we are going to plant a small tree in each. We made two.
At her other NGO, CCPCR, Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, the final project, although the girls there don't know it yet, is a journal. We are taking the projects that they do each time and making the first pages of the journal. More detail as it goes on. And pictures will help. First class we made nametags that we personalized. Monday we made collages of things that they think are beautiful. Today we are going to draw/paint about past experiences and then share them.
My heart breaks for them:
Some of the girls are dropped off here by their families. They aren't all rescued from sex trafficking like I thought before. They are so poor, but they have just enough. There are 15 of them, but we only know 10 because the other ones go to high school. To go to high school you have to have a "family book" as I've had it described to me that says where they are from (probably like a birht certificate), and so the ones that don't have it have to learn at the center. They have computer class, but now they only have 1 hour of instruction. THey used to have 1 hr instuct. and 1 hr. to practice, but because of cut funds they have to let some things go. They learn skills they can use to get a job, such as cooking, and sewing. They want to have someone to train them to cut hair because a number of them want to do that, but they don't have the money. They also have a counseling room, but it is used as a laundry room because they don't have any money for therapy. They now eat half as much food as they used to. If they lose any more funding, they are going to have to let some of them go, which is heartbreaking because they are like family to each other. They look out for each other, and they don't fight. We told them that we would try to get them some money, so I'm looking for anyone that would like to donate. I asked them how much, and they said anything helps, even if it is just $10. They said they would rather eat even less food than have any of them leave. If you think you can contribute, please let me know. You can send it via paypal to milanorain@yahoo.com. As John Tucker at the other site we talked a lot about says, "Pray for us, and if you don't pray, just send money."
I promise I will give you more info about these girls as soon as I get a chance. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.
Tom. we leave for Siem Reap, and it's six hours away by bus, we'll see how that turns out!
We are excited, and it will be a nice break from NGOs.
Thanks guys,
Raina and Jordan
PS if anyone needs anything let us know bc its really cheap here. and clothes.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Rabbit Island
News flash: THERE ARE NO RABBITS ON RABBIT ISLAND. I REPEAT: THERE ARE NO RABBITS ON RABBIT ISLAND.
Instead, there are many other animals, including cats, dogs, chickens (!! from jordan), cows (!! from Raina), and some fatty goats.
The beach wasn't as pristine as we had imagined, it was kind of like a Californian beach with dirt instead of sand. It was surprisingly cold so we didn't even go in, although others did. We wanted to keep our towels dry so we could use them as blankets, because there was only one bed and one blanket for four of us!
We slept in small simple bungalows for $5 a night per bungalow. sweet.
There were three restaurants on the island, one of which had a wooden painted sign that said, Pancakes. They were yummy, but they were more like crepes than pancakes. Good with Nutella. They got a lot of our business because most of the other food being served was seafood which we aren't all that into.
Jordan spent most of her time laying around in the many hammocks and trying to make friends with the many chickens (there were babies too!!). Though the roosters in the middle of the night weren't any fun.
Raina spent most of her time laying around in the many hammocks and trying to make friends with the many cows (there were calves too!!). THough the cow grazing right behind the hut at night was kind of surprising.
Raina couldn't go to sleep right away because there was so much going on around her, so she went out to the end of the pier and laid there for a bit, until the water started to rise and she decided she should go back before the end near the sand was under water. When she went to the bathroom there were five cows grazing right there! Then she slept in a hammock for a bit until in got too cold. On the way to dinner at the pancake place she ran into a bunch of cows, one of which let her pet it!! She got pictures with the cow.
We broke open a coconut with an axe and drank the milk and ate the coconut. It was the best one yet. The whole island was covered in coconut trees, the coconuts were lying on the ground all over the island.
Raina met a French couple at one of the restaurants, but Spanish kept popping into her head. But it's okay because they spoke a bit of Spanish too. And they spoke English.
She also played bocci ball earlier today with a young girl from New Zealand and her mom.
No rabbits though. One friend, Kristen, said that maybe the island is shaped like a rabbit and that is why it is called that.
We are now back in Phnom Penh.
We will write you all later,
Raina and Jordan
Instead, there are many other animals, including cats, dogs, chickens (!! from jordan), cows (!! from Raina), and some fatty goats.
