My Trip to Cambodia by Hunter Gomez.

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How I got involved in this
My school, Arizona International Academy, takes a trip every year to another country. Last year it was Russia, this year it was Cambodia. For years I have been learning about Cambodia because my school and teacher send money to help sponsor several people there. We are especially involved with the orphans and landmine victims. Having heard so many stories for so many years about these special people, I really wanted to go. I am so thankful for the education I have received at Arizona International Academy, it is like nothing I have every experienced. It is the greatest school in the world!!

Why was this important for me to do
Well, I knew this was something I had to do for myself, and for the Cambodians. You really don't know how good you have it in America, until you land in a third world country. The people have to put up with so much we can't even dream about. Landmines, disease, invasions, political unrest, and poverty like you can't believe, with basically no help coming, those are just a few things they have to worry about. I feel, if I am able to live in America, then the least I could do was go there, help people, and hope to brighten their lives for a little bit. While Cambodia isn't the cleanest place in the world, I would go there again in a heartbeat. The people are incredible, and have spirit like I have never seen before. Even though they have nothing, they are the kindness, most gentle, happiest people you could ever meet. We as Americans could learn a lot from the Cambodians. Cambodians don't look at what they don't have but appreciate what they do have.

What kinds of people did I meet
I met Cambodians from all walks of life. While the majority of people I spent my time with were orphans, and landmine victims, I also met police, Special Forces, Para-military, polio victims, and many children. They were all extremely nice! There was a little boy in particular that I still think of today. I was riding a tuk-tuk through Phnom Penh, and a little orphan, probably 5 years old jumped onto our tuk-tuk. He wouldn't let go, and security guards started chasing after us to grab the little boy. I was extremely afraid they would hurt him, so I grabbed a good luck ball that I take with me on every trip out of my backpack, and gave it to him. The joy I saw in his face when he took it, was amazing to say the least. He immediately jumped off, and began to play catch with a group of other orphans. It was amazing, to know that something as simple as a little ball, brought that much happiness and enjoyment to a little orphan.

The conditions where I went
Lol, I have seen many things that would give nightmares to a person from the USA. While conditions were at least moderate in some areas, it was just terribly dirty in others. Its not so much the filth that bothers most people, it's the smell!!! I remember I was eating fried rice at a little restaurant in Phnom Penh, while enjoying the rice, I saw a man come out of the kitchen with no shirt on! I was hoping he was just a family friend or something, until I saw the waitress hand him a sheet of other customer's orders that needed to be cooked. Not only was the cook shirtless, but he was extremely sweaty, you would not see that in America. At the garbage dump in Cambodia, it was nothing but a trash city. It was very hard to see children as young as four, digging through piles of trash, twice the size of themselves. I will never forget it, those images will stay with me for as long as I live. The Dump by far had the worst conditions, it was literally a city made of trash. What's even worse is that many of the hospitals dump their used needles and bodily waste there. We had to be extremely guarded of needles sticking out of the ground. Many of the children don't even wear shoes, so it isn't so uncommon that a child might step on a hidden needle. It was not unusual to see small children, filthy and naked sleeping huddled together in the trash, it makes you wish you could bring them all home with you. The hotels we stayed in were fairly nice, although I have seen many bugs that you probably didn't even know existed. I certainly hadn't seen half the bugs I was bitten by before! I actually got a bad bite, which took very strong antibiotics, and two weeks to even start to clear the infection up.

Whom I went with
I went with my school, Arizona International Academy. My teacher Ken Bursey believes that children learn best by experiencing things first hand. Since it is a tradition that our school travels to a different country every year, before we go, we always learn proper culture, helpful phrases, and the currency exchange rate. I have traveled with Mr. Bursey to a total of four different countries, on two continents. Mr. Bursey represents what every teacher should strive to be, he is the ultimate teacher!

