Updates

• On Saturday, we went to Choeng Ek, a killing field. During the genocide, 1975-1979, people were shipped from a torturing/interrogating facility in Phnom Penh to Choeng Ek for execution. There are 129 mass graves there and over 10,000 corpses, including children. Today, it is the sight of a monument and museum to remember the dead. During the genocide 1 in 7 Khmers were executed plus deaths related to overwork, starvation, and harsh conditions. The whole place had this heavy feel about it. You can read about human atrocities and ponder their meaning, but when you are standing there surrounded by ghosts, it takes your breath away. I wondered, is it better to remember and memorial or forget and move on? How does a society recover from genocide? Why would anyone go on vacation to visit the killing fields? This trip was very moving and shocking. Above is a picture of peace cranes in the monument.
• On Sunday we were invited to the Khmer mennonite church. Of course, we couldn't understand anything but we were welcomed with a lot of love. Everywhere we go here, we are honored guests just because of our skin color and the work we came to do.
• I feel like I haven't written a lot about my fellow SALTers, but they are all great. Liz is from California, but has lived in Seattle since she graduated from SPU in 2009. She will be working at an after school drop in center for high schoolers. LynAnne is from the Fresno area and went to school in Kansas. She will be working doing design for a fair trade organization. Michael is from Illinois and went to school in Indiana. He's the overall tech guy for MCC and its partners. I've been loving getting to know everyone. We are totally different but bound up together in this adventure. I think we're going to make a very good, balanced team. Good for laughing, relaxing, getting to just act American for awhile, and supporting each other.
• On Sunday night, we had a dance party on the roof of the MCC office. It was awesome. Best night in Cambodia so far for sure.
• Tomorrow I move in with my host family. I still don't start working until the 13th, but my routine will change starting tomorrow. I'm excited and super nervous.
• As for Khmer lessons, our vocabulary grows everyday. It will be easier to pick it up in our host families too. So fun fact about Cambodia. Greeting: bow with hand together at chest level. And you say chumriep sua. "What is your name" is neyak chmuah a-vie-e? "My name is" is kinoum chmuah Nicole. Khmer doesn't have verb conjugations and the structure is relatively similar to English

Bye for now!