Wednesday, May 29 - Koh Pdao

Hi parents and friends! 

I hope you are all very well. Today was a doozie to say the least.

We started the day early. The roosters began their cacophony at around 4:30 am, which effectively signaled the start of our day. After greeting the host family and taking our morning showers, the iron cow picked us up and drove us to the community center. Breakfast consisted of rice (crazy, I know), fried egg, a tofu-cabbage dish, and dried mango fruit roll ups (homemade). Also, coffee with condensed milk is readily available in the mornings!

After breakfast we took a quick walk down the road to one of the village fisherman, who showed us his assortment of fish traps and explained how they worked, and how he made them. We asked him questions about fishing for around 45 minutes, and learned how the fish population in the Mekong has been declining due to illegal fishing with electricity. At the very end, we made our own fishing rods out of bamboo, which will come up again later.

We ate lunch around noon-a typical meal of rice, soup, and a few vegetable plates. We then returned to our homestays for a little bit of downtime, where we mostly relaxed in the hammocks.

Our first activity in the afternoon was a discussion/Q and A with the village chief and the village mayor. We divided into two groups, each learning from one of the guests, and then reconvened and compared what we learned. We were then released back to our homestays for a couple hours to get some R&R. 

The highlight of the day for many of us came next - we went to a field at the local school to play a game of soccer. As we played, local kids trickled in and joined our game, creating a massive, hectic, incredibly fun experience. 

We ended the day with showers, dinner, and each sharing a rose, thorn, and bud from our Koh Phdao experience so far. 

Isaiah, Clifford, and Henry



                                                           











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