Cambodia

I just got back into my room from my long trip to Cambodia.  I am exhausted and my body hurts haha I am not in the mood to write but I know if I don’t do it now, I will never get to it.  Everything is so quick, intense, new, and incredible that it is hard to process more or less write about it.  So heres a brief idea of what I did in Vietnam

Depart Vietnam for Phnom Penh-the Capital by plane.  On our way, our bus breaks down in middle of busy street.  We hang out on side of road for a bit, the pick up a new bus to visit national museum-beautiful temple like building.  The moment I stepped foot in Cambodia and especially at the museum I completely relaxed.  It was so serene

Sunset Cruise on Mekong river-saw the meeting of three rivers, where they have dragon racing, and water village

At around 8PM visited Palm Tree Orphanage.  From beginning to end, girl latched onto my arm and did not let go.  It was cool to visit them late at night because we got to really see what it is like.  Some of them were in pajamas

We got dinner at a fancy authentic restaurant then a bunch of us went out afterwards.  So many foreigners! It’s a happening place.  Ran into a group of Americans at a club with live music.  I was loving the vibe and the people.  There were three girls who I really enjoyed meeting and ended up hanging out with them and their friends for the rest of the night.  One was a Cal grad, another a semester at sea grad, and a Peace Corpse volunteer.  They were with a bunch of other young Americans working for the US embassy.  Some in international relations, some military, overall a great group of people who know how to have a good time.  I could totally see myself doing this in the future.  Actually the semester at sea alumni sailed in spring 06 and did the exact same Cambodia trip!  We stayed right across from the US embassy so I was able to get a ride back with them. 

Early rise, buffet breakfast, tour of royal palace-got to see where the king lives.  Went to Toul Sleng museum and killing fields.  This was intense and I will write more about it later. 

Flight to Siem Reap, stay at sweet hotel, take a swim in the pool relax on balcony.  Go to huge outdoor buffet style dinner with cultural dance show.  Get back to hotel and enjoyed a massage before bed.  My roommate and I both got a 1hr massage in our rooms for 10 dollars! 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat temple-largest Hindu temple in the world, full day of tours and wandering around grounds of temple.  Lunch and check out of the hotel with some free time.  I got a quick dip in the pool and a mai thai before some more touring of temples and ruin.  Saw the temple of where tomb raider was shot. 

Hope you can comprehend this! I had the most awesome trip, it was unreal half the time.  I am so happy.  Now to bed.  Early rise for visit to disabled children’s home :) 

Singapore for a Day

Oh my goodness. I just walked back into my cabin and I am exhausted and confused.  I think I just spent a dreamy day in the future.  Singapore is the coolest place ever! We only had one day here and it is quite a bummer that we had so little time, but we managed to do so much!  We started off the day in China town, got some coffee and then had a collectic breakfast of shared Asian dishes in a vast food court.  We did a lot of other stuff too but my brain is not functioning to remember it all.

Incredible thing #1 about Singapore-the FOOOOD.  They have everything type of Asian food and its everywhere.  I don’t think Ive ever tried so much food and all of it was so good and interesting. 

#2-SHOPPING, Singapore is basically a huge shopping mall.  All the subways are malls and everything is so nice. 

#3 Architecture-unreal, every building is so unique and crazy looking

#4 Cleanliness and order.  Maybe it is b/c they have fines for spitting out gum, eating or drinking on the subway, Jaywalking,

#5 Is this real?  A question that I kept asking myself all throughout the day.  We ended our day with a visit to the Marina Bay hotel.  We say this hotel earlier in the day as we were walking through the city.  We were like is that a ship skyscraper??  A long ship-like structure is the top of three huge skyscrapers, connecting them with one major hub.  We thought that there must be a pool up there.  Singapore is known for beautiful infinity pools at the top of building and skyscrapers.  When we got to the top of the hotel, floor 57, my jaw dropped.  We got a complete view of the city and ocean full 360 degrees.  The endless pool reached the length of the hotel; it was a resort of its own at the top.  The infinity pool looked out over the entire city of Singapore.  We had a great view from the outdoor bar that we described as Adult Disneyland.  It was pretty cool, I felt like I was on top of the world, at the coolest place ever, and in the future.  What made the evening even better was that we were chatting it up with the CEO and country representatives for Budwiser.  I had one of the best beers I have ever tasted. 

