March 12: Exhausting, but fun day!

We had another great day today. Layed more bricks for the latrines, dug holes, placed cement cistern holding tanks and stuccoed the outside walls. Very exhausting, but fun day. Highlights of the day were: watching Kim and Larry be hole digging machines, playing with the children at the work site and back to the community hall for lunch. We had a local favorite (and Tom our Team Leaders) which was cooked morning glory. Absolutely delicious for what we Canadians jokingly refer to as a weeds. 

Looking forward to finishing the latrines tomorrow.

Wade Billey

DWC Participant

Cambodia, March 2013

March 11: Lovely accomodations, great food and working hard!

We all arrived safe on Sunday. Our accommodations, the Kep Beach Hotel, is very nice and comfortable. It has excellent food for supper and breakfast, very friendly staff and an amazing view.  Monday was our first day of work and we started with building the brick walls for some latrines. We split into two groups with each building one latrine for two different families who are related. It was very hot with high humidity but there was a light breeze that was appreciated. A new experience for lunch....no restaurant, but instead we went to a community complex where the community made an excellent lunch of rice, vegetables and shrimp for us. It was very tasty with the Famous Kampot peppers included in the meal. 

After work, half the team went for a swim in the ocean. The ocean was as warm or warmer than the showers in the hotel. Diner was another nice meal at a local seafood restaurant with the Kampot peppers again. Absolutely tasty! 

Every one worked hard today and had fun working with the locals at the work site. Lots of smiles and a great atmosphere. We're tired but looking forward to tomorrow.

Wade Billey

DWC Participant

Cambodia, March 2013

July 16: A successful first week!

Things are going really well on our volunteer project. We are building a house for a local family who has recently lost their husband/father. There is the mom and her two young girls, one who is already attending school and the other who is still too young for school. They are such a nice family and everyday the grandparents (granddad is handicap) always bring us fruit, drinks and a big smile to show us their appreciation. The grandma speaks a little bit of English and always tries to speak with us, it is so lovely! The house we are building them has thatched walls and a zink roof.  Everyday the family, neighbors, some of our Host Partners volunteers and our DWC team come work on the house construction.  It has been a very joyful first work week.

This weekend we are going out to explore some of the surrounding areas of Kep: the caves, Kep national park, French arctic, hiking and going to the Kampot province, Borkor Mountain and the waterfalls near by. They are supposed to be really stunning!


DWC Team
Cambodia, July 2012

June 2nd: Team arrives in Cambodia

Yesterday we were provided the opportunity to visit the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. The museum was located in a high school that was converted into a prison by the Khmer Rouge during the 1970's.

Through pictures, stories and access to the cells the museum vividly demonstrated the tragedy that occurred at the site and throughout the country.

The trip through the museum reminded us that even though we think of the tragedy as long in the past that it was less than 40 years ago and many people living in Cambodia still deal with the consequences of those events daily.

After witnessing the museum, we were provided the opportunity to meet one of only seven people who survived living in the prison. This gentle elderly man thanked us for visiting and left us with a clear example of the power of forgiveness.

Matt Creechan
DWC Participant
Cambodia, June 2012

May 28th: Fun times with kids

Good'ay Mates!

I have not been able to get internet for the last week, and hence no blogs until now. But all is good and well here! I am still happy and healthy!

So here are the highlights!

Last week during my volunteering, I was able to do some teaching of kindergarten and grade one kids at the local school. It was really fun! All of the kids, especially the little guys in kindergarten are so cute and all they want to do is hold your hand. There was one point during play time that I had 6 little girls (all at the same time) pulling me in a different direction. It was just crazy! Finally when I broke free, I started running and this initiated a game of "catch the white girl". I had about 15 kids all trying to catch me by the end of it and inevitably, when I was out of breath, they did just that. I definitely felt the kid inside me come out as we were all playing together.

