Surrounded

In America...” love” is a strong word. It is rarely expressed and only used after a long time of knowing someone. In Cambodia, love has no barriers. Love was instantly shown to me through hugs and happiness. The first day I went to the school and orphanage, kids were hugging my legs, jumping up to me and on me. My dad used to always say he was not a human jungle gym… I always thought it was so funny until I came to Cambodia and became the human jungle gym. When the kids look up to you, you can see the love and hope in their eyes shining on you which makes me feel extra warm inside under the toasty Cambodian sun. For me showing love and trust first sight to a foreign stranger seems unreal. However…what kid does not want attention? All the hugs, and spins we give these kids might be more love and attention than they get all year. These kids are uncared for and neglected as they are surrounded by many people who gamble and use drugs. It makes me hurt to see the conditions these kids are put in, their hair is orange from malnutrition and some have no place to call home. These kids are the sweetest things they just laugh and smile nonstop. At home, they would be treated fair and as an actual human being which makes me sad. My mom told me before I left that I would want to bring some cute Cambodian children home with me and I cannot disagree. This boy, Anad is so cute and he always comes up to me and asks me to pick him up. I carry him around to where he points me to go, and conveniently he is small enough to fit in my bag…

There is trash everywhere in Cambodia. It’s a search to find a spot without trash. Piles upon piles of bags, plastic bottles, food and gunk, take up the sides of the roads and unused areas. The people of Cambodia just add to the trash as they do not know any different. Nobody cares about the trash either but that is because the people of Cambodia are uneducated about trash. They don’t understand what land without trash looks like because they have never seen it. My team picked up immense amounts of trash at the orphanage and at the school; some kids helped some did not. It was so dirty everywhere clothes, plates, plastic bottles, and wrappers were thrown amongst the dirt and bushes. It saddens me to see how poorly the kids treated their home and what little is provided for them. After cleaning I witnessed a Kid throw his candy wrapper on the ground and he was only 5 steps away from a trash can. I asked him to throw it away and was a little disappointed. However, I can’t get angry when the kids don’t know anything different from the custom of throwing the trash on the ground. They just don’t know any better… If I could just teach one kid or a group of kids to start to throw their trash away maybe they could spread their new knowledge to more people.

Cambodia overall has been amazing, the people and kids are all so friendly and I can’t wait to make more friends. There is still a lot of poverty and sadness that hangs in Cambodia but I know the connections I am going to make with the people here are going to stick with me forever. I hope that before the end of the trip I can pass the idea of picking up trash to multiple kids possibly starting a chain of people who can help their countries future.

Aw Kohn,
Karsen