Thursday morning we once again woke up smell of pancakes just calling us downstairs to the kitchen. We headed back out to more villages, but this time the drive was two hours. I got lucky because my seat on the bus was in the sun going AND coming beck from the village! There were not many children when we first got to the village and the teenagers were not so amused by our silly songs. They did get excited about this one game called "Catch her eye", which is where a boy and girl stand back to back and at the count of three they look to the left or right. If the girl looks the same direction as the boy the boy wins because he "catches her eye" and if she looks opposite, she wins because he didn't catch her eye. Pretty cute game! You go through all the boys and girls until one side has no people left. I have to say I pretty talented at this game!! We didn't stay long at this village because of the long drive but as an offering of thanks they sent us home with two live ducks with their feet tied together. I had to restrain myself the whole ride home from just reaching down, untieing the ducks and letting them fly away.
That night Mrs. Dolan fixed us all fajitas!! They were absolutely amazing. She made every tortilla from scratch, considering the don't exactly have much Mexican food here in Asia! She also made salsa from scratch that was great too. That was by far the best meal I've had since I got here. That night the Dolans neighbor came over and talked about his experiences with the Khmer Rouge. The next morning we were able to visit the Russian market. The Russian market is this huge part of downtown Phenom Pehn that sells all sorts of goods for dirt cheap. I bought a large North Face backpack for TWELVE DOLLARS!! They have a North Face factory there, and just apparently get the backpacks with "slight problems". I looked mine over and it just had a little stain... no biggie! I also got a watch for $4 so I wouldn't have to keep asking Leah what time is it. I wish you all could see this market... there are seriously not words.
We also got to visit a prison camp that was located downtown. If you haven't heard about the Khmer Rouge and how they killed millions of Khmer people, then you should google it or something because it astonishing. The fact that a genocide took place only about 50 years ago is mind blowing to me, and most of the world didn't even know what was happening. Walking into the rooms and cells where innocent people were tortured and executed sent chills throughout me. I could honestly feel the evil within those walls. I walked into one room and and over whelming sense of pain and shock went through me and I could barley breathe. They had pictures of the prisoners, before and after they were tortured. Many people were taken to the "killing fields" to be slaughtered and thrown into a ditch. Visiting this prison camp was one of the most powerful events of my life. I'll never forget that feeling that washed over me. The people of Cambodia will forever feel the evil and pain these events brought to surface but i know there is hope for this country. It helps to know that our presence helped bring a little bit of The Kingdom to the kingdom of Cambodia.
That night Mrs. Dolan fixed us all fajitas!! They were absolutely amazing. She made every tortilla from scratch, considering the don't exactly have much Mexican food here in Asia! She also made salsa from scratch that was great too. That was by far the best meal I've had since I got here. That night the Dolans neighbor came over and talked about his experiences with the Khmer Rouge. The next morning we were able to visit the Russian market. The Russian market is this huge part of downtown Phenom Pehn that sells all sorts of goods for dirt cheap. I bought a large North Face backpack for TWELVE DOLLARS!! They have a North Face factory there, and just apparently get the backpacks with "slight problems". I looked mine over and it just had a little stain... no biggie! I also got a watch for $4 so I wouldn't have to keep asking Leah what time is it. I wish you all could see this market... there are seriously not words.
We also got to visit a prison camp that was located downtown. If you haven't heard about the Khmer Rouge and how they killed millions of Khmer people, then you should google it or something because it astonishing. The fact that a genocide took place only about 50 years ago is mind blowing to me, and most of the world didn't even know what was happening. Walking into the rooms and cells where innocent people were tortured and executed sent chills throughout me. I could honestly feel the evil within those walls. I walked into one room and and over whelming sense of pain and shock went through me and I could barley breathe. They had pictures of the prisoners, before and after they were tortured. Many people were taken to the "killing fields" to be slaughtered and thrown into a ditch. Visiting this prison camp was one of the most powerful events of my life. I'll never forget that feeling that washed over me. The people of Cambodia will forever feel the evil and pain these events brought to surface but i know there is hope for this country. It helps to know that our presence helped bring a little bit of The Kingdom to the kingdom of Cambodia.
Th pictures are of the Dolans, The ducks we got as gifts, the amazing fajitas we ate, a room in the prison camp and our new backpacks in the middle of the Russian market.
For more pictures click on this link...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057839&l=06e3e&id=54602099
2 comments:
Good stuff Terri! You are awesome-seriously!
Okay, so this cambodia genocide thing, how much more do you know about it? It sounds to me that like 20 years after Europe's holocaust finished, it started all over again in Asia. Wow.
I'm impressed with your writing and I admire what you're doing with your life; math major, bible minor and thailand missions. Later!
P.S. -Check out my blog (only if you have time) and you can read some Uruguay stories, see pics and watch videos. It's ok if you can't!!
Terri: Ronda's sister actually showed us this blog. A lady in the US knows you and told her about it. Glad you enjoyed the stay in Cambodia. Check out our blog at randrdolan.blogspot.com
rich dolan
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