Then over the weekend it was my birthday and also another guy on my trips birthday, so it was time for celebration. We went to an island off the coast of Kep province in Cambodia, Rabbit Island, to sleep in bungalos and play on the beach! We took a ricketty boat ride, about 20 minutes long, to get there and when we reached the island we had to jump off into ankle deep water with all of our gear on. I felt like I was on the show survivor or something. Saturday on the island was full of surprizes! It turned out that a few of my group members had very imaginatively created the "Birthday Olympics" for all of us to compete in on the beach to celebrate our birthdays! They had organized shot put and diskus with coconuts, a relay, 100 meter beach sprints, and a few other events that were not the stereotypical olympic type, but fun none the less. For the winner and loser of every event, you had to drink from the chalice (ie. a bottle of 95 cent whiskey), which tasted disgusting, but was halarious all in one. This was definitely my favorite day in Cambodia yet. I have many photos to show you from this day!

As for now, I will be spending the rest of the week volunteering and enjoying my last week of beautiful Cambodia. I will have internet again this weekend, so you can expect another post from me at some point!

In the words of the space ranger, to infinity and beyond!

Peace out!
the travelling gypsy


Maggie B 
DWC Student Participant
Cambodia, May 2012

May 19th: House building and a Kampot weekend

The last few days have been really great since getting back from Siem Reap. Not going to lie, but by the end of it, I was getting pretty templed out so it was nice to head back to our base camp, which we now call the Red House. When we got back, our little guard kitty, Tabi, was there waiting for us and was excited for us to be home. 

The next few days were spent at our volunteer project. Our goal was to finish the house before the weekend came, but with everyone tired from the long journey back from Siem Reap it was somewhat slow going, especially in the heat. Those two days of working were long and required a lot of hard work, but it was really worth all the blood, sweat, and tears since we were able to finish the house for the family to move into over the weekend! The moment when we finished the house was almost surreal. To see the smiling faces of the family, knowing they now a had their own place to live, was the most incredible feeling of accomplishment. Simply knowing that we just gave this family a new start to their lives brought a lot of tears. As we were taking photos and having a group hug at the end, we all began crying. What a great feeling to start the weekend off with!

Friday evening we travelled to the city of Kampot to the Bodhi Villa where we would be staying for the weekend. The Bodhi Villa was bumpin' when we arrived Friday night! The music was loud and buzzing with Australian accents from the Aussie's who run the place. We decided to celebrate and ate and drank to all of our hearts' content. Even when most of us were partied out, the music continued until about 3 am. Thank goodness for the creation of earplugs! In the morning as we all dragged ourselves out of bed, we woke up to a beautiful riverside and the sun shining on the water making it glisten. Arriving in the dark the night before didn't provide the spectacular view that we had in the morning when all was illuminated by the sun. We ended up going on a trek up one of the mountains in the afternoon where we saw the ruins of a school, a church, and an old hotel. We walked around taking photos and joking together, so it was all pretty fun. Today's adventures include swimming in the river at our guesthouse, laying in the sun, and drinking mango, banana, papaya smoothies on the deck. What a perfect Sunday! We'll be starting to work at the school with local English teachers and the kindergarten class and construct a community latrine tomorrow. Namaste friends!

The traveling gypsy

Maggie B
DWC Student Participant
Cambodia, May 2012

May 15th: A Cambodian wedding and Angkor Wat

This trip seems to be getting better and better (hopefully its not just front loaded). I said in my last message that I would tell all about the Cambodian wedding that I attended, so I'll start with that. The wedding was for an employee of our Host Partner, Bridges Across Borders Cambodia. After getting prepared for the wedding in the nicest attire that we brought, we headed out by touk-touk to the wedding. I was a little confused when we turned into an alley and I could hear voices and music playing, but as it turns out, that's where Cambodians host their weddings! Right in the alley way with their neighbours all around! The whole alley was decorated with pictures of the couple and there was a big sign above the entrance with 2 huge swans painted on it; it reminded me of decorations from the 70's. The concept of romance here is strange for me, it seems very cliche and even corny. I think this is because most marriages in the past were arranged and now that Cambodians are able to marry for love it seems like they just want to go all out for their weddings. The actual dinner and dancing was really a tonne of fun. We all had to learn the appropriate way to dance according to Khmer culture. All of the people at the wedding were really inviting and took turns teaching us how to dance. Some of the men even asked us Canadian girls to dance and told us that we were good. The entire evening was an incredible experience that I don't think I will ever get to take part of again. There are so many more details to add, but I can tell you all when I am home.

