Visiting the Killing Fields

By Ariana Tosatto

Today was such a rich and full day.  It feels like we lived far too much to have had only one sunrise and sunset.  As Aimee and Katie have filled you in on, our morning started with the girls group at Transitions, which was followed by a trip to the killing fields of Cheoung Ek just outside of Phenom Penh.  Cheoung Ek is a site where over 17,000 men, women and children were murdered by the Khmer Rouge regime under it’s leader Pol Pot. I felt nervous as our Tuk Tuk sped through the long road out of the city, unsure of what to expect.  It is an odd thing, especially as a tourist, to visit a site of mass genocide and I sat trying to clarify my intentions.  The affects of the Khmer Rouge still linger, as the country continues to struggle with political corruption and a weakened economy.  Many of us have questioned how the intergenerational trauma and poverty that resulted from the Cambodian genocide may correlate to the high prevalence of sex trafficking here.  The trip seemed like an important piece of learning in our desire to hold a cultural context in the work we do.

         As we arrived at Choeung Ek we all were handed headphone for an audio tour.  One by one we put our headphones on as we walked towards a giant stupa with windows revealing rows of skulls.  As I look at the tower of over 5,000 skulls I check out unable to grasp the reality of what I am witnessing.  I follow the numbered trail that correlates to my audio guide and I am grateful to have a sense of direction provided.  I see signs that mark where buildings of torture once resided. Buildings where people waited to die and where lethal chemicals and weapons were stored.  I take in the ditches once filled with bodies delineated by wooden fences.  I struggle between the images of piled flesh in my mind  and the dirt and weeds that now take residence there.  I look at the silent witnesses in the trees and the plants that were victim to the bloodshed too. I wonder what the soil beneath me has absorbed and what it has grown over.  As I stand in front of a tall tree my audio guide tells me it was once used to hand speakers that played Khmer music to drown out the sounds of executions.  As the audio guide begins to play the song my mind begins to imagine the final cries of those not heard.  The next tree I stop at resides next to the ditch where women and children where buried.  I hear unthinkable stories of how infants were killed and look on at the bloodstained tree that took each blow. It is surreal to witness the scenes that flash in my mind as I behold sites accompanied by audio narration.  I know I have much response art to do.

       There is one image that I am left clutching in my heart, one that fills me with hope and comfort amidst so much darkness.  An image not imagined but beheld, the sight of dozens and dozens of monarch butterflies fluttering in the landscape around me.  In the midst of so much heaviness I am memorized by their lightness as they glide in and out of ditches once filled with bodies.  The sunlight dances around them creating a brilliant silhouette of shimmering light.  For some reason they are the only part of the experience that feels real.  Maybe they are the only part of the experience I want to be real.  As I end the tour the final stop on the audio guide is the stupa filled with skulls.  The voice on the recording explains that the architecture of the stupa has special significance to the Cambodian people in honoring those lost. At the top of the stupa there are Nagas, which are serpents typically depicted with seven heads, and Garuda birds, both symbols found in Buddhism.  Nagas and Garuda birds are enemies and when the are seen existing in one place it is a symbol of peacefulness.  It seemed like an incredibly poignant message about the need to embrace the perceived enemy within self and other in order to find peace in our world.

Engaging the Senses!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

By, Aimee Palladino

This morning NCAS-I held our third art experiential with the girls at Transitions. As art therapists, it is important to understand the therapeutic qualities of art materials in accessing and expressing inner content. Art materials are containers, vehicles and partners in the therapeutic process. They hold and become the metaphor of one’s experience. As a result, in working with Transitions, it has been important to consider what art projects would be culturally competent, developmentally appropriate, and sustainable. This morning’s activity was particularly exciting because it used local resources and offered a sensory and somatic experience for the girls. Using rice (from the local market) and indigenous scents (Cambodian essential oils), the girls created individualized aromatherapy pillows.

The workshop began with a short opening activity using sculpey (colorful clay). Each girl began with a piece of clay which they made into a shape. They then passed their shape to the person sitting next to them who added to it using their own clay. The pieces continued to be passed around the circle until they arrived back to where they started. Ultimately, each person ends up with a modified creation made from the additions of everyone in the group. Our “sculpey-circle” birthed colorful worlds of reds, greens, purples, and yellows — a meticulously detailed bowl, a wildly colored flying heart, little smiling creatures with eyebrows, antennas, tails and polka-dots. The giggles, exclamations, intrigue, and sustained engagement in the circle reflected the inherent value of this activity — to build community using sensory experience. There is no “wrong way” to create — any addition is valued; every mark is seen. Within minutes, thirteen completely unique, magical, and special creations took form.

