Olivia and Casey back again! Today we started bright and early at around 7:30 with a long bus ride from the cosmopolitan city of Phnom Penh to the bustling city of Siem Reap. Because of this, there sadly wasn't much to report on because of the long bus ride that took up the majority of our day besides a few riddles that took up more time than we thought it would take. In the middle of our bus ride we arrived for lunch and took some beautiful photos overlooking the beautiful Cambodian terrain. Later we arrived at our next stay, the meditation center, more humble and meditative than our other stays, yet very homely. I also believe that our dorm style rooms will bring us closer together as a group. 

    After settling down in our rooms, we gathered out into the courtyard and prepared for our first activity of the day. We talked briefly with a survivor of the genocide, Reth, and after gathering into groups we began to assemble wheelchairs with his guidance and support. Once we had finished assembling all of the wheelchairs Reth told us about the organization that distributes them and the people who would be receiving them. The story of these wheel chairs is truly inspiring. Reth and his team find disabled people in rural areas in need of support and provide them with low cost wheelchairs to promote self sufficiency and aid with finding work which might be difficult otherwise. 

    Next in the same courtyard we met with Sister Denise, who is a founder and member of the meditation center. In her story she talked mostly about Reth and how the tragedies of the Khmer Rouge affected his life so greatly and how he learned to move on emotionally and physically as time went on, where he learned how to be a mechanic and live with his amputations. She also spoke about how we must do our part in including people with disabilities and how important the environment is for our future. 

    Our last stop of the day was Pub Street where we grabbed some Khmer food then walked down to the lively night market! We separated into three groups and started off. Casey, Calla, Michel, and I were chaperoned by Ms. Sharma as we journeyed through a jungle of sellers, bargaining and shopping for skrits, bags, jewelry, and other souvenirs. The bright lights, persuasive sellers, and other talkative tourists lit up the atmosphere and filled our night with excitement. After making our rounds through the night market, we ended our journey with cool, refreshing, rolled ice cream and joined back with the rest of our group before heading back to the meditation center for a night of rest. 

-XOXO Casey and Olivia!!

Day 06 - 03/27/2026 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

CAUTION: This post contains descriptions and images that may be disturbing.

 Hello everyone, this is Kalea and Michelle reporting on today's experiences. 

Our morning began with a visit to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, also referred to as the Killing Fields. This site is one of approximately 300 killing field locations across Cambodia, all together holding the remains of 1.38 million victims of the regime. Yesterday, during our visit to the S-21 or Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, we learned that the prisoners there were often relocated to the killing fields for execution. At the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, we listened to an audio tour and explored nineteen major stops, each retelling a distinct aspect of the stories from past victims. 

Something that particularly stood out to us was the killing tree, where many women and children lost their lives. Khmer Rouge executioners bashed victims' heads into the tree and disposed of the remains in a nearby mass grave, a pit filled to the top with corpses. We also heard about the use of propaganda music, not just for the pleasure of the Khmer Rouge, but also to drown out the agonizing screams of victims as they suffered brutal deaths. After reflecting on this information for a while, we recalled meeting Arn Chorn Pond at the Cambodian Living Arts NGO just a few days back. In both his book, Never Fall Down, and in person, he shared about how his ability to create music saved his life, as it made him valuable to the Khmer Rouge. We thought about how this presented a stark contrast between how music was used to silence the deaths of the Khmer people, but also how it saved lives. 

At the center of the site was the main monument, the stupa. It holds seventeen platforms of remains from past victims, most being skulls. A small index on the window described the ways in which each person may have died based upon physical observations about the damage to their skulls. We ended our time at the Killing Fields by meeting an expert in traditional Khmer "smot" (funeral) music. Her chants touched on themes such as gratitude for others and mindfulness about one's body and surroundings. Listening to her music was a nice way to end our morning; after witnessing the horrors of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, placing an emphasis on peace and reconciliation gave us the chance to reflect moving forward.

After lunch and a quick swim at our hotel rooftop, we were greeted by an organization known as the Khmer Magic Bus. They joined us for the journey to a nearby village, playing music for us during the bus ride. At the village, we met a couple elders in their 90s, as well as young children, and exchanged music with them. Members of the Magic Bus played various instruments including drums, horns, and string instruments. Afterwards, we shared something from our culture: "Party in the USA" and "Call Me Maybe". We had been practicing these songs over the course of our trip, and it was nice to have prepared something to share with the kind villagers. Near the end of the afternoon, everyone stood, sung, and danced in a circle together. We also got to try the instruments and talk with the kids more. In that time, they prepared an ear of corn with a candle to celebrate Ryan's birthday. Happy birthday, Ryan!

Today featured a lot of Cambodian history, culture, and themes of reconciliation and recovery from genocide. It was really impactful to walk through the killing fields and later meet elders who had survived the Khmer Rouge regime. Through it all, music played a significant role and tied everything together. 