What people can do to help
Yes, there are many organizations that specialize in relief efforts for Cambodia. My teacher knows people there personally and the money sent helps in different ways. One time he even bought a child back from a bad place that her mother sold her to (because she needed the money to feed the younger children) and returned her to her family. He sends money monthly to support them but he does it through a pastor we know there to make sure they don't sell her off again. If you just send money to a child or adult, that money might not be used for food, but most likely a leisure item. If you don't know someone personally that will make sure the money is going for the right reasons like food and education, it is better that you go through an organization, to know that your money is being spent on actually making sure the children and adults have food to eat.

What I wanted to get out of this trip
I wanted to make a difference in someone's life, even if it was just for a moment. It became very obvious that in such a poverty stricken place like this, I wasn't going to be able to do much. While I took candy and gifts for the children and we spent time with them teaching and singing and took them out to dinner, the truth is when we left their lives were still very much the same. We raise money at our school and we are trying to help build a school for them but it is hard for them to worry about learning to read when they have to go to the dump to dig for their next meal because they are hungry. If I had all the money in the world, I would set up a food bank in the dump area so the kids could walk up to a clean place and be given a meal. Then I would build a school and hire the people there to help build and run these places and I would buy land and hire the people to help build small houses so they could live safe and clean. I would also try to shut down all the places with child prostitution and arrest all the foreigners that come to this small country to take advantage of small children. But for now, I guess none of that is possible so I can just learn from my trip and hope that for a short period of time we made those children's lives a little better and that I can continue to help. I can also use that trip to appreciate everything about my country. I returned to my country, with a renewed appreciation for the place I live in. There is no feeling in the world like when you get off that airplane and step back onto American soil. I wanted to see how others live, and know that in a very small way, I made a difference. If everyone in the world made just a small contribution to Cambodia, it would change millions of lives. I owe Cambodia and its spirited citizens for showing me how to never take anything for granted.

How long I was there
I was only in Cambodia for 10 days but I learned more in those 10 days than all the years I have been in school. We spent two days traveling there in total. The flights were 14 hours each from LAX, to Taiwan. Then after landing in Taiwan, we had a six-hour connection flight to Cambodia. In that 10 days, I rode an elephant 4 hours into the jungle, in a basket through an area still full of land mines. I saw small children, filthy and naked digging in a dump for food. I met with the Special Forces and ate in a North Korean restaurant sponsored by their communist government. I went to Angkor Wat, the 7th wonder of the world and I'm still in awe over what I saw there. I spent time with landmine victims, who are considered outcasts in their society and learned a new spirit for life from them. I taught children to read and about God. I went to the Khmer Rouge prison and learned about a regime that was so cruel it tortured and killed for no reason, even babies. I rode in tuk tuks and took a boat down a river through the Cambodian region and dropped off supplies to a school there. I fed hungry children and gave candy to children that had never had it before. These were just a few of the amazing things I did in that 10 days---Having been to Cambodia and witnessed first hand people who have very little but appreciate what they do have so much will forever have an effect on me. I have a new appreciation for everything I have and all the opportunities available to even the poorest of Americans. I know that I've grown as a person and the next time something like not getting an A on a paper or not getting a part in a movie seems like a big deal to me, all I have to do is remember those small children digging through the garbage looking for something to eat to remind me how lucky I really am, I will keep things in perspective from now on. With everything I saw and did, it was the children that I will always think of when I think of Cambodia, their life was heartbreaking yet their spirit was amazing. I will never forget this trip and hope to return someday soon.

My Cambodia Journal By Hunter Gomez

Entry 1.
"After a 14 hour flight from LAX, we landed safely in Taiwan. The airport in Taiwan was far different that the typical American airports. They have Shoe Stores, Gardens, Animal Habitats, and a massive children's play area. The people of Taiwan were extremely nice, they are quite timid, but will always give you a smile. On the plane to Taiwan, we were kept busy by playing PSP, listening to IPODS, and eating traditional Taiwan food, which didn't taste very good! Even though the food wasn't very good, the plane ride was a lot of fun. A soon as we arrived in Cambodia, we boarded a bus that took us to our hotel, The Anise in Phnom Penh. The hotel is nicer than I thought it would be but the bathrooms are really weird, it is all one room with the shower and the toilet combined. After dropping off our bags and checking in to our rooms, we immediately headed over to the Cambodian Garbage Dump. With us we brought candy, food, and money to buy the orphans food. For 10 dollars, I was able to feed around 50 people. I paid the vender, and told him to give food to who ever asked for it. It was awesome! The children were amazing, they have nothing, yet they are just kids, playing and happy, especially when I took out the candy. Kids everywhere love candy. The smell and the filth of the area were like nothing I have ever seen, we wore masks but it really didn't do much. The kids don't go to school, they work the dump for hours everyday. I can't believe how nice and gentle everyone is here, they seem so happy but they have nothing, not even food.

