For the last few days of work for the internship we did some more surveys, but we also did some garbage clean up days. This idea came from some of the raw data from the surveys. Garbage disposal is a huge problem in Cambodia and most people just throw their garbage wherever. The big solution to this problem is starting reliable city wide garbage collection systems, but that is probably a few years away still. So instead we talked about how garbage that is thrown everywhere is related to more disease especially when it is by the cooking area and water storage. Our solution was to dig a mini landfill pit by houses to create one area for their garbage. That way even though they still have garbage it isn't all over their yard. We also helped start a compost system for those who didn't have one yet. While this was a cool experience and really helped us to get involved in planning and implementing a program and seeing the process up close and personal, I'm worried it wasn't a super sustainable solution. If there is no garbage system soon their pits will fill up and then they will again have nowhere to put their garbage. I only hope that what we taught about garbage will help some to have better health habits in the future.
After we finished up working we took a few days at Erin's recommendation to visit the island of Koh Rong just off the coast of Cambodia by Sihanoukville. It was a really cool experience. We stayed in some bungalows right by the beach and got to enjoy some relaxation before heading home. One of the highlights of the trip was a bout tour we did Thursday afternoon where we went snorkeling, fishing in the ocean, swimming on the beach, had a fish dinner courtesy of our fishing trip, watched the sunset, and swam with glowing plankton. It was pretty great and was all for $15. You can't really beat that! The rest of our time in Koh Rong was spent mostly just swimming in the ocean or relaxing on the beach. It was very peaceful and I think we all needed that relaxation time.
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| This was our water taxi to go from the pier to where we stayed. |
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| These two are just views from the beach. |
After our beach time we returned for the last hurrah with all of the interns from Thailand and Vietnam. The highlight of our time together was visiting Angkor Wat. We finally made it after the two months that we've been living in its shadow. It was very impressive to see and we visited at sunrise and got some pretty cool pictures. It's amazing how they were able to build this huge building so many years ago. I also loved hearing from the tour guides because they knew so many facts about the ancient Khmer people. One thing that stood out to me was that the Thai and Laos people are also descendants of the ancient Khmer. There are some similarities in the languages and that's why so much of the food is similar between Thailand and Cambodia. So many doors are opened as we learn. It is a huge blessing we have such easy access to education in America. It is also great to see so many Cambodians striving to get as much schooling as they can so that they will be able to help their countrymen in the future.
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| Our mode of transportation on the Angkor Wat tour: Vespa! |
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| Banteay Srey was perhaps my favorite temple we visited in the Angkor temple system. |
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| Angkor Wat at sunrise. |
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| Here's a lovely picture of Pheap, Thann, and their daugher Ponya as we left them for the last time. |
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