Peace out to Cambodia

We are still in Cambodia, but not for much longer. In a couple of days, and after only two weeks in Cambodia, we make our way back to Thailand, Southern Thailand, actually. These couple of weeks have simultaneously gone by quickly and slowly. Quickly because I have really loved it here and wish I could stay longer to see more places, meet more people, do more things, and try more foods. Slowly in that I have tried very hard to savor each day, to try to fully experience it so that it doesn't feel like a past lifetime that I was here. I have met lovely people, charming (and persuasive) children, learned about a new history for me, seen some pretty crazy things, tried great food, seen about a million geckos everywhere I go and have loved it all.
We went to the beach area of the country for the past few days and experienced a different aspect of Cambodia. We went to remote islands, ate barracuda, snorkeled (which I scraped my feet numerous times on the large corals), sipped fresh fruit shakes on the beach and made friends with a bunch of 12 year olds. One young boy, Da, was trying to sell me some paintings. Of course, this was another thing I really didn't need so I kept declining, politely of course, and he kept persisting. He quickly noticed my ipod, however, and focused his attention on it. In broken English, he asked me if I had any Bob Marley, so he took one earphone and I took the other and we listened. He took control of the ipod and started changing the tunes, to some pretty random ones actually and made himself comfortable. He laid on me for about thirty minutes until he decided he needed to be a bit more comfortable and laid across the chair and slept beside me for about an hour. Mary K and I just laughed and all the little girls and boys walking by to sell things would laugh and poke at him. I realized that this kid, and all the other kids are tired for a reason. Instead of playing in the water or hanging out with friends, a lot of the children have to go around all day long, in the hot Cambodian sun selling random things to take money home to their families. Most of them do it all day long and look like it, too. They try to sell anything they can. From hand-made jewelry, to fresh prawns, to manicures/pedicures, to threded hair removal. Anything to make a few bucks. It is so unfortunate that this is how too many kids spend their day, but for some of them it's the only way to have dinner or to go to school for a couple of hours, or whatever. We had two friends that would come by every hour or two and have a rest with us. We purchased stuff from both of them on other days and when I asked them how business was, they looked discouraged and said not good. No sales. The reason being the beach is saturated with child peddlers. Most people do purchase from them, but there are only so many sarongs and so many bags of fresh pineapple one can purchase. I don't really know if the kids understand that. They just see Western tourists, with what they assume to have a lot of money. How could they not want to buy such low-priced items, they wonder. And if you tell one of them you already purchased what they are selling, they sweetly and sadly say, but you didn't purchase one from me. How can you resist that? It's hard to without feeling like Cruella D'ville. One of the little girls and I played hand games for awhile and when I got up to leave, for the final time, she told me she was going to miss me because I play with her and I assume because we were so friendly with her. It made me sad to think that most of her encounters with people are so passing. She probably doesn't get to make too many friends with people seeing as everyone stays a couple of days and moves on to a different part of the country. She was an adorable kid.
We visited an orphanage one afternoon. The place was home for about 60 kids and an additional 140 for basic schooling each day. It was in a sad state to say the least. Far too small and ill-equipped for so many kids. A very yound woman was the director of the place and you could tell she loved her kids and they loved her. They were hugging all over us and vying for our attention. They were a bit dirty, wearing tattered clothing, but had addictivew smiles and laughs. They wanted to take photos, give you drawings, show you tricks, anything to make them stand out to you in your mind. We worried that maybe some thought we were coming to "look around", perhaps thinking of adopting. Their library was sad. A few books here and there, not nearly enough for so many children that live there. The playground was a very small grass field with a basketball goal and a small hut. Underfunded would be a polite exaggeration. So many kids need a lot more than what the orphanage can offer. There was one little boy, about three years old, that was left there since he was three months, brothers and sisters living there together, kids from about 3 years old to about 18. The director told us that a lot of the children cannot continue school after grade 4 because at that point they need sponsors since they have to be sent outside of the orphanage for school. She said that it costs about $24 a month to sponsor an older kid there, that includes tuition for school, books, uniform, everything. Not very much, huh? That's what I thought, but unfortunately, not too many kids get that chance.
A couple of people have asked me why we would want to see such depressing or dark places in this country, that it's sad, even border-line exploiting. But I think that it would be very selfish of us to come here, tour it, enjoy it and not take the time or effort to bear witness to their past and difficult present. Mary K heard a quote that says, "To love a country is to love its people". Moreso though, I think to love its people, you must understand where they come from, what their past was like, and possibly have a grasp of what their future may hold. These visits to the "sadder" places have helped me understand the people better, which in turn leads me to love, more.