ECCC Field Trip: The Students

As my last post about our ECCC (Khmer Rouge Trials) field trip I wanted to talk about the students.

Even though we were a little bit miserable though the large part of the field trip: the bus ride; the students didn't even seem phased. The bus rides were horrible. They stopped at every province on the way to Phnom Penh and yelled out the name and woke everybody up. The ride back was a nightmare. A ride that was supposed to take 7 hours took is something like 16 hours. I will never take Rith Money bus company again, just in the off chance I would get that driver again.

Although we westerns have a different view of what field trips are, and sometimes were driven mad at the way things were run, the students had never been on a field trip before. Most of them had never been to Phnom Penh before. Seeing their joy at being able to have this experience was inspiring. It made me so sad that my students weren't able to be there, but so happy that my fellow volunteer's students were able to go.

In case you doubted my explanation of their pure joy, you should watch the video below. After we stopped in Kampong Cham for dinner they had a dance party on the bus for the next few hours. The school director and the teacher assigned to our bus got on the bus shortly after this video was taken. They were both very very drunk, and only then did the real dance party begin, with them dancing right in the middle of it.



And we were so blessed to receive this lovely note from one of Neysa's students:

"Dear Teacher Neysa's friends!
Hi! I want to say Thank you so much.  I really like you're all.  You're all are friendly.  I hope maybe one day I will meet you're all again.  Today I am very very happy.  You know? me and my friends were dance and sing a song on the bus.  This trip is the best one in my life.  This is my first time that I have an opportunity to go to Phnom Penh and learn about ECCC; Killing field and Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.  I'm so happy today I wish you good luck good health, happiness.

All my love, Marina.
I love you all :)
Sorry my English is not so good done mine me!"



You can also read about part one: Choeung Ek Killing Field
Part Two: Toul Sleng