"You know Angry Birds?"

First, I want to comment on south east Asia's, and Cambodia excessively, obsession with Angry Birds (The iPhone game). It's everywhere. On what seems like every child, man, old woman's, every one's clothes. Bags, hats, pants, posters, paper. Everything is about Angry Birds. Hhaha it's crazy.
Ok. So. Last I left you, I was leaving Sihanookville. Previously in my time in Cambodia, I had a constant feeling of being in a country of neglect. It seemed, in Phanom Pen, Sihanookville, Siem Reap, that France (Cambodia being a former french colony) and other western countries, had come in and tampered around, then left, neglecting it in a somewhat ruined state. Everything felt like foreigners coming in, laying on their beautiful beaches, awing at their breath taking temples, drinking cheap beer, all while 30% of people in Cambodia live on under $1 a day. Sights where terrible with people spending excess money on drink and food and partying, with people begging at the doors. I left those places and decided to go out alone and help.
The last week colossally changed my life.

I found my way to Chiro Village, near a town called Kampon Cham. And by happenstance, and just going along with what seemed right, I ended up teaching English, and then moving into one of the villagers homes. Chrio has no electricity, and is mostly a farming and fishing village placed on the banks of the Mekong river.  This was honestly one of the craziest, amazing, most heart warming and tear jerking weeks I've ever had. From the first class I taught. Literally arriving, and one of the 2 English teachers (neither spoke more then a few words of English) saying "Yes, teach English" and being left alone standing in front of 25 confused Cambodian children, all waiting for me to teach them how to speak English. Having never taught English before, I just sort of had to start right then and there. Hhaha and it was great. The day's following feeling like a breeze after those first few minuets of being thrown in. I was teaching 3 hours a day, 3 classes, to 107 students. There was no one there telling me what to do or how to do it, no one to translate. I just had to figure out on my own. No structure to my volunteering. Just purely being there to help. The rest of the day, was spent in the village. You wake up, walk out of the hut and remember that no one for several miles speaks any English. And so the days lost in translation begin. Living in a place where no one speaks your language, your sort of at their mercy of what you do and how you interact. Life in Chrio is wonderful, it flows. It was a place where I would literally eat a bag of raw snails for breakfast. Next thing I knew I would be playing marbles with some kids, or maybe swimming in the Mekong, then helping a farmer harvest corn (The main produce), or having tea with old Cambodian men, or unloading 150,000,000 million bajillion bricks off of a truck, by hand, with 4 people, or feeding the cows. Endless things of fun. All the while being spoken to in Khmer, and not being able to understand or speak back. You also just have to eat what is given to you, (Ie. a bag of snails, or endless bowls of rice and fish) 

Here's a snippet of  my journal. 

Journal Entry of a Vegetarian

16/2/2012

Today, I ate something's balls.

Chiro is dusty, every thing is dirty, it's real Cambodia. They only see a few visitors a year. Maybe 3 or 4. Its rare they get people to help. My first night in the home, I couldn't hold back a tear or two. Eating Soka's, the mother, food she made. Playing with Nora, and Liza, and Srileea. There's a feeling that feels like your heart is growing. I'm convinced that the world is ok. How couldn't it be with people like this.
After days and days of not having one real conversation, and getting by the many Cambodian men who wanted me to marry their daughters. I've come to town to by cookies, and write a blog.
During the past week, my smile has never been quite so big.
No amount of words or pictures could express the life I'm living now. Loving the world.