You're My Wikipedia, My Dear Volunteer!

During one of our teaching breaks, we visited a local orphanage called the 'People Improvement Organization'. This NGO is run by Cambodians that work towards improving the welfare of women and children in Cambodia through education and training. Young students follow the national curriculum from grades 1 to 9 and older students can choose to enrol in beauty salon training programmes.

Walking up to the school

We grabbed a tuk tuk and drove 15 minutes out to a slum area undergoing the construction of a new building where a rubbish dump was once situated. It was boiling and dusty as we vacated our tuk tuks and made our way up to the school. Litter was strewn here and there and the dry ground seemed almost barren apart from a few shrubs. The school was small and rather open-plan consisting of three open rooms, two of which were separated by a divide. One side had two classes of approximately 4-8 year old children and the other was a class of older children who were learning English. 

We entered the younger children's classrooms and had a look at their workbooks, asking them if they could show us what they were learning. Most of their work was in Khmer but they were happy to chat and soon moved on to asking us our names and telling us theirs. We also had the pleasure of seeing them demonstrate their artistic abilities, presenting us with an array of illustrations that comprised of elephants, love-hearts, dragons, butterflies and snakes. In reward for their generous exhibition we took out our gifts. My magnetic bag of sweets went down very well causing each bright-eyed face to zoom towards me with an open hand. In spite of the sugar frenzy they did not once forget their manners, closing their hands together and lowering their heads before taking their treat. 

On visiting the older children's classroom, where the age ranged from 9-13 years old, I was incredibly impressed with their level of English. We talked about our hometowns, their favourite school subjects and we discussed the questions on the board which included: 'Do you like salty or sweet food? Loud or quiet music? Sweet or sour food?' etc. They asked me if I knew any Khmer to which I responded that I knew how to say what my name is, directions in a tuk tuk, thank you and a few other phrases. When asked if I knew how to count to ten I answered that I only knew 1- 5, after which they resolved to teach me 1-30 in Khmer until I knew it by heart. Delighting in the switch of roles, they corrected me, giggling at my mistakes and congratulating me on every successful recital. 

I was invited to play hand-clapping games with some of the younger girls and, after numerous rounds of 'One Two, One Two Three, One Two, One Two Three' (Khmer translation: 'Moy Bpee, Moy Bpee Bpai, Moy Bpee, Moy Bpee Bpai'), I decided they should learn a new variation of hand-claps to spice things up a bit. I spent the majority of my time at the school playing with the girls and showing them several new hand-clapping routines. As I left them with a new game I, on the other hand, left with considerably red palms!  

Hand-clapping

A Day in the Life of A Cambodian Bride

On returning from Steung Treng all the girls had their hearts set on having a bridal photo shoot like the one Sopheap had shown us from her wedding. The photos appeared to be almost cartoon-like after the amount of airbrushing and background enhancement and we all jumped at the chance to have a go. Sopheap told us that during a Khmer wedding it was not unusual for a bride to change outfits around 15 times. In Cambodia, the most part of someone’s special day is spent self-decorating. The actual wedding day starts at 4am with hair and makeup and photos with the groom. With this in mind, an enthusiastic group of female foreigners set off early for a day of titivating.

We were led into a small room filled with endless amounts of fabric, makeup, jewellery, wigs and trinkets. It was hot and cramped and exceptionally glittery. I was the first to be transformed into a Khmer bride. I had my hair tied up in a bun with a beehive style hairpiece attached to the back. It proved to be quite difficult to find a blonde hairpiece so I had to make do with the lightest brown they had. I can honestly say that I have never had a more interesting hairstyle than the one I ended up with. They covered my face in foundation and then got to work on my eyes where stickers were attached to emphasise my eyelids. They also spent a good deal of time adding prominence to my blonde eyebrows making them twice as large and dark! 

Made up

I chose a light blue/silver outfit from a picture that could not have prepared me for the real thing. An almost blinding corset covered in diamantes and sparkling gems with inbuilt curves was revealed and, once fastened into it, I was given some backside padding in an attempt to flatter my overall silhouette. My skirt consisted of a large piece of fabric that I rotated into and, with a few pricks here and there was pinned into place. Ankles, wrists, neck and even hair were bejewelled and I was ready for my picture.

I shuffled my way into the camera room and was told by the camera man, ‘Ooooh looks very nice’ before he came over to position my arms and legs in a traditional pose. After being told a few times to put my ‘chin up’ and to turn my ‘head this way,’ I finally had the shots. This, however, was not the end. I still had to wait 3 hours in my bridal outfit to wait for the other girls to have their turn so that we could have our group shot. Sitting on a stool yawning from the minimal oxygen the outfit permitted me did not feel dissimilar, I could imagine, to the wearing feeling a young Victorian girl would have as she waits for a dance at a debutants’ ball.

The tight corset taking effect

At long last, the group shot was completed and we emerged from Heng Heng’s studio looking somewhat bedraggled and in desperate need of some carbs.  

Standing pose with a temple backdrop

Cambodian brides