By Alexa Cirignani

This is the second time I have done this trip. I want to talk about the changes that have occurred with me and I want to pass on advice to fellow students. The first time I ever came to Cambodia, I came out with people I knew well. I was excited because I was going to be going on an adventure, something I had never tried before, and I was going to be doing it with friends. Upon arrival my senses were overwhelmed with the sights, the smells, and the sounds of an entirely new country. A little background about myself, I’m an international student from America. The first time I had really left the country was to come to Australia to study-Melbourne is not much of a change from my homelife, but south east Asia certainly is. The first thing you notice when you land in Phnom Penh is the sound pollution. People always trying to sell you things, the motors running along the roads. Then it’s the sights. Everything is a commodity. The same place that just sold you your water bottle also sells phone cards for a dollar, and maybe some children’s toy or laundry detergent. Its an entire supermarket boxed into these little squares along the street. And for those who couldn’t afford that much, it would all be shoved onto a motor bike attached to a food cart. At first it was all very eye opening and exciting as I would make my way through the outdoor markets looking for something safe for me to eat. But as the days wore on, I began to lose the excitement of everything. I began to notice how the streets were becoming piled up with garbage, and how the toilets were just holes in the ground. I began to focus on these thoughts, and they would continue to weigh down on me. My heart became bitter and I lost the focus and the appreciation for the country and its people.

I had already made the commitment to come out a second time, I couldn’t back out. I became more and more anxious as the time to come back drew nearer. In my heart I knew I wasn’t driven, and not only this, but I would be attending this trip with strangers. People I knew the names and faces of, but people I have never spent time with. The day came when I needed to come back. So I swallowed my pride and boarded the plane. When I landed, I was surrounded with the familiar sounds, sights, and smells. People trying to sell me anything and everything. Being more educated than I was the last time, I knew how to politely decline and navigate myself to where I needed to be. Upon arriving at the house, I was greeted by four new faces. One of the residential house cats had kittens in the time I was gone (this information becomes relevant later on).

In the following days, the new team of four (three students and one supervisor), began to get to know each other. Our personalities, our likes and dislikes, our hopes and dreams. The students at the university were heading into their exams week and didn’t have a whole lot of time to spare for us. Aash, our supervisor was wonderfully supportive. She helped us to find an organization called PPAWS (Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society); a vet clinic that would allow us to practice our skills. We told them of the mamma cat and her four babies on the property. They told us we could bring mamma in to have her spayed, for free. It touched me to see how generous this company was. The extent of their generosity runs even greater than that, and it’s something that changed me. It will become relevant later on in this blog post.

After being in Phnom Penh for nearly four days, we finally got to present our teachings. It can be so incredibly draining, and frustrating having a language barrier. Every single slide I read, the professor had to translate. The first time I was here, and they had to do that, it was the start of my entitlement. I remember thinking “I thought these students knew English”, “I can barely understand them”. It could be physically exhausting trying to maintain a conversation as the students took us out or joined us for a meal. That same feeling started to come back to me as I read off the slides-the students still weren’t getting it. I remember thinking to myself “Oh well. I’ve done my best. I’ve given them the tools and they can use it however they want”. That afternoon my presentation got ripped apart by our supervisor. It was an emotionally exhausting day. The following morning, I took the advice from my supervisor and cleaned up my report thinking, “Lets give this one more try”. This time, I allowed for pauses in my slides, not overwhelming the professor as he explained things to the students. By the end of this lesson, they actually got it. I taught them about prevalence studies and they gave me the perfect example. I was shocked and filled with joy, we were actually getting somewhere! I felt like I was finally doing some good.

I’m going to skip forward a few more days. Yesterday we brought in the mamma cat to get spayed. I asked one of the workers how much it would cost to have her four kittens taken care of as well. Before we could discuss pricing, I was pulled away to come watch a surgery. After the surgery they came up to me and told me “You can bring them in at any time, we won’t charge you anything because you’re doing a great service”. Something about this really touched me. I’m an American, I am considered “wealthy” in their eyes, and truthfully I am. I can drink water from my tap, I don’t have to worry about twenty-five cents.

The following evening, I attended dinner with a Cambodian friend who had recently graduated from Melbourne University on a scholarship. I admired how he could move to a country where they didn’t speak his first language and attend for two years, making a life for himself. It really touched me, because I can barely get by two weeks here. It made me realize how entitled and self-absorbed I am. Before parting for the evening, my friend asked me “Do you want to come to my place for breakfast tomorrow? My mother would love to see you again. She loved that you were so ‘joyful’’’. Joyful. I must be a good actress because in my heart I felt pity. How shameful am I? These people take pride in their country and their language and so should I. These people have a fraction of the luxuries that I do and yet, they are truly filled with joy. Enough joy that they feel the need to share what little they have with us.

To my fellow students. We are so incredibly blessed beyond words; we don’t know what it’s like to be hungry, to have to drink only from plastic water bottles. Please don’t miss out on the opportunity to open your heart to new things. There will be times of trial, there will be moments that will make you uncomfortable. Feel them fully. Learn to acquire the same joy and pride that these people have. I almost missed this opportunity. I am so glad I got a second chance, maybe God knew I wasn’t ready the first time. As for the strangers I started the trip off with, I now call them friends.

Tuesday 6th August

Today we held a 2 hour workshop with 18 students on Cat and Dog physical examinations and some basic diagnostic techniques. Whilst not necessarily exactly the topic we had set out to be teaching in more depth we joined in with the spirit of the locals to be versatile and flexible to the wants of the students. Luckily the animal clinic is a matter of meters from the Guesthouse as today was another fairly wet day with a threatening sky looming. 

Having got lucky with a break in the weather and made it to the class dry. We set about refreshing the approach to the clinical exam then divided students into small groups to go and have a chance to practice with a real life dog. This was a very obliging pitbull owned by a student. Whilst other groups were doing this we improvised and kept the class engaged by discussing how different abnormalities could be interpreted and what might be the next step in the diagnostic plan. The students then were getting involved and we fielded questions which led the tutorial into teaching fluid rate calculations which was well received.

In the end, every student got a good chance to practice a head-tail exam on a dog and practice at least reading and listening to some english. The braver ones were great at asking questions and translating for friends. By the end everyone had a smile and seemed either relieved to have survived another english class or genuinely thankful for our efforts. Buoyed by a job well done, we made it home just before the monsoon started once more.

As I write this it continues to rain steadily, I am hoping that it relents before our dinner plans with Sothun tonight.

The weekend went well with us getting some sight-seeing in. Alexa and Indah enjoyed dinner and a show with them attending a traditional puppet show on Saturday night. They were astounded that some of the puppeteers were revealed at the end of the show to be prepubescent! There is truly great art and culture and so much talent in this country.

Sunday was a day wandering the peaceful grounds of Wat Phnom and hunting high and low for a copy of an ancient asian board game called ‘Go’ with no success unfortunately, though we did get to experience the intensity of the central market. Quite a grand bazaar, the main building is a great piece of architecture designed by a local architect.