Entry 2.
"After leaving the dump we got on another bus that took us back to the Anise Hotel. We ate dinner in a small café, and then slept for what seemed like an eternity, we were so tired! After our nap, we went to a small store and packed up on water and small snack foods. Phnom Penh is beautiful, all the people we met today were super nice. We actually met some other missionaries from Ohio! We visited the palace, the king still lives there, he is single and the palace is beautiful, one room even has all silver tiles. There was a big Buddha statue made of pure gold. It is hard to believe the difference in his wealth and the poverty of his people. For some reason, I didn't really like my visit to the palace, maybe because it seems so unfair that he has all this and so many of Cambodia's children are starving.

Entry 3.
"Today we saw a Cambodian shooting range. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. The Cambodian Special Forces ran it. They don't have regulations like we do, you can even throw hand grenades. The Special Forces guys were really nice, they like Americans and even saluted us when we left. I left with my guide, and headed to meet up with the rest of the group. For dinner, I ate with some of Bursey's sponsored children. The food has been good and we are careful to only eat what Bursey says is ok, most of the drinks are sealed in cans and bottles. The children we took to dinner tonight were from ages 5 to 17. We wanted to entertain them and show them some fun so they could enjoy themselves, they don't get to do much of that. For many of the children that joined us for dinner, this was the first time they had ever eaten in a restaurant. We helped them order the food they wanted by having our translator explain the menu to them. I sat next to two little boys, to have a good time, we played games with sugar packets, and had soda-drinking contests. Later that evening, I sat next to a Cambodian policeman. He told me many stories of the police force and introduced me to his many daughters. He also told me he quit the police force after he learned of all the corruption that was taking place. He didn't want to be apart of it, so he left. He also shared with me his love for our American government, telling me that he hopes one day for Cambodia to be as honest and healthy as America. His statements made me feel proud to be an American, America is a role model to others.

Entry 4.
"Today, after a meal at the "Jungle Café", we went to a couple of museums showcasing artifacts from AngkorWat. We saw many statues, and received beautiful flowers to pay homage to the many statues of Buddha. There are beautiful flowers everywhere, lots of different ones than we have at home. After leaving the museum, we went to "S-21", which was a political prison during the reign of the Khmer Rouge Regime. The prison is where the Khmer Rouge kept their prisoners of war. Our guide walked us through the Gallows, the prisoners rooms, and showed us the weapons they used to torture S-21's inhabitants. Smiling was strictly forbidden on the prison grounds, in order to respect those that perished there. The inhabitants ranged from children to senior citizens. It was disgusting to learn of the cruel and inhumane punishments these people had to go through. The pictures we saw of the things the Khmer Rouge did are terrible, they fed humans to crocodiles in these big pits, they put babies in pulleys for shotgun practice, and would beat them against coconut trees, its terrible, I am sick to think that the United States government backed the Khmer Rouge just to fight the Vietnamese. Our guide said something that really got to me today. "The Jews won't let you forget the Holocaust, the Cambodians won't let you remember S-21". Thousands of camps across Cambodia were used to torture children, just because they weren't Khmer Rough. We funded these sick people that tortured the Cambodians, it's amazing that they don't have any hatred against us. These people are truly amazing. It's so incredible that they just forget it and forgive us. It breaks my heart, I'm having a hard time getting what we learned today out of my mind, it will probably never leave me. For dinner, after leaving the prison, we went to a karaoke restaurant with the landmine and polio victims. We were each paired with a person suffering from polio, and were to act as their guide and host for the night. We drove to their small building, that housed over twenty girls and boys suffering from polio, and landmine accidents, and carried them to the bus, one by one. Most were missing legs and had to drag themselves with their arms. It is so sad to know that they are considered outcasts by their society and even their own families don't want anything to do with them. They believe that this is Karma from their past lives and they are afraid if they associate with them that they might get bad Karma so they abandon them, they basically form their own little society. It is pretty amazing that in spite of this terrible situation, these are some of the happiest, nicest people you could ever meet. My partner spoke very little English, but we still managed to have a great time. They loved Karaoke, and this meant that we had to sing for them! Even though our missionary group didn't consist of the best singers, I think they still appreciated that we tried. We tried new foods, like fish that still had its insides, sang, and had a great time making new friends. I didn't try the fish eyes but they seemed to be loved by our friends, I did try a soup that is indiginous to Cambodia. It was by far the best soup that I have ever eaten. After eating it, I felt like getting up and dancing for no reason at all. Its that good!

