A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 15 October 2014

Cambodian trip 'life-changing' for [Australia's] Bega students

A RECENT trip to Cambodia and Vietnam has been described as “amazing, life-changing and inspirational” by a group of the attending Bega High School students.
The 18 Year 10 and 11 students returned from their 17-day tour of the South East Asian countries last week, filled with stories and enthusiasm about their trip.
The BDN recently caught up with four of the students - Millie Boyle, Lindsay McLeod, Rose Terrey and Rhys Davies – to hear of their travels.
“It was a good first experience travelling overseas, that’s for sure,” Rhys said.
“It has definitely given me a taste for travel.”
Beginning their journey in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the students then went to the country’s capital Phnom Penh, then travelled through Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and on to coastal town Hoi An.
They visited the non-government organisations (NGOs) for which they had spent the previous year raising funds to donate - reaching more than $27,000 USD and exceeding their target.
“It was good to see where our money was actually going,” Rose said.
Highlights for the group included a visit to a floating village, the shopping, the food and seeing Angkor Wat - a huge temple complex near Siem Reap built in the 12th Century.
“It’s hard to believe how they lifted all the stones up there, it is so big,” Lindsay  said.
Lindsay particularly enjoyed hanging out with children they met at the NGOs, and Rose said building a house in Phnom Penh they had fundraised for was a great experience.
A memorable moment for Millie, who made it through the trip on crutches, was when they tasted tarantula, which she described as being “oily, chewy and dry”.
Year 10 students who visited Cambodia and Vietnam recently are (from left) Millie Boyle, Lindsay McLeod, Rose Terrey and Rhys Davies.
Year 10 students who visited Cambodia and Vietnam recently are (from left) Millie Boyle, Lindsay McLeod, Rose Terrey and Rhys Davies.
Travelling overseas had changed the perceptions of the students about living in Australia and South East Asia.
“Definitely for me, before coming home I thought Australia doesn’t have a culture,” Rhys said.
“It might not be as strong or as obvious, but we definitely do have a culture here.
“We also seem to take everything for granted here, compared to over there where they get by on what they have and are happy about it.”
Rose agreed they lived very differently, and they remained positive despite the extensive poverty.
“They live without things like electricity, but they seem so happy,” she said.
“The culture is so different, even with things like how they get around, they just walk or they bike.”
Millie said in Cambodia there is a large difference between the standards of living there, as there was a lot of corruption in the country.
“Everyone is either very poor or very rich,” she said.
The students were glad they were able to connect with the people of Cambodia and Vietnam, making friendships as they visited the NGOs.
“Everyone is all so lovely over there,” Rose said.
“We would be going down the river on a boat and everyone passing you would just wave.”
The students thanked their teachers for making the experience possible, and they enjoyed travelling together as a school group.

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