I can’t even begin to explain the experiences that I have encountered today. I feel as though I can write a book about the incredible day I had, so it will be a challenge for me to write only a short blog entry.
Narith came to pick MaryAnne and I up this morning at 6:15am. Then we drove with Dara and Sarath-the executive director of CVCD (Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development) to the parent and student ceremony in a village right outside the city. I learned that these villages are actually squatter communities where people who live there have been driven out of the city because of their tremendous poverty. They do not even own this land that they live on and they can be forced to leave at any time. The 5 schools that MaryAnne runs are all in the squatter communities. As I walked towards the tent, many of the small children turned around to smile and wave at me. One small boy ran right up to me to shake me hand and tell me his name and then proceeded to run back to his friends giggling. The ceremony was beautiful. People from the government also attended the ceremony. I found it fascinating when the Secretary of State, Chey Chap, stepped out of his car everybody stood up immediately and the teachers and adults all hurried over to him to make a path for his entrance and bow to him. During his speech I sat next to a young man that I met so that he could translate for me what he was saying. He speech was very powerful and the children’s eyes did not leave his direction. He spoke of the 3 important things for them to be: 1. To be good children 2. To be a good Student 3. To be a good friend. He told the children to always bow to their parents before going to school, and to tell parents when they return so that they know they are home safely. He gave his sincere thank you to the Grinspoon Foundation for funding the schools so that these children could learn. What I really noticed about this society is that people are taught to always give respect to others. Bowing and always respecting elders is very important. They all referred to the Secretary of State as the Excellency. MaryAnne also gave a wonderful speech at this ceremony that Sarath translated to the children, teachers, and parents.
After the speeches we handed out the gift boxes, envelopes of $3, certificates, and bags of rice to each child as we called each name to be recognized. As I walked down the line of students to hand them their gift they bowed to say thank you. They had huge smiles on their faces and they were very excited to be receiving these rewards. I really enjoyed the interaction that I had with the children. Many of them were interested in my camera so they came over to curiously take a look behind the screen. When I asked to take a picture with some of them, many kids hurried to run over to come into the picture. It was a very rewarding feeling to see all of the children so happy to be there. These children live in shacks, tents, or grass huts and would not be able to receive an education without the Grinspoon Foundation’s support. Otherwise they would immediately begin working in the fields, picking garbage off the street, or staying home to care for their families. Families just wouldn’t have enough money to send their children to receive an education. The ceremony was a very eye-opening experience for me.
After the ceremony MaryAnne, Dara, Sarath, and I had a very special lunch. We went to a fancy restaurant along the Makon River with the government- including the Secretary of State, Minister of informal education, and three others. It was a very informative meeting and I was even able to ask many of my own questions. The officials spoke in mostly Khmer and Sarath translated to us, always referring to Chey Chap as the Excellency. They explained to us the main differences between formal and informal education because the schools the Grinspoon Foundation provides funding for are informal schools. The government runs the formal schools and children have to pay a fee each day to the teacher in order to attend. These schools are in session for around 6 hours everyday and it takes about 6 years to complete primary school. The informal schools are privately owned, in this case by CVCD and funded through the Grinspoon Foundation and the children do not pay a fee to attend. However, in these schools children only go for two hours each day and it takes about 3 years to complete the primary schooling. Despite the time difference, the students in the five schools that MaryAnne oversees many times perform higher on the tests compared to students from government schools. I also found out that teachers make around $60-$200 per month and about 20% of children in Cambodia do not attend school at all. MaryAnne expressed a concern that the children in her primary schools do not further their education to high school because they would have to go to a government school and they cannot afford it. She is hoping that there is a way the government can help out.
Though the lunch was formal and educational, it was also very casual and humorous at the same time. From the beginning of the lunch, everytime they took a sip of their drink they tapped every person’s class to cheers. I was very curious as to why they were doing this; I just figured it was a part of their culture. Then towards the end of the lunch, the minister of education said I just have one question for you… How come in your country to always hit the glasses before drinking? I believe they were doing it because that is what they thought was a normal part of our culture. At one point I found the two of the men laughing to each other and looking a me while speaking in the Khmer language. I was a bit nervous of what they were saying, but Dara told me they said I was beautiful. I felt relieved and honored of their conversation! The afternoon was filled with conversation and laughter. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to meet with the Excellency and other government officials from this country.
To top off our very eventful today, MaryAnne organized a teacher celebration at the Khmer Surin restaurant for dinner. There were eleven teachers and a few other guests that attended, many that I have meet previously when visiting at CVCD. To begin the celebration, MaryAnne gave a short speech to give a sincere thank you for all of the hard work that the teachers do throughout the year. She gave them each a certificate and a gift bag that we put together earlier this week. I sat next to a teacher that taught English in the schools. He is a new teacher and still working on learning the English language himself. I had the most wonderful conversation with him over dinner about many different aspects of the Cambodian culture. As I had mentioned previously, the culture here centers around respect. He told me that it is very important to always remove shoes before entering a house, if you go inside with your shoes on it is very impolite. When speaking to elders always remove a hat or glasses and it is disrespectful to sit higher than an elder. He also told me about the huge water festival that is next month that everybody here is talking about. During this time, the people here have three days off of work to watch the boat races. At midnight, the people offer food to the moon in order to determine how much rain will come of the next season. In Cambodia, there are two seasons. From June- October is the rainy season where is rains nearly everyday. Everyday I have been here it has rained each day for a short period of time in the afternoon. The other season in the cold season, which in fact does not get very cold at all. He also explained that the New Year is celebrated in April. On April 14th each person turns the next year older together (each person does not celebrate on their exact day of birth). I told him a bit about Western New England and he told me a bit about the University he attended. He said that it costs around $900 a year to attend college, I told him WNEC school was a bit more expensive. Also, it is always very important to bow upon greeting and to say thank you. It is not culturally acceptable for women to shake hands because it is intrusive and disrespectful for a man to touch a woman in such a way. During dinner the teachers helped me to use chopsticks to eat my food, they found it amusing that I could not hold them correctly. 
Sitting next to this English teacher was a female teacher named Centary. She was a very kind-hearted woman that I had met earlier this week at CVCD. She spoke in Khmer to the English teacher, and then he looked over at me to translate. She asked me if she could have a picture of me for her home. He explained that in Cambodian culture when you want to have a baby, you place a picture of a beautiful person on the wall in desire for the baby to look like the particular person. She wanted this picture to put on her wall for that very reason. She smiled and looked at me, when he told me that and honestly my eyes filled up with tears. I felt very honored to receive this ultimate compliment from this teacher.
It was wonderful to get to know all of the teachers in the schools and to learn even more about society here. We were very grateful for the hard work they put in each day at their schools. They said they hope that I return to Cambodia again.
Before I conclude, I would just like to explain yet one more thing that I found fascinating in this society in regard to the animals here. It is common to see chickens just roaming around or goats on the side of the street. Today I saw a cow just walking across the street in front of all the cars. You see dogs here all the time just wandering the streets with no collars or anything. When I asked Sarath about it today, he said dogs here just roam around. He mentioned when he went to the U.S he noticed owners put something around the dog’s neck and had control over it. There are geckos everywhere, including in my hotel room. To top off the day, I saw an elephant just roaming down the street. I was in shock!! Narith did not even take a second glance… this is normal here.
Today was an extraordinary day that I will remember for my entire life. I met so many wonderful and inspirational people, expanded my knowledge on the way of life in Cambodia, and saw the happiness of the children here to receive an education. I feel so lucky to have had this experience today. It was life changing and eye opening.
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