Familiar Face! (Viet Nam) :)

As we pulled into Viet Nam, Samantha and I were both very excited to see a familiar face standing on the dock next to us. We went to the top deck to wave to Kathy as we pulled into the port. We had a great week together and I will give you a quick rundown of all the fun things we got to do together.

Day 1: When we finally docked at the port the parents on the parent trip were allowed on the boat to meet us. Samantha and I proceeded to show Kathy our room and unpack a bag full of food that she brought us before getting off the ship. We knew as soon as we got off the boat that we wanted to go find a tailor to make dresses I had designed We had been told that in Viet Nam you can go into a tailor with a picture of a dress and get it made perfectly to your body. Naturally, I was asked to design dresses for Samantha and couple other friends on the ship. I also designed 2 for myself. It was such a fun process showing the seamstress my designs, pick the fabrics and then get measured. We were told to come back the day after for our first fitting, which was so exciting. After leaving the dress shop we went to the marketplace for some crowded shopping. The market had everythingggg!!!! Including, fake handbags, watches, sunglasses, shoes, clothes, bras, underwear, and then they had handicrafts and a food section. It was a warehouse type place where each individual seller had their own stall that they set up at 6:45am and then completely packed up at 5:30pm. It was UNREAL how many sellers there were and how little space to walk there was. It was completely overwhelming but such an interesting experience, bargaining with sellers and pushing to get through the narrowest aisles. That night we met Ander and Chelsea for dinner at a steak house, which was absolutely AMAZING! I can tell you truthfully that I have not had good food since the program started, so Kathy was my hero for taking me out for edible food. Needless to say the day was a success and a lot of fun!!!

Day 2: First thing in the morning before our plane flight to Cambodia Samantha and I went to get fitted in the dresses we had ordered just a day before. They already looked soooo great, we were in love. They still had some work to do on the stitching and all so we agreed to come back when we got back from Cambodia. It was Samantha, Kathy, and I with a group of 15 other students and their parents on our way to Cambodia. I wasn’t sure what to expect of Cambodia, I didn’t know if they were westernized or poverty stricken, so I went into it a little blind. I also unfortunately didn’t know much of the history related to Cambodia, which would have been quite helpful with all the museums we went to see. First we visited the national museum, which was the ancient history of Cambodia. They had old statues all around and a beautiful garden. Next we had a sunset cruise on Mek Kong delta, which the river that goes all the way through Cambodia and Viet Nam. The sunset was absolutely lovely and the scenery along the delta was varied. WE first saw the westernized side of Cambodia, hotels and markets but then it drastically changed when we saw a floating village. There were people fishing in the water and in their beat up canoes going to their houses. The houses were moldy, beat up and the beds were hammocks on the porches. It was definitely a different way of living than I have ever seen.

Day 3: Today was all about the history of Cambodia. We first visited the king’s palace, which was absolutely incredible. The architecture was very detailed and the colors were so vivid. Gold everywhere, just the way I like it! ☺ We were allowed to go into the museum part of the palace that had all the royal statues, which were covered in gold and diamonds. I couldn’t believe how intricate they all were, I tried asking the guide how much one was worth, NO ANSWER. Hahaha!!!!! The next two stops were related to the genocide of Cambodia. I had actually never even heard of what happened with the government and genocide in Cambodia before so it was a little hard to follow but I caught everything I could. The genocide museum showed the cells where they tortured and killed the victims. It wasn’t exactly a happy place to say the least. We also went to the killing fields, used for the killing of the prisoners of the genocide. The killing fields were where the victims were transported from other parts of the country and were detained. Usually, when the truck arrived the victims were executed immediately. The number of victims executed increased up to over 300 per day at one point in the genocide. We also got to hear all the methods of killing they used at the killing fields, which was beyond hard to hear. I can’t imagine how painful and horrible it was to be a part of such a messed up situation. And the fact that this government was doing this to its own people is heart wrenching. This was a lot like the holocaust museums I have seen but I didn’t know as much about it as I do the holocaust. I would say this day was a bit of a downer but it is an important part of Cambodian history. We had a flight later that day to another city in Cambodia in order to see Ankor Wat the next day.

Day 4: The original schedule today was to have us wake up for sunrise at Ankor Wat, which meant waking up at 5. Guess who didn’t want to do that, Samantha, Kathy and I. Instead we slept in and woke up at 8, got breakfast, then Sam and I went to Ankor Wat and walked around ourselves. Ankor Wat is one of the wonders of the world and boy did it live up to that title. The structures were breathtakingly massive. To imagine people building such a large city and structures hundreds of years ago in this much detail was incredible. Samantha and I climbed to the top of the largest building, which was a workout for maybe 5 days for me. I was sweating more than I have in years; it was beyond disgusting. But when we got to the top, it was definitely worth the climb because the view was indescribable. After Ankor Wat we had a plane ride back to Viet Nam for our last night with Kathy. When we finally arrived back at the hotel Samantha and I went straight to get our dresses, which turned out GREAT! I am really excited to get home and wear them and be able to say I designed them. We had a leisurely dinner together in the hotel and just spent time together for our last night.

Day 5: We had all day to SHOP! My favorite activity and especially in Viet Nam where the fakes were amazing and the handicrafts were beautiful. I ended up buying lots of souvenirs for people back at home and I cant wait to give them all out when I get back. Other than shopping we didn’t really do much else seeing as though we had to get back to the boat by 5 for a parent reception and BBQ. It was fun having Kathy on the boat and talking with all the teachers up in the teachers lounge for the reception. Unfortunately the week just didn’t last long enough; in fact it went by so fast! I couldn’t believe it when Kathy already had to leave, but I had such a great time and it was just what I needed seeing a familiar face. Only one day at sea and then CHINA! I can’t wait to see everything that China has to offer and I have such a funfilled packed trip in China to look forward too. Explanations on china to come soon! LOVE
-me-