This sensory and collaborative activity laid a foundation for us to transition into making the aromatherapy pillows. Bowls of rice were arranged in front of each girl, stacks of soft colorfully patterned fabric set out, and several local essential oils were passed around to smell. Sensory opportunities abounded. After choosing a favorite scent, the girls poured them into their bowls of rice, using their hands to mix the textured rice grains with the silky oils. This rice mixture served as the filling for the pillow. Next, the girls chose fabric, created embellishments from fabric scraps, and fastened a button. The activity required patiently sewing the fabric sides, which the girls did diligently, each offering their own unique methods for working through this potentially tedious step. In the end, each girl successfully created their own special aromatherapy pillow.

Our senses are our most basic, familiar way of exploring and processing the world. For the girls, the act of smelling the oils, running their fingers through rice, and working with the soft fabric offered opportunities for body awareness, catharsis and self-soothing. In addition, the repetitive motion of sewing offered opportunities for somatic and sensory self-regulation. All of these moments allowed for the experience of self-awareness and self-care. In the end, Sue invited the girls to rest comfortably with their pillows (some placed them on their eyes and necks, while others rested on top of them). She engaged them in a visualization, leading each girl to a place of comfort and safety. These pillows could be used to access self-soothing, reconnection and positive attachment to the self. It was amazing to see the girls cradle their pillows, carry them on their shoulders and necks, repeatedly smelling them. Just like transitional objects, the pillows offer a physical and internalized sense of safety and self-love.

As we continue to unpack and unfold the complicated world of gender, economy, freedom, fairness, and culture that frames our developing dialogue on sex-trafficking and therapy, moments like this morning further confirm for me the multifaceted nature of artistic expression. I have witnessed how art accesses individual creativity and cultivates community; is non-verbal and yet deeply conversational; is both challenging and empowering.

Opening

by: Katie Markley

Being in the group today offered me a moment in gratitude and accomplishment.  As Sue spoke quietly, softly walking the group through a guided visualization, I relished in the experience.  Alternating between closed eyes, were I felt my body resting into a giant and strong lotus leaf; and then opened eyes, witnessing the girl’s expressions, their body postures and the quality of feeling in the room.  My eyes welled up and I felt grateful for all I have learned in my education.  I also felt gratitude for the feild of art therapy and the gifts it continues to offer me as a student and now practitioner, moments of tenderness and sweetness and vulnerability. 

Thank you.

#111, and What We Don’t Know

Phnom Penh at night

by Meg Hamilton

As part of trying to understand how trafficking happens here and what circumstances are like for women we visited a number of bars in which girls work. This work takes many different forms, and we learned a lot. To clarify this piece is not about the girls at Transitions. It has taken some time to let these experiences settle, and it feels like the learning inherent in the experiences is central to our work here. Thank you for listening:

To begin this story I’ll begin at the end.

It’s almost 7 at night. I sit in a chair in the small balcony attached to our hotel room. Tuk tuks buzz by on the street below. A horn honks. Dog barks. The smell of rotting trash wafts up from the street three floors below. The smell of food cooking in street carts.

The city is alive and buzzing tonight. There is an election this weekend. In the distance there is the echoing sound of speakers and a distant rise of cheers.

This morning when I sat I only wanted to hug my knees to my chest and sob. Yet I could not pinpoint what it was that was breaking my heart.

Last night. The last bar we were in. Walking through the front door and past a group of men sitting on their motos. “Hey lady.” They each chimed. Into the bar and suddenly affronted by a subtle set of images. On the tv screen in the corner a tiger mauled an antelope. To my left a group of women stood behind the bar. In front of me was a large mural- women in silhouette in bras and panties. In front of me and scattered throughout the bar photographs of the bar owner and his three young daughters. They reached their hands up to his chest appearing shy and seeking protection.

This set of images- as bizarre as they were- slammed into my gut and mind. The disjointed links between them setting off a series of alarms that were already set to spring.

On the tv screen the predators continued their violent pursuit of prey.

We sit at this bar for a while and play Connect Four and a dice game I’ve never played before with a few of the girls working there. They are friendly and playful. They kick my ass at the dice game and I buy them shots for winning.

