2018 Cambodia Global Program

Angkor Wattttt A Cool Temple!      After five days in Battambang, we sadly had to leave our new friends and head to our next destination: Siem Reap. We traveled for about four hours, then went to lunch, a traditional Cambodian meal, and got settled into our new hotel (which we loved!). When we got to the hotel, the first thing we saw was a refreshing pool. We then headed up to our dormitory style room. In the hotel, ten girls were in one room, four in another, and then the boys were all together. We had a couple hours of free time before heading out to the Angkor Panorama Museum. Most of us spent our free time swimming in the pool, relaxing in our room, and eating American snacks. At the museum, we first saw a large map of Cambodia and were able to see our travel route on a much larger scale. We continued on, observing a giant model of some of the major temples in Siem Reap.  Model of the temples. Next, we got to see a huge 3-D panorama painting of ...

As we did yesterday, some people started the day earlier than usual to walk to Mr. Gass’ favorite coffee shop called Kinyei while others slept in to enjoy the breakfast buffet of Asian style food at the hotel. Everyone then joined together with the scholarship girls to hop on Cambodia cabs called tuk tuks: a pedicab hitched to a motorbike. Our first stop was at the market, where we split into six groups with one or two of the scholarship girls as the leaders. They were given $10 of spending money and showed us how they shop for themselves when they are living away from their families at the dorms. We were able to see how independent they were and tried to imagine what it would be like if we were in their position. They bought many fruits, dried meats and eggs, while also spending their limited budget on souvenirs for us.  Next, we rode in tuk tuks to see where they would make bamboo rice. We got to sample this rice, as it was a mix of coconut milk, black beans, and sticky rice i...

This morning, we woke up on a beautiful, cool Battambang day. The early birds of our group got up and went to Kinyei Cafe for the famous street latte made with sugar cane that Mr. Gass has been raving about. They walked across the river in the early morning light to sit on the patio of the little cafe and sip their coffee before the day began. The rest of us took advantage of the extra hour of sleep and had a casual breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The world famous street latte at Kinyei After a relaxing morning and slightly later start, we made our way over to our Cambodian cooking class at The Coconut LyLy. The restaurant was a hip place off a small street where we were separated into two groups for our class. However, before we began cooking, we headed over to the market down the street. We were immediately met by overwhelming smells and colors. Beautifully assorted fruits and veggies in every color and freshly butchered meats, filled the blankets where vendors sat. As we con...

We began the day at Prey Touch Primary School for the dedication of their new library, which was built with donations from the Cambodian Village Fund (CVF) and furnished by Parker. We were welcomed by the students and faculty with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts. Soon after we arrived, we were joined by the Undersecretary of Education, Youth, and Sports, His Excellency Heang Sanai. During the ceremony, many spoke of what this school and the new library means to them as well as the impact it will have on the community. Mr. Sanai talked about the importance of STEM and education in Cambodia. He also mentioned how kids in Cambodia should continue their educational careers so that they can give back that knowledge and enhance their communities. Bill and Nancy Bamberger who started the CVF ten years ago also spoke about their experience with helping these kids and how they keep returning year after year to provide the resources they need. Mr Sanai writes in the guest book ...

On our fourth day in Cambodia, we flew from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap where, after a tasty lunch, we caught our bus to Battambang. We dropped our luggage off in our hotel, picked up the scholarship girls from the Cambodian Village Fund (CVF), and went to an exciting performance by students at the Phare Circus School. The profits from the show support the education of hundreds of other students at the school. Phare Circus performers After an egg-cellent breakfast at the King Fy hotel, we drove to the Buddhist University in Battambang. We were greeted by the sounds of birds chirping and huge elephant statues towering over us. As we filed into a classroom, we introduced ourselves to the monks waiting there, and took a seat. The monks taught us the basic principles of Theravada Buddhism, the main religion of Cambodia. Walking into Buddhist University in Battambang After learning about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge a couple days before, we were curious to know the Buddhist r...

We woke up in the beautiful resort town of Sihanoukville Otres. All 14 girls slept in dorm room-style accommodations, which brought us closer together both literally and figuratively. We enjoyed a great breakfast outside with the sun shining brightly. This was an exciting day for us because our schedule was very relaxed, which helped us overcome our jet lag. Our hotel was across the street from the beach, no more than 100 feet away. We walked along the beach together to look around at the restaurants, while taking in the sights and sounds of our surroundings. Then we were allowed to do our own activities. Many people went on the bouncy water park in the ocean and had a great time. Some things that the water park included were a trampoline, rope swing, slide, and a thing you can jump on to catapult someone else into the ocean. Bounce house in the Indian Ocean? Yes, please. While some people were at the water park, other people were relaxing on the beach while listening to music, re...