Entry 5.
"Today, we got up at 6 am, ate breakfast, and drove 9 hours to our hotel by the Cambodian jungle. We were headed to Mondulkiri, to ride elephants through the jungle. We saw dogs, cows, and weird chicken turkey raven combination birds and many naked babies on the way there. Mondulkiri is very different than Phnom Penh, there are huts made out of palm leaves, it is still very undeveloped. It isn't as nice but it is cooler. Once arriving at our hotel, we were very shocked to see our hotel, and rooms, covered in bugs, many of which I have never seen before! I saw a wolf spider as big as my hand, and woke up the next morning with hundreds of mosquitoes covering my window. I also woke to find myself covered in bites, on every part of my body. After that, I don't think I ever left my hotel room without a can of bug repellant in either of my hands. Tomorrow, we are going to go on our ride in the jungle by elephant back, I cant wait!

Entry 6.
"After a night of excitement for the events of today, and a lot of bug repellant, we finally were headed to ride the elephants. The elephant ride was in a very remote part of the Cambodian jungle, our guides lived in huts nearby, while chickens, pigs, naked babies, and elephants roamed freely around us. When it was time to ride our elephants, we were pointed to a tall ladder, and each walked up very carefully. The elephant then came as close as it could next to the ladder, and we hopped on. As I went to board my elephants back, it decided it wanted to walk away, so as I was stepping on its back, it started to walk! I immediately jumped the rest of the way and fortunately landed safely in the bamboo basket that held us in. After sitting down on my elephant, we slowly started to walk towards the jungle! Our ride was fun but kind of scary at times. It was a little nerve wrecking climbing up hills, and even scarier climbing down them. Most of them time, I felt like I was going to fall out of my basket! As my elephant was making its way through an area covered by trees, my elephant basket hooked the corner of a termite mound on a near by tree. As I sat there, I soon found myself covered in hundreds of termites! Since my basket was particularly small, I couldn't move, and I couldn't jump out for risk of a broken leg. I had to sit there, and let them crawl all over me, until they finally fell off, one-by-one. I though that would be the last major encounter with bugs on my elephant ride, boy was I wrong. As my elephant continued to walk through a different part of the jungle, it hit some kind of spider nest. While listening to my ipod, I suddenly saw 20-30 little green spiders streaming down from the brim of my hat. I naturally freaked out, and through my hat away from me. Unfortunately, most of the spiders had already streamed down to my clothes, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. As I did my best to brush them off, I suffered a couple of bites, but nothing to serious. Another weird thing that happened today, was about an hour into the ride, in the middle of the jungle, a small boy, maybe 7, that we had seen in the town just showed up-in the middle of no where, by himself in the jungle! After a two and a half hour ride, filled with bug attacks and beautiful scenery, we stopped at a waterfall for lunch deep in the Cambodian jungle. The elephant drivers used nets to catch their lunch in the waterfall, while the rest of us ate packed lunches. Definitely one of the most amazing days yet!!

