Cambodia JournalAlessandra Zeitoun

CambodiaPhnom Penh - Pursat - Siem Riep

February 20013

This journal will be documenting the 10-day Cambodia trip that I participated in this year. In preparation for this tip, we had the goal of fundraising, in order to buy the supplies to build the school in Cambodia. Our goal was ¥70,000 (around $700), and I am pleased to be able to say the total amount I raised, with your help, was just over ¥90,000!! I would like to thank you again for your contributions, and making this trip amazing for me!

Alessandra Zeitoun

Saturday 9th February 2013The first day consisted mainly of traveling. Waking up at around 5am, Mom and Dad drove Nicholas and myself to Narita airport, where we met up with the rest of our group. After check-in, we said goodbye to the parents who were at the airport as well, and departed. To get to Phnom Penh, we needed to transfer first in Ho Chi Minh City, giving us an opportunity to have some Pho! One of the only sentences that I actually know in Vietnamese is how to say “Happy New year”, which was good knowledge to have at this point, as the next day was in fact Vietnamese new year, and lots of staff at the airport were saying it to us. From here we took a very short flight, maybe 30 minutes or so, to Phnom Penh.

Upon landing, the first thought I had was ‘I love warm weather’. From the coldest temperatures of Japan, felt in February, to the warm and slightly humid 30+ degrees of Cambodia was truly amazing. From the airport we drove via minivans to our hotel, called Golden House Hotel. In the photo are my friends Jin and Helena who were also on the trip! Here, I shared a room with my friend Helena.

We were really lucky in terms of the room we got! Our room was bigger than some of the others, and most importantly, had a functioning and relatively clean bathroom! We were pretty happy with the arrangements, and settled down a bit. We would only be here for two days, so unpacking was kept to a minimum. We then had dinner in the small downstairs cafe. I had noodles! They were obviously instant noodles, but seeing as I love instant noodles (I know... they are unhealthy yes) I had no problem with eating them. They were yummy! By the time we finished eating dinner, we were all pretty tired, so it was time to go to bed.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Sunday, 10th February 2013

The first stopThe first full day in Cambodia! We woke up at around 6am, however because Cambodia is 2 hours behind Tokyo in time difference, it was in fact 8am (thank goodness because I have a real problem getting out of bed!). We had breakfast in the small cafe downstairs, and were off to our first stop. The S-21 Genocide museum.

This museum was originally a school, which was taken over when the Khmer Rouge regime started. Here, prisoners of varying statuses were tortured and killed. The complex has 4 main buildings, in which classrooms had been turned into holding cells and rooms for torture. The first building I entered was Building ‘A’. These classrooms had been turned into the more spacious holding cells, meant to hold high class officials. In these rooms were artifacts such as the bed and shackles used by the prisoners.

Alessandra Zeitoun

On the walls of such rooms were paintings of what the rooms may have looked like when they were in use during the Khmer regime.

What was saddening to see, was that the blackboards in the rooms, previously used for the school, still had writing and teachings on them.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Alessandra Zeitoun

Thousands of photographs documenting the various prisoners kept at S-21

The label says ‘Clothes of Child Victims’

These photos are of a few mass graves where people killed at such prisons were buried

In some of the other buildings, what I think was the hardest to take in, was that they had photos of every individual that was kept, and probably died in this prison. Thousands of people, men, women, children alike were held here.

There were literally rooms upon rooms full of such photographs and items

Another thing which was a bit disturbing was that there were many books filled with what is called “Inmate Biographies”. Essentially, in these books were personal details of most of the prisoners kept here, along with photos and handwritten notes.

Not only were there photos of the captives, there was also equipment used to torture people. This first pictures below, shows what was primarily used for sports and as play equipment before the Khmer regime. However, after the school was taken over, it was used to hang people up from their feet until they passed out. The big bowl/jug’s at the bottom of this were used to revive the prisoners when they eventually passed out from being upside down for so long, so that interrogation could be done. This was repeated until confession or until the prisoners died.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Above is another example of a method of torture. Prisoners hands and feet would be strapped into this box and water would slowly fill the box and drown them unless they confessed.