After the wedding, we packed up and left for the city of Siem Reap where the huge and beautiful temple of Angkor Wat is situated. We bought 3 day passes for the temple and the surrounding temples to be able to explore at our own pace. The place is massive! It was really awesome when I got a chance to sit down on some of the rock with my journal and get to just reflect and write about everything that I was seeing. The temples are made of huge stones with intricate carvings all over. It was a great place to be able to let your imagination wander, thinking of the times when it was all being built and the amount of energy that went into it. I loved one of the temples with the big faces carved into the rocks. I will show pictures when I get home as I've not no way to upload any at this point, but what I can do is tell you that the energy of the place was just so peaceful and though weird to say, you could actually feel the history there especially when I traced my fingers around some of the carvings. I just imagined how many people walked in or touched the exact same pieces of rock as me some thousand years ago. Incredible!

Also, I ate from a street vendor today... start your prayers. Haha.

love, the travelling gypsy 

Maggie B
DWC Student Participant
Cambodia, May 2012 

May 11th: Falling in love with Cambodia

Adventures continue in my neck of the woods. A few days ago we left the city of Phnom Penh and travelled to the very small village of Chamcar Bei. It is a totally beautiful place, although you can't even find it on google maps, its so tiny. We began our work placement there. With only a few days of work, we were able to put the framework of the house up and put the thatching on the roof. I can't even begin to describe the feelings I felt when we finished the thatching on the roof and saw all of the smiling faces of the family to move in. It was amazing. They shared mangoes with us and we laughed and danced under the roof in celebration.

A couple of things about Cambodia that I have very quickly fallen in love with are the people and the sunrises. Cambodians are the most honest people in the entire world. As we ride to work in the mornings and afternoons on our bikes, tons and tons of kids greet us with frantic waves and hello's as we drive past. They know that they will be seeing us at the school and they are extremely excited to see us as we pass by. Also, any time you are being thanked for something, the Cambodians with their hands in prayer position slowly bow and then often grab your hand and hold it a very long time after. They are so humble and so thankful. As for the sunrises, they are completely fantastic. It is the mildest part of the day, in terms of the heat, and it is also when the land comes to life. Cows munching on grass or being herded to a nearby water hole, water buffalo drinking in the swamp nearby, women washing clothes in the river, and kid's happy laughter in the distance. It is a really incredible thing to just sit with your eyes closed outside in the mornings and listen to all of the sounds. Everything is so alive.

As for me in particular, I keep waking up thinking that I am in a dream world and eventually I will wake up in Canada again. As for now, I'm going to soak up every bit of this little piece of heaven that I possibly can. In fact, I have been invited to go to a Cambodian wedding tonight and will be going to the market today to find appropriate attire to wear for it. I will update next time on just how fabulous it is!

With moon beams and sparkly stars,
the travelling gypsy

Maggie B
DWC Student Participant
Cambodia, May 2012

May 6th: First impressions in Phnom Penh

So I have officially made it to Cambodia safe and sound! I luckily skipped out on the jet lag! The flight here was uber long, but it was well worth it. Having never been to Cambodia before, I can definitely say that it has made a great first impression. The landscape itself is beautiful! Yesterday, we went up to a Buddist temple that we hiked 400 some odd stairs to get to. On the way up the hike, I kept looking back down knowing that the view was going to be fabulous. We met up with a bunch of children, some baboons, and monks on route to the top. At the peak was the absolutely incredible temple with gold doors on each of the 4 sides and the 360 degree view surrounding it was just as incredible, everything so green! We also went to one of the markets in Phnom Penh called the Central Market. There were loads of stalls with different items to be sold, everything was there from clothing to rambutan's (a fruit with a hairy peel) to electronics. The part that was the "most interesting" for me (being a veggie and all) was walking down the meat isles. The characteristic smell of rancid meat in that area was almost vomit worthy. Gross, but an experience none the less. Today, we will be going to the village where we will be doing our volunteer project. We will drive about 5 hours to get there this afternoon. But for now, I am going to sit in this comfy wooden chair and drink my cold coconut milk and then go for a $5 Thai massage... I love it here!

Peace always,
the travelling gypsy

Maggie B
DWC Student Participant
Cambodia, May 2012

December 2009: Thoughts one month later.

