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Hello again! It’s Ellie. Today we woke up for an early breakfast at our hotel. I ate bread with butter and strawberry jam. We loaded up onto a new bus…our beloved purple one was taking a break, and set off early for Angkor Wat to attempt to beat the crowds for the first part of…
Our Cambodia crew is heading to the airport now. Here is their return flight information: Cathay Pacific/Dragon Air (all times local time) Departs Phnom Penh on Wednesday, July 10 at 11:25 A.M on KA 287 arriving in Hong Kong at 3:10 PM Departs Hong Kong on Wednesday, July 10 at 4:35 P.M. on CX 882…
As the rooster crowed us awake for the last time, we rolled out of bed and placed our packs on our back to load up the boats just like we had done when we departed for the island. We enjoyed one last breakfast, cooked by our master chef and my personal best friend, Phiya’s mother…
Our Cambodia team is touring Angkor Wat currently. In the meantime, we will be posting updates from student journals written while they were in the field. Hi Everyone! Everyone here is doing well and back to working today for our last working day. We all woke up bright and early with the chickens and the…
I feel over these past two weeks I have witnessed a growing of understanding of what motivates me and the people around me to be happy and make others happy; it is the giving of something selflessly from one person to the next. The absolute generosity of the villagers comes from their happiness of making…
Our Cambodia instructors report that the group had a great 4th of July which they spent participating in a ceremony led by monks before eating together with the community. They hope to have a student journal post about the experience to the home office as soon as they connect to Wi-Fi.
Today’s post is from Ellie who shared her handwritten journal. You can read the journal with the link below. http://staging.shouldertoshoulder-old.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ilovepdf_merged.pdf
Our Cambodia ’19 crew has been hard at work on helping to build a new school. During some time off today, they had the chance to interview some local teenagers about what the local school is like.
Today was our second day of working on the school with the village chief and the all of the students in our homestays and village. We were feeling pretty sore from carrying buckets up the riverbank yesterday but we managed to load four “robo cows” full of dirt to make concrete. Later in the day…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Kara, Esther, Scout, Ellie, Olivia, and Jim prepare the foundation for the school building (to be used as a teacher meeting room and library).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]today we travel to the village, but first Phiya organized a cooking class for us. We woke up early to buy fresh supplies at the local market. I also bought mangosteens (for you dad!) and a large hat for sun protection. A randomly chosen hat turns out to be Prada! Our walk through the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Home Office: the group is thoroughly exhausted from an honest day of physical labor and cultural engagement. Communication with “the field” is consistent and reliable. Love this photo of Ellie’s enraptured audience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””](written on 27th) Since yesterday was the last day of staying with our own roommates, everyone was kind of in a sad mood to leave the Golden Gate Hotel that had been with us for the past 3 days. Also, no more convenient laundries made us miss the hotel more and more! We all…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””] Our last full day in Phnom Penh was a day mixed with equal amounts of both learning more about the program SSTS partners with that hosts us in Cambodia, and experiencing and supporting Cambodia’s culture through the Russian Market (AKA the blank Market). Following that we reflected upon the different tenants that SSTS…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””] Today was our second day in Phnom Penh and everyone seems to be doing well! Our biggest problem is definitely adjusting to the sleep schedule here because day here is night back home. The food has all been great, and I’ve had French toast for breakfast for the second day in a row. It’s…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Hello Friends and Family, I was very anxious a few days before the trip began, and I’m sure I was not alone! However, after meeting all the girls, those nerves quickly began to fade. We have all been able to connect and laugh together, and I can already tell it will be a great…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]We just received an update from Sarah and Jim as their first full day in Phnom Penh came to an end. In order to better understand some of the tragic elements of Cambodian history, the group visited the Cheoung Ek Killing Field and the Tol Sleng Prison. In the process, they learned about the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]After a full day of travels, the group traveling from LA arrived safely and met up with the last two members of this year’s Cambodia team. After checking into their hotel and enjoying their first Cambodian meal, they immediately headed out to explore Phnom Penh with Phiya from CRDT as their guide. After an…
We received a message from Jim and Sarah letting us know that their group is boarding their flight for Hong Kong, so they are on their way to Cambodia. Despite the late night departure, the group is in great spirits. The group of six students from the U.S. will meet the remaining two students in…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experience while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each…