Archive for November, 2009

I heart Cambodia

Nov 30

Posted by Liza in Cambodia, Orphanage, Phnom Penh | 2 Comments

Another amazing week

My afternoon kids

with the kids! One day we talked about colors and the verb “to want”. I had a bag of balloons and we took turns asking “Do you want a yellow balloon?” They would reply with “Yes, I want a yellow balloon” or “No, I want a blue balloon”. I love to see how excited they get about small things like that and just the enthusiasm and

My morning group

silliness of kids in general. It’s unfortunate to realize that there isn’t a whole lot of consistency to their English studies- when a new teacher comes in, there is no guidelines to what needs to be done next, what the kids know already- no sort of organization. I wish I could’ve been there longer to help come up P1030196 with some sort of system. Maybe next time…

On my last day we played games- “What time is it Mr. Fox”, limbo, duck-duck-goose and sang songs. They love to sing! I went to the gas station and bought popsicles for everyone which was exciting.

The kids love seeing pictures and videos of themselves. We spend many hours taking photos and videos on my camera, looking at the pictures. Often they would take off with my camera to take pictures and would come back with all sorts of funny pictures. I keep trying to upload a vidoe of them, but it doesn’t seem to be working…

A new volunteer came in that week and she has initiated getting some of the kids medical attention. She was actually able to get a doctor to come into the center and check P1030230 out the kids who were having some issues and get treatment for different things as well as HIV tests. I gave her $100 because she was paying for everything out of her pocket. I also gave the center $80 to finish the 2 new bathrooms they just built- to make doors and add plumbing to run water to the

New bathroom!

bathrooms. They were very appreciative. My mom, sister and my friends Margaret and Lynne have offered donations and I will be arranging supplies like tooth brush/paste, detergent, rice, etc… for the center. Thank you for your support!

One of the babies had an abcess on his bottom that had to be lanced and the doctor had to clean it out the next day because of course it had gotten infected. Later he was in the babies room just crying by himself (as he often is) and I was able to pick him up and calm him down. I cuddled him for about an hour, him leaning forward on my chest so as not to have to sit on his tender bottom and even got him laughing at one point. It is so tragic to me that a little one like that who is in pain doesn’t have a mama to baby him when he’s sick. I wish I could’ve stayed another week just to take care of the little guy.

It was tough to say goodbye to everyone, but I am so thankful for the experience. I hope to be able to do it again for a longer period of time someday. I hope to do some similar work in the States as there is a huge need there as well for community development and support for the poor.

Until next time,

Love, Liza

Love the nose crinkle

Tags: Cambodia, cambodian orpahnage, south east asia travel, volunteer abroad

The Children and Poor Communities Development Organization

Nov 23

Posted by Liza in Cambodia, Orphanage, Phnom Penh | 1 Comment

Wow. Ok. Where do I start?

CPCDO

I made it to Phnom Penh safely and have just started my second week at the orphanage. Let me just say these kids are AMAZING. The first day I walked in the gate 3 little ones ran up with hellos and hugs which was so cute made me feel so welcomed.

The baby room

There are 71 kids at CPCDO ranging from about 4 months to 17 years old. Typically I teach English to a young group for an hour, then an hour to an older group in the morning, play for an hour, then a 2 hour lunch break, and then I repeat the same in the afternoon with a

Lunch time

different group of kids. It’s funny as I didn’t get any guidance really- on my first day they said, “here you go, now teach some English!” But it’s great cuz you could do just about anything and the kids are happy- they’re very eager to learn English and just love the interaction. We

New toys!

talked about body parts one day and we ended class by doing the hokey-pokie. They had never done it before and thought it was hilarious- “…you put your nose in and you shake it all about…”

Their living conditions are hard to see. They only have 2 toilets for all of them (although they’re in the process of building 2 more); the kids sleep on wooden bunk beds with no mattress or padding; the building isn’t fully enclosed, so when it rains hard the whole place floods; many of the kids wear the same dirty clothes days on end; there is no soap for them to wash their hands; no diapers so the babies run/crawl around without bottoms and wee/poo wherever they are; and on and on… It was a bit disturbing at first, but I’m starting to realize that these are living conditions for many of the population here in Cambodia anyways, not just the orphans.

I have 2 especially special little boys there who I really want to take home

My boys

with me. One is probably about 1 and the other about 3 or 4 years old. They follow me around everywhere and want me to hold them all the time. When I have to put one of them down to go to the bathroom, they will usually stand there and cry at the door till I come back out. It is one of the most incredible feelings to walk in in the morning and watch their faces light up and raise their arms to me to pick them up. It brings tears to my eyes to think about having to leave them at the end of the week.