Alessandra Zeitoun

These are a set of rules that were laid down by the communist party in such prisons.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Some of the other buildings housed tiny cells made out of either wood or brick. These cells were literally one meter by 2 meter rooms.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Cells made out of wood. They each had a number above them indicating the prisoner who was inside.

Other cells were made out of brick and cement. The prisoners had no blanket or mattress, only the floor to sleep on.

The buildings with such holding cells were surrounded with barbed wire, to prevent inmates from jumping from the buildings and committing suicide.

There were only 7 survivors of this S-21 prison, and interestingly a man who survived was there at the museum for people to meet him. I thought it was strange how he returned to where he was so badly treated, as it would probably be the last place I would ever want to go if I were in his position.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Alessandra Zeitoun

After leaving the S-21 museum, the rest of the day was spent going around Phnom Penh and looking at some tourist attractions, such as the huge Phnom Penh market (though the main part was closed) and the palace. At the markets, one of the main items that were purchased, mostly by girls, were the long but flowing pants that are famous in southeast asian countries. My friends and I got quite a few pairs each, as the markets are quite cheap! Cambodian society is generally quite conservative, so these pants were perfect for going to the palace, and any of the trips we made. They were really comfortable as well!

To be honest, I’m not quite sure what to think of the palace that we went to. Though it was very big and had some very nice buildings, not knowing the history behind it probably made the whole thing seem a little bit strange and out of place with the other more impoverished area’s of Phnom Penh right outside the palace walls.

From the palace, we headed back to the hotel and had dinner. The end of day 1! Tomorrow we would be traveling the entire day to Pursat, where we would be working, so another early night!

Alessandra Zeitoun

Monday 11th February 2013Today was another big traveling day! In the morning from around 10am, we took several mini vans to Pursat, the city closest to the area we would be working in. The whole ride took about 4 and a bit hours, though most of it was spent sleeping! The minivan that I was in had the least amount of people, therefore it was more comfortable and we got the chance to spread out and relax.

We then got to our hotel in Pursat, called the Phnom Pech hotel. Once more I was sharing a room with my friend Helena. From here, we visited the HOPE international office in Pursat and met Lee, the lady who runs the operation. She explained to us where we would be working, and about some of the other projects that HOPE international work on in Cambodia. HOPE receives donations from all over the world to build schools and wells in Cambodia. Building a well alone only takes 300 dollars and is able to provide around 5 families with fresh drinking water. Also, Lee explained to us how the locations of the wells are chosen. An impoverished community contacts HOPE and discussions among the community begin. The discussions then decide which area of the community is the most logical in terms of the placement of the well. It takes up to 6 months to build a well, and the construction is done purely by hand. In terms of schools, HOPE international has funded over 300 schools, with YIS (my school) have been able to help fund 5 new schools since the start of our Cambodia trip experience around 6 years ago.

Alessandra Zeitoun

The rest of the day was spent at the nearby park, where some local school children were playing football. To get to places locally, the preferred method of transport in Cambodia is traveling by Tuk-Tuks! In the photo below, you can just see Nicholas in his brown t-shit in one of them.

After spending some time there, we returned to the hotel and had dinner. Meals here were generally mostly carbohydrate based, lots of rice, noodles and french fries! After dinner we had some downtime to relax, a brief time where we all wrote journals or made notes about what we did that day, then it was off to bed once more.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Tuesday 12th February 2013

Though we were in Pursat, this first day we did not start help building the school. Instead, Lee took us to visit several families who had already been provided with wells, to see how it had affected their everyday life.

To get to these families, we took a bamboo train! This train is literally a wooden platform, sitting on a set of wheels with a motor attached to the back. There is only one train track, so the trains are all easily taken apart in case you meet another train along the way.

To the right is a photo of our group sitting on the bamboo train. The tracks seemed to extend forever, and blended into the horizon. As we went early morning, the air was still slightly foggy, creating a very calming effect.

Alessandra Zeitoun

This is a photo of one of the wells that we visited. Each well has a concrete base and pump, and this well provides water for around 4 or 5 families. The lady whose house this well is situated explained her situation before the well was installed. Previously, she had to walk a minimum of 3km to find fresh water, and in the rainy seasons sometimes nearby rivers would provide enough water, however there was no guarantee that the water would be pure.

