incredible, just incredible.

There is this powerful, incredible connection I have with this country. It's really quite strange. I've never felt like this. Maybe it's because I haven't traveled as much as some of my peers? Or maybe it's because I really value the opportunity to have been able to come here? Or both? And the other factor: how can you not love a country filled with individuals who make the best of every possible situation?

Why did I even come to Cambodia, in the first place? What was my purpose?

For the past year, I've dedicated my time helping to build our first chapter ever of GlobeMed at Rutgers. Starting this organization with one of my best friends has been, probably, the most rewarding experience I've had at Rutgers. I know I still have a lot to learn, in terms of management and leadership; but it's been so exciting seeing the growth of the chapter build into one huge family. I could talk about this all day so I'll get to the point. My main purpose in Cambodia was as a GROW (grassroots onsite work) intern. By working directly with CSSD for three weeks, we have been developing an incredibly deep relationship with them. Like I said in my last post: this partnership surpasses any business relationship, it's a friendship founded on love and trust. Since getting settled in, and creating this bond with cssd.. I'm so overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed with joy, excitement, and curiosity. I can't believe how much I've come to love these people in a span of two weeks. I can't believe how much I came to love this country.

"Eat, babies, eat!"

As are most sundays, we spent the morning getting some much needed rest. We took a modest time getting ready, eating some breakfast, and creating lesson plans for our first english lesson with the staff! I only hope that we will be as great teachers as they are students. After spending some time prepping for a long week ahead, we got a call from Mr. Chanthan- he invited us for supper with his family. This invitation, although seems like a simple gesture, had so much meaning; our partnership is more than just business, but filled with friendship, love, and trust.

Before we headed over to Mr. Chanthan's, we got to venture into the long-awaited Russian Market. The market was incredible. There were vibrant colors everywhere, assorted goods, and foods. I could easily spot my, now, favorite fruit, rambutan, from miles away. Delicious! Walking around the market, the different stands could easily distinguish us as foreigners. We had to haggle our way through cutting down prices for different goods, but we all eventually left the market extremely satisfied with our purchases.

After the market, we met with Mr. Chanthan, and arrived at his home. Upon walking into his abode, we were greeted with smiling faces from his son, wife, and some neighborhood friends. A beautiful home, a beautiful family. His son, or informerly known as "Wat", created a sort of english club within the neighborhood. (Joke: "What's your name?" "Yes! That is my name!"). Furthermore, when the neighborhood kids heard that we were coming to Chanthan's home, they all rushed over to have a conversation with us and practice their english. I was extremely impressed at how eager all of them were. We sat in a circle, and listened to the stories about their lives. We came to know that a few of them were able to travel abroad, through scholarships. Nita, a first year at her university in cambodia, was able to travel to America, and visit both Illinois and Washington DC.  I was incredibly impressed at how far their determination can take them. Their futures are so bright, and they will surely succeed in what they put their minds to.

After a pleasurable afternoon, we made way upstairs onto the roof. Mr. Chanthan is all about having a good time, especially on the roof of his home. We quickly came to see that it was hard to not have a good time, when you're surrounded by great company, delicious food, and a beautiful home. We spent the night furiously taking the shells off of fresh shrimp, drinking some angkor, squid, and home-made soup with noodles, shrimp, and assorted meat. It was the meal of the century. Mr. Chanthan continuously told us, "eat, babies, eat! Don't be shy." And believe me, none of us were shy with our food- we were stuffed to the brim.

We ended the night with some karaoke, and dancing. It's not surprising that by the time we arrived back to our hotel, we slept. It was a great night. One that none of us, surely, will ever forget.

Currently too exhausted to write a post on my day, but I will - tomorrow! Sneak preview:

Royal Palace of Cambodia!

wisdom.

"True heroism is minutes, hours, weeks, year upon year of the quiet, precise judicious exercise of probity and care-- with no one there to see or cheer. This is the world." 

-- David Foster Wallace

our very own CSSD commune.

At a very jet-lagged state, we all fell into slumber as early as 7pm last night. We woke, at various times of the morning- and eventually met downstairs for morning coffee. This was my first time having coffee Cambodian style, and I must say, it was incredibly strong. But with a hint of milk, it was the perfect blend- not too sweet, not too bitter. Our "bacon and egg english muffin with french fried" arrived in a hamburger bun. Despite the lack of english muffin, it was delicious.

After breakfast, we went to CSSD's headquarters and hashed out the schedule of the next few weeks. We also had proper introductions with both the staff of CSSD and the members of the GROW team. Some of the people we met included the accountant, Phegktra; the administrator, Sophea; Sutsian, in charge of interpersonal communication. There were many more, including the peer facilitators and the community facilitators who work with the different target groups. But throughout the whole introductions, I had to pinch myself to tell myself this was actually happening. That we were, indeed, meeting the staff face-to-face, talking, laughing. All the clocks in the room were definitely melting... t'was way too surreal. (<- judge me all you want for my dali joke).