I’ve taught them duck-duck-goose, some “Sound of Music” songs (Do, a deer a female dear… and, raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…) and they really seem to love playing hangman. The stickers, books (thanks Margaret & Anita!), balloons, crayons, coloring books and bouncy-balls have been a big hit! I also bought some new school books with the money some of you donated already!

I feel very lucky to be here and definitely feel this has been the most intense, challenging experience so far, but of course the most eye-opening and fulfilling. I had my first wave of homesickness after my first day, but am feeling better now. I have to say though, as much as I’m enjoying my travels, I will be happy to come home! Although my tune might change when I’m bumming around the Vietnam beaches!

>See all my pictures from CPCDO on snapfish
>See some videos of the kids at CPCDO on youtube

More to come!

PS- If anyone is interested in donating to the orphanage, please contact me. I can arrange to get the money to them or arrange to buy supplies with the money (bikes, extra food, school supplies, etc…).

Love, Liza

P1030124

Tags: Cambodia, cambodian orpahnage, south east asia travel, volunteer abroad

Cambodia

Nov 19

Posted by Liza in Angkor Wat, Cambodia | No Comments

Angkor Wat

Oh mama, is it hot here! If I realized how hot it would be I would’ve chosen a room with a/c, but instead for some reason I decided I needed a bathroom with hot water. No need for that here.

Of the 4 days I was in Siem Reap, 3 of the days I was up for the sunrise. The first day was spent watching

Ta Prohm

the sun rise at Angkor Wat- I had the good advice to enter the less popular east side to avoid the crowds and hiked up to the top of one of the towers to watch the sun rise. Already getting hot by 8am, I checked out a couple other wats in the area and headed home for breakfast and a nap. Headed out to Phnom Bakheng for the sunset which was incredible, minus the multitude of tourists that didn’t quite understand how much more lovely it would be to enjoy in silence. So I practiced meditating within the chaos- as one of my teachers says, you should be able to meditate on the busiest street in New Delhi. That one’s going to take some work…

The rest of my days went something similar to that- up early to see the sun rise, exploring more ruins, nap and then back out again. I went to Bayon, Banteay Srei and other little ones along the way. One morning I went on a sunrise horseback ride. It ended up just being me and the guide (a young girl from New Zealand). The sunrise through storm clouds was like nothing I’ve ever seen- we rode though the country side, by rice patties, lily pad ponds, rual homes, a pagoda and some more ruins. At some point it started pouring rain- completely beautiful and a welcome cool down. It’s been so long since I’ve rode but the feeling of cantering on a horse is hard to explain- exhilrating might have to suffise for now. Needless to say, I’m still sore…

Giddy up

I’ve been learning about the recent history of Cambodia- mostly of the Khmer Rouge regime in which 1-2 million Cambodians (about 1/3 of the population at the time) we’re killed between ’75 and ’79- by forced starvation, exhaustion or murdered under this communist rule. I watched the movie ‘The Killing Fields’ one night, but felt the book “Stay alive, my son” gave a better insight to how the people were tricked into their imprisonment and how the respectable ideals of socialism can get so easily distorted by human nature’s desire for money and power.

I have felt very safe on my trip so far, but I have to say the driving in Cambodia is craa-zzyy. Thailand was pretty interesting, but for some reason it feels worse here. Maybe it’s because Im riding around on the back of motorcycle taxis here and I was mostly in tuk-tuks in Thailand. There really seems to be no rules here other than ‘try not to crash’. People drive on the wrong side of the road quite often; there are hardly any traffic signals or stop signs (and if there are they are more of a ’suggestion’); people don’t wait for an opening in traffic to turn or go through an intersection. Its basically a free-for-all. Its the only time so far I fear for my safety- sometimes I just have to close my eyes and hope for the best. You see families of 5 riding on one moto; coconuts, dead chickens, firewood, bags of concrete or whatever stacked high and wide; men toting 50’poles on them. I wish I had the chance to get photos of them as they wiz by. Fascinating. I’ve learned how to ride sideways when I have a skirt on and had my first experience as the 3rd passenger on a motorcycle last night when the younger couple from my host

Ta Prohm

family took me out. I think I’m fitting in just fine…

I’m in Phnom Penh now and am finishing up my 3rd day at the orphanage. More on that later. All I’ll say now is that the kids are amazing and I want to bring them home. Really.

Toodles,

Tags: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, seim reap

I love it.

Nov 11

Posted by Liza in Chiang Mai, Thailand | 1 Comment

My newly famous Tom Kha Kai soup

I know you want a bite

Oh what a lovely few days it has been! On our last day in Chiang Mai Lalainia and I took a cooking class (highly recommended). Our teacher had a great sense of humor. First she took us to a local outdoor market to talk to us about the traditional ingredients they use in Thailand. Such a beautiful sight of colors and a variety of “interesting” smells- I think fish sauce may be my new kitchen staple even though it smells quite rank! After that we went to her lovely outdoor kitchen under a 200 year old Bodhi tree. There was a Dutch couple with us as well that were a lot of fun. We learned how to cook Tom Kha Kai (my new favorite), green curry, pad thai and some stir fried veggies. I’ve fallen in love with lemon grass and lime leaves. I’ll have to show off my new skills when get home.