With the well, the lady also said that she was able to manage a small grocery store, and provide extra income in addition to her husband. The extra money is going to be spent on providing a better house for her children, sending them to school as well as providing bicycles and other transportation to make their lives easier.

Alessandra Zeitoun

After visiting a couple more families, we headed back to our hotel in Pursat and had lunch. Then after lunch we had some free time, so my friends and I explored the local markets. There were many different things from clothing to watches but the thing that interested many people the most here were the fruits. There were so many mango’s, mangosteen and all kinds of other fruits. Though of course we had to be careful about eating them!

Later that day, we visited one of the orphanages that HOPE international works with. Here we played with the children and got to know a few of them!

Though most of the children there did not speak english at all, it did not stop us from having a good time! Several YIS students had brought soccer balls, volleyball balls etc... so we used the universal language of sports to bond! You can see Nicholas trying to lift a boy up in the middle when the photo was taken!

Alessandra Zeitoun

Wednesday 13th February 2013

The work begins! We woke up in the morning, had a quick breakfast, and by 8 we were off in minivans. Our first stop was to the school which was built in the previous year by the current grade 12’s. Just a quick stop to say hello and see how the school building was doing. Then off we were again, this time to the site where we would be helping extend the school.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Over the next few days, the work we would be doing was mainly to be setting the foundations with rocks and sand, so that concrete could be then poured over. The first day was spent carrying sand from a huge pile to where a small verandah, which ran along the entire building, was to be built. By passing sand along a chain of people, we were able to get this job done in a matter of a couple hours. The weather in Cambodia is quite hot, however thankfully it was not too humid. One of the main issues that I had, however, was that we had bottled water provided for us, and in order to keep hydrated we went through a lot of bottles. What was hard to get over for me, was that we were drinking these bottles of water in front of children who go to that school, and we were not allowed to give them any, as drinking water like that was not something they had been exposed to in the past.

That night, some students volunteered to sleep over at the school, to get a feel for how life would be living in such conditions. I didn’t go on this trip, but the students who went on it said it was really worth it! They slept on the floor of the already built school, and had lots of time to play with the children who go to the school there!

Alessandra Zeitoun

After covering sections like this with sand, we then

carried rocks and placed them on top. The rocks were then pressed into the sand,

forming the foundations.

Thursday 14th February 2013The work continues! Today we finished laying rocks around where the veranda of the school building would be, as well as laying rocks into the floor of one of the classrooms. We used something called ‘elephant feet’ to push rocks into the sandy foundation. These ‘elephant feet’ are basically chopped tree trunks, with two wooden sticks attached to the sides. Two or more people lift the ‘elephant foot’ off the ground and let it fall on rocks, making them sink deeper into the sand, and creating an even floor for the concrete to be poured over.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Using the ‘elephant feet’ with my friend Jin

In between working, we had a lot of time to play with the children who go to the already built school. They all had so much energy, and all liked to be carried around! Though I must say I generally do not like small children, the ones here are so happy that it was hard not to be happy as well. My one regret here was that I could not remember any of their names...

Alessandra Zeitoun

Friday 15th February 2013This day was different to the previous ones, as we had stopped work on the school and instead focused on another project; helping build a well. Not the actual well itself, but the platform which surrounds it. We had only been working on the school for a couple days, and at times it felt like what we were doing didn’t contribute much to the process... however I suppose that the work we did with the Cambodia crew of about 30 would have taken much longer with just the 7 or 8 workers that were there.

However, it was a new day and a new activity! Even more exciting was that to get there, we rode motorbikes! We didn’t drive of course (I’m not sure what the driving age in Cambodia is actually...) but we got to be the passenger on them! The trip was about 35 minutes, and at first it was really exciting! Sadly, after a while though still exciting, I found that I was quite sleepy. Several people said they felt the same way, but it was interesting how the quiet hum of the motorbike is very calming! In the photo below, my friend Jin is on her motorbike.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Working on the well funded by one of HOPE International’s partners was quite an experience. Though the main part of the well was finished, our job was to create a concrete platform surrounding the well. Our job was to layer small pebbles in a square area, then cover the whole thing with cement. I must say I liked working with the cement! It was tough to mix it, as you constantly had to scrape and mix the different types of gravel and water. Then by forming a chain which passed along buckets of cement we got the job done pretty quickly! Though of course the professionals there helped a lot. I think we were more of an inconvenience to the workers, they could have done the job quicker and probably a whole lot neater than us! However they were all really nice and friendly and it was a good experience.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Today was also a day of saying goodbye. It was the last full day in Pursat and that meant that we had to say bye to the children at the orphanage we went to the second day in Pursat. Here, some of the children living here put on performances for us, there was dancing and music! Several of the children at the orphanage take dance lessons as part of their education, and put on some traditional Cambodia performances with complete costumes!