Today was unreal, I dont know how to write about this except say that it was so cool.  Don’t be intimidated by my vocabulary okay. Haha I need to go to bed

Last Day in India

The last day I had an FDP(faculty Directed Practica) with my World Religions professor.  We went to the University of Madras for a lecture of Ghandi’s Legacy of Nonviolence.  My professor also teaches a Philosophy on Nonviolence course.  It was incredible, there were 7 different lectures all speaking on the behalf of their religion.  If you would like to hear more about what I learned, read on.

Ghandi’s Legacy of Nonviolence FDP was incredibly eye opening and educational.  I was impressed with how my understanding of non violence and religion solidified in such a short period time.  It was an incredible opportunity to learn from various scholars who specialize in religions that I have been trying to grasp.  Throughout the various lectures, I was in awe and excited about this vital information that was being shared.  Not only did this FDP give a well-rounded education on religion and non-violence, but also it sparked a curiosity to learn more and inspired me to integrate my studies. 

            When I first walked on the University of Madras campus, an excitement filled my body. I became a fresh college student again who appreciates lecture halls, coffee shops, and learning from professors. It brought me back to intense long days at Berkeley where my fuel came from the excitement to learn.  As I reflected on this, I could not believe where I was and where I was going.  I would soon step into a classroom and learn from an Indian professor about Ghandi’s legacy of non-violence.  

            Each speaker addressed two questions regarding their religion and the relevance or lack of non-violence.  The seven speakers gave an overview of their religion and addressed the questions in about ten minutes.  Although a short period of time, it was the perfect way to learn about different religions with a good basis for comparisons.  Some keynotes from the religion of Christianity include Jesus’ stance on nonviolence.  He chose neither fighting or fleeting and stood up to the oppressors.  The cross is a symbol for nonviolence.  One keynote from Islamic religion is that peace begins from Allah.  Jainism is nothing but nonviolence with a very intense philosophy that my American upbringing has a hard time conceptualizing.  The forefront of their ideas rest in nonviolence and the equality for all living beings.  All beings want to live; nothing wants to die.  Their stance includes the idea that killing a living being is killing one’s self.  I find this very interesting.   Buddhism follows the ideas of Buddha in which he says don’t react even if attacked, do good things, and keep the mind pure.  Sikhism says that there is only one God who has supreme power and all religions belong to him.  God is one for all the world; there are no different Gods for different faiths.  This makes sense to me and I agree with it and if carried out, this belief could aid peace among religions.  For Hinduism, the speaker began with saying in Hindu-“May there be peace in you mind, heart, and actions”.  She then asked, how can there be peace in your mind when you are witnessing non-peace?  This got my mind stirring and especially when the speaker questioned how can there be nonviolence when we are trying to survive?  For example when we boil water we kill microorganisms.  On a different level, violence stems from the ego and we need to be free from the ego.  The speaker ended with something that stuck in my mind.  He said, something in regards to the peak of peace and how you can test yourself in yoga.  I would like to explore this more.

An important keynote of Ghandi’s philosophy that I found valuable is the idea that we can not distinguish between means and ends.  He made people engaged through movements in which he forced people to have an opinion.  He respectably questioned his own traditions as well.

I am interested in the peace education in India and throughout the world.  It seems to be vitally important; we need more peace leaders and educators in this world.  The emphasis on peace studies rather than peace movements is a new idea to me that makes perfect sense.  It moves away from a reactionary method to a preventative and ideal form.  It is necessary for the future of peace in our world.  In order to even consider world peace, religions need to live in peace with one another. 

I will pass on my newly acquired knowledge of Ghandi’s legacy and variations of religions.  Some things I took note of include Ghandi’s quote, “my life is my message”.  This saying rings in my head for another one of Ghandi’s quotes-“be the change you wish to see in the world” has taken on a new meaning in my life.  I have always been fond of the saying but not until recently has it made a point to change my views on the way I live.  I see it more clearly and my desires to change the world need to begin with changing the way I live as an example for others.   I am rethinking my consumption on all levels and seriously considering the philosophy of nonviolence.  Never did I consider eating meat an act of violence but with a new perspective of nonviolence of animals I am reconsidering this concept.  I am reconsidering the amount of water consumed to raise cattle and the environmental effects as well.   Since eating vegetarian all throughout India, I am continuing this practice.  Although lent holds as my incentive I can see myself taking this on as a change in lifestyle for the long term.

Visit to Disabled Children’s Home

This was the most intense day on my trip thus far.  It was beautifully devastating, challenging, and uplifting.  There is so much going through my head right now.  We started off the day with getting a complete tour of the grounds.  The center is an addition to the hospital.  It has several units including physical rehabilitation

When I first entered the center I was shocked.  I had never seen disabilities in this state.  Although this is a great facility for India, to my eyes it was devastating for the condition.  The children were not kept clean nor were the facilities kept up. 

