And herein lies the problem...... Not every village is organized enough to be able to take advantage of our skills. Today we are in the countryside, not far from Vietnam. I have been to this monastery three times before, the school sits across the street.
But we have been here for four hours and only seen a few children. The school, and teachers specifically, are having a difficult time organizing the students and bringing them across for treatment. Very few children will acknowledge their name and pick up their dental chart. In fact, the children are running wild in the schoolyard and the teachers don't seem to care. Most of the children that we have seen are wearing very dirty uniforms and, though we realize that children will be children, these guys are particularly poorly behaved. One boy tore up his chart in front of us and ran away. Strange.
Thus, we've taken time to explore the monastery grounds. Each year the large temple gets a bit more work done. When we first came to this monastery only the foundation was complete. Now there are several beautiful murals adorning the walls.
And a spectacular altar.
But Cambodia is a complex country.........From one perspective it can be beautiful.
While if you change your perspective and view the same thing from a different angle, it can appear quite changed.
And that sums up Cambodia. It's too complex to begin to understand.
As for Fifi, she has taken to wearing a hard hat. The drivers here do not follow rules. Today, one crossed the median strip and our mirrors collided at high speed. She is a bit traumatized, and has decided you can never be too safe. Tomorrow we visit the COLT orphanage, our old friends. She whispered to me that she will be sad to leave Cambodia but she's exhausted.
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