After introductions, we introduced ourselves to CSSD; we explained to them our role within all of GlobeMed as well as more specifically at Rutgers University. All of their eyes twinkled with wonder and curiosity, as we explained how GlobeMed was run by students, and that even the executive director was only 23 years old. In unison their eyes widened with an impression, that even words cannot describe. Similarly, just how the staff were amazed with GlobeMed, we were equally impressed with the history of how CSSD came to be. They were first established in 2008 by Mr. Chanthan, and therefore has only been four years. However, the amount of people they were able to help throughout those four years have been  tremendous. 

One of the key things that we, as GlobeMed, are helping with is the providing constructive criticism on the way the facilitators are interacting with the different communities. Simple things are easily lost in translation; therefore, education techniques need to improved in ways that the different target groups will be able to effectively learn, creating sustainable change within the society. Furthermore, for the next two weeks, we will be teaching english to the staff members every day for two hours. I'm especially excited for this, because many of them know how to speak- they just haven't had the chance to fully practice their speaking skills. It should be fun! 

Tomorrow, the team and I, as well as about eight of the CSSD staff members will be visiting the Museum of Independence and the Killing Fields. We may also stop by the Russian Market at night- we've been excited for this portion of the trip since the beginning, so hopefully it'll happen!

Till tomorrow, reatrey (night) !

breaking ice.

Day two and it's already such an adventure! Also, I can't emphasize how incredibly thankful I am for the partnership we have with CSSD. I feel so at home here, because I'm able to trust the people we're working with.

^^ I should get used to by now that we'll be traveling on motorbikes a lot. It's fun, even in the rain :)  Today, we got to meet the different communities CSSD works with, and helps. It was really eye-opening seeing how the peer facilitators interact with the communities they're helping (ie, entertainment workers, men who have sex with men). Our first stop was the home of one of the entertainment workers. A lot of them live in the same area, so even though we only went to one home, we essentially met a whole floor of them.  The peer facilitators meet with the e.w.'s to educate them on healthy safe practices, as well as remind them of the the practices/precautions they learned in previous sessions. I was impressed; they had better demos and education techniques than in health class (which I don't recall ever learning haha). We also went to another home, where we got to meet a few younger women.. even teens (of age 15, 16 and 18). They weren't working as e.w.'s but they were being taken care of by the landlord.

^ This is one of the peer facilitators. Writing down CSSD's information on a ... wall.

After our first experience in the community, we went back to the office to debrief, eat, and relax for a little. Our friend, Hung-gary? Only remember because it sounds like Hungry or the country Hungary. Either way! He climbed the mango tree and got us some mangos to eat! Nomnom.. except I didn't nomnom on them because they were too sour for my taste. They also made us a home-made meal- rice rice and a bunch of dishes. THIS felt like home. The asian food was so light and delicious. Mm after this, we played a bunch of icebreakers with the staff so we could all remember each other's names. A lot of dancing too! We also established, officially, that we'll be traveling to Angkor Wat this weekend! Incredibly excited for this. We'll also be making stops to a bunch of different places to learn more about the history of Cambodia. Expect a lot of pictures from this trip!!

organized chaos.

From New York to Anchorage to Taipei and 23 hours later.... we finally made it to Phnom Penh! The picture above is the view right outside of the Phnom Penh International Airport; couldn't get a snapshot of this, but there was a PHO24 outside of this too. Off to a good start, I suppose... Our relief that we FINALLY made it to our destination, however, seemed to be a temporary victory. Shortly after we arrived, we got our SIM cards, registered our phones, and waited around for our exec. director to meet us/pick us up at the airport.

There was yet another message lost in translation... "When/has Mr Chanthan left to pick us up? If not, how can we get a ride to our hotel? We don't speak Khmer... uhh..." Some things we, as students, are naturally going to panic about when things don't go as 100% planned. Fortunately, after about forty minutes of stressing.. we got the message that we weren't forgotten. About two hours later, we were finally picked up from the airport. Initial panic --> success --> good story for the future.

Upon getting picked up from the airport, our "short" ride to the hotel seemed to be a rather longer, and eventful journey. Some things you'll pick up quite rapidly: there is no law when it comes to vehicular traffic and motorbikes are abundant. Even when it's flooded in different neighborhoods.. motorbike never fails.

We got to meet the CSSD staff afterwards. Their enthusiasm, youth, and hospitality made me realize how incredibly lucky we are with our partnership. This is our very first year on GROW and so far, it makes me  think that every year will be just as good and trusting as this year. :)

And we're off to a journey! The end of this incredibly exhausting semester marks the start of a summer of wild adventures, growth, and endless possibilities. I have never been more excited or thankful to have the opportunity to have.. opportunities.

First stop? Phnom Penh, Cambodia,  with a team of five amazing individuals. I have no idea what to expect- at all. This trip has been such a distant image and dream of mine, since the beginning of this year. The fact that it's actually about to happen in about 3 days... is absolutely mind-blowing. Will be updating this daily or very often, so make sure to follow on my happenings!