Pictures! More and More Pictures!

Radish Field in Angkron Village

Kid From Angkron

Bananas. I like Bananas.

Floating Village Pictures. Smelled Bad.

Big Flippin' Spider. It ran Away. Some Cambodian Dancing Around Chinese New Year Tree

Yes, The girls got in on it too! Except We Can't bend our Fingers.

The house: Thats my Window on the right.

Train Tracks Behind the House
Why did the chicken cross the road? To play in my yard!
Naked Babies Playing on the ramp to our house.

Funny Kids.

"You said I must eat So Many Lemons, Cause I am so Bitter"

So I am just sitting... again. Like always. I am starting to get a little frustrated because I don't know how to help the Organization. I am doing the Online Bio's for the students, but I have to wait for them to finish writing them. And then there is my fundraising for the roof...



I think I will solve my woes by buying a Bicycleb. Then I can go anywhere whenever I want. Name it Spot, or the Silver Bullet, or whatever color it is. Maybe I will find some tassels and bows and pretty ribbons for it. Stickers and spray paint. yes.



I am starting to figure out where I want to travel while I am here. I think I am going for almost a month.. I am in Asia, and I want to see as much of it as I can. I am thinking of going Pursat to Siem Reap, j into Laos, hanging out around there, then into Hanoi, Vietnam... then visit Sapa, back to Hanoi, Hoian, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh, then Phnom Penh, then Back home to Pursat.



yes, that is what I will do.

:)



I can't get the PowerPoint on here... if you want to learn more about the Roof that I am trying to pay for, email me. Please! I only have until march 1. emily.gunn@hotmail.com



Can't wait to hear from you all soon!

<3

Don't Get Your Hopes Up... Not too Exciting

So I did it again... It has been a week since I posted on here last. But lucky for you.. I don't think a lot has happened since then...

Tuesday-Friday: Emily accomplished next to nothing. A lot of computer games.
Oh, but Rich and her added more Bio's... or atleast I think that was this week...
Azel and Miranda come to stay at the volunteer house for the week. Nice funny Aussies.

Saturday: Visit to the floating Village. It was neatoo! An entire village living on water. There was even a Tele! and Pigs...

Sunday: Chinese New Year!!! Free Meal at "across." Emily then spends the afternoon/night dying with the Stumach Flu. Wasn't seen for 12 hours. Didn't eat for 12 hours. Didn't Drink for 12 hours.

Monday: Spent the morning in bed. Miranda and Azel go to Battambang, Azel is coming back (He has been here for like two years), Miranda is meeting friends to begin travelling in Siem Reap. Ate some rice.

Bataboom batabing!
Hopefully next update will be a little more exciting!

So I haven't put a post up since getting here... Instead I have been sending out emails... (If you haven't received one, email me to get added: emily.gunn@hotmail.com)
Here is a brief timeline of events since getting here last Wednesday. It is long, might want to sit on a pillow, go pee, and grab your next meal...

Wednesday, Jan 14:

• Mum and I wake up and bus to "Poisat"
• We meet Summet, who we learn is a sweet man with a bad back who works in Phnom Penh for Sustainable Cambodia
• On the bas, a little boy sitting behind me stashes gum in my hair. That becomes a mess and is later clipped out with Nail clippers
• We arrive at Pursat, and end up confusing Andrew, who was waiting for us at the bus stop. Little did he know that Summet got the bus driver to drop us off at the SC building, not the bus stop. Very funny in hindsight. Andrew didn't think so.
• Mother and I get a tour, meet Mr. Ni, a very funny man. He handles finances for SC. We meet my housemate Laura, who was with the Peace Cor in Mongolia. Woah.
• Mum and I go out for dinner, where my abilities to draw chickens and moo like a cow order our meal. Which was very very good. Then we see a giant Rat. Giant as in I think it was chasing a cat...
• Bed time, with a giant bug net. Awesome.
  

Thursday, Jan 15:

• Mum and I awake, walk to the bus stop to buy her ticket for later that day.
• Mum, Laura, Torri (another volunteer who has been here since August) and I go for a farewell brunch before mother has to catch the bus.
• We have our heartfelt goodbye, and then mother leaves on a moto to the bus stop.
• After breakfast/lunch, I am given a list of things I can help with. I spend the afternoon with Laura writing a quick report to an Organization who gave SC money for bikes and instruments
• I sit in on the evening English class that Megan taught. The kids have mad English skills. Most of them remember the other Gunn's that visited. They were doing presentations on restaurants they made up. It was funny.
• We have banana leaf wrapped Amuk for dinner. Which was awesome. Laura, Torri, Megan (Another volunteer) and I read People's "Sexiest men of 2008." Since the three of them are in their mid-twenties, I filled them in on who the young ones were, and they reminisced about shows they know. We also discuss the differences between America and Canada. I am the lone canuck.

Friday, Jan 16:

• Laura and I get a pleasant breakfast of fruit and eggs, Heing is a great cook. Laura and I are off to the school.
• I am given the task to research a project SC was asked to take part of. Its a silly political petition that would have little effect with a corrupt government.
• I fill Phalla in on the project. I don't think he liked it either.
• Day is spent researching and sitting playing games on my computer.
• Sit in on the evening class again. Kids super funny.
• Bedtime.

