Back Home

Posted by Emily I'm home now and it is really cold! It was really sad to say goodbye to everyone but I was happy to see my mom. The last night was really fun we had a huge party! And...

You Say Goodbye, and I say Hello

While Tenafly said goodbye to Cambodia, my mother and I said hello to Hanoi, Vietnam after a brief layover in Lao. This is a gorgeous city... I will post photos later, as this connection is very slow. We miss the...

A Masterful Evening: Farewell Tenafly

Thank you Tenafly! What a wonderful journey of discovery, not just for you, but for me as well. Thank you to Judy Greenwald, Mark Hyman, Jay, the kids and their parents for making all of this not only a possibilty,...

From Chanton

good bye tenafly, thanks. thank u so much for the trip in cambodia to know what is the khmer culture, cambodia people and real situation in cambodia, and i thank u so much for the best kind with landmine survivor...

I hate endings...but I like beginnings

Jessica K. We're approaching the end. Our bus leaves in 13 min. My grandpa and I took a quick walk around the hotel today. The motos don't stop, the tuk-tuks don't stop, sometimes the cars will stop. We crossed the...

dinner,dancers, and goodbyes

michaelangelo~ we entered the resturant to see arn, the dancers, and master Kong Nai. there were 2 beautiful 14 year old dancers(girls), and 3 boy dancers. Adam and i were introduced to the master and then we sat down at...

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish

Posted by Adam (Britzilla) Volerich Today is our last day and our bus for the airport leaves in just under a half hour. I want to thank all the people at CPI for making this trip possible, the parents and...

Golf Anyone?

Posted by Michael For our last full day in Cambodia, I made arrangements to play golf at the Cambodia Golf and Country Club while our teen delegation went to a public school. I hired a car to pick me up...

The Market

Posted by Adam (Britzilla) Volerich Today is our last full day in Cambodia. It is a free day and as a result I went to the market. What a great place it was, mountains of fake name brand clothing and...

Catching Our Breath

Richard Gallagher It has been wonderful to read everyone's reactions to the postings. Thanks to family and friends for sending special messages to Emily and Ben. The whole delegation helped Emily celebrate her 13th birthday with fun gifts and decorations....

James' Pics

Angkor Childrens Hospital, we get a flat, pickups to the rescue, a visit to Mines Advisory group. Click here to view....

Ben's 3rd, Final Blog

--Ben G.-- The last days of our tour of Cambodia are upon us, and I think it is fitting to discuss our accomplishments and the effects our experiences have had on us thus far. Yesterday, after a long bus ride...

MAG

Posted by Adam (Britzilla) Volerich MAG stands for Mines Advisory Group. Visiting Mag was a really great experience. We began our visit with a short briefing in their main office, where we looked at charts of the process of their...

Floating village, michaelangelo

we entered the tuk tuk. we drove for about half an hour. we got onto a boat. where were we going you might ask? we were going to the floating village....

More Pictures from Richard

A sunset on the temples, scenes from our visit to Angkor Children's hospital, Mark meets the locals, a school that stays above water, the end of a long day for a fisherman, Ella watches a demining demonstration, we visit an...

I'm a mommy

Posted by Emily Hey Everyone sorry i haven't bloged in a while. I have been so tired. Tommorows My Birthday!!! And yes I'm a mommy ...well not really! today we went to an orphange where you can't adopt the kids...

Landmine Museum

Posted by Adam (Britzilla) Volerich The landmine museum was one of the most amazing places i have ever been to. Landmines were evrywhere. The walls were lined with defused bombs and landmines spelling out various words. Shelves were lined with...

2 for $1

Jessica The temples were a wonder...the children hospital brought hope...the orphanage brought a connection...but the beggers brought something else. "Two for $1, two for $1" It repeats in my head. The 12 yr-old girl sticks out her index finger...

Two for one dollar

Posted by: Gabri(ella) Spitz Angkor Wat is absolutely gorgeous, but I can't stand it anyway. We get out of our tuk-tuk, and the first thing I hear is "Two for one dollar! ma'am, Two for one dollar!" An eight year...