Entry 7.
"Today, we had to get up super early! We boarded a bus and headed to Siem Reap, the richest city in Cambodia. It is beautiful here, even though parts of it are still very poor. We ate Italian for dinner, which was a relief from the fried rice we had eaten daily for most meals. We were in Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. Our hotel in Siem Reap is called, " Grandmas Guest House". The hotel is very cute, and is very family oriented. While mom and dad check guests in, you can see grandpa holding the baby in the lobby. It is quite adorable. I commented to the grandpa in English about how cute the baby was, without hesitation, he handed the baby over to me! I didn't quite expect it, but I held the baby, and handed her back over to the grandpa. One of the major things I love about Cambodia is how family oriented it is. I cant tell you how many babies I have held here, most of the time the people knew me for five minutes and let me hold their babies in my arms! Cambodia is very much a community, like one big family, even with the orphans, everyone seems to take care of everyone except for the mine and polio victims. As we entered our hotel, we saw little red balls hanging from the entrance. This lets guests know the owner is part Chinese. In Asia, if you marry a Chinese girl, then you are considered part Chinese. I have noticed that there are a lot of Europeans in Siem Reap, I can't even count how many French people we have met here! There seems to be more foreigners here than Cambodians! We also saw landmine museums today, our guide said a landmine that had been put there by the Vietnamese had killed his father, there are still a lot of landmines in this country today, very sad.

Entry 8.
"Wow! Today was by far the most amazing day in Cambodia. Today we visited Angkor Wat, the 7th wonder of the world, which is truly breathtaking. The temple is so beautifully carved, it's hard to believe it was built nearly 900 years ago. Angkor Wat is home to many temple monkeys, and monks. As I was walking through one of the many halls in Angkor Wat, I was eating a piece of beef jerky when a small monkey climbed down a wall and snatched it from my hand! I was a little scared at first, then after seeing how cute it was, I offered the monkey my whole bag of beef jerky. The temple monkeys didn't seem to like some of the loud girls in our group, I knew this because as they were laughing, I saw what looked like rain come off the edge of a tower. I looked around and didn't see any rain clouds, and that's when I realized it pee'd on them. The guide was laughing so hard, she could hardly control herself. I have to say, we all had a great time laughing, it even quieted the girls for a little while. The guide is probably still laughing!
It still amazes me how the architects could build such a mammoth structure with the detail they put into it and it could go undiscovered for so many years! Angkor Wat has stoned carved faces, beautiful mosaics built out of stone, and giant Banyan trees growing from its many walls. There were even stairs that were practically straight up. They have a royal horse you can ride on. This temple is one of those things that is so amazing it is hard to put into words. Angkor Wat deserves to be on of the Seven Wonders of the World!

Entry 9.
"Well, today not much happened. We boarded a small boat back to Phnom Penh. The boat ride was 5 hours long, and we were able to see water buffalo from our windows. I slept most of the way, but it probably wasn't the best sleep I have ever gotten. Lol. When we docked in Phnom Penh, we hitched a tuk-tuk ride back to the Anise Hotel, and slept. Later we ate at a Korean restaurant, it was an amazing experience. It is run by the North Korean government and is like no place I have ever been. Everything is totally regimented, the waitresses even looked exactly alike. They danced and sang songs, it is hard to explain but they seem to be almost like robots.

Entry 10.
"Today, we hitched on another tuk-tuk and visited a Vietnamese school, dropping of supplies that the school needed to run smoothly. Toys and maxi pads were some of the things given for the children to use and play with. Very few of the children spoke English, but we were able to communicate by hand gestures. We spent the day with them, helping out, singing songs, and before we left, invited them to eat dinner with us. As this was our last night in Cambodia, we were extremely happy to be going home, yet very grateful for the things we had experienced. There is definitely no place like Cambodia in the world.

Entry 11.
"After a day of travel we landed back in Phoenix after our connection flight from LAX. I am so glad to be home! There is truly no place like America. This was the trip of a lifetime. I will carry the memories from Cambodia with me for as long as I live. Hunter Gomez