Final days: Podcast performance and Maple Ridge farewell.
Now that the full performances were done, all the kids had left to do was two partial performances. The first was a special event as we attended a recording of Khmer Voices, a Vancouver podcast hosted by Vanny Whitchelo, a Cambodian-Canadian who focuses on stories of Cambodians in Canada. The kids performed two dances for the audience (Coconut Dance and Stick Dance), and Sarah explained what Rescue Cambodia does and how people can help through donations/sponsorships. It was interesting hearing the stories of Cambodian-Canadians during the podcast, as it provided insight into the struggles of identity and culture faced by the Khmer diaspora in the western world.
After our time with Khmer Voices had finished, we took the kids to a Pho Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant that specialized in the titular dish for a relatively early supper. One of the features at the restaurant was a challenge of finishing a 3kg (6.6 lbs) bowl of pho in under 45 minutes: succeeding would make the dish free and get you a photograph on a wall of fame. We were all amazed to see that the second fastest time on the board (18 minutes) was held by a skinny Asian woman. Nobody took the challenge, but we were all impressed by the overly generous serving sizes. After finishing up at Pho Kitchen, we went back to the home of Henry and Ardie Vis, the coordinators of our visits to Maple Ridge. We enjoyed ice cream bars and other snacks, but the real purpose of our visits was to engage in a series of fun games. The kids were introduced to the blanket game, the classic icebreaker activity that tests people's ability to quickly remember names. The game quickly devolved into the kids finding ways to cheat or trick their opponents, resulting in lots of humorous moments.
The next day saw the kids do their final performances, as they performed the Coconut Dance and Stick Dance for the kids at Maple Ridge Alliance Church during Sunday school. Sarah oversaw the proceedings, telling the kids about Cambodia and having them try parts of the dances (I was surprised to see that the Maple Ridge kids insisted that the Stick Dance was not that hard). After the Sunday school activities finished, we spent time packing up for the next day's departure. During this time, the team surprised me with an early birthday party, as I would be turning redacted the next day. My mom gifted me a pack of my favorite snacks, which the kids constantly tried to steal.
The next day would be the team's last day in Canada. Most of the day was spent packing and preparing for the trip back to Cambodia, with the foyer of Maple Ridge Alliance becoming a hub of suitcases, hockey bags, and impatient children. Several of the kids dragged their feet during the packing, resulting in numerous instances of them wandering away from the work. As this was happening, my father, Blaine, had arrived in a u-haul truck to take Seephat and Tra to a location to grab more bags for the trip. Along the way, the three of them stopped by another pho restaurant where the two men enjoyed filming and photographing my dad without his knowledge.
Once the packing had finished, we loaded everything on to the bus and departed to the Vis residence to spend the evening goofing off. Early in our time there, my mother gave me slaps on the shoulder as "punishment" for tickling one of the girls, which made the kids howl with laughter. Soon, all of the kids were piling on top of me, trying to get me to fight back so that they could see my mom "punish" me again. I eventually turned the tables and engaged in a very lengthy game of hide-and-seek with the kids, although the rules we played by were rather loose and ill-defined. In between playtime, we had a noodle supper provided by Thawin, the last she would make for the team.
After bidding farewell to Henry and Ardi, we made the drive to the Vancouver airport. We spent a long time unpacking, and when we were finished we bid farewell to Mike, our hardworking and loving bus driver for the last portion of the tour. The lineup to get the team through check-in was a little difficult, as the size of the group created difficulties with the lineup arrangement. Unlike the two previous tours, where the team had some time to unwind before going through to their gate, the team left through the gate as soon as they were checked in. My mother and I prayed with the team before bidding farewell to them all (although we would be seeing them again in two weeks due to the November Vision Trip).
My mother and I were both notified later that the team's two flights (Vancouver to Taipei, Taipei to Phnom Penh) went well with no major issues. The Vancouver airport sped the kids through security and determined that there was too much carry-on baggage, leading to the kids traveling light as the bags were stored under the plane. Based off photos sent in the group-chat, it looks like the kids had a lot of fun playing on the plane's interactive screens, particularly a bowling game. When the team arrived in Cambodia, my mother and I were pleased to see their arrival photos on the Rescue Facebook page.
Thanks to everyone who read this blog! My mother and I will be taking a team of 21 Canadians to Cambodia on November 11, which I will be posting photos of on the Rescue Cambodia Facebook page. I look forward to seeing all of you again!
God Bless,
Adam Sylvester
Comments