The bar before this one. Heather, a teacher from Transitions who is showing us around, opens the door and we are instantly greeted by cheers and loud Hello’s!! The bar is dark- it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust and take everything in. It’s small- a narrow space lit with a few lights. A long wooden bar covers the left side of the building and tables, booths, and chairs fill the remaining corners. There are probably 30 young Cambdian girls in this bar- each dressed in a tight sexy blue dress and wearing thick make up. It takes me a minute to take all of this in and to click these pieces into place.

We sit down at a bench in the back and instantly five girls are sitting with us, asking us questions and flirting. I am still uncomfortable. It takes me a minute to be able to answer.

When Heather says it’s appropriate, I begin to ask questions too. One woman says she has worked at the bar for two months. Before this she worked in a shoe factory for 10 years. She made almost no money, and told us the conditions at the bar are better than those of the factory.

Another has been at the bar for 6 months. She speaks little English, and uses her body to communicate. Puts her arm around Katie M., uses her other arm to push away another girl attempting to join the circle. Her long dark hair is curled in beautiful careful ringlets. She strokes Katie M.’s arm and tells her that her light skin is beautiful- more beautiful than hers.

Go back a few more days. The karaoke bar near our hotel in Siem Reap. We don’t know what this is or how karaoke bars work but we know we’ve seen girls sitting out front and we are curious. Investigative. We walk in and our overwhelmed by the bright colors and loud blaring music of the place. The people there seem panicked. Eager to get us out of the hallways. They seem stunned to see a group of white women here. A skinny man in a maroon suit anxiously leads us through the hallways until I, confused and not wanting to follow this man deeper into this building, stop and ask about karaoke. He turns the other way and opens a door to a large room with a projector. Blue and yellow striped plastic booths line the walls. It’s your own personal karaoke room. We tell the man we will be back later. On our way out we pass two women sitting in the entryway. They’re dressed in playful girly outfits. Wearing thick make up. They have buttons with numbers pinned to their chest. #111 looks up at us as we exit quickly.

We have no idea what it is we’ve just seen. Each of these bars contains its own unique culture, and it has been immensely difficult to sort out our understandings of trafficking, and to differentiate it from sex work by choice. Hostessing is different from being a bar girl. A karaoke girl is different from a prostitute. In 2008 the Cambodian government passed a law clearly defining trafficking and outlawing it. Since then trafficking has moved further underground; prior to this law it would not be unusual to have young children- 8 years old, 10 years old- approach you and solicit you. It would not have been unusual to see women soliciting customers on the streets. Now when you enter a bar in which girls are working it is impossible to tell who is here by choice and who is not.

Many of the women who work as bar girls value their work, and have found it to be empowering. Many come from the countryside to work in the city. They send money home to their families and care for sick relatives. They raise their social status through the accumulation of wealth. Should they remain at their homes in the country they would likely spend their lives as rice farmers, live in poverty, marry a man they don’t want to spend their lives with. Or continue work in a factory that treats them worse than the men in the bars.

My heartache, I think, comes from the weight of the overwhelm of the entire system. Empowerment is found in a more lucrative vocation, in the power so easy to feel in sexual mastery. Yet these vocations are inherently still dependent upon a man and have what seems to be primarily a materialistic gain. What about real options- real freedom- what would these women do if they felt they could do anything at all?

The burden deepens for me when I think about my role in these systems. The woman who worked in the factory, for instance. Whose shoes did she make? Did I ever buy a pair?

It feels like an impossible situation.

Work and Play

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

by: Katie Markley

Today began with a spark of energy.  We had agreed to create a mural at Transitions and today was the day.  Up early, out the door, and into a Tuk Tuk.  Weaving through a sea of motos, bicycles, pedestrians and cars we began to discuss our plans.  A draft had been created for the painting to offer guidance yet if there is one thing we have learned, it is to adapt.  We planned for potential hangups and altered the design to suit the space.

The mural’s design reflects the mission of Transitions.  A butterfly was selected to be the central image as we have noticed this symbol arising in the art created through our work in Cambodia. When inquiring about the meaning of the butterfly we were told that it represents peace to many Khmer people.  At the tips of the butterfly’s wings you can see the profile of young women, a simplified representation of the girls at Transitions.  Lotus flowers are incorporated throughout, depicted in various stages of blooming.  The piece is surrounded by the Transitions logo, “Freedom Begins with a Dream,” written in both English and Khmer.

We worked wholeheartedly and focused for nearly five hours to cultivate the final product you see here.  While standing back and taking in our efforts we were amazed at what can be accomplished in such a short amount of time.  Marissa offered that it felt like we had participated in a “mural flashmob” and I would agree.