Richard's Pictures at CPI Training Center

Mark goes up the Mekong, landmine victims become survivors, Dr. Greenwald tries on a dress, Emily learns about engine repair, and Ella visits a landmine survivor's business. Click the "more" button to view....

Ben's 2nd, Less Philosophical Blog

Posted by Ben On Friday, after spending the night in a hotel that was supposed to be very rundown but was actually quite satisfactory, we traveld by boat to the town of Streung Treung in Kampong Cham province. Here we...

A Chance Meeting

Posted by Michael The night before last our delegation left for an internet cafe blogging session and I chose to remain behind for a little alone time. I crossed the street with the intention of smoking my cigar, having a...

the wat

Posted by Michaelangelo today we took a tuk tuk ride to the ankor wat. this is one of the 7 wonders of the world. it is a hindu temple. this temple was amazing. on almost every square inch of...

The Adventure Continues: Do you want Pringles or Spiders with that?

Richard Gallagher Today we traveled from Kampong Cham to Siam Reap by bus. The road is a narrow paved path that cuts straight through fields and small towns with very few crossing roads for miles and miles. Sitting near the...

I See an old Friend

Posted by James It has been noticed and noted by my new friends on this trip that I love babies. I miss my own so much when I travel that I see my boys in each child. One affectionate, smiley...

Those Eyes

posted by Mark Hyman Those eyes. Those eyes... At Tuol Sleng, before the Khmer Rouge incarcerated, interrrogated, tortured and killed their victims, they took a photograph of them. Each was given a number, then brought to their cells. Their victims...

girl talk

Posted by Ella Today was absolutely amazing! Our trip began with a journey up the mekong river. We took this really funky boat that resembled a really really long helicopter, and sat on top of it. Mike gave this...

Meeting the beneficiaries

Richard Gallagher We met the survivors and family members who have been helped by the students from Tenafly. All of the parents, extended family, friends, and teachers of these children should be in awe of them. They are gloriously humble...

What happened to the toilets?

Jessica K. Oh wow...each day is an adventure. On Wed we devoted the day to learning about the genocide. I know you guys have prob been reading a lot about that. My grandfather kept trying to explain everything to me....

Cultural Connection

Michele Biasucci Hello, Friends! I enjoy the double honor of being Mark Hyman's wife and a teacher with the Paramus, New Jersey Schools! And, so, I am on this trip in both a personal and professional capacity. At school, I...

A recap of our days

Posted by Emily I realize through the past few days everyone has been BLOGGING about the genocide Museum and the killing feilds and at first i wasn't ready but now i feel i am. I have been really questioning humanity...

most moving day

posted by Dr. Greenwald (no shift key so no capital letters, not youir asst. supt. with no mechanics) this to me was our most important day. we visited the town and the schools to which we sent money for landmine...

Richard's Pictures

Jessica's Photos

Check out some of Jessica's photos here....

The Killing Fields and Landmines

posted by Dr. Greenwald It is maddening and heartwrenching to see all of this. Each piece of clothing, each skull, each bone was once a person's. Such depravation that caused all of this. (learn more about the Killing Fields here)I...

Ben's First Blog

Ben G. here posting my first "blog" in Cambodia. So far, the trip has been rather exciting and full of experiences that none of us will soon forget. We have all chosen different methods of dealing with some of the...

Learning Cambodian Dances

Emily G. This is my first Blog and so far this has been the most amazing expeirence i have ever had. I wan't to talk about two days ago. We went to Arn's organization Cambodian Masters Performers program. We were...

We're here!

Posted by Gabri(ella) Spitz I could probably ramble on for hours about the other days we were here, but everyone else has already done that multiple times, so I will talk about tuesday, at the Cambodian Living Arts organization....

Trip So Far

Posted by Adam V. This has been the most amazing experience of my life. We have visited many interesting places and done some really cool things. Visiting the Slums was a lot of fun, and i met myfuture wife there....

day 3: genocide museum

posted by michaelangelo today was a touching and emotional day for all of us who visited the genocide museum. this museum was an old school that was made into a torture chamber by the khmer rouge during the genocide. they...

They want everything I have

Jessica K. How do I explain my day? Is this place really in the same world I live on? Are Americans really angels? It can't be that most of the world, lives like this. We met Arn again today. Whenever...