We did a couple hours of work at the center.  We completely cleaned up the place and painted the blackboards.  I was wiping down the chairs and as I was in the middle of cleaning one I noticed that the bottom was completely covered in a brown dried mud like consistency.  It started to smell and I was like oh shit….this is shit. Not cool.  I was a little grossed out, as you can imagine.  I didn’t want to go on but I realized that no kid wants to sit in someone else’s shit so I scrubbed it down.  I felt like a champ especially because it was really hard to get off. 

And moving on…one of the teachers mentioned to a couple of us that we could watch the older boys do their yoga class.  Of course I jumped to the opportunity and actually joined in on the yoga.  This was a class of teenagers/young adults with mental and physical disabilities.  The yoga class was in the middle of their classroom, on the dirty floor.  Without holding back, I lied on this very dirty floor in my white linen pants.  They were not white anymore!  This was a really cool experience; I got to join in and be on their level instead of observing. 

            For lunch we had the most wonderful home cooked Indian meal served on banana leafs.  It was tradition Southern Indian style and delicious.  We were not served any utensils so with some hand sanitizer we were prepare for a messy meal.  I mixed the sauces and rice together and would then pick up a small handful and feed myself.  I really enjoy eating with my hands it makes it more exciting and interesting.  You can feel the texture with your hands and don’t have a piece of cold metal clanging at your teeth.  The only thing I was uncomfortable with was the fact that a couple hours ago I was cleaning shit off of a seat.  I just hoped that I would not get sick-and I didn’t! I didn’t get sick at all in India and I was pretty brave about trying everything.  I ate a fair amount of meals in unsanitary conditions and with my hands. 

            After lunch we broke off into groups to play with kids.  Three of us went into a classroom of about 7 children all with various physical and mental disabilities.  Okay I am going to be completely honest here with my feelings.  These are my raw reactions and thoughts.  The first boy I encountered yanked on my arm and was really aggressive.  I was immediately overwhelmed.   Some of the kids scared me and it was really hard to communicate with them.  There was one boy who I did not want to play with.  He was drooling everywhere, had eye crust, and dried snot.  He couldn’t talk and didn’t have full motion of his hands-I think he had cerebal paulsy im not too sure.  The challenge with the kids I encountered was the condition of filth they were in.  So my frightened reaction and deterrence from this boy triggered another reaction within myself of “Jenny, how could you think that?” and then I thought if I can’t manage to play with him who else will?  I would say I always give out love and I just thought if I can’t love on this child whom can I expect to?  These questions saddened me and I decided that I was going to love on this child so much and spend the rest of the time with him.  It was challenging, I had to get over my own inhibitions.  We sat together and did some coloring.  Another girl kept coming over and would grab my face because she wanted my attention.  I had to balance between the two children.  The girl was trying to do something but I couldn’t understand.  She would point to paper and scribble lines and then yell.  She seemed crazy but she was just a child. 

            The best part of the day was when we all convened in one room to dance! We all gathered and let loose dancing, these kids loved to dance.  I found one girl on the floor and was immediately shocked by the sight of her.  She had very short hair, crooked and jarring teeth, and a crusted bloody eyebrow.  Similar to my experience with the boy, I challenged my reaction and decided to dance with her.  She was about 9 years old and could only crawl.  As everyone was dancing around her, she was kind of missing out from the group experience.  I sat down in front of her, grabbed her hands, and we swayed our hands together to the music.   Immediately, this scary reflection turned into the most joyful face that made me smile.  We just stared into each other’s eyes and laughed as we bopped to the music.  She had rhythm, I could feel it through her hands.  The amount of joy, smiles, and laughter that exchanged in this moment was unreal.  I almost burst into tears.  This might sound kind of cheesy because I cant describe it in words, but it was so special.  I have never experienced something like this. 

            We said goodbye to the kids but not to all of them, some of them came back to the ship with us!  Seriously, we got to give them a tour of the ship and spoil them with cookies and ice cream.  It was soooo much fun to see these kid’s eyes open wide with amazement.   These kids were all hearing impaired and actually the easiest to communicate out of the group.    I will have to upload a video of two kids trying M&Ms for the first time.  They were so confused and curious, they actually did not seem to be big fans of them.  We just had a blast hanging out with these kids, I didn’t want it to end but it did.

Art of Living, yoga meditation retreat:

Three days of intensive meditation, breathing, and yoga.  Great experience, I learned a fair amount about myself.  Many questions were asked of me: What is it that you want in life? What is it that bothers you? When will you be happy? What do you need to be happy?  What will you take responsibility for?  What will not take responsibility for?  Where are you? What are you?  Who are you?

