Today was a day full of new and heart wrenching experiences. We began our day at a support group meeting for HIV patients. I volunteered to be the spokesperson for our group. We stressed the importance of taking their medication and taking it on time. Apparently, it meant more coming from us because we are foreigners, and we were wearing scrubs. The meeting was very eye opening to me to see how devastating the effects of HIV are physically, mentally, and emotionally. For example, this was some patients first time to visit because they were ashamed, and others were completely abandoned by their families. After the meeting we split off to go back to the hospital (Chelsea, Emily, and Victoria) and to HIV home visits (me and Stephanie).
The social worker led us to the “newer” slums that were mostly made of concrete. There was dirt, filth, and graffiti everywhere. The first room we came to was a 10 by 20 single room that had about 13 people living in it. We moved down the hall so we could see an aerial view of the “older”slums. It literally looked like a dump with trash haphazardly thrown everywhere. Stephanie and I wanted to take more pictures, but we were too focused on where we were walking. We stepped over every piece of trash imaginable each in a different state of decomposition. Two things that stuck out in my mind were the smell and the noise. It smelt like a trashcan, sewer, old food, and body odor all at once. It featured the sounds of a busy city, babies crying hysterically, people yelling, and food cooking in grease. The “houses” were small, made out of tin, and had at least one wall missing. Others were made out of concrete four stories high. There was no clean water or electricity, and water and wastes ran off from the floors above us.
Monthly Archives: May 2010
OH SUSAN!!!
Today was our first day in the Center for Hope Hospital. Phalla met us outside the hospital to take us on a tour of where we would be working for the next two weeks. The hospital is a lot different than I expected, a lot more advanced. All the nurses were so excited to see Mrs. Taplin, they were all saying OH SUSAN!!!.
They were very happy that we had come to help them and told us that the people of Cambodia would be very gracious for our presence. I was in the OR today, and it was awesome. I got to watch three surgeries and talk to several of the surgeons and nurses. I was amazed at how much that the surgeons and nurses could do for these people. I really did not know what to expect of their operating room, but it was very nice.
For lunch, we went to a traditional Cambodian restaurant with the Piep, the preachers wife. It was so good, my favorite meal so far. We saw her again to church tonight. The preacher was so happy to see us all. I really think that we were mentioned about ten times, and then they made Mrs. Taplin go talk in front of everyone (she didnt know that was going to happen).
Hey lady, tuk tuk?
We have arrived in Phnom Penh! It has been one hot, fantastic day! After settling into our hotel, we walked down the street to a cafe for lunch that had amazingly good food– pumpkin soup (the group favorite), lime soda, and pizza for those of us who needed a little break from Asian cuisine! We seemed to cool off a bit during lunch, but once we reached the market all bets were off. There is more stuff crammed into a teeny tiny space than I thought humanly possible. Mrs. Taplin knows many of the dealers, though, so we got the best quality and lowest price. Needless to say, we became shopaholics (well… I was a shopaholic)… Most of us walked home with armfuls of merchandise, some for ourselves and some for you at home! 🙂
Our mode of transportation to and from the market was by tuk tuk, a small motorcycle with a buggy hooked to the back. Not only did we experience Cambodian culture by riding in a tuk tuk, we experienced the whirlwind of a dozen tuk tuk drivers waiting outside our hotel to let them drive us. They practically came running at us! We only needed two, so it was a tough choice. From every angle we heard, “Hey lady, tuk tuk?” We were glad to give business to the chosen ones!
“Tell me why”
We began our day meeting three young University students from Hanoi: Heng (Hung), Hong (Home), and Linh (Ling). They served as our tour guides and guardian angles for the day by negotiating everything from taxi rides to shoe prices. They took us to the University of Literature that served as the first University of Hanoi that began over 1000 years ago. Today, it serves as a museum and temple where students come to pray before their final exams. If prayer is not enough, some students will rub the head of one of the ancient stone turtles for luck and good fortune. We then made our way across town to Salt Lake to visit another temple. This temple was unique because it was in the middle of the lake and featured a cremated turtle. Taking in the culture of the temples was truly a unique experience, and one I am sure we shall never forget.
“One, Two, Bat” (Bat pronounced “Bot”)
What a day! We all woke up this morning and boarded a van that took us on a 3 1/2 hour journey to Hon Long Bay, which not only showed us the beautiful countryside of Vietnam, but let us experience some of Vietnam’s culture in one of their most popular tourist spots. Once we got on a boat that would take us around the bay, our tour guide (Hong –> greatest tour guide ever!) educated us on some more Vietnamese culture and history.
We stopped once to explore on of the famous caves in one of the hundreds of islands within the bay, which is also where we took most of our pictures for this day (hopefully we will be able to add them later). This is where the title of my blog (“One, Two, Bat”) was created. As Hong was trying to teach us all Vietnamese numbers (and what a struggle that was!), we all decided we liked the number three in Vietnamese (bat), so instead of saying “one, two, three” before we would take one of our many pictures, we said “one, two, bat!” Not only did we all fall to pieces in laughter every time we said this, but other tourists found our hilarity and silliness amusing as well.
We Have Arrived!
Well, we have finally made it to the beautiful Hanoi, Vietnam. It was a long trip, and for a first time international traveler like myself, it was a little scary and overwhelming at times… well pretty much all the time. By the time we were boarding our international flight in LAX, we were all so exhausted and delirious that everything was funny to us. After our 13.5 hour flight to Taiwan, and another 2.5 hour flight to Hanoi, we finally were at our short term destination. During this process though,we completely skipped Friday, which was kind of a joke among us!
We hopped in a bus and were all pretty much in awe of our surroundings. On the 30 minute ride to the hotel, we were fascinated by the rice fields, the huts, and the thousands of mopeds (which I could have sworn our bus was going to hit). When we got to our hotel, we were all so excited to be able to relax! The five of us nursing students went for a swim in the pool until it was time for dinner. We walked down the streets of Hanoi and went to a restaurant right on the lake. Have I mentioned that it is absolutely beautiful here?!
On our walk back to our hotel from dinner, we were walking in a single file line, trying to dodge the oncoming, speed-demon mopeds. While dodging these scooters, we are being stared and pointed at from all around, because we look so different. Now back in the hotel, my mind is completely overwhelmed soaking all this in. What a beautiful country we are in! The people, the food, the scenery is all so completely beautiful. I am so blessed to be with a group such as mine, in a country such as this one!
With love, from Hanoi!
Chelsea Stevens
Thursday’s Departure from Nashville
A Snapshot of the 2010 Trip
Today we leave Nashville for our 6th trip to Cambodia! We are so grateful to each of you who sacrifice time with loved ones so we can go make a difference in the lives of poor and needy in Cambodia. This year there are 5 nursing students going along with Sharon, Keary and I.
Our first stop is Hanoi Vietnam where we will visit Halong Bay and other cultural sites. We will use this time to bond as a group and recover from the long flights and 12 hour time difference. We get there on Saturday around 11AM. We should be able to email/post a blog entry while there. Not sure about phone calls.
We head into Phnom Penh on Tuesday the 18th around 8AM and will be there until the weekend. For the two weekends we are there, we will be visiting a village on one and going to Siem Reap for the other. The plans are not yet finalized for which weekend we will be doing which.