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog!

Kalea and Michelle

Hello Readers! This is Ashlyn and Rebecca reflecting on our packed day yesterday. After watching the beautiful sunrise from the rooftop of our hotel, we gathered in the meeting room to listen to a short but interesting history lesson from our guides, Moni and Silong. They allowed us to make educated guesses on the timeline of Cambodia's history, where we worked together to explore the series of events that led to the Genocide. 

Our group then made our way to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the real site of S-21 imprisonment camp during the 1970's. As you walk into the museum, you are greeted and then given headphones and an audio player filled with recordings and explanations of what we were about to witness. The Plumeria Alba trees surround a series of courtyards and tall, beige buildings. The audio tour begins in the first courtyard that holds the graves of the 14 bodies that remained after the Imprisonment camp closed; however, the gravestones remain as a reminder of the 18,000+ victims whose bodies weren't revealed. As we listened to witness stories, survivor testimony, and even music created by those who were killed, we were able to truly immerse ourselves in the evidence and open our eyes to a new perspective. 

 Hearing the variety of stories was truly heartbreaking, including the hundreds of children, doctors, intellectuals, musicians, and artists that were brutally tortured, contained, and ultimately killed. One thing that truly stuck out to us was that there were only 12 survivors our of the almost 19,000 prisoners of S-21. Below is the surfeit of pictures that were taken by the Khmer Rouge in order to keep precise record of victims that were taken into the camp.

Walking through the rooms that once held thousands of victims truly opened our eyes to the atrocities that occurred in Cambodia. Although horrific and shocking, we are grateful for the once in a lifetime experience; an opportunity for our group to connect and reflect on a new level. 

After the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, our group was introduced to world renowned  Camboidan composer of opera, Him Sophy, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge. He brought us to his Opera School in Phnom Penh where we watched a beautifully constructed Opera film in which he strived to include other forms of art as well, such as rock. The performance, entitled Where Elephants Weep, was written in both English and Khmer and was about the desire for love between a monk and a princess. 

    

Once we concluded with the film, we made our way to a port where we boarded a ferry to go on a cruise to watch the sunset. Enjoying each others company, we listened to music, took pictures, and talked about our day as we sailed the Mekong river. 

    

After an amazing day full of activities, we finished it off and were surprised by our guides with a more comforting meal...PIZZA! 

Thank you for reading about our day!

Becca and Ashlyn 

March 25th, 2026,

Our first day in Phenom Penh started with a visit to Mr. Arn Chorn Pond's organization, Cambodia Living Arts. After hearing more about his story, we listened to two musical performances by scholarship students of CLA. We had an opportunity to learn how to play each traditional instrument, both the long-neck guitar and three string fiddle. After a short snack break with Cambodian traditional snacks, we learned three different types of dances: classical, folk, and social. Our stomachs were growling by this point.

We headed to lunch at Eleven One Kitchen after. Our personal favorite dish was the deep fried fish cakes

The highlight of the day was an afternoon adventure with Chef Nak. To get to her house, we took a ferry across the Mekong River; there we saw incredible views of the city. Back to Chef Nak, the moment we entered her culinary arts center, we were in awe with the modern landscape architecture. Colorful flags, abundant greenery, a relaxing vibe. It seemed like every component of the space came together in a really beautiful way that captured the essence of Cambodian culture. A conversation with Chef Nak taught us that although her compound looks like a museum of the outside, it is a living museum where we should touch and uses the various thing inside. By doing this, we are creating history.

 "Storytelling must begin with pride" — Chef Nak

We speak for everyone when we say that the cooking workshop brought out everyone's competitive spirit. Each group, about 6 people, had a designated area to perform their culinary art. Chef Naks started with a demonstration of the dish we will be making. With 45 minutes to recreates Chef Nak's fish curry, we all scrambled to work together. The pounding of the mortar and pestle, the chopping of knives, and the sizzling of the various ingredients. After everyone finished, we all took a portion of our finished product to the dining room where we would be enjoying a meal cooked by Chef Nak and her team. The room was decorated by elaborate furniture and intentional decorations. For dinner, we had corn fritters, string bean salad, steamed fish with the lemongrass paste we all made, and a very tasty shaved ice. 

This dinner was particularly special because it was Sophie's birthday and Ryan's early birthday since his

birthday is in two days. We celebrated with Chef Nak's watermelon "cakes," aka mounds of fresh and juicy watermelon surrounded with birthday candles, and a warm Happy Birthday song. 

This eventful day was tiring, and we were ready to go to bed, but we each took a piece of Cambodian cooking home with us. We hope that today will be filled with just as much learning, fun, and laughter. 

Yours truly, 

Sophie & Celine!

