Everyone loves shopping!

Rachel Weinberger and Brigid McCaffery

Late afternoon/evening December 30^th

After a long trip from Phnom Penh, including several unsuccessful stops to attempt to repair the air-conditioning, we were all relieved to arrive in Siem Reap.  We enjoyed the pool and took much-needed showers before heading out to explore the town.  We had dinner at Khmer Kitchen, where many of the kids ordered chocolate shakes and French fries. We went a little American during this meal. We also met Megan from Caring For Cambodia, who has been here for almost two years. She is the one who will give us our tour tomorrow when we begin our work on the school’s construction and design. After dinner, we all went to the night market, which was decorated with a lot of lights for the New Year. All of the girls bought elephant pants and white shirts in an attempt to be submerged in the Cambodian culture. The boys purchased pajama-style pants, white blouses, and rice farmer hats that they wore proudly back to the hotel. There were so many different types of merchants and artisans selling their goods and services at the market. Around each corner, you could discover small paintings, Buddhas, clothing, massages, jewelry and bags. The girls of course, not mattering that it was Cambodian style, went crazy over the idea of shopping. We spent a couple hours shopping and bargaining for good prices, even though we didn’t know when we were getting ripped off or not. After several false turns and backtracking, we returned to our hotel and settled in for our first night in Siem Reap.