Siem Reap, and AEC2

Breakfast at the hotel was amazing! Huge Buffet in different parts of the dining room. A chef for omelets, eggs, bacon etc. A lady cutting fresh fruits and putting it on your plate. French pastries like you can't believe, a cereal bar, a salad bar, a breakfast soup bar, it was amazing. Then we walked to AEC 2 which is just a block or two down the street. This is a little different set up than Phnom Penh. The Employment center is a little ways away from where some of the girls live. Some are married and there is an on site daycare which has about 9 kids, tiny kids and so adorable. Luckily I had enough candy bags to share! Their mothers made them say please and thank you first, in the traditional Khmer method of prayer hands then a bow. (BTW pronounced Ka-my) I think we had 14 girls, a much smaller group and just taught them all at the same time. They shared machines. Their machines ran much better than the ones in Sway Pak, we need to get those girls new machines. Maybe that will be my next project. They loved their sewing kit project and were done in nothing flat. Really accomplished sewists. They make all of the kimonos.

We took a tuk-tuk to Mike's Burgers for lunch. Great fries. The Khmer family that owns it modeled it after In and Out burgers! They even know what protein style is! And they had fry sauce. Only people on the west coast seem to know what it is! When we got back to the employment center we spent the afternoon trouble shooting problems with the kimonos. They ream terribly on the double fold hem on the bias. Thank goodness Mary Collen is a night owl and I was texting back and forth with her. We lightened the presser foot pressure and I also loosened up the tension itself, shortened the stitch and it and it is laying a little flatter. I even got to sew on one. So we left strict instructions how to fix the problem when we left. Really sweet girls. I think the thing that made the greatest impression on me was that they were singing. Singing. The fact that they have something in their life to sing about just made my heart so happy. They are happy women. They have hope, they have income, and they have people that truly care about them. My hat goes off to the AIM staff. What a bunch of caring, wonderful people.  No westerner at AIM receives a salary. They are all volunteer and are supported by friends and family at home. Our church, our family, our friends, have been so generous to Kat. I can't tell you how much we appreciate it. By your giving you really are changing the world. She is changing the world. I've often heard it said that one person can't change the world, but you can change the world for one person. That's what this team is doing. AIM just rescued their 1000th girl last month. All Khmer staff receive a salary. They try to turn more and more jobs over to them so they are helping their own people. I'm off topic...

After we said our goodbyes and left the center we went downtown and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. My first Indian food. I ordered it with nothing spicy, and it was delicious. We walked around town and the night markets. Hundreds of vendors in little stalls, they are open until midnight. Cambodia is so busy at night! It's the only time it's not burning hot! Still humid but not so hot. I bought some souvenirs etc. Sorry, I ate all the coconut candy and am not bringing any home. Tuk-tuk drivers are everywhere and we wondered around a corner where they hang out. This is how you hire a strange man to take your mother to Angkor Wat for the day.... You just kept asking if they speak English very well or just a little. One guy told us we wouldn't find anyone like that among Tuk-tuk drivers! But leave it to Kat she found one, questioned him thoroughly, haggled the price and he promised to be at the hotel at 9:00 am. He dropped us off at our hotel (so we could checkout his driving skills) and we fell into bed exhausted...AGAIN. I don't know how this girl lives like this!