Written by United Planet Volunteer Valerie Mulhern about her time in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Saturday and Sunday were both temple viewing days and I must have taken about 500 pictures! I love the crazy trees the best. I’ll have to watch Tomb Raider again now that I’ve been to the place where it was filmed. Angkor really is amazing and each temple has so many hidden charms, detailed carvings, etc. It was great to spend the two days climbing all over the temple complex. One temple was still quite flooded and we had to pay a dollar to take motorbikes across to view it. The flooding has improved and so far Jen and I haven’t had any more tuk-tuks (Cambodian taxis) get stuck, forcing us to get out in lots of water to push! (That was my first day!)

Saturday night it was raining again and we weren’t really feeling like going out. So I suggested to Jen that we try to order a pizza delivery and it actually worked! Of course, we had ordered veggie with half mushrooms and got half pineapple and half ham, but a version of Hawaiian tasted good too. And we spent the night hanging out and watching movies. Jen is delaying her first year of college to volunteer, so we had a little pseudo college dorm experience going with pizza and movies in Jen’s room. Wild Saturday nights here, I tell you!

One of the best experiences I’ve had was on Sunday when we visited the orphanage. Of course, with the Sox down two games, I pulled out all the stops to try to bring them luck. I had brought a bunch of Red Sox shirts plus a plastic bat and wiffle balls (or rather Kat brought them over with her when she met me! Thanks Kat!) Since I had given them Red Sox cards last week, they at least recognized the Red Sox and when Jen and I showed up in our matching red shirts, they really liked them. It was even more awesome being able to pull out the bag of shirts for everyone! I had just enough for all the kids and the two staff working there. They were all very excited and put them right on. And they were even more excited when I pulled out the bat and balls.

I showed them copies of my old childhood baseball pictures and we took some official “Cambodia Team Red Sox” pictures. I even taught them the “Horns of Hope” for good luck
! Fortunately, the yard area wasn’t flooded anymore so we used rocks for bases and everyone joined in for our own baseball game. They grasped the basics quite well! It was just a terrific afternoon.

To read more of Val’s time in Asia check out her blog at http://travelvalasia.blogspot.com/.

Information reported by Stuart Robbens, one of United Planet’s Thailand Coordinators

Quest volunteer Charles–Andre Bourdua recently returned from his first trip abroad, where he explored Ranong, Thailand! A small, beautiful city bordering Myanmar on the coast of southern Thailand, Ranong has remained off the beaten path. Two beautiful sandy islands, Koh Phayam and Koh Chang are just 30 minutes away by boat. Taking full advantage, Charles traveled to Ranong’s wide range of hot springs, waterfalls, temples, lakes and islands during his two-week volunteer Quest. Here are some of the exciting pictures he chose to share with our blog readers.

Teaching English vocabulary for different types of jobs at Mittraphap School. My welcoming host family was shy at first but this allowed me to practice teaching English before arriving at the school, where I taught Thai and Burmese students.

Experiencing real Thai cuisine with a cooking lesson from Ying, one of UP's Thailand Coordinators. The food was great and Ying was a wonderful teacher.

Resting after a game of football with teacher and Project Supervisor, Somkiert. The children were so friendly, I was greeted with smiles and ‘wais’ everywhere I went; it was their boundless energy and enthusiasm that kept me going even when I got tired.

The note I left for Stuart and Ying, my wonderful Country Coordinators. They were so helpful and kind, I can't imagine my first trip abroad without them.

To plan your own volunteer adventure, visit our website!

This post, written by Li Jia, United Planet’s International Programs Manager, was published previously on the UP Blog but because we love it so much, we thought we would share it with you again this year! Hope you enjoy learning about Chinese New Year Traditions as much as we did.

I have always loved celebrating Chinese New Year, despite the fact that I am far away from home. It brings back a lot of old childhood memories– I could play as much as I wanted without my parents’ supervision; I could receive many red envelopes from elder relatives; and I could eat all kinds of delicious food all week . The whole country gets seven days off for the celebration, so that we can relax and savor a few meals together, and have the time to fully enjoy the festivities.

Photo taken by Yewenyi, Flickr.

Everything associated with Chinese New Year should represent good fortune. To single people, good fortune may mean love and romance. Good fortune may mean good grades for students, children for families, jobs for the unemployed and improved health for the sick. There are a few traditions we have to prepare for New Year: houses are swept clean to get rid of traces of bad luck; all debts should be paid off before the New Year begins; and problems of the previous year are to be left behind.

Food plays a huge role in Chinese culture and lots of food is consumed during the New Year celebration. Chinese New Year dishes are symbols of prosperity, happiness, health and longevity for everyone at the table. Each and every food, either by its appearance or the multiple meanings of its name, represents Chinese beliefs. For example, dumplings symbolize the hope for prosperity in the coming year (people even insert a coin into a couple of dumplings for good luck). According to Chinese belief, if you are fortunate enough to be served one of the special dumplings, you may acquire even more wealth in the coming year! Noodles represent longevity for their appearance; they should not be cut or severed. Fish represent prosperity since the Chinese word for fish, yu, also means abundance and prosperity. During the Chinese New Year, fish is served whole, to represent family unity. The fish should not be fully consumed by the family, so as to symbolically save for the year to come.