It has been a month since most members of our team returned from our Developing World Connections (DWC) /Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia trip to Cambodia. Jud and Jen both remained behind for extended travel in Southeast Asia – Jen going to Laos and Sri Lanka and Jud to Thailand and Myanmar. They seem to be in no hurry to come back to winter in North America.

It’s interesting that our collectively loquacious group appears to be encountering some difficulty expressing the magnitude of their Cambodia experience. Pictures, of course, speak volumes, and we keep in touch by email as busy schedules permit. We also plan to have a reunion party at Julie’s house in Santa Ynez, California, at the end of the month. Sadly, our Canadian comrades won’t be able to join us, but we hope they will be there in spirit and visit with us online by Skype. A few of us are already talking about participating in another DWC project, possibly in Peru at the end of this year or in early 2011. And we are all wondering what we can do to help relieve the massive human suffering in Haiti in some small way since we can’t immediately jump on a plane and start rebuilding.

Reflecting on the Cambodia trip, Susanne, from Santa Barbara, says one thing she has noticed is that she “didn't really appreciate what we went through” until she got home and could process it more clearly:

“While I was there everything was interesting, new and fun, but overwhelming as a whole with so much going on. Once I got home and began telling my story, I realized what a great experience it was helping other people who needed it. It's amazing that in just a few short days we were able to help build a home for a family! I keep picturing their faces, and wonder how they are doing right now in their new place. Everyone at home keeps saying they're proud of me, but it is really ME who is proud to have been a part of something like this.”

Heather reports from her home in Canada:

“My memory is full of visuals and my heart remembers the kindness and spirit of the people above anything else. Working so closely in the community and seeing the house built from start to finish are my most treasured thoughts. The sense of accomplishment that came from tying on that last stick to hold down the thatch was so fulfilling that I will be able to channel it in the future to help me to reach new goals. I am grateful to Cambodia, for being so beautiful in so many ways. I am grateful to DWC and to BABSEA for the programs that fostered the trip and brought together our terrific crew. No matter if we worked our hardest, or connected with the kids, I am confident that our team left a positive mark on the village and that we will be remembered for it. The trip has helped to recharge me and to find a bit of clarity on my life's direction. But the thing that keeps coming up is...where to next?!

I love Cambodia!”

Finally, from Karen, of Santa Barbara, your blog author:

A friend of mine who donated a silent auction item at one of our fund-raising events asked about my trip. I sent her some pictures and told her how I felt momentarily overcome by bittersweet emotions when it came time to leave the home we had built. The house-warning party was winding down, the sun was setting behind the distant hills, and the nearby rice fields reflected the twilight glow. I felt elation to be part of this adventure – I had helped create a home for a family in need. I also felt genuine sadness, knowing it was unlikely we would ever return to this place to see how the family has adjusted. So much had happened to change my world view in such a short time!

‘I feel really lousy complaining about the color of my brown kitchen cabinets,’ my friend said, nicely summing it up.

Later, coming home to the pre-Christmas hullabaloo made me even more poignantly aware of the enduring spirit of the Khmer people. Yes, the cities in Cambodia are chaotic. Yes, there is litter and pollution, and many roads and buildings are in disrepair. Yes, there are daily deprivations and stressors. Yes, many people there work very hard every single day and have few possessions to show for it. Yes, the Khmer people have been traumatized by years of conflict and the loss of loved ones in the genocide, and yes, there is a long way to go before there is a sound governmental infrastructure and true reconciliation can be achieved. However, one can see progress taking place everywhere as communities rebuild. And from my perspective, the rural people there seem to exude a kind of inner serenity and oneness with nature that we don’t typically enjoy here in the West.

I wonder, what do these Khmer people really think of us? Do they think we are just nuts for taking vacation time and spending our money to fly half way around the world to build houses, plant gardens, and install latrines? Our DWC and BABSEA contacts tell us the impact is tremendous, and we accept that. But because of the language barrier, we were never really able to get to the bottom of it with the families who directly benefited from our work. However, by all appearances, whatever they think of us, they certainly seem to truly appreciate the results. And we appreciate them, more than they will ever know.

Karen O'Hara
DWC Volunteer Participant
Cambodia, December 2009