Saturday, Jan 17:

• All the volunteers (minus Richard, who was sick) hop onto the back of motos and drive to Krevign commune to visit past and future SC projects. It was hot and dirty and I am definitely sun burnt.
• We stopped at many places, visiting family fish ponds, bio sand filters, and pass on pigs. We found a peanut field which was neat. I didn't know peanuts grew on roots underground.
• We eventually had a delicious lunch. Didn't ask what it was. Later, we try palm wine and porcupine. I don't recommend the porcupine. It is really really fatty.
• We eventually stop for the night at a neat part of the village. The community needs help building permanent wells, instead of re digging shallow well every week. and they need a preschool.
• A big meeting takes place with that area of the community, where I am introduced as the new kid. It was ballin'.Then I may have volunteered myself to find $500 for the preschools roof. By March.
• We have a delicious dinner. Well, I liked the Chinese radishes and rice. But I didn't enjoy the wild boar and tree ants. The tree ants poke your mouth and it is not pleasant.
• Spent a surprisingly cold night sleeping outside in a hammock. With a bug net. Mr Bong, the man who drove me there, rigged my sketchy hammock between posts. Very nice man. I am thinking of buying my own hammock for home. They are so handy dandy!

Sunday, Jan 18:

• We set off again to visit more sections of the village.We visit one that was confusing to find, and ended up in the middle of nowhere, walked through two rivers, and up what seemed like a mountain to visit this very secluded and sweet village.
• There was a meeting with the group about a preschool being made up there. They said they tried to make a school, but the land they planned on using they were told had sugar cane on it and they weren't allowed to build there. Not nice Mr Cane Farmer...
• We nap before trekking home. We arrive dusty and hot. A cold shower has never been so pleasant.
• Then I think Laura and I watched a movie, and headed to bed.
  

Monday, Jan 19:

• I woke up kind of late, and headed in. Spent the day on the computer, trying to figure out how I am going to get the money for the roof. I research teaching abroad stuff. Find I can get paid for teaching science in Rwanda. I wanna do that.
• Then Richard and I type up the kids sponsor Bios for the website. It was interesting to see all the kids describe their home lives... really interesting.
• Torri and I visit the Tele, which is a gas station/7-11. We get ice cream which was nice in the heat. Again, we compare the USA and Canada and Cambodia.
• I sit in on a Peace Cor teacher's English class. Whitney taught the group about poetry and different things like similes, alliterations, stanza etc. And we read Rain by Shel Silverstein. I like that poem.
• We head home for more Amuk. Torri helped Heing make it this time to learn the recipe, it was more as a casserole, without the banana leaves. Very delicious.
• Whitney and I talk about Peace Cor and teaching and such. She goes home, then Laura and I watch Heroes. That is a neat show...

Tuesday, Jan 20:

• Emily noticed that tomorrow for you guys, is Obama's Inauguration. I wanna see footage of that! It's weird being a day ahead...
• I spend my morning battling with the lazy Internet connection as I try to upload pictures.
• That's It.
  　
  So I am sorry it was so lengthy... I had to play a weeks worth of catch-up... I will try to get on here regularly.

Day One of Pictures

So getting pictures on here is a real chore, so here are some from the first day of temples! The internet was going funky so I couldnt get anymore on:

Bovorn Nivet Vihan Temple

Chana Songkram Temple
Our offering to Buddha. Three Incense and a Lotus flower.
The Grand Palace (Not the actual grand palace, but the prettier buildings on the site)

Last Day in Bangkok

So Jan, Mum, and myself went to MBK to grab out last few items, and visited the Jim Thompson house. For those who don't know him, he was an American who really put the Thailand silk into the spotlight. He disappeared into this air while on a trip in Malaysia. Very sad. Neat house.
Then, Jan and I went to Visit the flower market, where we saw funeral wreaths and prayer loops. Then we went to Wat Pho, the reclining Buddha (Dimensions 49m by 15m. yeah I know that's huge) which was wicked. Then we went to Temple of Dawn, where some students interviewed me on wedding customs, greetings, and food. While Jan was clarifying some things I said in Thai, turns out I had planted myself on a fire ant mound. Don't worry, I only got bit enough to get the experience... and besides, I am already covered in bites, I might as well make the bites different and diverse! Mum and I ended the night by visiting Khao San Road which is a night market, but everything was really expensive. Talking to Jan these last two days has been awesome, I never would have learned half the stuff I have in a Thailand for Dummies book! Like, that most Thai families don't cook, they just visit the street vendors. Anyways, mum and I fly out today. Next time I am on here will be in Cambodia, which may be a few days till I have Internet. Toodles.

Temple Day One

So today with our incredibly awesome tour guide Jan, we visited four different temples/Thailand Landmarks then went to a market that was so huge, it was larger than all of Cochrane. We went to:

1. Bovorn Nivet Vihan Temple


2. Chana Songkram Temple


3. Wat Phra Kaew and the Emerald (Jade) Buddha


4. The Grand Palace


5. Big Frickin' Huge Market Town

Now, of course I took pictures, but seeing how I am on a public computer, it is a little too difficult for me to upload them to show you. They will be up later, oh don't you worry. But in the meantime I will part ways with you with a couple facts/stories. I'll keep it short don't worry. I am just going to spit them out so bare with me.

