Thanksgiving in Cambodia

seriously, the u.s. never dropped any bombs on Cambodia.
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We spent our Thanksgiving at the Aki Ra Landmine Museum.  If you've ever, just for a second, doubted that you have anything to be thankful for... think again.  What a place to spend Thanksgiving and realize just how much we have to be thankful for.

This is by no means like any museum that we would typically think of.  It's literally dirt floors, ordinance and magazine/newspaper clippings hanging from the outside walls of someone's home.  There is an open air room that is filled with dismantled ordinance.  You walk into this dirt area and immmediately see bombs lying on the ground. My eyes couldn't help but notice the letters that were painted onto the bombs. USA.  The moment I read those three letters this feeling of anger and guilt overcame me.  I wish that I could belive the lye I've been living for the past six weeks.  I am from Canada.  I felt as though the "danger!! landmines!!" sign was taped to my back, only this time it read, "danger!! american!!".

aki ra's museum.
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I walk a few steps further and stare at a blue sign that has a white footprint on it.  I notice a twelve year-old boy standing in the doorway watching me.  I greet him and he quickly inquires, "you know khmer?!"  I regretably tell him that I've only been here one day, so I have a lot to learn.  He is missing an arm.  I notice that he keeps holding his elbow, as if his arms are crossed.  Over his left shoulder, hanging on the wall, are grenades, mortars, landmines, etc.  I put the pieces together and try to hold back the tears.  We speak for awhile and his english is remarkable. He has only been studying for seven months and just moved to Aki Ra's a year ago.  I tell Von that he should meeet my brother.  I introdce him to Chris.  Chris immediately asks Von about his arm (a thought which seemed so bold to me, but I soon realized it was better to acknowledge than ignore).  Von tells us that he was out in a rice field one day with his grandfather, at age seven, when his grandpa stepped on a landmine.  "Grandpa exploded.  He's dead.  I went to the hospital and lost my arm."

chet, tuning his guitar.
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I quickly pull my sunglasses over my eyes to hide the tears.   I save face and talk with Von about school.  He's excited that I'm a teacher and he wants me to meet his friend that plays the piano.  Next thing I know, this 19 year-old boy has walked over to my borther.  He points to the fish on Chris' shirt and says, "fish."  Chris looks down and the boy runs his hand up Chris's chest and taps his nose.  They laugh.  He hugs my brother and welcomes him back to Cambodia.  He remembers him from two years ago.  Chris asks him, Chet, why he isn't out playing football with the other boys.  He pulls up his pant leg to reveal that he has a wound on his upper thigh from his prosthetic leg, so he must go without until it heals.

the painting that jung over chet's bed.
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Von comes over and tells Chet that I am "lakhrue duntre".  A music teacher.  Shortly after, the three of us are sitting on Chet's bed (which is a piece of plywood with a small pillow on it) playing keyboard and guitar.  Chet takes a shirt and dusts off a spot for me.  I will never complain about a 'hard' bed again.  Chet has an incredible ear.  He has had no formal training, but he can play back everything that I play for him on the keys.  When I laid down a few chord progressions on his guitar (that is missing a high 'e' string) he quickly improvises on the piano with ease.  I am impressed.

chris and chet's reunion.
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The museum will be shut down in a few months. This has happened before.  More politics.  The governor has decided to open a museum in Siem Reap, one that charges an entrance few, so they have shut down Aki Ra's museum, so that they can make more money off the tourists.  The gvt. has publsihed articles stating that Aki Ra's museum is unsafe and that it contains uxo's (unexploded ordinance).

Aki Ra's museum runs on contribution only.  Aki Ra, himself, goes out once a month and removes uxo's by way of gently poking them with a stick.  He educates the community and tourists of uxo's.  He also houses children that are landmine victims.  There are about twenty kids that live with him.  They are educated, fed, provided for and they learn english at no extra cost.  There is currently a relief fund set up to save the museum.  If you are in Siem Reap this is a MUST see.

bayon/angkor tom.
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Thanksgiving dinner.  Wow.  I don't know how we did it, but we managed to find a western dinner.  Mashed potatoes, carrots and chicken.  The only thing missing was family and the pickles.  This day proved that I have so much more to be thankful for than I ever thought before.  It's almost a painful thankfulness, as I realize just how lucky I am.

Angkor Wat..

A monatrous symbol of spirituality and belief.  The pride that comes along with this epic sized 'kigdom' is quite understandable.

the view from the third tier of angkor wat.
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Laureen and I rented bicycles for the day.  We set out early in the morning and battled the streets of Siem Reap.  The dirt roads were filled with toyota camry's, pick-ups, motos, cows, chickens, bicycles, tuk-tuks, rickshaws, busses, ponies, elephants, electric bikes and any other possible mode of land transport.  The drivers... all ages.  You see babies that have just learned how to stand (probably learning at a much younger age out of necessity) with their hands on the moto handle bars, as they stand on the seat.  Everything you could every imagine on a moto, you will see in Cambodia.

elephants at the temple.
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Weaving in and out of the lawless streets by bicycle one just has to laugh to remain sane.  I found myself in the middle of the road turning and cutting off three motos and a tuktuk (w/no brakes and a bike stuck in first gear).  I could only find peace in knowing that the law states that I am only responsible for what's in front of me.  Luckily, our bikes came equipped with bells so that I could let busses and elephants know that I am coming.  (Almost got taken out by an elephants tail... I never realized just how huge they are until it was coming at my face).

entrance to angkor tom.
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At Angkor Wat, I battled my fear of heights and stood upon the third tier of the world's largest religious sanctuary.  At Angkor Tom, we stood at Bayon which houses 54 steeples/points (one for each Cambodian province).  There were hundreds of faces chiseled into one ton blocks of stone to create mosaic heads larger than a house.  At Ta Phrom, I was in awe of how this Wat has been completely overtaken by the jungle.  Trees and roots have literally grown within the buildings walls.  There are piles of rock everywhere, but somehow the building still remains.  (Apparently, this wat was seen in Tombraider?).

what your feet look like after a day in cambodia.
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We left the complex with miles more to explore.  I never realized just how much land the Angkor Wat complex covers.