First our group walked to lunch - Scott learned that if you don't keep the "guide car" in your sights, you will get lost! Our local guid drove to the restaurant with 2 of us. He tried to drive slow and most of the group kept pace. Scott; however, did not :) We enjoyed a nice lunch and then went over to Artisans Angkor. This is a school of sorts that teach disabled people (physical and/or mental) fine arts such as silk painting, carving, etc. here is one of the gals working on a silk painting. Her level of detail was amazing!!
Her hands were incredibly steady and her work was beautiful! All of the work we saw being done was incredible.
Tonight we went to our Habitat orientation and learned more about the area and the specific need. We learned that the province we are working in is the 2nd poorest in Cambodia. We also learned that there is a huge need to add wells and latrines. 79% of the families do not have a latrine. Only 18% have access to safe water to drink. We learned more about the families we will be working for - building a bathroom facility and well for their area. The average monthly income of each family is approximately $35-$40 A MONTH!! So as they said, "when you can't even afford to eat every day, you certainly can't afford to build a bathroom." Hygiene is also clearly an issue because of the water situation. Learning about the needs really got the whole group energized to attack our projects with enthusiasm. We want to try to get multiple projects completed!
After learning about the families it was time for a crash course in Khmer (the Cambodian language). Let me just say that about all I could master were the words for "thank you" which is "Or Kun" and "Good Bye" which is "chum Reap Lear". Here is a visual of the other phrases:
We were then informed that most people will ask how old you are when they meet you. This is done so they know how to address you based on your age. These expressions are more in hand positions - you place your hands together like praying. If the person is young, the hands are at chest level, the older the person, the higher the hands go. For example, if the other person was elderly, I would raise my hands up where my thumbs were by my nose. I just hope I am not a recipient of a local raising their hands that high when they meet me!!
Time to turn in for the night, we have an early start tomorrow. Well. I will attempt to sleep. As I was sitting on my bed, a HUGE cockroach was crawling across!! Now most of you who know me know I have a rather big phobia of cockroaches! Suffice it to say, there is one less cock roach crawling around Cambodia!! So as long as I survive the night, check for more blog updates tomorrow!
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