The beach wasn't as pristine as we had imagined, it was kind of like a Californian beach with dirt instead of sand. It was surprisingly cold so we didn't even go in, although others did. We wanted to keep our towels dry so we could use them as blankets, because there was only one bed and one blanket for four of us!
We slept in small simple bungalows for $5 a night per bungalow. sweet.
There were three restaurants on the island, one of which had a wooden painted sign that said, Pancakes. They were yummy, but they were more like crepes than pancakes. Good with Nutella. They got a lot of our business because most of the other food being served was seafood which we aren't all that into.
Jordan spent most of her time laying around in the many hammocks and trying to make friends with the many chickens (there were babies too!!). Though the roosters in the middle of the night weren't any fun.
Raina spent most of her time laying around in the many hammocks and trying to make friends with the many cows (there were calves too!!). THough the cow grazing right behind the hut at night was kind of surprising.
Raina couldn't go to sleep right away because there was so much going on around her, so she went out to the end of the pier and laid there for a bit, until the water started to rise and she decided she should go back before the end near the sand was under water. When she went to the bathroom there were five cows grazing right there! Then she slept in a hammock for a bit until in got too cold. On the way to dinner at the pancake place she ran into a bunch of cows, one of which let her pet it!! She got pictures with the cow.
We broke open a coconut with an axe and drank the milk and ate the coconut. It was the best one yet. The whole island was covered in coconut trees, the coconuts were lying on the ground all over the island.
Raina met a French couple at one of the restaurants, but Spanish kept popping into her head. But it's okay because they spoke a bit of Spanish too. And they spoke English.
She also played bocci ball earlier today with a young girl from New Zealand and her mom.
No rabbits though. One friend, Kristen, said that maybe the island is shaped like a rabbit and that is why it is called that.
We are now back in Phnom Penh.
We will write you all later,
Raina and Jordan
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The beach
HI world!
We are busy busy with our NGOs and such...today is our first day actually working with the kids on art. Raina's didn't go as planned at all so far...she hopes her second NGO is better.
We are going to the beach this weekend, so we may not update for a few days. We are taking a bus to the coast and then taking a boat off to an island called Rabbit Island!!
We will be there one night.
Alright, off to NGOs,
Love you guys,
Raina and Jordan
PS Raina has two big bruises on her left arm from the fall. They are swollen. Feel sorry for them. : (
We are busy busy with our NGOs and such...today is our first day actually working with the kids on art. Raina's didn't go as planned at all so far...she hopes her second NGO is better.
We are going to the beach this weekend, so we may not update for a few days. We are taking a bus to the coast and then taking a boat off to an island called Rabbit Island!!
We will be there one night.
Alright, off to NGOs,
Love you guys,
Raina and Jordan
PS Raina has two big bruises on her left arm from the fall. They are swollen. Feel sorry for them. : (
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
continued...
This is a continuation of Jordan's juornal entry where we left off. Please excuse spelling errors because we are at a new cafe bc it is faster but worse keyboard.
I knw this sort of sounds like science fiction, but we saw it all working. The children all looked amzingly healthy and happy, especially when you consider where they are coming from. THey all live in sort of "clusters"which consist of 3 houses which all ocnnect to a small communal outside kitchen. Each house had 8 kids, and each had a "parents"couple who lived there too. The men work on the farm tending the pigs etc. while the women cook and care for ech of the 8 kids she is assigned to. It's not an orphanage, its a home. the chldren all go to shool and have tutors in the afternoon. They are all sent to high school (which you have to pay for in Cambodia) and I'm sure would have no problem getting into almost any colleg ethey would like! Some go to vocational schools. Everything is paid for by donations.
One little girl we met ws being held by someone prestigious from Standford as a little kid when he accidentaly bumped her head on something. He fel tso bad he promised that when she finished high school she was guaranteed admission and full-ride to Stanford!Also, BIll Clinton is very revered there, the AIDS fund he set up buys the medication for every chld there. Not to mention countless others across the world. The couple that runs the place are some of the greatest people I've ever met. THey raised 7 kids in the states, and after the last one went to college they were quite wealthy and successful. They sold everything (They said the hardest thing to part with was their convertible) and moved to Cambodia to do this project. They are incredibly funny and witty, and a real joy to be around. After being with them for an afternoon I feel like they are my own family. THey live amidst some of the most heartwrenching exprinces one can imagine, watching the children they love suffer and sometimes die. But they stay strong by celebrating life. They have to be the richest most fulfilled people I've ever met. A few minutes with them is enough to see how deeply they love these kids, and hw much the kids love them back. Their center has big golden retrievers running around. Every kid has a bike. Ther are mango, banana, and papaya trees everywhere for the kids to eat. hese people hav eput a bit of paradise in a place with so much suffering, you cant understand how beautiful until you've been there.
