Comparing and Contrasting

ជំរាបសួរ មិត្តភក្តិនិង គ្រួសារ!

I know Sasha already wrote a bit about our tour of the squatters village behind JWOC, but I thought I could take some time today to reflect a bit more about what I saw on Friday versus what I remember seeing 9 years ago (that sounds so weird to say, being that I’m only 18!). 

The first, and most obvious change was the sheer amount of trash. Not only in the village, but throughout all of Siem Reap, actually. Perhaps I am more keen to noticing all of the plastic because of my intense distaste for it, but I do not exaggerate when I say it is everywhere. Since arriving in SR, we have been walking a lot, but mostly on the busy road/nonresidential areas where there are many large piles of trash as well as litter scattered around. However, the garbage in and around people’s homes was a whole other site. It was layered, much like a rug or outdoor patio, all over the ground.   

Another huge difference in the village was the architecture of the homes. When I visited with my dad, all of the homes were made out of organic material (I believe palm leaves) and on stilts. They were all just one small, single square room that the entire family shared. The houses I saw on Friday were made out of thin metal sheets. They were also a lot closer to each other— each one pretty much touching the one next to it. Though I did not get a good look inside one of these homes, they seemed to also be pretty small, perhaps only one or two rooms. 

The village also seemed a lot smaller. We of course didn’t see all of it, but what we did see were small homes, very close together, which are very different than the spread out, vast community I remember. 

It’s amazing how so much can change in less than ten years. 

On another note… 

On Sunday we went with two scholarship students (each of us riding on the back of one of their mottos—which was an adventure in itself) to survey and check up on JWOC’s micro financing recipients. We visited mostly peoples homes (because their business are street carts and always moving) and one restaurant. It was amazing. Our first stop was a community of homes (apartment styled, they were all in the same “building”) in a U shape. Outside each one, the family (mother, father, grandparents, children of all ages..) were cooking and preparing their specific food and stocking their carts. Corn, fruit, Khmer meat dishes, and bugs of all kinds. The next stop was a more secure home with a woman and small girl (perhaps 3 years old). We were welcomed into the bedroom, which was one of two that made up the space (the other was a kitchen), where we sat on the floor with our shoes off while the scholarship students conducted the interview in Khmer. After visiting a few more places, our last stop was by far the most shocking. We pulled into a longish/steep driveway and were greeted by maybe 40 children. At least 2 classrooms full, perhaps more. There were chickens in cages and not a single adult. Most of the kids were naked and all but a few were barefoot. One of the scholarship students, Sopheap told us that the adults leave early in the morning to go to the market and are out working all day. The kids stay home and play, eat, and sleep. This little neighborhood was by far the worst we have seen in terms of trash. It was everywhere. The horror videos I saw on environmental websites and documentaries are the simple reality for the people living here. Even for someone like me who has been educated and exposed to environmental destruction, seeing its effects in person is still so intense.

After the interviews, we tried some little, palm sized cakes from a street vendor. They were SO delicious. 25 cents for 3. Unreal. 

I know I say this at the end of every blog post, but each and every day Cambodia is becoming more and more my home. I am now officially familiar with the streets, getting better with names and picking up some Khmer. The best part though, is that now many of the students are remembering Sasha (or should I say Sasa) and I’s names. We walk in and they greet us personally, which is touching. We have made insane friends, both Khmer and foreign and are official “aunts” to Sovan’s son, Pou Pou. 

Sorry we don’t have pictures. We obviously aren’t going to take out our camera when touring a village or surveying business owners. We do need to get better, however, at taking some pictures around town, with friends, and (obv) with all the AMAZING food. 

That’s all for now:)

xxx,

Us