We began our day with worship at the church where Susan’s family attended and were very involved in while they lived in Phnom Penh. We were all warmly greeted and welcomed! It was especially heartwarming to see Susan greeted and embraced by so many of her dear friends. The church is alive and growing…worshipers of all ages. In a country where there is much sadness and hopelessness, it is so encouraging to be in a place of worship and see the hearts of the members of the congregation! Later in the afternoon, when we were at the market shopping (more on that later!), a member of the church spotted us and we had a conversation with him about the growth of the church in Cambodia. There is no interference at all by the government towards Christianity and it is growing by leaps and bounds. That was good news!
We went different directions for lunch…some eating Indian and some eating French. Then it was time to re-group and head out for an afternoon of shopping at the Russian market. There were literally hundreds of vendors all very close together…it was like being in a maze with something new at every turn. It was hot and the vendors are very persistent in pursuing their customers. Bargains were made and bags were filled with all sorts of purchases. I have not quite conquered the art of negotiation…so I will probably need to return to see if I can do better next time! It would be easy to fill a suitcase because there really are so many wonderful things to see and buy. The treat after shopping was iced Cambodian coffee…it was rich, sweet and delicious.
Temples in Siem Reap
This morning all but four of us left the Red Piano Hotel in Siem Reap at 5:00 AM to see the sunrise at Ankor Wat, one of the famous temples in Cambodia. Unfortunately, there were clouds and we couldn’t see the wonderful sunrise but it was still worth it and fun any ways. We then toured another one of the ancient temples before meeting up with the four people who stayed behind. They then brought us our breakfast (french bread and freshly sliced fruit) and we ate at a little restaurant where we got iced coffee Cambodian style. The coffee was delicious! It is basically iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk for sweetener.
The group then saw several more temples, one of which included where they filmed the movie Tomb Raider. We then came back to Siem Reap and most of us got a foot massage from this great place down the street. We were so relaxed! Lunch followed, then free time to explore the town. Melissa, Hannah, Kristian, Emily P., and I went to the local market and had a fun time bartering for goods. As soon as we were done it started pouring down rain, so we hired a Tuk Tuk, a Cambodian motorbike driver with a cart hitched on for passengers, to take us back to the hotel (which was quite an experience…). At the end of the day, we went to a dinner and traditional Khmer dance and now off to bed for yet another day of traveling…
The Center of Hope…and the Power of Togetherness
Today was a very tiring and busy day, but it ended in the most refreshing of ways. To start, a group of us went on a 4 mile walk/run at 5:30 a.m., in which we enjoyed watching the city wake up and get ready for another long, humid workday. Some of us even jumped right in to a yoga class with the local Cambodians on the side of the road. Other interesting sights included the “town elephant” who was taking a stroll down to the king’s palace.
Later this morning, we headed off to Center of Hope for our second day in the hospital. We did similar kind of work as the previous day, but everyone rotated to a different department in the hospital to gain new experience. Anna even took control of many positions (Charge Nurse, Physical Therapist, RN, Nursing Student, etc…) all by herself. The pharmacy students were able to soak in an immense amount of information by following an Australian doctor during his rounds who was very generous in his teaching.
Today was also the first day for surgery (yesterday was the King’s birthday and no surgeries were to be performed), and Melissa and Halli enjoyed watching a thyroidectomy. This particular thyroidectomy was completed by a Cambodian surgeon and Claudine (the first assistant), who just completed medical school in the UK, and is now here volunteering at Center of Hope as well as serving Phnom Penh Church of Christ. The surgery was a great learning experience because the thyroid was the size of a small softball which usually would not get that big in the states due to early recognition. However, Cambodians are not so fortunate with early blood tests and other various methods to diagnose promptly. Also, Cambodians just recently started adding iodized salt into their diets, and many who have lived without this salt have not received sufficient iodide. Thus, their thyroid tissue compensates by enlarging and forming a “goiter”.
Hi from Siem Reap
We are in Siem Reap this weekend. The Temples are unbelievable from a history perspective. ‘Got some rain this afternoon but not for long.
To all you parents out there who have kids on this trip–what an awesome group!! They are some of the finest kids I have met in a long time. They are great travelers and so excited about the work they are doing. You are blessed to have them, be proud and I am blessed to be able to share this experience with them.
First Day at the Hospital…a Wonderful Team
Today was our first day in the hospital. We were all anxious to see the hospital and to see what our roles would be. As the largest group Belmont has sent to Cambodia it was interesting figuring out where each person would go in the small hospital in order to balance experiences and staffing. The group began the day by touring the hospital areas including ER, OR, surgical ward, medical ward, pharmacy, outpatient clinic and chronic care facility. We met many of the staff who are familiar with the Belmont groups and they welcomed us graciously.
After we split up into groups, I took three students with me to the Emergency Room/Wound Care area. The emergency room is divided into four areas: triage, main ER, infectious disease, and wound care clinic. All patients admitted through the hospital are triaged through the ER. The day began busily with many patients waiting outside for triage through the ER and several patients already inside. One student was paired with a nurse in the infectious disease area where she was able to work with acutely ill HIV patients and patients suspected of having tuberculosis, meningitis and other tropical infections. Several severely ill patients came into this area who were admitted to the hospital. One young woman came in with a high fever, low blood pressure, tachypnea and decreased level of consciousness. After working with the patient, drawing blood, and admitting her it was later found out that she has septic pneumocystis pneumonia as a complication of late stage AIDS.