End of journal entry.
Yesterday was our first day of school, and we met the students from Cambodi a that we would be working with on our projects. More about our projects as we get them underway.
Today's a national holiday comemorating the day that the Khmer Rouge was defeated, so we arent working.
We went to the olympic stadium to see th eparade, but they wouldn't let us in without a ticket, and they said there was no way we could get a ticket.
Just a few minutes ago I read an e-mail from my mom that said they had found 3 bombs at the Ministry of Natl Defense and had advised American citizens to avoid that area, so we are guessing that had something to do with it.
THen we were going to go to the killing fields, but Raina fell in our very malicious shower, even whle wearing the rubber sandals provided. She's okay, but has a very sore back. We think we might put one of the hotel bath towels down and sit on it in the shower (the shower head can be unattached). Any better suggestions of safe, sanitary shower procedures would be greatly appreciated.
We don't want to take any chances of a worse fall and one of us getting really hurt. I guess we could just go swim in the pool...
I knw this sort of sounds like science fiction, but we saw it all working. The children all looked amzingly healthy and happy, especially when you consider where they are coming from. THey all live in sort of "clusters"which consist of 3 houses which all ocnnect to a small communal outside kitchen. Each house had 8 kids, and each had a "parents"couple who lived there too. The men work on the farm tending the pigs etc. while the women cook and care for ech of the 8 kids she is assigned to. It's not an orphanage, its a home. the chldren all go to shool and have tutors in the afternoon. They are all sent to high school (which you have to pay for in Cambodia) and I'm sure would have no problem getting into almost any colleg ethey would like! Some go to vocational schools. Everything is paid for by donations.
One little girl we met ws being held by someone prestigious from Standford as a little kid when he accidentaly bumped her head on something. He fel tso bad he promised that when she finished high school she was guaranteed admission and full-ride to Stanford!Also, BIll Clinton is very revered there, the AIDS fund he set up buys the medication for every chld there. Not to mention countless others across the world. The couple that runs the place are some of the greatest people I've ever met. THey raised 7 kids in the states, and after the last one went to college they were quite wealthy and successful. They sold everything (They said the hardest thing to part with was their convertible) and moved to Cambodia to do this project. They are incredibly funny and witty, and a real joy to be around. After being with them for an afternoon I feel like they are my own family. THey live amidst some of the most heartwrenching exprinces one can imagine, watching the children they love suffer and sometimes die. But they stay strong by celebrating life. They have to be the richest most fulfilled people I've ever met. A few minutes with them is enough to see how deeply they love these kids, and hw much the kids love them back. Their center has big golden retrievers running around. Every kid has a bike. Ther are mango, banana, and papaya trees everywhere for the kids to eat. hese people hav eput a bit of paradise in a place with so much suffering, you cant understand how beautiful until you've been there.
End of journal entry.
Yesterday was our first day of school, and we met the students from Cambodi a that we would be working with on our projects. More about our projects as we get them underway.
Today's a national holiday comemorating the day that the Khmer Rouge was defeated, so we arent working.
We went to the olympic stadium to see th eparade, but they wouldn't let us in without a ticket, and they said there was no way we could get a ticket.
Just a few minutes ago I read an e-mail from my mom that said they had found 3 bombs at the Ministry of Natl Defense and had advised American citizens to avoid that area, so we are guessing that had something to do with it.
THen we were going to go to the killing fields, but Raina fell in our very malicious shower, even whle wearing the rubber sandals provided. She's okay, but has a very sore back. We think we might put one of the hotel bath towels down and sit on it in the shower (the shower head can be unattached). Any better suggestions of safe, sanitary shower procedures would be greatly appreciated.
We don't want to take any chances of a worse fall and one of us getting really hurt. I guess we could just go swim in the pool...
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