les enfants
well, i am back from my trip ! i actually returned a while ago, but i just don't know what to say on this. in every meaning of the word, it was AMAZING. i got to return to beautiful Laos, went back to the village and shared more memories with the villagers, and got to the see the school again. i met more incredible people who showed me the reality of poverty, war, and oppression. they are true heroes in my eyes. i fell in love with the country of Cambodia; a place that will change you forever. to see what these people must live through, to see their smiles and their spirits - it brings hope and light to a dark place. it is painful to know that i have friends miles away who struggle everyday just to get some rice for their family. to know that the happiest and most grateful children i've ever met have spent the majority of their lives breathing and eating in a garbage dump. everywhere you go, there are people in need. people missing limbs because of landmines and bombs leftover decades ago from wars some of them were never alive for. there are hordes of orphaned children in these countries, many of whom are constantly exploited - in every way possible. these places have torn my heart apart, yet the whole experience has solidified that this is what i must do.
on a personal note, backpacking (especially solo !) - living and sleeping in places like the locals, eating their food, staying out in the unforgiving heat with them, listening to their stories, trying to help in any way i can, getting eaten by mosquitos, and so on and so on - it really pulls you out of your physical, mental, and emotional comfort zone. but the most difficult thing i ever had to do on this trip was leave. when i left the orphanage in cambodia, when i said goodbye to all of the incredible people i have been so blessed to meet, i couldn't stop crying. when i was with them, i have never laughed and smiled so much before. i have never been so free. there is a love and happiness to them that is unique to those who know true suffering. but also, when i see the poverty, when i visit the killing fields and the torture sites of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, when i see the bombs covering the land in Laos, when i saw the massive garbage dump and the little boy sifting through for something to eat, when i see all of this and more - i am overwhelmed. i cried a lot during that trip, but it doesn't matter, because it is important to see these things. to experience them. the struggles and internal conflicts are worth everything, because of these people. they bring hope, love, and inspiration into my life. i will do everything i can to give back to them. to those reading : what brings you hope ?
sorry for my ramble ! and i will post pictures here when i have uploaded them all :]
