After one short plane ride from Bangkok and almost no lines at customs and immigration (thank God) we arrived at Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia. We arrived around lunch time, went to a nice restaurant, and finally arrived to our hostel. That afternoon was so much fun, We went to a really cool mixology class. A mixologist taught us how to properly make three drinks: Daiquiri, Whiskey Sour, and an Old Fashioned. It was so much fun learning how to make them from a professional mixologist and not just from YouTube videos. It was a great class and I really enjoyed it (and not just because I like alcohol, lol). Everyone had so much fun.
The next four days we took a conflict resolution class which was super interesting. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. The course was called “Living on Purpose” and it was taught by a facilitator called Matt. We learned about the people in our life and about ourselves. We learned the different types of personalities in a workplace, what are their characteristics were, and which one we each fit in to. We also learned the different walls people put up because they are afraid of something and discovered which ones are ours and how to get pass them
. We learned about our comfort zone and how to get out of it. We did a closed-eye exercise to envision what our future could look like and then we did a vision board of what we saw . The class was pretty much filled with exercises like that and getting to know ourselves better.
Then we had a rest day and a core day. During the rest day we got to sleep in (finally!) and relaxed at a nice rooftop pool. We found a hotel that was just a 5-minute walk from where we are staying that had a pool, bar, and restaurant in the rooftop. It was so pretty. We relaxed in the infinity pool that overlooked the city and had a nice dinner at their restaurant. The next day we had a core day, which is basically a day where we do Winterline stuff. This last core day we worked on our India ISP (Independent Study Project) and got our Indian visas. In the evening we went to a movie house and saw a movie about an American and Cambodian journalist during the Cambodian genocide called “The Killing Field”.
Also during the first week in Cambodia, I got to learn so much about the genocide that happened here just 40 years ago. I visited the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields called Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The Tuol Sleng museum was once a school that the government of the time turned it into a secret prison also known as S-21. The prison was used for interrogating and torturing innocent prisoners that where accused of being traitors to the government and of participating in illegal activities. Between 12,000 and 20,000 people were imprisoned here and only 12 survivors are confirmed. After torture and interrogation, these prisoners were sent to the killing fields where they would be executed and buried in a mass grave. Men, women, and children were all separated, they were treated in an inhumane way with one or two rations of food a day, 12 to 19 hour work days, tortures, interrogations, and forced confessions. It was so hard visiting these museums. My heart goes out to all those families that were separated and scared of what their future would be. It was very impacting to hear all this and so sad to hear how people in this world can do such crude things to people of their own country. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to visit them and would encourage anyone in Cambodia to visit them as well.