Did you know, that every King of Thailand must at one point in his life serve as a monk? Yeah, and they can serve for however long or short as they want. And if a man became a monk, left and had a family, but wanted to go back they had to have the blessings of the wife. So if she didn't want him to leave, she going and prays to Buddha and he is forbidden to return to monk ship.

The Emerald Buddha is not made of Emerald, but of Jade, and has its clothing changed by the King or Prince (if the king is unable to do so, like with the present King) every four months to represent the different seasons?

Another sweet little story is of that little chubby Buddha we all know and love, the one Jan calls "Happy Buddha." He was just a regular old Joe (by Joe I mean Monk) who was incredibly Thin and Beautiful. So good looking in fact, that when we led prayer or taught or preached, people were so distracted by his pretty face that they ignored what he said. This man got incredibly fed up and went to Buddha and asked to be fat and ugly so that people would take him seriously. So that is why you see happy smiling fat Buddha's, cause his word is finally taken seriously. Wild, yes I know. I guess it's something to be Fat and Jolly.

So my last one, is about a story of Ramakien at Wat Phra Kaew. It's a mural that stretches an entire Mile! It's insane, let me tell you! Now, i did not read the entire story, that would have been silly cause I was wearing flip flops not runners, but what I did get from it was there was a Good Man, and a Demon. Demon steals the wife of the man, and the man becomes friends with some sort of Monkey God to get her back. So allll the buildings at Wat Phra Kaew had visuals of the Monkey God and the Demon.

Sorry for my less then perfect story telling, it was a long day. I have also discovered why I never got bit by mosquitoes in Africa, South America, and North America. I don't taste good to them. Asian Mosquitoes, on the other hand, like me quite a bit, for I have become practically a walking chew toy for them. My legs are absolutely covered! Okay, time to soak the feet. They are absolutely throbbing. Glad no one read this anyways... That post was quite a mouthful. Took me half an hour and 30 Baht to type.

Look Look Look!

Okay, I decided that since I had nothing else to do tonight I would put some random photos i google'd (They have google here you know) to let you in on the experience. Live Vicariously, if you will...

Okay, so here is le "Tuk-Tuk": Ridden by the Dangerously Adventurous Souls.

This is the hotel, the Lamphu Tree House.... It is not in a tree Don't worry we know that. But it is still quite cute.

This is the Seven Floor MBK Mall. We went into Every store/Internal Market. My feet Hurt. A lot. But they look smashing in my brand new Birkenstock's.

Democracy Monument.

His Majesty, Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), the longest serving Monarch since 1946. This, obviously, a painting of his earlier days. You can't look this good after that many years in power...

Night. Bedtime.

I wish I spoke Thai.

Helloooo Everyone!
We have arrived! Our flights were long.. and besides the last one, relatively quiet. There were a bunch of babies surrounding us on the Tokyo-Bangkok flight... but nothing a good Dose of "Hercules" couldn't drown out. Yes, that is right, I watched Hercules. On a plane. Don't be jealous.
I guess I should talk about the actual places I have been: Tokyo was adorable... the blankets on the plane left lint all over our clothes so we were on a quest for a lint roller, and some cute Ladies in a store helped us clean up. Then we almost missed out flight (Even tho we had been in the airport doing absolutely nothing for 2 hours. Only us Eh?) Then we flew. Nothing too new at that point... thirty hours awake made it seem a little longer. yes that is right, No sleep for Emily. Twice I fell asleep only to be woken by an old couple needing medical attention and a whining baby. Oh boy.
The Bangkok airport is INSANE! It reminded me of the Beijing water cube they built for the Olympics... very very silver and Star Trekkie.
Our hotel is very cute. Iddy Biddy rooms with a very small TV, but the people here speak alright English so at least they know what we are saying. I think mum and I are going to go hunting for the "MBK" mall which is very far away. Oh Boy. I guess you haven't really travelled until you get ridiculously lost in a country you know nothing about.
OO OO! and in the Tokyo airport there was an origami museum. which was maaaaddd! I took pictures, completely ignoring my attempts to look less touristy.

Well, I guess that is all for now. We are visiting the temples and such tomorrow and the day after.... So I will fill you in on that then. That is, if we are able to find our way back here after our jaunt today....

-Emily

*(#&$#(*& 5 days!!!

So... my 40 days of eternity has quickly diminished into 5. Still clueless as to what I need to buy, bring, etc. Have to say my farewells, wish happy birthdays to the Birthday Kid's for the parties I will miss. (Such a shame, for once I would be able to go out an celebrate, if i weren't in some third world country. Karma.) Got to update le ipod, fix the computer, clean my room(which is a disaster,) buy a radio, buy a fly swatter, download books cause its a lot lighter if they are inside my computer rather than out. All in all, I need to do 40 days of preparation in less than 5 days.

Crap. Nuff said.