The girls in the above photo and the photo to the left are the only girls on the entire trip to Cambodia, whose names I can remember. The girl dancing in the above photo’s name is Pitchounette Vernoux, and she is a 12th grader in school. She has been dancing for about 5 years, and next year plans to go to university in Phnom Penh. The girl in the other photo’s name is Saruhwat (spelling is obviously wrong, but her name sounded like that to me). She spoke no english but she enjoys playing volleyball and dancing! The music they played at the orphanage was mainly k-pop (korean pop) and it was funny because there were songs such as the infamous ‘Gangnam Style’ as well as other songs that we listen to that were played!

Alessandra Zeitoun

It’s always hard to say goodbye, and this was no exception. Even though, yes, we did not know the children there for a long time, their attitudes are so positive that I really enjoyed the time we spent with them. This experience really made me want to go back to Cambodia, or do similar activities in other parts of the world. It was really inspiring.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Saturday 16th February 2013

Today it was time to move on from Pursat, and to travel to Siem Riep. We made a last quick stop at the school we built, to give them school supplies which we had collected beforehand, as well as play with them one last time. What I really liked about the children at this school was that they were so friendly, and willing to give you a hug and a smile whenever you happen to catch their eye. They really enjoyed piggyback rides as well as tickling games, sometimes they enjoyed piggyback rides WHILE playing a game of tickles, which involved lots of muscles as well as air to breathe from all the tickling! They were all really sweet, so it was sad to have to say goodbye in the end.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Saturday 16th February 2013- Monday 18ththAfter another long bus ride, which took about 4 hours, we arrived in Siem Riep! The first thing that you really notice when you get here is that it seems very touristy. There are big grand hotels and everything looks pristine. This, of course, is due to the main attraction of that area; Angkor Watt. We would spend the remainder of our time in Cambodia here, looking around the many temples of Angkor Watt. Though we didn’t go to all of them (would have taken at least a week in itself), over the next few days we visited the main temple of Angkor Watt, Preah Kanh, Bayon, Ta Prohm as well as some smaller ones that I don’t know the names of. Just the immense size of all these temples is truly amazing, and was a heaven for the photography-loving side of me! We also visited the temple where the movie ‘Tomb Raider’ was filmed! A popular tourist attraction. The first stop was the ticket gate, where they take a photo of you and print it on a pass for you to take around the different temples. They can literally take the photo and print each pass in a minute, so there was no waiting time.

Alessandra Zeitoun

Alessandra Zeitoun

Group photo!

The main back entrance

Nicholas being... Nicholas

Alessandra Zeitoun

Alessandra Zeitoun

Alessandra Zeitoun

Kenji and I

As seen in the above left hand-side photo, there are certain perks of being a shorter human being. But in all seriousness, though the trip was completely amazing through all the activities we did, things we saw, food we ate, it would not have been the same experience without my friends, and the whole group who came to Cambodia either. It was great to get to know different people, as well as relax around those I am already close to and I owe everyone a lot for that. I even got to say hi to Nicholas once in a while! Just joking :)

To the left is a photo of the river running through Siem Riep. The photo was taken on our last night in Cambodia, and to be honest, I couldn’t have imagined a more exciting and amazing trip.

Alessandra Zeitoun

The sheer amount of things that we did during the trip, the experiences and memories that we made will be something that will stay with me forever. Though the fundraising and the preparation that we took for the trip were all worth it. This will be the end of my journal, and once again I would just like to take this time to thank you for supporting me throughout the entire process, and allowing me to have such an amazing experience. One day, I really hope to go back to Cambodia, or do a similar project in other parts of the world, and I hope my journal has been as inspiring to you as this trip has been for me!

Thank you so very much!Alessandra Zeitoun

Alessandra Zeitoun

Our typical brother-sister relationship