The Beauty of the Cambodian People

Posted By Mark Hyman Dear Friends, My heart is full after today's experiences. Words are not sufficient, but I will try. Today we visited four music classes which are part of Arn Chorn's program "Cambodia Living Arts." The purpose of...

Incredible Day

Posted by Dr. Judy Greenwald Well, it's our first full day in Phnom Penh. We began by taking a tuck tuck around the city to get an overview of our environs. That was a prelude to our visit to the...

More on Irwaddy Dolphins

As previously posted here, Arn and I were apparently swimming with Irwaddy Dolphins while in the Mekong with the village children. Thanks to John Peterson (JP) for sending me the following: "Fascinated with the river dolphins. Actually amazed. They have...

Sunrise on the Mekong: Jogging with Elephants

By Bill Clark Having fended off jet-lag andslept pretty well on our first night in Phnom Penh, I wentout of the hotel at 5:30 AM in search of exercise inthe relative cool (after all, as Noel Coward once wrote, wisely,...

Tenafly Arrives!

The student delegation from Tenafly, New Jersey arrived today. We spent the afternoon visiting a pagoda next to our hotel and having our first group meeting where the kids discussed their commitment to, and the roots of their inspiration for,...

Scooter Culture

Scooters, or motos, are by far the most common form of transportation here in Phnom Penh. Certainly, I prefer them. But it is, obviously, economics over a desire for the open air that drives the Cambodian's choice. As a westerner,...

Working Class Heroes: Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development

I had posted this entry below on Tom Peters blog a almost a week ago. It occured to me I should post it here to give context to CPI's oft-mentioned partnership with Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development (CVCD) and our...

Mekong Dolphins

I learned today that the freaky "fish" sounds Arn and I heard that sounded like dolphins probably WERE dolphins. Irwaddy Dolphins. I did not know they even existed.... and they may not for much longer....

Instant Karma: I Wait for James!

Ok... I kinda consider myself more than a little street smart. At least enough to brush off a scam or an overly aggressive panhandler. I am all-too familiar with the elaborate"stranded here because..." stories that sound much like Nigerian inheritance...

Arn's Home: Swimming in Cambodia

I have never seen someone as happy and proud as Arn was while showing me his new home, which should be completed in a month. I wrote about Arn earlier here. Sitting on the banks of the Mekong, his...

How to get to Sesame Street?

Last night I was very fortunate to have dinner with Sarath and Chanton of CVCD) ,Sarath's wife (who's name escapes me), Sothea Arun (who used to run CVCD) and my old high school friend and Cambodian icon, Arn Chorn-Pond. Arn...

Tom and Jerry

My most recent entry from Cambodia can be found on my old friend Tom Peters' blog here. Speaking of Tom, ever since he and his blog team added a link to this blog from their website our hits have gone...

Phnom Penh: A Chrome Horse and a Diplomat

I just arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last night to a warm welcome from my good friend Sarath from Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development (CVCD). CVCD is our implementing partner for landmine survivor vocational skills training in rural Cambodia. It...

Bombhunters Movie Update

Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has been documenting scrap metal collectors that disable bombs for meager profits in South East Asia. (You can read more about CPI and scrap metal collectors in National Geographic and on Brita's Blog). His film is titled...

Our Friends at Mines Advisory Group

At our office here in Vermont, we were recently visited by Tim and Tariq of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) of Manchester, England. Our offices in Vietnam are within spitting distance of each other in Quang Tri Province (but, we...

TRIP: Lessons and Legacies of the Vietnam War

Our friends at The Fund for Reconciliation and Development are offering educational tours and organizing a national conference marking the thirtieth anniversary of peace and the tenth anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations beween the United States and Vietnam. Organizations...

Brita's Greatest Hits

Brita Stevenson recently completed a three month intership with CPI in our Central Vietnam office. While there, we asked her to blog her experiences... While I think the whole blog is a good read., I have picked out a few...

Getting Ready to Leave

Well... only a couple of days left til I take off to visit our project sites in Cambodia, Vietnam and a potential site in Laos. I met with the kids and the parents I will be taking from Global Care...