Photo taken by sheilaz413, Flickr.

As Chinese culture tends to be highly collectivistic, family relations are extremely important to the Chinese. Decisions are made with full family member involvement. On New Year’s Eve, a huge family reunion dinner is held in every home in China. No matter where people live, they are expected to return home for Chinese New Year. It is not only to have a fabulous dinner together, but also an important time to let family act as “one”: we share joy together, we listen to each other, we wish everyone happiness in the family, and most importantly, we know our family will always support us no matter what. Back when I was a kid the most exciting thing for me was visiting my grandparents’ house on New Year’s Day, where a big red envelope with money inside would be waiting for me. The gift’s meaning was always my grandparent’s wish for my health, happiness and success. Elders all over China do the same for their grandchildren during Chinese New Year to wish them health, happiness and success in the coming year.

I am glad to see this unique festival transforming into an exciting cultural event the world over. I would like to wish all of you Happy Chinese New Year. May the year of the Tiger bring you good health, increased prosperity, great happiness and success with your 2010 resolutions!

If you want to see Hong Kong Fireworks for Chinese New Year, click here!

Written by United Planet volunteer Jennifer Hicks on her trip in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Anthony, Theresa, and I went to a concert in the evening. I got in the tuk tuk thinking we were going to some free concert like the one Val, Ta, and I went to, but I got there and realized it was a classical cello concert!

The concert was really great. The cellist was Beat Richner, who has opened four children’s hospitals in Cambodia, three in Phnom Penh, and one in Siem Reap (I bicycle past it twice every day). The hospitals are completely free for children 12 and under and they save 85,000 lives every year. While Richner rotated playing and talking I learned some sombering facts:
- 65% of Cambodians (all ages) have tuberculosis
- 85% of Cambodians make 50 cents a day
- JEV (Japanese Encephalitus Virus) vaccinations aren’t allowed in Cambodia
- Until 1992 most modern vaccines weren’t brought to Cambodia because it was thought that because the people are so uneducated, they wouldn’t understand how to administer medications

Richner said something else that I really liked, “The high mortality rate of the poor is not caused because of poverty. The mortality rate is caused by discrimination against the poor.”

The hospital is free for all children 12 and under and families who have to travel very far to get to the hospital are also compensated for gasoline on their trip. The hospital delivers about fifty babies a day, performs sixty surgeries, and has lowered its mortality rate from 6% to 0.5% in just 17 years. And, no child is rejected. After all I have learned, I have an entirely new appreciation for the hospital. There are lines a mile long every day comprised of families with sick children waiting for their number to be called. What an incredible thing Richner is doing.

The free cello concert is something that he started years ago in order to raise money for the hospital. Two million dollars are donated every year by the Cambodian government, three million by the Swiss government where Richner is from, and the rest of the funding comes from private donations. It costs around 80 million every year to run the hospitals and his cello concerts, alone, raise eight million each year. I thought his story was incredible and I bought his classical cello CD to listen to while I study in college.

To read more about Jen’s trip to Cambodia check out her blog at http://jensgapyear.blogspot.com/.

Written by United Planet Volunteer Abbie Mood.

“Fight with words, not with bullets.” ~Phally, the Director of Khmer Chewy Khmer

It was 6 p.m. and Kristen and I had just arrived at Khmer Chewy Khmer English School in Siem Reap, Cambodia. There were probably 100 children running around, and more were on their bikes outside. Phally, the School Director, immediately showed us to separate “classrooms” to either assist or to teach a class. Even with my experience as a teacher in the United States, it was a bit overwhelming, but the students were so welcoming and so interested in learning that it was hard to feel uncomfortable. Many of them were interested in practicing their conversational skills, and hearing native pronunciation of English words. Phally’s goal is for the students (or “his children” as Phally affectionately calls them) to learn English so that the children of Siem Reap can have more opportunities in their lives, and to foster cross cultural understanding.

The students come from all over Siem Reap to attend this school, which is at Phally’s house. He has turned his home and his property into a free school for children who cannot afford the $5-8 monthly fee that most private schools charge. The school has gone from 50 students to almost 1000 in just a few years. Phally’s work has inspired his students so much that many return to volunteer as teachers. They will work all day and then travel for an hour or more to teach at the school at night.

We also volunteered at the school during the day with two other volunteers, Erin and Merrill. We would help Phally with tasks around the school, such as moving dirt to level the land for a new classroom or digging a ditch so that the grounds don’t flood during rainy season. Every day, we would start a task, but not have time to finish it, and tell Phally that we would finish it the next day. Every day, we would come back, and the task would have been completed, and there would be something else to do.

Phally’s dedication and love for his town (and his country) was so apparent that Kristen and I knew we needed to do more to help him when we got back to the United States. We talked to the Country Coordinator and found out that a classroom costs approximately $2000 to build. A classroom consists of a cement floor, two brick walls, a roof made of aluminum sheeting, wooden tables with wooden benches, a white board, and a few lightbulbs. I promised Phally before I left that we would raise money for him to build that extra classroom, and I have every intention of fulfilling this promise. Kristen and I are planning a couple fundraising events at the beginning of the year, so check back for updates on how you can help out, too!

Abbie’s continuing to fundraise for the extra classroom now that she’s returned to the US. To plan your own inspirational trip to Cambodia visit our website.