Jeffrey's Blog

While travelling around Cambodia with our tour guides, I have picked up some vocabulary and a glimpse of the Khmer dialect. After growing up with English as my primary language and studying Spanish in school, I forgot the range of languages across the world. For example, learning some of the dialect in Cambodia is a big challenge since it is difficult to detect a difference in sounds, sounds unlike consonants, vowels or words in English or Spanish. With much practice and coaching, I am beginning to get a few important phrases and words that will help while working with the children at the day care this week.

After working with the children at the day care in Battambang for a few days, it was enlightening to visit the homes of some of the children. Mounds of hay, a small, one room hut made from straw and mud, a herd of children from nearby, and a few lush gardens of vegetables. One of the owners of this house is a 44 year old woman with about a half-a-dozen children, one of which recently graduated from the day care. To describe the woman in a few adjectives, I would use weathered, strong. It was enlightening to be able to see her living environment and compare it to homes in the United States: the difference is enormous. For example, we have rooms for every type of occasion – cooking, eating, socializing, hosting, sleeping, dining, entertainment, etc – whereas they have basic necessities mostly made from available resources. For me and many Americans, it is difficult to even imagine life in remote Cambodia – that is, without the Internet, a stocked kitchen, electricity, or a two-story house. Visiting the remote people of Cambodia was a reminder of how much I and many others take for granted when luxuries become the norm.

Whereas day care in America is more of a start to the education process, the day care in Cambodia is a second home for the children, from bathes, to meals, to playtime, to learning, to a loving and supportive environment for growing. In one of the interviews with a child’s family, the mother commented that her children would love to go to the day care seven days a week if they could. I found this comment as a proclamation of how much the day care impacts the lives of the children.

A perfect example of the day care as a second home came in the form of a little boy, Sumbat, whom eventually became “my son” for the week. While playing with the children on the playground, he hit his head on the edge of a cement step, leaving a deep cut in the back of his head. After calmly standing up, he held his head and soberly walked to sit down. No tears. Expecting to see a flood of tears and to hear blaring sobs, the boy quietly sat holding his wound without a flicker of pain. The day care staff cleaned the wound and took the boy to a nearby hospital in Battambang. Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by the hospital. After being frisked for weapons, we walked through a courtyard to meet immediately a very friendly doctor, speaking both Khmer and English. After visiting several orphanages and hospitals in Cambodia thus far, I was impressed not only by the clean facility but the professional and knowledgeable staff. For example, the building was immaculate, well-lit and organized, and the doctor used sterile instruments, properly cleaned the wound, and explained how to properly maintain the treatment. I was very impressed by the hospital, the best in town according to the people of Battambang. Like my visit to the Battambang hospital, my overall experience so far in Cambodia could not have been better.