A bit of a rant...

Hey There everyone.
SOO much has happened its difficult to recap it. Some highlights are as follows: Our group did a Tuk-Tuk ride for peace on International day of peace in Battam Bamg(No idea if that's the correct spelling, seen many version for the name of this city). Lots of fun, we got some advice there from a Buddhist Monk. He guided us through mediation telling us the the importance of breathing. "We often hustle through the day and our breath becomes subconscious. To breath is to live, it is the gift of life. Let your breath become conscious and enjoy your life". I found his words powerful.
The next day we left Battam Bong and took a short six hour bus ride to Phenom Phen the bustling capital of Cambodia. In Phenom Phen we went to the Russian Market and all bought cheap bootlegged dvds and tv shows. Alecc and Tessa also each bought really cute clothes. I am sticking with my Cambodia Jeresy I bought way back in Siem Reap. We also all indulged in massages! It was my first massage ever, and I am definitely a fan for life now. Amanda indulged perhaps the most in the massage as she got two or three here.
However, these past three days in Phenom Phen haven't been all play. Yesterday we went to S-21 and the Killing fields. S-21 was a prison for enemies of the Khmer rouge which kinda turned out to be everyone. In s-21, we saw blood stained floors, make shift prison cells that are smaller than what a person would put a dog in, thousand of photos of the inmates the Khmer rouge killed, old torture devices, etc. At the killing fields the sights included a tree used by guards to beat babies to death, hundreds of mass graves, signs informing us that the chemical storage room used to stand here. Needless to say, we were all very traumatized. We had many good discussion over the subject at dinner that night, which helped. One being why no schools in the U.S. teach about the Khmer Rouge genocide. Our answer was probably because many can argue that America is in a large way responsible for the genocide and the Khmer Rouges rise to power. Of course, France, Thailand and China are also in fault as well. I suggest anyone reading this does a simple google search about the Cambodian genocide, it is enlightening.

Well...seems a bit of a bad note to end this blog on but...
The group is packing up for Laos tomorrow and new adventures.
Peace to all
Steph

Let's Paint!

Hey everyone,
I would tell you where exactly we are but my role in the group does not involve pronouncing or spelling names correctly. What I will tell you is we are painting! Painting classrooms to be exact. We finished our two base coats of white paint in the three classrooms we're working on and graduate to sky blue paint tomorrow. We're painting classrooms for the street families compound where we are currently living and volunteering.

Much has happened since our sleeping jet lagged days. I informed Tessa to acclimate her mouth to coca cola. We visited Angkor Watt, one of the seven wonders of the world. We have ate crazy amounts of rice. Brian taught us the glory of a lime juice drink. Tessa and Amanda argue regularly at breakfast about everything and anything (all in good fun of course). Tessa and I agree attachment can be fatal. Alecc is getting a steady supply of naps while attempting to read. Tessa on the other hand managed to read 130 pages of the lonely planet book last night. AND EVERY night we all have been ënjoying"the loud karaoke the plays from the club that's right behind where we sleep.

Anyhow... Life is good. We're all bonding together very well and faces all our adventures as a team.

Peace out
Stephanie
and the rest of the crew (though please don't hold them responsible for anything I wrote as they haven''t seen it yet and I'm eager to see their faces as they read this wonderful blog.)

The beginning of a new adventure!

Hello everyone!

The five of us are all well rested from 35 hours of airplane travel and ready to explore Siem Reap. Walking around the city is crazy with mopeds, bicycles and cars to watch out for. The people are so sweet and kind. The place we are staying at is Nilla Villa Guesthouse, and when walking and meeting the place all of us fell in love. We are all loving what we are seeing and can't wait to see what's coming up next. The weather is beautiful but humid, and we haven't came across rain yet (knock on wood). But our next adventure we are off to is the Angkar Watt, which we are all pretty excited to see and take in. Miss you all and can't wait to tell you more. LOVE YOU!!!

Alecc, Tessa, Staphanie

It's official ... let this journey begin!

I've just gotten off the phone with the leaders and it appears that our small group is all together and hanging out! They actually share the first leg of their flights with team India, so it should make for some good conversation during their long transit across the Pacific. For now, everyone seems to have arrived early and we are all set to go!

Please stay tuned for blogs from the students themselves as they arrive into Siem Reap and roughly every week thereafter!

Yours in spirit,

Ethan

Pre-departure Excitement!

From a buzzing Carpe Diem HQ, we leaders Brian & Amanda excitedly and humbly post this first blog to launch our South East Asian adventure. In a week, we will fly off from San Francisco en route to Siem Reap, Cambodia where we will begin our team orientation. From there the adventure will unfold as it will, each day gauranteed to gift us with opportunities for growth and understanding both as unique souls and as members of our dynamic global community.

As best we can, we will capture our journey to share with you on this blog. Please check in, post a comment, and vicariously enjoy the ride:)