Sok sabay! We’re back in Phnom Penh and loving it! After a long (and bumpy) bus ride from Siem Reap, we are happily settled back into our “home base” at One Up Banana Hotel, and we’re hard at work creating new experiences and projects for our Youth Forum presentation at the end of the trip.

We started with a two day workshop making traditional Khmer shadow puppets at the Sovanna Phum Arts Association. We were initially concerned that two full days might be too much time for making something like a puppet, but hammering the intricate details of elephants, palm trees, and tigers into large, soft swaths of leather turned out to be extremely time-intensive!

Each small hole and curve of these puppets had to be hand made by hammering small metal leather-forms through the material for hours to achieve a complete design. After, we used paint to draw out the details and added handles to finish them up.

The payoff for all of our exertions was an incredible work of art. We were in awe at the end of the day when the open air workshop was transformed into a dark shadow theatre, where we could see our designs come to life! The puppet master and instructor also showed us some of the giant puppets used in their professional shows each Friday night.

After a fantastic lunch, we strolled back to the hotel for a few hours of work on our projects. A few of the students went to the convenience store down the street from the hotel and grabbed some brain food and bubble tea before diving in deep. That evening we walked around the corner to Wat Langka, where they host meditation sessions, open to the public, a few times a week. There wasn’t much structure to the meditation, but the head monk gave us a “how to” meditation booklet and let us in on a few secrets before we took our places and tried to achieve a zen-like state.

Being so relaxed was something a lot of us needed after three weeks on the road — some dedicated time to reflect and relax without the distractions of electronics or each other was quite welcomed. We reconvened on the roof of the 1Up for a small pizza party and some fresh vegetables — a nice change of pace after some trial-and-error of ordering random dishes that we’re unfamiliar with. Before bed, we all did some research on USAID and came up with some questions before our visit, knowing that time would be limited.

The next morning we split into two groups. One group left early and went to a school outside of town so they could interview some of the students for their projects, then make it to the embassy for part of the conversation, while the other group adorned our best and took a small trip to visit the US Embassy and have a meeting with USAID. Everyone at the embassy said that this was one of their trip highlights. We arrived a little early and were welcomed by Michael Gebremedhin, the development outreach and communications officer for USAID Cambodia, and led into a conference room. There we had an informal conversation with Michael about his experiences working with USAID and his life in Cambodia, then we were joined by his colleagues and the director of USAID Cambodia, Rebecca Black. Rebecca explained a bit about what USAID’s role is here and what they are doing to help the Cambodian people. The rest of the hour was filled with thoughtful questions and answers.

We weren’t able to take our own cameras in, so a special thank you to Michael Gerbremedhin for the great photo! Due to a broken down tuktuk, the school group missed the embassy visit. After we all visited Wat Phnom, a temple built on the founding spot of the city, we had a delicious Indian lunch and those who’d been at the meeting filled in the few students who missed it.

With our bellies and minds full, we rested and relaxed. Later, we headed to a cafe with a pool for the evening. The food was decent and the swimming was quite a refreshing way to end our day.

Our evenings in Phnom Penh have been dedicated to working on our individual presentations, which will be showcased in just one short week! Our projects will delve into psychological healing through the arts, the moral dilemma of orphanages, creating children’s books to help Khmer and American students connect, and so much more! We cannot wait to share stories of loss, healing, hope, meditation, and joy through one final group event.

Tomorrow we’re off to the Royal Palace to see where the King lives and take in the beautiful architecture by the riverside. Until then, joom reab lea!

– GA Cambodia 2015