Phnom Penh - A Third World Wonderland

The day my friend died,changed everything.
For too long I had been a self absorbed angst-ridden teen, taking life for granted, however I was no longer a teen. The day he died, everything changed.
Sitting in my university lecture, gazing out the window, looking towards a bright world I didn’t feel part of; I decided something needed to change. I needed to change. By the time I joined the peak hour traffic that evening, alongside all those other faces longing to escape the daily grind, everything was planned and a volunteering trip to Cambodia was booked. There was no time to freak out, second guess myself or talk myself out of it.
Within a matter of weeks, there I was, 20 years old and on my own and in a world so different to my own. Cambodia’s poverty was evident from the minute I stepped of the plane. Its rich beauty, culture and lifestyle was less evident on first glance. Ironically now it is the only image of Phnom Penh that I have branded in my mind. It is a different world. I watched a movie once that stated ‘In Cambodia you accept things that you wouldn’t anywhere else’, but this statement, whilst true, does not capture the feeling that Cambodia brought to me which can only be described as magical. It truly is a third world wonderland.

My volunteer work included teaching children English, health and hygiene practises. Excited to give back to the community that I was rapidly growing a fond connection too,ironically little did I know that I would be getting more than I ever possibly could have given. Whilst cheeky and keen to play all sorts of harmless, childlike jokes on me, these kids possessed a childlike innocence that I had lost well before I reached their age, which is truly remarkable, giving their own personal hardships.

These children taught me traditional Khmer songs, how to say various useful phrases to help me get around as well as traditional Khmer dance, a skill I was never able to master. But the biggest lesson they taught me was happiness.