Back in Portland

Well, after a week of wrapping up our projects and saying goodbye to our friends in Cambodia, it came time to leave. After a couple fun days in Thailand, we made the long flight back and arrived safely in Portland this morning. We already miss all the amazing people in Phnom Penh, and we're grateful for the opportunity to get to know them. Thank you all for supporting our trip and helping us make this a reality!

A Week of Exploring

Well, we had some family come visit us last week, so we took a couple days and did some exploring around Cambodia. First we went down to Kep, an old provincial resort town on the Gulf of Thailand. Its a small city, only about 4,000 residents, so its a nice breath of fresh air (literally) from Phnom Penh. Very relaxing. Kep is famous for fresh seafood, so we made sure to enjoy some crabs, prawns and fish prepared with locally grown Kampot pepper. Next, we hired a fisherman to take us out to a small island named Koh Tonsai (Rabbit Island). We stayed on the island for about two days, soaked up the sun, played in the water, and caught up on relaxing. After the weekend was over, we took the bus back to the city and saw some of the sights here in town that we haven't gotten to yet.

Last Thursday, we headed to Siem Reap via bus, a 6 hour trip. It was well worth it, though, as we got to spend two days exploring Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. A very cool experience! After the bus trip back to PP, our family headed out and we got back to work. Its our last week of work at TLC, so we've been working on wrapping up our loose ends and saying goodbye to all the great friends we've made here. We're going to miss Cambodia a lot, and hope to come back within the next year, at least for a visit.

Beach Weekend

We had a great time at Sihanoukeville with the girls this last week! 35 of us took the 5 hour bus trip down to the coast and spent two days in the sand. The girls loved swimming and playing at the beach, and we had fun swimming along and trying all kinds of local seafood. Can't wait to go back again!

One Month to Go

The realization hit that we're heading home in just over a month. We're not ready to leave, although there are a few things we're really looking forward to (like jeans and Chipotle). We have so much more work that we'd love to do here, and we feel like we've only just scratched the surface. We'll be back someday, soon I hope.

Its been hot recently, like really hot. Every day is over 38c. Its alright when you have reliable AC, but yesterday our power went out and is still out today. We cant wait for the rain to come! Last night, we watched a huge electrical storm from our balcony in the dark. It was pretty amazing, with strikes all around us about every 2 seconds for about 2 hours.

In other exciting news, we're heading back to the coast tomorrow! For the kings bday (3 days long), we are going with all the girls and staff. It'll be pretty interesting as there are 39 of us going! Stay tuned for pictures.

Party at our house

We've really enjoyed being able to plan some events that are outside the normal routine, so

last night we had the girls over for a party at our house. We picked up some chicken and ice cream (and of course rice - its eaten with literally every meal), and had a fun dinner together hanging out on our balcony. After eating, we stuck with the chicken theme and played "duck, duck, chicken". We got cardboard chicken hats (think Burger King crowns) from the restaurant we ordered the food from, which were a big hit. As a finale, we shot some roman candles that we had left over from our new years celebration off the balcony - lots of laughing and screaming every time they went off! The girls (and phirum, our 6yo buddy) had a great time laughing and playing. We can't wait to have another party soon!

Happy Khmer New Year!

Well we've almost survived Khmer New Year! This last week has been a lot of fun, and quite a change of pace from our routine. First, Khmer New Year is Cambodia's biggest holiday - think Christmas, Easter, 4th July, and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. Nearly everything shuts down for the week as people travel to their home provinces in anticipation of a weeklong party with their extended family.

Second, due to the family situations of some of the girls at our shelter, they were not able to go home out of concern for their safety. Its hard for them to have to miss out on such an important celebration with family, especially in a culture where family and tradition is everything. In this light, we really wanted to try to make it a fun week for all, so we've been planning some fun events and experiencing what Khmer New Year is all about. From a full-day BBQ out in the provinces to sparklers and roman candles in the streets, our kids have been smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves every day!