The second half of the day was spent with the girls.  They greeted us warmly, beaming smiles our way and quizzing us on the Khmer words they had taught us in our last meeting.  We sat on the floor in a large circle and settled into the dance of our two languages being spoken one after the other, English translated into Khmer and Khmer back to English.  It is a practice in patience and quiet listening.

We offered the girls the dream flags that were created by the Naropa community during our Small Resources=Big Possibilities art auction.  A girl next to me held one of the flags, rubbing her fingers over the green and gold paint, and said “suh-aht” (beautiful). Then, we guided the group in making charm necklaces as a way to both build relationship between our merging groups and offer an opportunity to make something special for oneself, an act of self-love if you will.  The girls all completed necklaces reflecting their personal style.  We concluded our meeting by sharing some of our talents with each other.  Meg and Emma offered a duet of Amazing Grace and the girls performed a traditional dance.  We left feeling full.

There is more to come…thank you following!

Journal Making Workshop at Transitions!

Blog by Sue Wallingford

Today we did our first workshop with the girls at Transitions. Hard to say who was more excited, us or them!  We decided to make handmade journals for our first activity with the girls because we wanted them to have a “special place” that they could write or draw to express their feelings.  We had lots of beautiful materials for them to chose from in making their journals and they diligently worked for most the 2 hours making beautiful and personal books.  Because it was a small group today we got to spend quality time getting to know the girls.  They were a little timid at first, and we were too, but by the end of our time together they had warmed up and were teaching us all kinds of Khymer words!  We learned how to say, “Hello, how are you, thank you, I’m hungry and I’m sleepy and lots of other phrases.  The girls giggled a lot as we struggled to pronounce their very vowel filled language (they have 23 vowels), but they were patient with us and encouraged us when we got it right!  It was lots of fun and we are already in love with these girls and look forward to spending the next few days with them.

One reason we love this organization so much is because of the care they take in keeping the girls safe and their stories private.  It is important to the staff at Transitions that there is no further oppression in their lives and that they will never again have to be exploited.  Therefore, you will not see any faces in the pictures of the girls we work with at transitions, or any other identifying information.

We are loving your comments and words of encouragement.  Please keep checking in ….there is lots more to come….tomorrow we will be painting a mural and having game night!

NCAS-I meets with Ragamuffin, read on….

Marissa takes notes in Ragamuffin’s Group space

Flowers in Ragamuffin’s beautiful garden

by Marissa Grasmick

Hello friends, family, and beloved followers of NCAS-I, we greatly appreciate your support. Thanks for reading the blog!

Today the NCAS-I crew had the opportunity to have a meeting with the founders and owners of Ragamuffin. Started in 1999 in the UK, Ragamuffin’s mission statement is: “The Ragamuffin Project is committed to the relief of emotional pain and psychological damage in children and adults. We work together with those who bring such relief to people who suffer around the world.” Ragamuffin now has locations in the UK, Pan Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand), Russia, Peru, and the one we visited today in Cambodia.

Ragamuffin offers creative arts therapies (art, dance, music, and more) to children and adults in the form of individual sessions, group sessions, and an open community art studio, similar to the style and mentality of Naropa’s community art studio in Boulder, CO.

We arrived at Ragamuffin in the usual mode of transportation, a Tuk Tuk. We were warmly greeted by Carrie (one of the founders who is an Integrative Arts Therapist) and invited in. The other founder is Kit, a registered art therapist who specializes in drama therapy. Carrie gave us a tour of the Ragamuffin house, which is like steeping into another world. Utilizing the natural world, the space felt open and organic, while at the same time, was reminiscent of an avant garde art ship. Nestled in an alley in the busy city, this unique setting was surrounded with jungle-like trees that held ready-to-eat Jackfruit and beautiful flowers.

We all sat in a circle and began discussing our work, or rather, our passionate mission. We are a room of art therapists, some of us from Boulder, CO, some natives of Cambodia, and Carrie and Kit (the founders) from the UK. Yet we all share a similar passion, we are professionals who deeply desire to use our education to benefit the well-being of the Cambodian people. The discussion that took place was beyond inspiring, it was like being with family, we all spoke the same language of art, of therapy, of the need for creative expression, and of the obstacles that stand in the way. There was an electric feeling in the room, one of heart and passion that is nearly indescribable.

We plan to meet with Ragamuffin again to further discuss the details of what a collaboration between Ragamuffin and NCAS-I might look like down the road. For now, all we can say is that these are amazing people that are pouring out there time, resources and most importantly, their hearts, to work therapeutically  with children and adults in the surrounding area.

