The crew of the Westmont Cambodia Immersion Trip has safely arrived in Phnom Penh, the largest city in north-central Cambodia. The past four days in the southern city of Siem Reap were nothing short of remarkable.

Our trip has begun with such a solid base of cultural experience and integration. We are being exposed to all of the beauties and tragedies of modern Cambodian life. It has been less than a decade that the country has been free from the fear and devastation of continual war. In the 70’s, a civil war debilitated the entire country — what is called the Khmer Rouge genocide. Cambodians of the Khmer Rouge brutally killed the entire educated Cambodian class, and anyone critical of their political aims. Yesterday we visited a children’s hospital, free to all, that prides itself on being a teaching and training center. After the devastation of the genocide, 40 doctors were left in the whole country. I can’t even begin to imagine the state the of an entire country in that situation.

Lauren Salaun, in our group, describes this history so well!

Pol Pot’s regime wiped out 2 million Cambodian people—the educated were targeted, while children were used as spies, soldiers, and sex slaves. Because so many of the older generation were killed, more than 50% of the current Cambodian people are under 18 years old. The Khmer Rouge really did an excelled job crippling the nation—murdering professors, teachers, doctors, and anyone else with any education. It would be hard enough to recover from years of war, but a regime that only left children, the poor, and the uneducated? The horrors of the Khmer Rouge aren’t even really taught in school and it’s still not ok to talk openly about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, because, as our guides have told us, you don’t even know if your neighbor was former Khmer Rouge.

Today, it’s difficult for many of the people – especially in rural areas – to live beyond today. We are so focused on the future, for ourselves and our children, in the US. When the adults are only thinking of whether they’ll make it to tomorrow, the situation in debilitating.

I have been astounded by the rich culture, traditions and history here. One of the highlights our first day was visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World — Angkor Wat (built in the 12th c). In a single day we visited four elaborate temples. The local claim-to-fame is Angelina Jolie’s stint at the temples to film “Tomb Raider.”

Here are just a few of our adventure highlights….!

Playing with wild monkeys on the roadside, eating large spindly BBQ’d crickets in the country, riding in tuk-tuks, fruit parties on the bus, seeing a floating village (all houses literally floating!) with locals that would paddle up to our boat carrying sodas for sale and humongous snakes, herds of crocodiles kept under a floating restaurant, wild marketplaces, a woman with tarantulas on her shirt (just for attention’s sake!), traditional Khmer dance performances, and the best moment of all…being caught a tropical thunderstorm and getting lost in the middle of the most beautiful, exotic temple ruins I’ve ever seen.

It’s nearing midnight here. I’m sitting in the hotel lobby in Phnom Penh, watching beautiful Asian women escort men from the elevator out to the ominous red glow of the brothel across the street. The sign outside offers room stays as cheap as $5. As we move further into our time here, the reality of the sex industry is going to become more and more of . . . a reality. Being so near to it simultaneously fills me with rage, and breaks my heart.