A Day in the Life

So we've gotten some questions from friends and family about what day to day living in Cambodia is like. If I had one word to describe it, it would have to be "entertaining". It seems like every day we are seeing something quirky and new, and it keeps us on our toes. From motos with 6 people on them to every kind of animal you can imagine BBQing on the side of the road (not kidding - frogs, spiders, crickets, catfish, everything), theres always something to see. Well, if there is a typical day, here's whats on the menu:

We get up around 7-7:30, and its already sunny & hot. It never really dips below 85, even in the middle of the night. We usually hop on the internet and get some stuff done before we head off to language school from 9-10. After that, most days we head out to the Shelter where we spend most of the day working in the office or hanging out with the girls. Lots of days we are out running errands for different projects we're working on, so it feels like we're always on the move. By about 2, its up over 100 degrees most days. We get home between 6 and 7 most nights, and its already dark. Sometimes we cook, but most of the time its just too hot! Interestingly enough, Phnom Penh has a ton of great restaurants of every kind imaginable, and at about $3-4 per meal, its usually cheaper than cooking as grocery stores are slightly more expensive than the ones at home. Phnom Penh is a fun city with lots going on, but it can be pretty overwhelming at times to go out and about. You can never walk more than a minute or two before you get hit up to buy something, and sometimes the poverty can be pretty oppressing.

We try to get out and explore the provinces on the weekends. Cambodia is pretty small, but it takes a long time to get anywhere because the roads are small and clogged with all kinds of traffic - cows, motos, tuk-tuks, chickens, trucks, ducks, trailers full of people, the bigger the vehicle, the more right-of-way it has on the road. You never really get going faster than about 35-40mph, even on the "highway". This weekend, we're at Kep, a small seaside town near Cambodia's border with Vietnam. Its beautiful here, and we're excited to try the famous Kep crab for dinner tonight and go snorkeling out by the islands tomorrow.

We love getting to know Cambodian people, and have been so blessed by how friendly and helpful they are. Cambodians have a wonderful sense of humor and are always interested in trying out a little English on us, graciously letting us practice our Khmer, and sharing a smile. Last night, our neighbors invited us over for some Tiger beer and Khmer food - we spent the evening meeting all their family and friends, laughing, and learning about their Khmer New Year traditions. With so many obstacles to overcome, it is such a blessing to see the resourcefulness and positive attitude with which they approach life!

A Glimpse into the Cambodian Justice System

Last week, we had avery exciting opportunity to observe a trial here in Cambodia. We can't talk too much about the specifics, but the trial was against the owner and managers of a brothel that kept a number of underage girls.

Our adventure started with a 7 hour bus ride to the province where the trial was located. When you take a bus in Cambodia, you have two options - ""normal" bus for about 5 bucks, or "limo" bus (complete with bathroom, snacks, and movies/karaoke) for about $10. We opted for the limo bus, as 7 hours sounded like a really long time to go without a bathroom! We arrived and spent some time getting to know the other organizations that were involved with the case. We are consistenly impressed and inspired by some of the amazing people here in Cambodia working for the rights of children!

The day of the trial, we were supposed to get started at 7:30. The judges showed up at about 9. In Cambodia, a criminal court has three judges, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and another attorney on behalf of the organization supporting the trial. The defendants are then questioned in a pretty open format by all of the above, with witness testimony thrown in. At least in this case, there wasn't a jury. It was a long, hot day (about 40c, or 105ish), and the trial was all in Khmer, so we had to get updates through a translator. The trial lasted three days in all, although we were only able to observe the first two.

One of the things that stood out to us was the lack of consequence for lying before the court. Throughout the trial, it became obvious that each of the three defendants had consistently lied in their sworn tatements and testimony through inconsistencies in their statements as well as conflicts with a number of witnesses. We are still waiting to hear the verdict, and we appreciated the opportunity to be able to observe such an interesting part of the anti-trafficking efforts here in Cambodia. We were also encouraged to see the justice system in action, and are excited to see it develop further into an institution that consistently and fairly serves the needs of all Cambodians.