Ragamuffin runs mostly off of grants and sponsors, and as Kit said it best during our meeting, the need for creative arts therapy is off the charts and the resources are very limited. Despite this being an important need for the area, the money just isn’t available and donors are being required to cut funds due to economic hardship.

If you are interested in giving to the Ragamuffin project, and to learn more about this renegade project, please visit their informative website at www.ragamuffinproject.org.

With much love and gratitude,

NCAS-I

Creativity and Cambodia

by, Aimee Palladino

As we transition from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s largest city and the country’s capitol, we are excitedly starting our work with Transitions, the organization with whom we are partnered. Yesterday, NCAS-I attended an orientation with Athena Pond, founder and director of Transitions, to learn more about our collaboration with them. This meeting was the culmination of several months of laborious planning, fundraising, and anticipation. After so many hours devoted to making this collaboration a reality, the actual moment of sitting and engaging with Athena was inspirational and affirming. All our aspirations about this organization were confirmed — Transitions, and the people who run it, are phenomenal. Their work in providing after-care and rehabilitation for young girls who have been sex trafficked is informed, heart-centered, effective and culturally sensitive. They offer holistic rehabilitation services that focus on successful and sustainable reintegration. At the foundation of this process is shifting from approaching the girls’ future based on survival to potential — as Athena said, freedom for these girls “begins with a dream”.

I approached this meeting full of questions and wonderings. Through my past week in Cambodia, I have found myself churning and swirling with all of the layers of this experience — the personal (and transpersonal), educational, and professional. I am at once a traveler, an artist, a student and an emerging therapist. As NCAS-I’s mission statement says, I am a “guest and learner” here. As a result, I entered our meeting with Transitions replete with thoughts — how does Cambodia’s traumatic past inform their collective psychology? How can opportunities for creative expression empower individuals within a country where artistic expression has been so arrested? How is sex trafficking embedded with cultural gender norms and socioeconomic factors? Our meeting with Transitions helped me sink more deeply into the complex, shadowy and nuanced aspects of this work. It clarified and contextualized the role we will play over the next few weeks here. 

As art therapists, we offer the unique ability to offer ‘art as therapy’. Staying true to NCAS-I’s roots as a community art studio model, our art projects with the girls will provide opportunities for them to deepen their relationship with the creative process and manifest imagination, emotion and unique expression through various art materials. This model becomes particularly effective given the trauma of sex trafficking and perhaps even the collective trauma that Cambodia experienced under the control of the Khmer Rouge (artistic engagement was nearly eliminated under their leadership). Cultural openings for unique artistic expression seem to just now be reemerging in Cambodia. As a result, NCAS-I’s work with Transitions crosses an interesting intersection of art, culture, history, and trauma.

Over the next few weeks, we will be offering six arts-based experientials, staff trainings in arts-based therapeutic work and self-care, and a mural project. Tomorrow is our first meeting with the girls where we will be making handmade journals! We are extremely excited to offer this opportunity to engage in creativity, community and relationship. In addition to facilitating this first art project, tomorrow NCAS-I will also be visiting The Raggamuffin Project, an INGO that has been introducing creative arts therapy to psycho-social organizations in Cambodia. As we further shape our global understanding of art therapy, this meeting will certainly contribute to our knowledge about arts-based healing in Cambodia. We imagine tomorrow will bring rich and amazing experiences and we hope you check back to hear stories from the day! 

The Great Divide

By Katie Hanczaryk 

After a grueling six-hour bus ride, we drive up to our hotel in Siem Riep and I feel like I have stepped into paradise. The terracotta tile steps are lined with outdoor lighting, orchids, and tropical trees. Our pool looks like something out of a magazine with an azure color, as defined by the blue tiles that surround the water, and stone sculptures mimicking those from Angkor Wat.  There is a small pond of blooming lotus flowers, and a beautiful covered area with oversized brown wicker chairs and big fans. Around this area is a pool table, and a full bar. We have access to ice (a NICE delight), deep fried spring rolls, and even chicken wings with a lemon pepper oil sauce. I’m convinced I am in a dream.  We have endless mango smoothies, tuk tuk drivers on call, and A.C. in the rooms. It’s heaven here. We are truly traveling in style. I have a great sleep that night, sans bug nets. 

The next morning I take a walk up to the tower located next to the pool. It’s the highest point in our neighborhood, and the best view of Siem Riep. Up there I can see the whole town, even parts of Angkor Wat in the distance.

