Yesterday was by far the longest day of this trip--night buses are a whole other --as we had a 4am wakeup call to go catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Educational note: knowing close to nothing about site, I learned that the complex as a whole is not called Angkor Wat, rather the Temples of Angkor. Angkor Wat is just the largest and most reknowned among the sprawling network.
After waiting for our tuk tuk driver for an hour and making several wake up calls to the travel agency, we were finally on our way by 5:30. Along the way we picked up our guide Chhayphanit, a gangly, baby-faced man with one year under his guiding belt.
Everyone gathers in the same place for the sunrise, just behind the pond overlooking the sun coming up behind Angkor Wat. For the best view, we worked our way up front and squatted in the mud most people were avoiding. I finally got to use the Vietnamese squat I had observed so often but never found the opportunity to use! But I only lasted a few minutes at a time in that position though before my calves went numb.
The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, as we were tuk tuked nonstop from temple to temple by our driver, Superman (so called for his identifiable t-shirt amidst the sea of other hired drivers), for twelve hours until after sunset. Some highlights:
- Signs reading "Possibility of Visit" guided us through each temple, my favorites being Bayon (full of large, towering faces) and Ta Prom (the "Tomb Raider" temple where massive knobby trees twist over and among the ruins--a true testament to nature defeating man).
- Pounding my chest against a wall in the main tower of Angkor Wat. Chhayphanit told us that by doing this, we would get rid of all our unhappiness. So we took turns standing back against the wall, beating our fists against our hearts, feeling and hearing the sound reverberating up against the wall.
- Being blessed by a nun at Banteay Kdei temple. With a shaved head and betel nut-stained lips, she gave us incense and tied a red string around our wrists as she said a prayer for good luck. While I'm not Buddhist, it was lovely and my intentions felt sincere.
- The occasional fart Chhayphanit would let loose as he explained the difference between Apsara engravings. Also the way most of our questions were answered with completely irrelevant answers as he misunderstood a lot of what we were saying. Example:
Me: "So when it was rediscovered by the French, was this moat still here or was it dry?"
Him: "Many people come here to visit, not only French. Chinese, Japanese..."
We finished the day with a hike up to Phnom Bakheng, where nearly everyone who entered the park that day crammed together to watch the sunset. I had the most fun people watching from our perch along the temple wall, as it was a massive crowd of people from all over the world, tripods set up or cameras in hand, all gathered together to share this once in a lifetime moment. The sunset itself was decent, but I spent most of it trying to grasp where I was and what I had seen all day.
Caked in dust and sweat, we zombied our way to a restaurant for dinner. We didn't have much energy to function, so we ate and listened to an American woman, probably about our age, sitting with a group of teenagers at a table next to us. It was clear that she was their teacher and it got me thinking of the week ahead.
I last left you with only my decision to stay and volunteer in Cambodia. Since then there has been much back and forth via email with various parties before I settled on an organization. Initially I contacted the man that Tasha had worked with during her month at a school in Siem Reap. Turns out that they require a two week minimum from their volunteers, which I unfortunately do not have. He did, however, refer me to another place.
So that's how I came to find the BFT Center (Build Your Future Today Center), an NGO in town which I visited this morning. Feeling as giddy as on the first day of school and as anxious as going in for a job interview, I arrived to the modest house/center to find a group of children rehearsing Singapore's national anthem in the front yard. Immediately I got a good feeling about this week. I was warmly greeted by Mr. Soborinth, Borinth for short, the man whom I had spoken to on the phone when I first arrived to town. He introduced me to Mr. Sedtha, the Executive Director of BFT.
I breathed a sigh of relief when they took me upstairs for a PowerPoint presentation and introduction to their organization. Part of me envisioned that I may be thrown into a classroom and told to start teaching English, which I had mentally (if not practically) prepared for. When I told him I am from the US, one of the first things I learned from Sedtha is that one of their biggest supporters and board of directors members was from Long Beach. I must have reacted with a goofy smile as I told him that I would actually be in Long Beach for a couple of weeks just days after returning home. Of course my mind already started racing with visions of meeting this board member to talk about my week at the center and potential involvement beyond.
The presentation lasted about an hour as Sedtha, Borinth and Vudthi, the monk who manages the Community Peace Building Program, walked me through their mission and achievements. They are running so many wonderful and important programs there, I am hungry to learn more. Check out their website for a good rundown:www.center-bft.org/.
Sundays they are closed, but on Monday morning I will be joining them on a school visit far out of town ("We will take massage bus!" they joked about the long, bumpy ride). It is one of their newer projects and they will be delivering uniforms to the students that day.
As for my role there, I have already been given an assignment! Drum roll please.....starting Tuesday evening, I will be teaching 17 children, ages 7-15, the Star Spangled Banner! They want them to learn it to surprise one of their donors that will be visiting in January. On my way out, Sedtha gathered the children around and had them sing the Australian and Singaporean national anthems to me. It was hard not to get emotional as I stood before the 2 rows of kids singing to me, thinking about what amazing moments lie ahead for me with them over the next week.
I immediately set off back to town in a tuk tuk to begin my search for a printable, kid-friendly Star Spangled Banner. You would think there would be some great versions out there for teaching, but it looks like I will be creating my own Word document before going off to find a photocopy shop.
Next mission: be sure to learn it fully myself before trying to teach it!