Thursday, May 30 - Koh Pdao

We started off the day checking the fishing rods we set up on the river the night before. Unfortunately, the fish outsmarted us and ate all of our bait (prohok, or fermented fish) and ultimately escaped unscathed. We made the trek up the stairs to breakfast, but before breakfast we did our morning check-in. Today's "way of the day" was a Cambodian proverb: "immature rice stalks stand erect; mature rice stalks bend over, heavy with grain." Mony explained the meaning of this proverb–young people with undue confidence stand straight and refuse to accept differing opinions or wisdom. Mature people will “bend over” out of respect, or open their minds to the knowledge of others. 

We had a delicious breakfast of fried rice and pork, then headed off to cook our lunch. We each had separate roles–team fire, which kept the fire going; team leaf, who picked herbs and lettuce; team vegetable, who cut and cleaned the ingredients; and team cooking, who cooked and assembled the banchow (similar to a crepe) in the pan. JB (one of our instructors, whose nickname comes from his Justin Bieber-esque hairstyle and singing) serenaded us on the guitar while the food was cooking. We went back to the community center to eat the banchow, finally savoring the fruits of our efforts. Some members of our group refused to eat vegetables and made a meat-only crepe. Nonetheless, everyone ate their fill and enjoyed the meal. 

After lunch, we had a couple hours of downtime, and at our homestay, we got some guidance from our homestay sister (Rein, who is 16 years old) on how to wash our clothes. She did laundry with us, and was incredibly kind and helpful. We spent the better part of our break doing laundry (Sophia also took a shower). Then it was time to take the goyun to Mon-samet’s house. He was a general of the resistance force against the Khmer Rouge, and was very enthusiastic to share his story with us. Some moments that stood out we're his message of peace and forgiveness–many members of the Khmer Rouge who had directly harmed him and his family returned to his community after the war, and at first he held a deep-seated resentment of them. He even admitted to thinking of killing them. However, he told us he realized that if he were to take violent revenge, the war would never end. A Cambodian proverb he told us that really resonated: "During the flood, the fish eat the ants; during the drought, the ants eat the fish." His story of finding the compassion within himself to forgive and forget was something we will continue to remember. He also wanted us to share his message, as he believed that it was necessary to spread peace around the world. He told us that peace within one individual can bring peace to a family, which brings peace to a community, which brings peace to a nation, which in turn brings peace to the world. He was very outgoing, and took a liking to Clifford in particular. He wasn't afraid to shake our hands and pat us on the back, and reminded us to share his story and come visit again. He told Clifford not to forget to bring girlfriend next time (not in a weird way).

After a rainy goyun ride back to the community center, we were reminded that this afternoon marked the middle of the trip–we had spent exactly 9 days in Cambodia. Claire told us not to get too comfortable–we still had a lot to learn. After our reflection, we had some downtime (originally we were going to play volleyball, but the rain deterred us). People played cards and chatted. We wrote the blog. Now we are going to enjoy dinner, prepared by women from the local community. See you tomorrow! Lia hai (bye in Khmer)! 

– Sophie H., Sophia, and Caroline








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