Cambodia is many things. It may not be the cleanest, but it is beautiful in my eyes. One of the ways that it's beauty shines is through the huge hearts of it's people. You can see it in all of their features, especially in their kind eyes, and gentle yet incredibly big smiles. Our group journeyed to the S-21 Killing fields and a school that was converted to a prison called Toul Sleng during the reign of Khmer Rouge. During these heartbreaking tours, I realized how thankful I need to be for the life I get to live. It pains me to think how much suffering so many of these people had to go through, but it makes me feel better to know and experience the strength these people have and how well they are able to "roll with the punches." Throughout the day, I was completely overcome with emotions, which were very scattered at first because I didn't know what to think or do when I saw and heard all of the pain that they had endured. It's difficult to describe how I felt, but summed up, everything in my heart and body, including all of my thoughts and emotions, felt like they were somehow being cut in two. It felt as if there was nothing that I could do except sit back and take it all in.
Then it was as though the happy-sad switch in my mind flipped as soon as I saw those gorgeous childrens' happy faces at the orphanage. It may not have been all of them, or even half, but the ones that were there were just enough for me, if not more, and I can not wait to meet the rest of them. Thus far on my trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I have gained a new outlook on not only how wonderful my life is, but also how grateful I need to be for it. Additionally, on the rest of my trip, one of my goals will be to be more like the beautiful and kind hearted people of Cambodia. I will accomplish this by learning how to better myself, so that I can later help to better others.
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