Reflections and Realisations

Sitting on the bus home this afternoon and thinking to myself about the past week and a half, what we have seen and accomplished.

Today, it was seeing the pride in our group after building 12 houses in just a few hours. Last week, it was seeing the excitement on the faces of children who have lost their parents, right before we gave out packs filled with simple things we all take for granted, a toothbrush and toothpaste, some shoes, shampoo, soap and a blank exercise book with some pencils.

With that train of thought, I realized that we take far too many things for granted. Family. They will stand by you no matter what, through the highs and lows of life. The houses we live in. We fill them with so any things that we become materialistic, and we often judge others on the appearance of their homes, and the things they own. None of this matters to the extent we think it does. These people, the Khmer people live in a simple manner, a roof over their heads and surrounded by their families, and they are happy with that.

Having said that a balance is necessary, because lets be honest, dirt floors and no comfy chairs to sit on at night isn't all that appealing, but lets keep everything in perspective here.

Over the past week and a half I have learnt a lot about myself, and what is actually important to me. I haven't been on Facebook since I left home, and it feels good! The people, the food, the atmosphere are all incredibly infectious, and I'm struggling to deal with the fact that we only have a couple of days left here. The experiences we've all had here im sure none will forget. Having our feet ate by fish, being followed by small children who insist we buy whatever they are selling and even being offered a ladyboy! The darker memories will remain also, seeing the killing fields, where 40 years later bits of clothing and bones are still appearing, and the horrible genocide museum or S-21, where I saw a short film with horrible images of torture committed by the kmher rouge. A place that should have been torn down years ago.

It sucks we leave soon, but I know this place has captivated me, and I'm sure in the future I'll be back.

From Hugh :)

P.S when I found myself missing home last friday, I found a couple of bags of starburst in my bag, cheers Mum! Good timing!