A peek at a Lisu Hill Tribe Village

The next day Lalainia headed off to Laos and I jumped on a bus up to Pai. On the bus I met an American man who pointed out he and his Lisu wife’s listing in Lonely Planet for a home stay in Soppong within a traditional Lisu hill tribe village. The hour bus ride from Pai up to Soppong from Pai was insanely beautiful. Imagine lush, dense forested mountains with fields of rice paddies as the sun sets. Amazing. We arrived in time for dinner which (like most my meals there) consisted of some liver and intestines maybe, cooked up with some veggies, rice and a veggie dish. Pretty tasty actually… We (the couple, the wife’s son, his wife and baby) ate together in their outdoor kitchen on a table low to the floor sitting on little stools. Baby was sleeping on mom’s back with a baby carrier of a long piece of fabric. It’s great to see the moms and grandmas strap the little ones on and go about their daily business! I didn’t sleep well that night as the roosters began crowing at 1am. I also got bit by a bug in my bed and when I got out of bed (and out of my mosquito net) I saw a spider the size of my palm hanging out in the corner. Long story short, after a few minutes of biting my nails trying to figure out what to do, I killed it, after, of course, I let out a ‘lil scream. Anyhow, the next day we went for a walk through the village and had some fruit and tea for breakfast. Did some yoga, meditation, then had lunch. After that we walked up to the fields where they were harvesting kidney beans- I got to see the rice fields, corn, ginger, beans… They work very hard. It was a lovely experience till the American guy made a pass at me and I decided it was time to go! So even though the experience was great, I would not recommend this particular one…

Pai hot springs

Scooterin' around Pai. Harvesting

So I went back to Pai, found a place to stay and made friends with a lovely group of single travels from across the globe. We rented scooters and rode up to the hot springs. The ride was sooo much fun- I’ve never driven a scooter before and the landscape was again, breath taking. On the way back down we stopped at a Wat to watch the sun set. We had a family style dinner at our “Family House” guest house that has the most amazing food- green curry, massaman, panang curry and tom kha kai soup- yum! The next day as everyone was hung over, I rode by myself up to a waterfall and hiked around there and took a dip in the water. Then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring on my scooter. Seriously one of the highlights of my trip so far!

Now I’m in Cambodia and will be exploring Angkor Wat this week. Stay posted…

Scootering around Pai. What kind of cow is this anyhow?

Tags: Cooking class, Lisu Hill Tribe, Pai, Soppong, south east asia travel, Thailand

Hello Chiang Mai!

Nov 3

Posted by Liza in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Sorry about the sideways photos- before I upload them they’re correct and I can’t figure out how to flop it around on wordpress. I also don’t have the time to make the lay out look all pretty…

As difficult as it was to say goodbye to our island and all my lovely yoginis, I have to say I was excited to move on to a

Haad Tien

new place. It just so happens that our arrival to Chiang Mai coincided with Loy Krathong. Last night was the full moon, therefore the biggest night of celebration and we were absolutely amazed by the festivities.

Imagine hundreds in the sky!

Floating flowers down the river

People release hundreds of lanterns into the sky- it is an awe-inspiring sight. It reminded me of a mix between a bright sky full of stars and looking up through a school of jelly fish. Both Lalainia and I sent on up to the sky- I sent one up to my dad. They also send little flower floats with incense and candles down the river. And light fireworks off like crazy- there were a few times Lalainia and I were walking down the street and had to duck and cover as people were lighting them off from the sidewalks.

Little monk sending a sky lantern up

Today we went on a little adventure visiting an orchid farm, 2 waterfalls, white water rafting, elephant riding, visiting a

Hello beautiful

hill tribe and on a little bamboo boat ride where I got a nice hickey from a leach. Yummy. It was a lovely day although it felt like a watered down tourist attraction, but it was nice to check out the jungle. The elephants were the highlight for sure. They are so elegant and graceful. I wish I could buy a jungle and let them retire. Its hard to see them man handled and chained up. I hope to visit the Elephant Conservatory when Cher is here- they are a rescue operation, rather than a tourist show and I know that’s where my dollars should be going instead.

Sweet ele

Things here are much cheaper than they were on the island. Massages are $7 dollars- my goal is to get one a day, so I’d better get on it cuz I haven’t gotton one yet today and it’s 7:30pm…

Love love love,

Tags: loi kathong, south east asia travel, Thailand

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Liza's Travel Blog – Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam