Having visited Cambodia ten years prior to this trip, I have definitely noticed many changes. Observing the increases in prices, improved architecture, and booming businesses has really opened my eyes to the fact that this country is somewhat improving and trying to adopt more westernized styles of living. Unfortunately, poverty levels, homelessness, and underemployment are still fairly prevalent. It’s somewhat difficult to avoid the expensive and luxurious houses weaved in between houses that aren’t in the greatest of shape. Just when we think the country is improving, we see some negativity. Just like many other parts of the world, the rich seem to get richer and the poor, poorer. Despite these negatives, Cambodia is still definitely a place to visit. Sometimes you have to open yourself up to the awareness and suffering of others in order to be truly grateful for the things you already have. 

Today was rough as we all knew we would be visiting Toul Sleng – R21. Two AUPP students joined the Umass Lowell students and Dr. George Chigas to see what were behind these cells. We walked through the prison rooms with grief and silence.

Inside were facts and images of Pol Pot’s regime and evidence. The display
consisted pictures of  victims, tools used to tame them, and actions of the Khmer Rouge. We walked through the rooms observing numerous photographs and items in the room when the secret prison was discovered.

On Tuesday, one of our classmates joined us to go visit the Royal Palace. We were
unable to look around much since it was closing time. However, we were still able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Palace. It was very nice to see more of Cambodia especially with one of our classmates.

We took a trip to visit S-21. S-21 was a place where they held prisoners and tortured them during the Khmer Regime. Going to visit made me feel very fortunate for my life and helped me learn about what my parents and grandparents had went through in their early life. The picture below is one of the many photo’s displayed at S-21 which shows two women escaping.

This week we prepared questionnaires with our group to ask youth organizations about information on employment. My group members were Minth and Bunhong, as you can see in the photo. Bing is not in my group but he took the photo with us! 

We just completed our first full week of classes at the American University of Phnom Penh. We have class everyday from 9 -12 am in the morning and 2-5 pm in the afternoon. There are 20 students enrolled in the class, 15 from AUPP and 5 from UMass Lowell. The course deals with the topic of Cambodian youth, specifically in terms of education and employment. Cambodia’s population is very young, primarily because of the “baby boom” that followed the end of the genocide in 1979. Consequently, about 60 % of the country’s total population of 15 million is under 35 (born after 1980). Cambodian youth (9 million out of 15 million) have become a powerful political and economic force in the country, so we have a lot of material to cover in the class. The afternoon part of the class is spent meeting with Cambodian youth organizations, conducting interviews and collecting data for a class research project.

Of course, we are also trying to see and do as much as possible outside of the classroom as possible. Highlights have included a boat ride along the Tonle Sap river around the capital, a visit to the Royal Palace, and a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Next week, we will end classes on Thursday, so we can travel to Siem Reap province, the location of the ancient temples of Angkor.

AUPP has been incredibly welcoming and generous, helping us to arrange our in-country travel, providing delicious meals in the university cafeteria, even providing all of us with cell phones to use while we are here. A film crew came to photograph our students in action. Pictured here are Elizabeth Thach and Diana Chea conducting an interview after class.

On Wednesday, the fifth member of our group Bing Moniphal arrived. (He had to take a separate flight in order to attend his sister’s high school graduation.) Bing is a lot of fun and everyone is excited to have him here with us.

On Monday, June 8th, we visited the Royal Palace with one of our classmates from AUPP, Yutt, who wanted to come along with us. We arrived at the palace around 3:30, which was little bit late since they have started to closing up already. Luckily we were able to see the throne room before they closed the door, and we also got to see the Silver Temple where ancients relics were kept. Pictures were not allowed in the temple but we got to take tons of pictures outside and around the surrounding buildings. 

June 4th was the first day we went to visit AUPP (American University of Phnom Penh). We met many facility members including the President of AUPP Dr. Sharon Siverts and Vice President of AUPP Dr. William Heidcamp.

It was very exciting looking out the window and seeing Phnom Penh! I haven’t been here in over 6 years so I was very anxious to finally take a step into the city and see how much things have changed. I can’t wait to explore the city and country side.

We arrived on Thursday, June 4th, around 10:30 am. The first thing that we all felt was the heat, we started sweating as soon as we got off the plane. One of us, Jennifer Sem yelled out “wow! it’s hot here”, I couldn’t wait for us to go into the building where there were A/Cs. On our way to our new apartment, we were really surprised and frightened at the same time about the traffic in Phnom Penh. It does not stop, not even when someone cross the road. Cars and “moto” drivers all just keep going and passing each other on the road, even passing on the opposite side of the road. we were really amazed how people were managed not to get into accidents, with these many vehicles and moto drivers on the road. However, we found out that the leading cause of death in Cambodia is motor accidents. So hopefully we will not witness one of those accidents during our stay (Pictures below).