An Adventure in Udong

We decided to get out of the city and have an adventure over the weekend. There are lots of great places to explore within a couple hours of PP, so we decided to go to Udong - a royal "mountain" (if you live on the West coast, read: hill) where Cambodia's kings have been buried for about the last 600 years. It takes about an hour and a half each way to get there, even though its only 40km from the city! That made for a long, dusty, noisy day in the tuktuk.

Once we arrived, we climbed the 600 steps to the top. There are about a dozen stupas, ranging from 100-600 years old. Its a very beautiful place, with many little temples and some great views. I think i'm over my file size limit on the blog, but there are some pictures in this album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030853&id=98300269&l=8055cd377f

Now we're back to work on a Monday morning. We take language classes every M/W/F before work, and love it! Its very fun and entertaining to try to learn to speak with the locals, even though there is lots of laughing because of how badly we butcher the pronunciation. We are excited about our progress with our projects, as well. The girls are working on making jewelry, and our goal is to eventually be able to offer it for sale online to allow them to earn some extra income from an activity that they enjoy! We'll be sure to keep you posted.

The Illustrious Cambodian Visa Process...

Some things have to be seen to be believed. I think the process of getting and keeping a visa in Cambodia is this kind of thing. If you've been here, you know what I mean. When you arrive at the airport, there are no less than 12 immigration officers sitting at a long desk. After you hand them your $20 (or $25 if you want an extendable business visa), your passport is passed along the line, with each person performing one task. 1 person is the visa sticker, another is the visa stamper, another person initials the stamp, and so on. I think they might even have people between them to turn the pages. Job creation at its finest!

When asked why we wanted a business visa, we said we were interns. That word didn't compute, so we said we worked for an NGO, we just don't get paid. After a laugh, they waved us on. They apparently thought if we were dumb enough to work without getting paid, we must be harmless enough to give an extendable visa.

Fast forwarding to yesterday, our first visa is nearing expiration. We had to find out how to extend it. The accepted process for extending a visa is to take your passport to someone's cousin's uncle's buddy's brother who works at the Ministry of Foreign affairs. For about $20 bucks above the sticker price and a weeks wait, you get a visa for however long you want, no questions asked. We figured we'd save that for a last resort and try the legitimate method first.

The Department of Immigration is next to the airport, right by the Department of Meteorology ( A couple precarious looking radio antennas in a field). We were waved through by the nice guard watching Champions League Football and walked up to the visa extension office. True to form, there were three people behind the desk, so that they could hand you a form, staple your picture to it, and take your money. Hopefully, our passports will be there, complete with visas, when we go back this afternoon to pick them up.

I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing that you can extend your visa in Cambodia indefinitely for $285 a year. I guess the security check is whether or not you can come up with the bucks. Oh, and the form costs a dollar to fill out, too.

And We're Back!

The past week has been interesting - a couple power outtages, a freak tropical storm, and a couple days out of commission after getting sick. We're glad to be getting back to normal!

I'll start from the beginning - our power went out. Out of nowhere. So no power for two days. Next, we had to get a couple vaccinations, which had some not fun side effects. Finally, we picked up a nasty bug in some food somewhere. After a trip to the clinic to get re-hydrated and some serious antibios, we're back in good shape. Thanks to Summer for brining us "Adam's Ale", which is the Australian version of gatorade, apparently.

Once we were feeling better, we went on our first real tourist adventure. Our driver Polo took us to Toul Sleng and Choueng Ek, also known as the S-21 detention center and the killing fields. These two places were the largest detention and execution facilities used by the Khmer Rouge. Between 1975 and 1979, an estimated 20,000 people were tortured at S-21 and taken to the killing fields to be executed and buried in mass graves. These two memorials are among the most gruesome places in the world, and are very saddening and sobering to visit. We were reminded of how blessed we are, and don't take it for granted! Be warned - some of these pictures are pretty graphic.

