Study Abroad in Cambodia
by Sarah Hodge, Nursing Student

Our days are starting to run together although we have been here just a couple of days. Today, however, will be stuck in our minds for weeks and years to come. We had the opportunity to visit the Killing Fields.

The Killing Fields represent the massive genocide that happened between the years 1975 to 1979. Millions of innocent Cambodians were brutally murdered during this regime. The Killing Fields pay respect to the many that died. Graves and bones are on display, many which are in the monument that was constructed to house skulls and bones of the victims.

Before even stepping foot in Cambodia, we were instructed on the Khmer Rouge and were briefed on how to act and what the culture was like. To our amazement, Cambodians are very resilient. Surprisingly, no emotional toll is seen from the outside looking in.

Our day started with breakfast in our lobby. We had our daily devotion and listened to and mulled over the song, Oceans, a powerful song that had me personally praying over the country of Cambodia. I tried to predict how I would feel and what I would see, but nothing would prepare me for the emotions I would feel while walking through the audio lead tour.

We took our normal tuk tuk drivers (four in all), to the outskirts of Phnom Penh where the museum and actual site are located. We received headphones and our audio player and made our way around the walking tour. The place was eerily quiet as visitors from all over the world paid their respects to one of the most horrific genocides in this generation. As we listened to stories of rape, babies dying, and extreme torture; we were reminded of how real and utterly terrifying this place actually is. The audio tour lead us on a walking sites to many mass graves where fragments of bone and teeth still make their way to the surface after a big rain.

Everything seemed so real at during the walk. Speaking only for myself, it was almost like I could hear all the muffled noises that were barely audible because of the Khmer Rouge propaganda that was blasted throughout the execution camp.

After finishing with the tour, we visited the museum where weapons of choice and articles of victims clothing were on display. The Khmer Rouge did not use bullets to kill as they were too expensive. They resorted to the use of clubs, knives, and shovels to carry out the brutal actions.

After what seemed like a long tuk tuk ride back to our hotel, we ate lunch and split up into groups to either go to the market or go to a cobbler shop known as Beautiful Shoes. Our two instructors, Mrs. Morse and Dr. Taplin, are very fond of the manager that owns the shop. We had the opportunity to custom make shoes out of authentic leather for our loved ones and ourselves.

I had Birkenstock look-alikes made and am super excited to go back in 10 days and see what they came up with. After the shoe shop, some of us broke off of the group to head to the market. This was the first time we had the opportunity to roam the city by ourselves, a very liberating experience. The market is filled with everything you could ever think of; from Buddha statues to Nike shoes, everything is either imported from the United States or made in Asia.

We ended the day with a somber dinner at a restaurant down the street at the hotel. Tears were shed as we all shared our highs and lows of the day. We were supposed to go to a puppet show, but ended up heading back to the hotel.