Villages Around Siem Reap

Today we drove around several of the small rural villages surrounding Siem Reap that are the villages from where many of our students hail.  Again we saw poverty that is simply unmatched in America.  The homes on stilts to avoid annual flooding; the small "gas stations" selling homemade fuel; family shops selling vegetables, soda, water, chips and only they know what else; rice farmers working in their fields; water buffalo; duck farms; a rural (and filthy) medical center where a baby was delivered two days ago; and the local school we visited where no teaching or learning of note was taking place were more eye-opening than any experience we've had since arriving in Cambodia.  There is no way I can begin to list or even describe everything we say today.  Everyday I am in Cambodia I become increasingly aware of how fortunate I am simply by birthright - because I was born in America I was afforded opportunities that most Cambodians could never imagine.  As I type this with a heavy heart I realize that I am a no more than 15km away from them and live in a completely different world.  Here are some images of what we saw, no camera can truly capture the true essence of today's experience.

This is a video of the countryside we drove through today.

(the audio is just wind noise, sorry)

The Countryside on the way to work

We traveled to work yesterday with the other new teachers.  The school is amazing (best facilities in which I've ever taught) and the countryside is very Apocalypse Now making quite the juxtaposition.  Meeting the students was wonderful (very respectful already and I love their smiles) and the lunch there is some of the best food I've had since we've been in Cambodia.  As beautiful as the countryside is, the poverty is overwhelming.  As we traversed the red dirt road in our air conditioned van, I could not help but feel some level of guilt for my fortunate position in life.  Here are some pics of what we see everyday on the way to work. (click on the pic to enlarge)  If I can help these kids improve the lives of other Cambodians in the future, my life will feel very worth weil. 

Tuk Tuk Ride

This morning we went to Lucky Supermarket for a few items and thought we would walk to check out the town a bit.  It was seriously hot and the sun is very intense, especially compared to Chicago.  On the way home we took a Tuk Tuk for the first time, it was awesome and will be the way we travel from now on.  Here are some pics I took this morning, the Tuk Tuk is the third picture.

We have arrived

After traveling for nearly 24 hours from Chicago to Siem Reap, we arrived in town around 10:30 PM and made it to the hotel about an hour later. It was very humid when we stepped on the tarmac and loaded our five bags on the bus, which had AC. The hotel smells a bit like moth balls and there is the inevitable quirkiness of all things not American, like a spray hose next to the toilet to serve as a bidet. Today we'll explore the town where we'll live for the next year. This is going to be an adventure.