I see a large trash pile, which I didn’t see before because of the big brick walls surrounding our hotel. A dog sniffs through it, and I see chickens and roosters and really skinny looking cows. I see many people cruise past on motorcycles, sometimes with three or four people riding, usually with baby on board holding on loosely. There are kids in uniforms going to school, riding bikes that are much to big for them. I smell smog, and gasoline, meat and fish. I sat up there for a while, until the sun came up.

 I decided to make this my daily practice, going to the tower for meditation and contemplation. One morning I heard music coming from a temple over a couple of loud speakers. It was such beautiful and strange music to me. As I walked down the long spiral staircase to go to breakfast, I bumped into one of the hotel workers who lived in a tiny windowless room in the tower. He was very embarrassed that I saw him with his shirt off, so he hid his body behind the door with his head poking out and said hello.

 I asked him about the music. He said it’s played as ‘celebration’ after someone has died. They play this music for 10 days during mourning. He said that Cambodians are reminded of their own mortality when they hear this music. He said that if a Cambodian is poor, they can’t afford a funeral, and asked what families in the United States do when people die. I told him about life insurance, a funny concept for Cambodians. He said that in China they have insurance, but definitely not in Cambodia.

This whole experience struck a chord deep within me.  Here I am, a wealthy, white, American tourist living in a beautiful stone mansion hotel, while surrounding me is poverty, and real authentic Cambodian life. No A.C., no life insurance, no pool. It as if I were in a big bubble with thick stonewalls, as if to keep all the cleanliness inside.

I am faced now with my own white guilt. Never before have I thought about not being able to afford a proper funeral. Never have I been scared to be trafficked, or have to sell things on the street to help support my family. 

After the turmoil of sadness mixed with grief, I realize that underneath those uncomfortable feelings was a sense of gratitude.  I am so lucky to be from a family who put me through many, many years of education in a country that is extremely privileged.  I know that poverty exists in the United States, but I am rarely faced with images of starving children, desperate mothers, and so much dirt, mud, and free range chickens……….especially in Boulder.

These challenging experiences are one reason why I love to travel.  The other side of my guilt is my glory. I am able to see a different way of life, not for better or for worst. I get so caught up in the everyday pleasures and even find myself frustrated when I don’t have eggs in the fridge to make pancakes, or when my Internet goes out for a moment. Here, in Cambodia, I am slapped in the face with a sense of reality.  This is how the other half lives. I am grateful for that tower which gave me perspective on my own privilege and wealth, and a small taste of Cambodian culture. 

1st Course: Crickets!

Yum! Roasted Crickets!

by Tracey Kayne and Meg Hamilton

Our adventures in Siem Reap ended today as we embarked on our trek back to Phnom Penh.  Along our six hour bus ride, the bus driver announced that the bus was going to pull over for a 30 minute break.  We were greeted by rows of street carts that have piles of roasted crickets and as you continued to walk along each stand had larger and larger crickets.   We stood there in disbelief.  We learned quickly that roasted crickets are a delicacy in Cambodia. Cambodians began eating crickets during the Khmer Rouge regime out of desperation. During this time up to 2 million Cambodians died, many as a result of starvation (www.camboguide.com).

Despite the dark inception of this culinary trend crickets are an extremely popular snack in Cambodia still. Clearly, we immediately began daring each other to see who would give it a try. We looked around our group, urging “C’mon- just try it!” and being completely unwilling to do it ourselves. Personally, I was in the “not a chance in hell” corner.

Then, Katie H. chirped up, “I’ll do it!” We didn’t believe her until she reached her hand into the pile of crickets carefully selecting her cricket snack. The woman behind the cart began laughing quietly and continued to do so through the whole ordeal.

Katie examined the cricket, turning it over in her fingers. She raised it to her lips and… CRUNCH! The cricket’s hind legs and thorax disappeared down her throat.

She nodded nonchalantly and said, “Yep. Tastes like cricket,” and handed the remainder to Sue. Sue didn’t even hesitate and quickly took a bite of the cricket. “Now I  can say I ate a cricket.”

The woman at the stand seemed to be enjoying this so much she wouldn’t even accept our payment for our cricket experiment. She was entertained by watching our disbelief and chuckled to herself at the sight of this.

We told Katie and Sue that since they had tackled crickets now they were ready to upgrade. Check out what’s next on the menu:

Well, that was certainly one bit of cultural learning we won’t forget. Tomorrow we go to Transitions’ Shine School! We will meet Athena Pond, one of the founders of Transitions, and begin to get oriented to the organization and the work we will be doing with them. Much, much more to come!