Rachel Murphy is currently serving as the travel manager for PTPI’s Educational and Humanitarian Initiative to Cambodia and Vietnam. The group left on Thursday, December 3, 2009. Stay tuned for more updates from Rachel here on the PTPI Blog, follow Rachel’s updates on Twitter or read more on her blog.
The sun rises in the mist in Phnom Penh. Hazy and dissolute, one can’t tell if the haze is mist or smog, or if it intends to cloak the city for the day. It’s softening blanket gives the skyline more mystery than it warrants, as under its protection the city wakes and begins the bustle that I know is there.
Some of the sights of Cambodia
After two long flights, the People to People International Cambodia and Vietnam delegation has arrived in country. This is my first trip with PTPI and I really didn’t know what to expect. Reading the dossiers of my delegates, I was blown away by the accomplishments, degrees and globetrotting status of the people that I am supposed to coordinate. It’s enough to make a travel manager quiver in anticipation.
But when you meet them all standing in line at the airport and everyone wears the same world weary face of the about to travel, there’s a leveling effect. Each and every one that I find over the next several hours is like an Easter egg, bright, cheerful and waiting to be found. There’s a lot of laughter from a group that is about to spend 17 hours in a plane together.
Fitful sleep is expected and delivered as we carefully arc from Los Angeles to Tai Pei, Taiwan and immediately from Tai Pei to Phnom Penh. Sleep eludes me on the last connecting flight and open the Outside Magazine that I purchased at the airport. It’s topic? Philanthropy and altruism in the world of adventure sports. How apropos.
In it, I read about climbers who haves started schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Surfers that champion conservation. Bicyclists that buy bikes for orphans. While many of them are athletes, there are ordinary people that are using their skills to benefit those that need it. And I realized that our mission on this trip is much the same.
People to People’s mission statement is “Peace through Understanding.” On this trip we’ll be visiting Non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) that are in the field on the ground living that motto, from The HALO Trust to the Library of Vietnam. But we’re also living it everyday, as we interact with our guides, meet the local people, immerse ourselves in their struggles and learn their history. It’s a goal that is never truly accomplished because there will always be another step to take, but there is hope in groups like these. These are the people that want to walk the path to understanding. And today we take our first step.
Good morning Cambodia. Nice to meet you.
