Daily Reflections by Yuan Teng and Jia Wei

10th December 2010

Today marked the end of our stay in the village. It would be the last time we would wake up to the rooster in the morning, the last time we would climb out of our sleeping bags in the morning on the cold hard floor of our beautiful house, the last time we would be able to see the beautiful sunrise across the rice padi fields, the last time we would have to split the use the only one squat toilet without a flush, and most importantly, the last day we would stay in this very house as a team.

Breakfast and packing up was a rush, but with everyone’s help, everything was done in a jiffy, and before long, we distributed our utensils and other kitchen supplies to the families. After the morning rush, we all settled down a bit and sat around, and that was when nostalgia slowly set in. A ball of twine was passed around as we all stood in a circle, saying words of gratitude to someone in the team who has made our experience a special and unique one after passing the twine to him or her. As the twine went around, the sniffing and tearing began to fill the room as we all recounted how the people in the team have made our past days in this house a more enjoyable one despite all the challenges. Personally, I felt it was a nice way to conclude our journey thus far. It made every single person realize how he or she has been a unique individual whose contributions have been deeply treasured by the team.

Like any other journey, the comradeship between each and every single one of us is what had enabled us to hold on to our faiths and beliefs despite all the challenges we faced and made our journey a meaningful and enriching one. I am certain that without the team, I would never have survived 10 days and nights in the house, cooking my own meals, living with insects and away from the comforts of home, like literally.

Moreover, I think many of us have grown and learnt a lot through this entire journey, stepping out of our comfort zones into this unfamiliar place, unsure of whether we will be able to fulfill our ultimate goal of serving others. I think many of us are rather pampered at home, leaving laundry and all household chores to our parents or helpers to handle, so when we suddenly had a house of our own to take care of, we were all pretty lost. Besides, we had to juggle our lessons, fairs, construction, documentation and even cultural exchange at the same time. The learning curve was steep, but with teamwork, we managed to pull through, and I must say it has definitely been enriching.

When we took one last look at the house and bade our final farewell to the villagers and our translators before boarding the bus, our emotions overwhelmed us once again. The insect-infested house with a squat toilet without a flush and running water, rooms without beds, dining room without tables and chairs, no computers, barely any electricity. We never imagined how we could ever have survived it when we first arrived, but we eventually did, and now, we don’t want to leave. The irony of it all was that we have gotten used to this life, the simplicity and tranquility of village life, the strong bonds within the community, the optimism and determination that the villagers face all challenges with, the innocent smiles of the children. As much as they may lack the material comforts and tangibles that we take for granted, we have much to learn from them, the most important being, how they can make the best use of the bare minimal that they have and prosper, instead of complaining about how unfair life has been to them.

As the vans drove off, we waved to the villagers and watched the house slowly disappear behind us. We did not say much, but all of us knew deep down that we would miss this place deeply. Nonetheless, the end of a journey marks the start of another, and very soon, we begin our rest and recreation in Sihanoukville! After checking in at the hotel, we had a delicious lunch which took ages to come. As much as we enjoyed the good food, we were reminded of the daily meals that we had to cook on our own over the past two weeks.

Subsequently, we visited the beach and did some shopping before stopping over for hotpot dinner. It was great bonding time for the team, and also a good break after two weeks of hard work. We had lots of fun together, and snapped lots of photos. Photographs that will speak a thousand words, and memories that will stay with us forever. These special people are the ones who made this chapter of our life such an enriching and unique one. Hopefully, the ties we forged in the short time here will last a lifetime.

Done by Yuan Teng and Jiawei