Some great questions that anyone can benefit from asking; we often are not asked these questions so we don’t answer them.   If you want to know my answers, just ask and I’ll tell you :) 

INDIA

India! India! India!

I was expecting the worst after all the preparation and oh how wrong I was.  Everyone told me how horrible the smell would be, the people will stare at you, guys may harass you, its dangerous, crowded, dirty, hot and so on.  Although some of these are true to a certain degree, the overall feeling portrayed is not what matches to my experience.  This morning, before stepping foot off the ship and physically stepping foot in India, I was terrified.  I rarely get nervous, there are very few things that trigger this response and India was one of them.  I was terrified and worried.  I couldn’t help it, I woke up to a distinct smell in my cabin that has barely any circulation.  My vision of me in India included me being in the middle of a crowd with no breathing space, only disgusting smells that disable any breath from working naturally.  I imagined being lost, hot, tired, and stressed.  At the diplomatic briefing, they spoke of past terror attacks and the worst possible outcomes. 

            With this said, I was over prepared with the worst possible scenario and was pleasantly surprised with the most wonderful day.  Kim, Lisa, and I set off for a day of wandering.  We found a driver who offered a good price and jumped in a riksha for a wild ride.  Mani, our driver said he would give us a tour of town and with little knowledge of how to get around; it ended up being the perfect way to see the city.  Our first pit stop was at a clothing/fabric shop where all three of us bought Saris.  Then we visited a popular temple in town, lots of action going on there!  We witnessed the aftermath of a Hindu wedding.  We visited multiple jewelry and craft shops.  One of the highlights of the day was lunch-authentic Indian meal.  Soooo goood!  We ordered lots of great dishes that were recommended by the waiter.  We followed lunch with more shopping and an epic visit to the national park.  Very similar to a zoo, the park had two different sections-Snake park and Children’s park.  The snake park had a lot of snakes-surprise.  It was cool but not as fun as the Children’s park in which we were the main attraction.  Three white blonde foreign girls walking around caught everyone’s eye.  In the beginning, families would wave and encourage their children to shake our hands.  I met so many young kids; they were so curious.  As we were observing the monkeys in their cage, people were taking pictures, not of the monkeys, but of us.  We were so much more interesting than the not so distant species.  Before we knew it, we had made friends and were taking group photos.  It was hilarious and quite ironic.   As we visited a zoo to view other animals, people were viewing us in a similar way. 

            I am not sure how the rest of the day went exactly because we did so much!  We visited St Thomas Basilica and saw where St Thomas was buried.  The basilica was actually built over St Thomas’ tomb. 

            I was on a mission to try Vadai, I was informed that their fried donut like treat was heavenly.  Mani brought us to a random restaurant in which we ordered the wrong thing.  We ate large thin fried pancakes on a leaf, dipping it in different sauces that they poured onto our leaf plate.  It was extremely interesting, quite the experience.  After pointing to other people’s food we were able to order the right Vadai.  It was definitely disappointing and we spent our time in the restaurant being confused and laughing.  Kim said, “I wish someone else could see us right now”….they would get a good laugh.  We needed some dessert to clear the palet and comfort our foreign state of mind.  Mani took us to the most awesome sweet shop that was hustling with customers.  We got a variety of small home made Indian candies.  We concluded the night with sharing our treats over the India-Ireland cricket game at a near by hotel.  It was a super nice sheek hotel that we could help but order drinks and lengthen our great day.  After we returned home to the ship we quickly changed and headed out to a local bar.  We fit 9 people into a riksha-I know not the best idea but it was pretty cool. 

            I am so excited for tomorrow; I will wake early for my Art of Living trip.  

Disclaimer

So I have neglected this blog a little bit or should I say put it on hold.  There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, I’ve been on sensory overload and my mind just cant process everything.  Second of all, so much has been happening with so little time to write about it.  The moment I get back on the ship it is automatic school mode with lots to catch up on.  The transition is rough and immediate.  I have three classes the day I get back with assignments, tests, quizzes always due.  Also, a large factor has been internet time.  I ran out of the little time allotted to us and was too cheap to buy more-tts about $12 for 30 minutes.  I ended up buying more to sign up for classes and decided that I should upload all my blog entries from before.  After I get back from a trip/day/port I try to just get everything on paper before it escapes my memory.  So don’t mind my bare thoughts and hasty entries.   These are all my excuses, I’m glad I got them out there. So now all I have to say is just enjoy reading about my adventures and stories from the past semester.