[Cambodia] Children of Angkor's Tree School

I had an early start on "planning" this trip to Cambodia. Booking a flight, and finding places to stay ... and that's all I ever did. The plan was no plan, and it was a marvelous plan!

I was really glad that a really good friend of mine headed there about a month before I did, to check things out for me. Although he did not suggest I followed his travel plans (nor would I for anyone to follow mine ... lol), I was loving everything he shared while he was there. Being with children and staying somewhere that seemed far from the city. 

It turned out, coincidentally, that he was actually staying with the very same host who accepted to host me a month later from his stay. Some would call it fate, destiny, coincidence? I guess it's just that we're all looking for the same kind of people. We all hold the same desire to be around similar kinds of people. And I feel really grateful for this.

Sokhom was a wonderful host, I had the best time staying with him and his family: including his wife who cooked me delicious (and very very full) meals whenever I'm around, his adorable adorable ADORABLE baby!!! Also special thanks to his brother who would always scare the Cambodian daylights out of me whenever he moves around in the hammock which I expected to be empty. lol, no but especially thanks for a lovely ride to the airport before I headed home! It really marked a sweet ending to my stay in Siem Reap.

The best thing about staying with Sokhom, is being able to participate in his school, which he has been putting immense effort into. The children there were ... absolute gems. I had the most wonderful time with them. It's like experiencing volunteering for children, except that I'm not actually 'volunteering.' I just happened to exactly be at the right place with the exact people I love to be around!

Sokhom's Angkor's Tree School is really a simple structure of wood built within 5 minutes walking distance from his home. The children would grab my hand and lead me along the route which they take to school. Through muddy waters, down a wooden plank (which Sokhom mentioned has been standing for at least ten years already), across broken fences, and really not ideal for wearing my Havaianas, they really tend to stick to the mud! One can only imagine the distance many less fortunate would have to take to reach education. This school has attracted at least 40 something children, of ages 3 to 17 (I think) living in the surrounding neighborhood. The school is really playing a vital role for the children's enthusiasm in learning and (I think in some cases) making new friends with many of Sokhom's guests from foreign countries!

I was fortunate to meet Rhonda, Guy, Marion and their daughter Hannah, who volunteered to teach part of the English classes there. Sokhom himself would teach Japanese (they were learning Sensei, Gakusei, Ogenki Desuka? the day I dropped in!). Sokhom even encouraged me to take over part of the class one day, which I'm guilty to admit, that I did pretty bad in ... it was hard to grasp how much they already knew. But I'm sure their eagerness and passion endured anyways :P

For the few days I was there, we covered "What animal do you like? What fruit do you like? How many toes do you have? How many brothers do you have?" Sometimes I went around the classroom to peak over what they were scribbling down in their notebooks (mostly donated), and I am most amazed at how quickly some actually learn! I understand that it is quite hard to maintain a suitable level that the children can all learn, but they were of so many different ages. And new students kept coming. I think around 5 or 6 just in four days! Sokhom had decided to split the class into a morning and an afternoon class not long after.

Since the very first day I arrived, the children loved hanging out in my room! Sokhom mentioned that they especially love when Asians come visit, and I'm guessing they took a further liking to me because they knew Kla before too! (note: I also just learnt, that Kla means TIGER in Khmer!!) 

I LOVED being in their company every single night. Kunang, Nang and Mony especially! Although it was really tiring!! We must have played like 100 games of hide and seek, when there were only three obvious places for me to hide: behind the bedroom door, behind the bathroom door, and outside the room. lol. Never have I played a game of hide and seek when the players were so eager to jump out to reveal themselves!

I tried imposing new games on them, like Marco Polo and some drawing games ... but no!! They loved what they already knew how to play! And they totally kidnapped my phone and camera. They learned how put the Waka Waka song on play, and then danced to it. They learned how to locate the only games I have in my phone. And they took a million pictures and videos ("Teacher! Vee-day-OH!") with my camera! 

I had this ideal about not to take pictures of the locals I meet in Cambodia. Because I didn't want to be sharing pictures of people who I hardly knew, or put up exotic looking portraits that can be found on National Geographic magazines or the sort ... I resolved to only documenting my travels through the architecture and landscapes I saw. Although the memories of the many non-communicable exchanges I made with the lovely people I met, will always be imprinted in my mind nevertheless.

BUT! I'm still really glad that the children had so much fun with my camera, taking pictures of one another, so they're really THEIR pictures for the keeping, and so that I actually have these photos to remember them by. Also, I couldn't be happier for Hannah, future professional photographer, to demonstrate her brilliant talents at capturing beautiful shots of our new friends with my camera. She made my camera seem so much better than I think it is! 

The children ... also taught me to do this Dana Spuyyyyy thing, where I would carry them high up above my head and spin them around. And do it over and over again like ten thousand times before they go on to another game. So I was really really really relieved when Mark showed up on the third day. He would give them higher and longer rides, and he could deal with so many more at one time. I ended up just carrying the youngest kid on my shoulders, I'm sure he had much more than with me than any of the other kids! No way I could carry anyone else on my shoulders nor spin them in like fifty circles!! 

The day Mark arrived, we also had a pretty unfair but nevertheless enjoyable game of soccer! The boys were especially good at their game! But the girls played really well as well! And I could only do so much as run around and act like I'm really engaged in the game! I did a lot better at jump rope afterwards I think ... though I couldn't have broken the world breaking record of like 100 continuous jumps the kids could do!

Through all this ... one can just picture a child's life without internet, Gameboys, legos, Barbies, or whatever more engaging toys of any sort. They were content with relatively simpler games. They could have a great time with what they have, with the people they meet. 

It was a short stay ... so I can't say if I'm able to spend everyday of my life with the kids, just laying around with them, throwing them up in the air, asking what they're favorite animal is, take a million pictures of each other, teaching them some Chinese, listening to Waka Waka all night long ... but I do treasure all the time I spent with them wonderful children.

It was most heartbreaking when I had to leave on the very last day. I told them earlier that I would be leaving in ten minutes, and as if they didn't accept this fact, or didn't understand, they just ignored me. Ten minutes later, they were grabbing at my legs, hugging me, pulling me down so they could kiss me. And then they all started telling me "Teacher, I go to school. I learn English. I go Taiwan. I go to school." Finally, chasing our bike down the muddy trails that lead away from Sokhom's home, reaching for one final handshake before we sped away towards the airport.

I don't think I would ever forget this. 

There are so many children around the world. Many living in poverty, in undeveloped areas, without proper education, without adequate living needs ... and when I think about the immense help needed from so many of them, sometimes I'd feel quite helpless. But four days was all that was needed, to get to know just these very individual children of the Angkor's Tree School.  To know their faces, their voices, their favorite fruits and animals by heart, and I'll forever hold them in my heart, hoping for them to grow and become whatever kind of person they wish to be. And hoping, naively, that my brief presence in their lives would have made some difference of any sort. 

Aside from Angkorian temples, Cambodian iced coffee, Khmer culture and everything else ... the children really made this trip to Cambodia complete. I couldn't ask for more. 

I'm so so SO happy to see their website up and going! Most likely with the help from Rhonda and Guy's family I'm guessing? Learn more about them here!