Hello from Chiang Mai, Thailand!
After close to 40 hours of traveling, we arrived in Chiang Mai with jet lag and excitement as the realization that we had reached our first destination halfway around the globe began to sink in. I can’t begin to describe how surreal this whole experience has been thus far. None of the group meetings and discussions could fully prepare me for the shock of being immersed in another country and culture. It’s such a unique experience to not only be an ethnic minority, but also to have a complete language barrier between myself and those surrounding me. Despite the differences, it is obvious how valued respect is in this culture. I am reminded that I need to be just as respectful of their culture. As an outsider, it is so easy to judge their culture by our Western standards but God is constantly reminding me to keep my eyes open to what He has to reveal and the beauty of His creation even on the other side of the world. Please continue to pray that we would see Him revealed even in the small things on this trip.
Already today we have had incredible opportunities to explore this country as we recover from jet lag before heading to Phnom Penh. This morning we woke up and took a rather frightening hour long van ride on the left side of the road to Maetang Elephant Park. Motos here do not have their own lanes but instead tend to follow the fastest course, even if that means riding the dotted line between two lanes and several trucks. Once at the elephant park, we all got to travel two by two on our very own elephants through the foot hills in the Chiang Mai Provence. This countryside seemed to preserve much of the Thai tradition, including huts with thatched roofs on stilts in rice paddies. The guides were unbelievably hospitable to us and served us a wonderful Thai lunch including fresh mango! I think we’ve already been spoiled by the delicious fresh fruit Thailand has to offer!
Bangkok – A Familiar Layover Airport
After two days in Chiang Mai, we jumped on another plan to get to Phnom Penh. Somehow, the airports and planes feel more familiar than our hotel room. We had a four hour layover in Bangkok. It apparently is our layover city for the trip. We spied the corner that we slept in on our way to Chiang Mai, and I was particularly grateful for the daytime layover. One of my personal favorite parts of the day was when we played cards to pass the time. We played Egyptian Rat Race and B.S. Brandon also taught us how to play Copi, a Libyan card game taught to him by a friend. We were being international all around. It was a fun time to make memories as well as remember home, for card games are a family tradition during my family reunions. Other memories were made as well. Christine bought a block-type Rubik cube that we all became obsessed with. Almost every person tried at least once, with Brandon, Billy, and Bounchan spending a good amount of our flight and layover trying to tackle it. The worst part of it was that the girl who sold it was five and could complete the puzzle in under a minute. We have yet to solve it. I guess that will be our entertainment for the rest of the trip.
Dr. Sharon Dowdy Talks About the 2009 Trip to Cambodia
Home Sweet Home!
After our 38 hour return trip, we were so very happy to get back to Nashville around 9AM this morning. All of our flights were on time (except one which was 30 minutes late because someone had forgotten to turn on the air conditioning), all of our luggage arrived with us, and family and friends greeted us at the airport as we arrived. Thank you for all your prayers. We saw evidence of answered prayers every day of our stay in Cambodia. I want to say a hearty “thank you” to all the awesome students– for your positive, “just do it” attitudes and willingness to move out of your comfort zones as you served the people of Cambodia in so many ways!
Susan, Chas, Tyler, and Zane, we wish you Godspeed as you travel back all together as a family.
Goodbye, Cambodia
Well, it’s our last night in Cambodia. How can we even begin to recap what we’ve experienced here and what this trip has meant to us? We should have plenty of time to reflect and compose our thoughts tomorrow during the numerous flights, so I’ll just give you a brief update for now. We’ve stayed very busy during our time here, and these last two days have been no exception.
After spending the weekend in the village, we returned to our “luxury” accommodations at the hotel for a restful night’s sleep. Sunday morning we headed to church and then spent the afternoon at an orphanage in the city. Words in a blog can’t accurately describe what it was like to be there with those children; it was an absolutely joyous event. As the van pulled through the gates to the orphanage, children started running toward us, and they proceeded to mob us with smiles and hugs. I felt like I had just made fifty best friends. They surrounded each one of us, wanting to show us their artwork, sing songs for us, and play games together. We came to the orphanage to contribute through our donations, but in the end I think we all felt like our contributions were small compared to the blessing we received by being with them.
Early this morning, our group took a walk down the riverfront as a final goodbye to the city. Like every other morning at 5:30 AM, there are crowds of people walking, doing aerobics, and playing games. We of course joined in the fun by participating in some Cambodian dancing. We took a walk to Wat Phnom, where we saw some monkeys and the elephant. After our early morning walk, we went to the hospital to say our final goodbyes. It seems strange to be saying goodbye to the staff there after having only just met them. We’ve been impacted in many ways through our experiences at the hospital, but we will always remember the remarkable kindness and hospitality of the people at Sihanouk.
The remainder of the day was filled with last-minute trips to the Russian market and other errands, as well as a final meal together. As we make our journey home, please continue to pray for us.
Thank you so much for all the encouragement and support you’ve given us. See you all soon!