(Andrew) After exploring the breathtaking temples of Angkor Wat, we spent the last week of our Cambodian experience with an inspiring organization called Cambodian Living Arts (CLA). From 1975 to 1979, Cambodia was ruled by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The impact on Cambodia was huge: 25% of the Cambodian population died during those […]
Read moreBiker Chick
(Emma) Our guide/friend, Seyha has a motor bike. There is a thing called a tuk tuk. It is a motor bike with a cart on the back. It holds up to 5 people. So 1 of us had to go on the back of the motor bike. Now it was my turn. I got on […]
Read moreTowering Over Tourism
(Andrew) In Cambodia, we had two different experiences, Cambodian Living Arts and the temples of Angkor Wat. We visited 4 temples in the Angkor complex: Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm and Banteay Srei. All of them were stunning and had their own special feature. For Angkor Wat it was its massiveness, for Bayon there were […]
Read moreHow Can This Happen?
(Dana) The Holocaust. Apartheid in South Africa. The annihilation of 25% of Cambodians by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Three almost unfathomable human tragedies perpetrated by human beings against other human beings. Three atrocities for which I had limited historical context before this trip. Three incredible history lessons for the 6Explorers through visits to […]
Read moreHappy, Smiling People
(Dana) As advertised, the Balinese are lovely, smiling people who welcomed us warmly to their island. Some thoughts from our 12 days: * Rice fields still dominate the landscape and still represent a major part of the economy and food. Growing rice remains a very labor-intensive process as terraced rice paddies do not easily support […]
Read moreBodies Under the Stars
Bali is only a few miles away from its much larger neighbor to the West, Java, separated by the easily traversed 2.3km Bali Strait. Bali is a really nice place and the Javanese discovered this early. No surprise, then, that the vast majority of today’s Balinese are actually transplanted people from Java whose forebearers crossed […]
Read moreBalinese Wedding Bells
(Alex and Emma) Today all six of us are wearing new sarongs and sashes for a traditional Balinese wedding. We had asked our driver, Wayan, to bring us to places not too many tourists have been, and he offered to bring us with him to a wedding in his village. The ceremony this morning is […]
Read moreWhat We’ve Learned So Far
(January, 2011) Usually the Road Scholars write free form prose in their journals. But sometimes, the Road School Faculty asks them to respond to specific writing prompts in a more structured 5 paragraph manner. We asked the four to consider and write about what they had learned so far? We are very proud of their […]
Read moreAndrew: Learned So Far
The privilege to go around the world and learn so many things is amazing. It was so hard to pick just three things to highlight in this document. But when forced, I chose these three because it is important to get these messages out to other people: soccer is a connection, smiling brings people together, […]
Read moreAlexandra: Learned So Far
While on this trip, we have been learning a lot. We have visited many different cultures, tribes and lives. Of all of the things we have learned, I chose to talk about water, life lessons and how people are alike all over the world. Water is a necessity of all living things on the planet. […]
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