Okie. More updates on my Cambodia Trip. I really found very nice new friends and I hope we'll always keep in touch. There being the stowree girls: amelia, connie, joyys, peisi, shuyi, meiqi, crystal and xuemanda. I'll never forget the times we spend in Hope Village, Basement Bunk 3! There are also the emo guys: bson, vedro, brian, weiye, bob, jeremy, david and sheng loo. We went through everything together. We conquered:

1. Asia Hotel which many had bad encounters. First was the unreasonable security guards, then the lock wasn't properly installed. The feeling of the room was weird and they have this frame which makes it look like a mirror and I was stunned when jeremy jumped out from it. And there being only 3 girls staying on the 1st level. I'm one of them. OMG. Thankfully, some kind emo guys agreed to change room with us. =)
   
2. The bus which broke down halfway, out of nowhere.
   
3. The food at the orphanage.
   
4. The toilet at the orphanage which was kinda dirty; which i eventually got used to it. And I had to bathe with joyys, doing our never ending 1-2-3.
   
5. Sleeping in a 9-girls bunk, without common toilet, which we have to share with the orphans
   
6. The sleazy restaurant which makes people go giddy. I almost went crazy at the restaurant, I was truly freaked out. Thanks to all who showed concern. =)
   
7. The lorry which also broke down halfway; which made in the guys push the lorry.
   
8. The bridge which was unsafe for us to go over; causing us to make a detour on very sandy and soil-y roads. I wouldn't call them roads actually. It was really a bumpy 2 hours ride. The amount of sand we breathe in was really a lot even with our mask on.
   
9. The kampong with many puddle of muds, pigs, dogs, chicken, ducks, all around. Walking around that village distributing soap under the ultra hot sun with fierce dogs charging at us.

Even though its tough living there. But I truly enjoyed my stay at Cambodia. The kids at the orphanage are really cute. Especially my class, my students! Hee.

Vitmol: He is the youngest but the brightest boy in my class! He is able to express his thoughts and he have a better command of English as compared to the rest of his class (due to him having English classes while the rest do not have). He story he wrote that I'll never forget, about the mother bee and the baby bee. =) He wants to be a translator to help visitor of Cambodia to communicate with his fellow Cambodians.

La: Ok. This is one student which I like. =) He is also very smart. He tries his best to speak more English in class and always raises his doubts.

Tokna: This is also another student which I like. =p Her English is also not bad and she speaks quite well. You know, those loud and clear kind? However, she is a little quiet in class.

Okie, shall only highlight 3 students, in case I bored my readers to death. The children at Hope Village are really adorable. They are not a bit like Singaporean kids who are so spoilt and ill-mannered.

The orphans feel fortunate to attend English lesson outside the orphanage, and only sponsored kids get to attend. Its just a mere US$1 for a month's of lesson. They attend the lesson everyday without fail. What about us? Spending a few thousands on our education and yet we skip classes. Their will to study hard, and the interest they show in studying made me felt so guilty. Can you imagine? When we were teaching them about money and stuff, they asked how much does our clothes cost. So, we gave an underestimate that its around US$10. They gave the face like they wanted to faint and compared it with 10 month's of English lesson. That is how much they love to study and gain more knowledge.

They could actually be playing around instead of attending my English lesson, but they chose to study English. They even said they like studying English. We gave them quite a lot of test within that 6 days of teaching and they also ended up giving us test by teaching us 5 Khmer words a day and testing us the next day. It was really fun and interactive!! =) As my class consist of student ranging from 12 - 14 years old. We had more interactive and outdoor games. We had to brainstorm games every now and then as they think better outside the classroom. =) I'm surprised that they even have scandals within the orphanage.

When I first entered Hope Village. I shock with their living condition, I was crestfallen. Imagine have a whole set of rules to follow EVERYDAY? Having to face disciplinary lecture for wasting some rice. We don't even wink for wasting one whole serving of food. Imagine having just 1 dish and 1 serving of rice EVERY MEAL? Not forgetting that their food don't really taste nice and they hardly get much meat.

However, as I stepped out of the gate of Hope Village, there i see kids rummage through the rubbish to find food, and then I started to feel happy for the kids in Hope Village, they are indeed fortunate. Somehow, I feel safe being in Hope Village, but once I'm out of the gates, there isn't that secure feeling anymore. And then I went to the village which looks like a farm, kids there can't even converse well in their own language. Seeing the worse, worser and even worser condition. I am starting to appreciate everything around me after realising that people are worse off on the other side of the world. I even appreciated that I was staying the the basement bunk of Hope Village during my community service.

As I was starting to adapt the living condition in Hope Village and thats when we're about to leave. I'm sure I've learnt a lot through this trip and I've grown. I start to think a lot and ponder over everything carefully. I can't really pen down my thoughts and what I've learnt on the trip now. But before the trip, I was still thinking if I had made a hasty or wrong decision to go on the trip. Now that I've experience it. I'm sure I had made the right choice with no regrets and I'm really glad I went on the trip. The experience and the learning points that I've acquired on the trip is something not everyone can get. This is truly an experience.

Now that I'm back in Singapore, I feel so lost. I'm sure most of my emostowree expedition mates feels the same. I don't know what to do, i ended up sleeping a lot. I feel lost at home, I don't really feel happy with my computer and TV. Will we even experience the true meaning for happiness? We just expect more and more and too much. Only kids with simple lifestyle will.

I will always miss the bao liao-ing session in our bunks and the STOWREE big S action. To be truthful, I was kinda sad on the last day when everyone need to part. =(

Now, I'm awaiting for the meet ups with my emostowree friends.

PATRICIA
11/05/88
National University of Singapore,
Bachelor of Business Administration




♥pano yacht :)