For some reason, blogspot wont let me upload the pictures. They are also located here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030853&id=98300269&l=8055cd377f

This link should work, even if you dont have facebook.

A Picnic for Women's Day!

Yesterday we went on a picnic with the girls for Women's Day! We drove about an hour into the countryside to a local market and went shopping for our lunch. We had a great time, and got to try all kinds of new Khmer foods. It was really nice to get out into a new setting with the girls and celebrate Women's day in a fun way. We even got to see some monkeys! Here are some pictures:

A Day in the Tuk-Tuk

Thanks, Aunt Denise, for reminding me to explain what a tuk-tuk is! Basically, a tuk-tuk is what we would call a moped pulling a cart with a cover over it. By our standards, they hold 2-4 people, but we've seen as many as 9 Cambodians piled into them! They are used the same way we'd use a taxi at home. They are relatively expensive, as compared to everything else. A ride across town and back costs about $5. Quite a lot in a country where a mid-range professional salary is about $250/month!

Today, we had some errands to run for TG, so we were out and about with our driver Polo. Most of these shots are from today, with a couple from earlier in the week.

Market/carnival? Note the ferris wheel in the background

Really young kids, floating on a tire, fishing for who knows what in the open sewer

This building is an infamous brothel with a terrible history

Cambodian barbershop. They use shoepolish to hide grey hair!

Our First Week

Well its Thursday here, almost the end of our first week of work. We can already tell that we love it here and it will be tough to leave. We love our work, and we're having a great time getting to know the girls at the shelter. We've started on a few projects that will hopefully help some of the administrative things here run a bit more smoothly, and Brittany is working on developing a Life Skills curriculum. The goal is to have a fun and basic class that helps the girls learn skills required for independent living - like budgeting, hygiene, etc. She is doing an awesome job! Over the past week, we've started to get used to the pace of things in Phnom Penh - everything moves a bit slower, except the traffic. We're working on a video of our daily commute to show you just what an experience the traffic can be! We have a great tuk-tuk driver named Polo who knows where everything is... he'll be playing a leading role in our video!

We've also started to get used to the food and the language. Khmer is the common language in Cambodia - and while its grammatically very simple, pronunciation is tough to master. We've gotten down the basics, like "Hi", "How are you?", "turn here" and "STOP!". Next week we hope to start language class with a tutor to learn more. As far as the food goes, we've been amazed to find that we can get just about anything we want... some things just cost a lot more and some a lot less. For instance, a package of 8 tortillas is more than $5, while you can get a pound of mangos for fifty cents. So we eat a lot less mexican food and a lot more mangos! Most western-oriented restaurants here cost about $4/pp, and there is quite a wide variety. The grocery store is an experience too - they shop the same way they drive - fast & crowded! Speaking of eating, Brittany is still going to try the fried tarantula, we just haven't come across it yet. Apparently its a local specialty in one of the provinces (specialty?!?), and we may be headed out that way towards the end of the month. Stay tuned!

A Tour of Our Apartment!

Settling In

After arriving in Cambodia on the 26th, we've spent the last couple days settling in to our apartment and getting adjusted. With some help from some of the other TG staff, we've been all over the city looking for furniture, dishes, food, etc. Here are a couple pictures yesterday and today...

The 'cafeteria' at the russian market. And no one seems to know why its called the russian market

In the middle of the Russian Market. Well over 100 degrees.

Driving the wrong way down a main street!

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at the shelter. It was great to meet the girls and get started on some of the projects we'll be working on while we're here. Sorry - we can't post pictures of the girls or the shelter for security reasons, but they are wonderful and we are so excited to share our experiences with you!

Today is the Day

Today is the day: PDX-SEA-NRT-BKK-PNH

We are so excited to head off to Cambodia and get to work. This project has been a year in the making, and we owe so much to each of you for your support, encouragement, prayers, ideas, and more. THANK YOU!

