Cambodian Journey

I first came to Cambodia in 2008. I never realized that this quaint and charming country will change my life forever.

I have a sister who's been working in a garments factory there since 2006 so she became my host. But coming from a country like Philippines, I saw that they were much poorer. But that observation is not enough!

I realized that this is a country of contradictions. Khmers just smile at you whenever you see them! But this smile can actually hide a ferocious side. Because Cambodia produced a very horrifying episode in its history --the genocide made by the Khmer Rouge back in 1975-78. The country is doing its best to stand up after this painful episode.

I volunteered as an English teacher and I had students who told me that they were young boys during the time of the Khmer Rouge and that they remembered walking for three days to get to their provinces. Even up to now, the remnants of this episode remain.
But I understand that they don't talk about this episode in their history: the young people in particular are not taught about it, they don't discuss this issue in school.

Cambodians are trying so hard to learn to speak English these days. The university students and the young professionals go to 2-3 different English schools just to learn English. And they try to converse to as many foreigners as they can. It is very impressive!

But poverty is still very much obvious in the country. The town of Siem Reap which is the gateway to the Angkor Wat and the temple complex is very progressive. It draws millions of tourists a year but it leaves a lot of the locals behind. It is common to see young children begging from tourists or selling souvenir items because they could make more money doing this than their parents working in their farms.

Overall, it is a very promising yet very challenging country to be in. It's certainly lagging behind Thailand and Vietnam but it is growing tremendously these days. Way to go, Cambodia, restore your former glory!