This is Ryan and Conner reporting on our busy day yesterday. We started off the day with a lesson with Mony and Silong. They taught us to count in Khmer using body motions. They also shared the way of the day: right view.

    We then headed to our activity at Epic Arts, an NGO that uses the arts to teach and support people with disabilities. The dance workshop, which was conducted in Khmer, English, and sign language, included on five activities and two games. We started off with a diamond dance, where four people stand in a diamond shape and worked together to choreograph a short dance. The dancer in the front of the diamond led the others for several moves before turning it to the next dancer. The second dance we learned was the technical dance. Everyone was using counts to understand the pace of the movement. Next, we did weight poses, where two partners balanced each other at light, middle, and heavy levels. Our fourth dance was a "picture" dance. In groups of four, we created short dances that ended in a pose for a picture. Finally, we learned a traditional Khmer slow dance, with hand and leg movement to symbolize the circle of life through a progression from a young leaf to a flower. After several hours of practice, we performed our dances in our 4-person groups. We all really enjoyed trying something new and using our imaginations to create all the dances!

 

After the workshop, we had a delicious lunch at the Epic Arts Cafe. Conner and Casey enjoyed their brownie shake, absent the sugar crash. Finally, we took our bus back to Phnom Penh. Our hotel, the Frangipani has a rooftop lounge with beautiful views of the river and the city. We had a dinner at the Banana Tree restaurant, where we enjoyed a live performance of the Khmer dance we had learned earlier in the day. For our final event of the day, we watched part of a documentary about Cambodia's performing arts before the Khmer Rouge. 

We look forward to another amazing day today! 

Some of Ryan's photos below:

Monday, March 23rd, 2026

    Today we started off our first full day in Kampot with a trip to the mangroves. Once we got to the community, we boarded small boats and began on our way to plant young mangroves. Before getting out of the boats we all grabbed five mangroves and trudged our way through the cool mud. Planting the mangroves was much easier than we expected, leaving us with some free time to walk abound in the mud and explore the terrain. After this, we returned back to the community, and with our remaining free time we wandered around the bungalows and got to explore the mangrove forest. During our brief walk, we all persevered and faced a fear whether it was snakes, or the wooden bridges we used to wander through the forest. Before having a delicious lunch of traditional Cambodian foods in the community center, we sat down and had a conversation with the community leader. He shared the story of their conservation community, taught us the ecological significance of mangroves to Cambodian life, and shared some words of wisdom about conservation and humanitarian work. 

    After visiting the community center we returned to the hotel and freshened up before exploring the temples and caves of Kampot. The first cave was over 7000 years old and we were taught that ancient civilizations used to live there which was truly fascinating. In this cave we found a cat, shown below, that was very adorable. We then went to another cave that had a temple inside of it and was quite a difficult to reach since it was at the top of a hill. The last main part of our day was when we went to the beach and got to the see the amazing Cambodian sunset and all the Cambodian people enjoying their Monday evening. We finally went to dinner and returned back to the hotel ready to start our long journey to Phnom Penh tomorrow. We are so excited!

XOXO, Casey and Olivia

Sunday, March 22, 2025

This is Ms. Sharma reporting on our first day in Cambodia. I’m writing on behalf of a group of very exhausted, yet very happy students. We are incredibly proud of how gracefully they navigated a long and demanding journey. Even after arriving at our hotel, their spirit for adventure carried them through a full and meaningful first day.

We landed in hot and humid Phnom Penh this morning, where we were warmly welcomed by our two local guides, Mony and Silong, who will be accompanying us throughout the trip. They met us with an air-conditioned bus and led us on a drive that gradually revealed the textures of rural Cambodia.

After a 2.5-hour journey, we arrived in Kampot. Along the way, students caught glimpses of pagodas, temples, and Tuk-Tuks weaving through the landscape. A highlight of the ride was an impromptu singalong—led enthusiastically by the students—to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe, along with a few other favorites. (video below) 

We arrived in Kampot and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Le Corner, where students were introduced to the vibrant flavors of Cambodian cuisine: lemongrass, galangal, ginger, and the region’s world-renowned Kampot pepper.

Following lunch, we settled into our bright and comfortable rooms and took some time to refresh before gathering for a two-hour cultural orientation led by our guides. This session offered a thoughtful introduction to Cambodian culture, along with a detailed overview of the itinerary for the days ahead.
The students played games and repeated words in Khmer and the session ended with a traditional Cambodian scarf called the Krama that was gifted to each student. The students eagerly sported that around their neck and learned how to drape them traditionally.

We ended the evening with a peaceful walk along the river, followed by dinner featuring Amok, a traditional fish curry delicately cooked in coconut milk. Our adventure has only begun but all in all, a rich and memorable start to our journey. I am including below a few pictures and a video taken during our day and the blog will continue in the voice of the students starting tomorrow.