Please keep an eye on the blog - This is where we'll be posting regular video updates (keeping our fingers crossed for decent internet), photos, and thoughts about our work. Once we arrive, we'll give you a tour of our new home. Also, rumor has it that Brittany is going to eat a fried tarantula - this you won't want to miss!

Please add us on Skype (our username is adamclough). We'd love to chat with you!

Please check out Transitions Global's website at www.transitionsglobal.org. We are so blessed to be working with this amazing organization!

Love you all,

Adam & Brittany

1 Week to Go

After spending most of last week cleaning and packing, we moved out of our apartment on Friday. This means that for the next week, we're officially homeless, staying with our families and running around working on our last minute to-do lists. Hard to believe that next Wedensday, the 24th, we'll be leaving for Phnom Penh.

A couple things: on Sunday the 21st, we'll be having a going away party at the foodcart park on Hawthorne & 11th at around 8ish. We'd love to see you there! We'd also love to be able to chat with you while we are in Cambodia - track us down on Skype (adamclough). Lastly, we are still in need of some financial support to cover our trip expenses. The best way to contribute is through the link on the right of this page via paypal. We've been truly blessed and amazed by the generosity of our friends and family. Thanks a million!

Today: We Get Shots

When you move to Cambodia, you have to get a lot of vaccinations! Thanks to a very helpful nurse at the travel clinic, we now have some very nice band-aids.

Cambodia Primer

Some basics on the Kingdom of Cambodia -



Cambodia is a small constitutional monarchy located in the heart of Southeast Asia. With a population of roughly 14M, Cambodia is far less populated than its neighbors Vietnam and Thailand to the East and West. The predominant ethnic group and language is Khmer. Cambodia is a developing nation, ranking in the lowest quartile of the world's economies, with a per capita GDP currently estimated at approx. $600 per year. Cambodia's primary industry is agriculture, accounting for about 60% of economic output; textile and tourism industries are also developing. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists, although small Christian, Muslim, and Animist religious minorities are present.

Cambodian history is marked by profound tragedy. In most recent memory is the genocide that occured about 30 years ago at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, a communist regime that controlled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. This genocide brutally exterminated nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population in an effort to create a classless agricultural society. Anyone with any level of education or leadership was exterminated; the remainder of the population was forced into labor camps.

All economic progress was stopped - books, money, schools, hospitals were destroyed. Millions were killed.

Although the Khmer Rouge were deposed in the early 1980s (primarily by the Vietnamese), few were ever held formally accountable for their crimes against humanity, and many former leaders remain within the citizenry of Cambodia.

Since the downfall of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia has struggled to rebuild its most basic infrastructure. In the past few years, Cambodia has made great progress; however, the complete destruction of the society less than two generations ago has left an indelible imprint on the country. Lack of effective public services and government organizations, compounded by desperate poverty, has Cambodia in a tough situation. Many international organizations are providing much needed aid, and Cambodia's future is bright.

One Month To Go

One month from today, we will be making the long flight from Portland, OR to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. While we've been planning this trip for more than a year, its hard to believe that its finally here. This next month will be full of final travel prep, and hopefully chances to connect with lots of friends before we leave! Also, we want to say thanks again to everyone who has made our trip a possibility. Through our friends, family, and community, we've raised about $7,000 in only three months! Thank you!! If you'd like to help with some of our remaining financial needs, please take a look at the chip-in link on the right. We can really use your help!

Post numero uno

Here is our first post on what (we hope) will be a way to stay in touch with friends & family while we are in Cambodia. Right now, we are working out the final details of our trip (visas, shots, budgets, etc). Our departure date of Feb 24th is coming up soon! We'll be using this site to keep you up-to-date on our work with Transitions Global, as well as post photos and observations about our time in Cambodia. Stay tuned for exciting news!