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#Grew a step further with a stronger sense of responsibility #Precious connections and a deeply moving bond #A grateful time in which I received more than I gave
©Korea gapyear
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Most of them were older than me and very talented, but their humility and very cheerful manner made them easy to approach, and because we had many points of mutual understanding, it wasn''t difficult to feel comfortable.Through this volunteer work I felt that I made many good connections, and I was truly grateful.
-Gift of Music in Cambodia music volunteer gap-year |
With the title ''Gift of Music in Cambodia'', I was very excited to leave Korea for my first overseas volunteer trip. It was even more exciting because it had been almost six years since I last went to Incheon Airport.Before departure we gathered together for the first time to greet each other and take photos. Since we weren''t very close yet there was a bit of awkwardness and an unfamiliar atmosphere, but everyone left Korea with hearts full of expectation.
When we arrived in Cambodia! The weather was cloudy and not great, but I was very excited and amazed by the exotic streets and atmosphere. On the first day we dropped our bags at the hotel and went out for dinner, and we ended up at a Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant that was said to be the most distinctive and expensive in Phnom Penh. It was fascinating to meet and talk face-to-face with the North Korean sisters I had thought I would never see, and I couldn''t help but admire their outstanding performances. That was how the first day ended in wonder.
From the second day, we followed the schedule: we visited the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia for introductions, and the performance team and the volunteer team each proceeded with their plans and rehearsals separately.As a member of the volunteer team, I discussed and worked on concretizing the programs we had planned at the pre-meeting, but the harder-than-expected part was figuring out how detailed we needed to be in order to achieve good results when actually running the program.
We struggled because we couldn''t quite get a feel for it, but with the help of the team members we were able to set a framework. During a short break, a Cambodian mother bought some local fruit for us to try, and an unusual point was that she dipped the fruit into instant noodle seasoning! At first I was surprised by the incongruity, but when I actually tried it, I surprisingly liked the taste.
After making the plan we visited Soban Koma and had time to greet and talk with the children. At first I was a little worried about whether communication with the children would go well and whether we could smoothly carry out the program we had planned. But as if those worries were unnecessary, although the children were shy at first, as we greeted each other and played, we naturally became close, which was surprising. One regret was that because I was having schedule meetings with Nimol, the orphanage manager, I couldn''t communicate more with the children. However, the meetings were a time when I could gain more responsibility and learning, so it was not a wasted time at all.
©Korea gapyear
And when we left Soban Koma promising to come back tomorrow, the children kept waving and seeing us off until the bus was out of sight, which was touching. I thought their bright, innocent smiles were beautiful, and I was very grateful to the children who welcomed us so warmly.
In the evening, all members of the volunteer team gathered to prepare for the main program the next day, and a very good idea came up: let''s give the children name tags, so we decided to implement it the next day. During today''s getting-to-know session the children showed interest in our names and tried to memorize them, which looked so lovely, and we unanimously agreed it would be nice if we called the children by name and remembered them.
On the third day, we went to see the children early in the morning and they welcomed us so warmly. As we had planned the day before, we asked each child their name and called them in Korean, and the children liked it very much.Calling them by name felt much more affectionate and made it easier to become close than just saying ''hey''.
We alternated between games famous in Cambodia and games from Korea, sang the children''s songs we had prepared, and joined in singing the songs the children had learned at school, spending time exchanging our cultures.
All the children were lovely, but the most memorable was a child named Tear, who often surprised me with a seriousness and sharp questions not typical of a child. I feel that, thanks to this child, I improved my English over the course of the volunteer work. He/she even asked about the next day''s schedule and what program we would present, which was a bit chilling, but their innocent side and the way they seriously apologized for their mischief were also very endearing.
On the fourth day, because of performance preparations there wasn''t much time to spend with the children, and I was very disappointed that I couldn''t participate in the performance at Soban Koma, which must have been very exciting, to help support other tasks.
©Korea gapyear
And leaving without saying farewell to the children felt very sad. I briefly wondered whether the children would remember me, and I was heartbroken when team members said they had looked for me a lot while I was gone. If I have another opportunity, I definitely want to visit Soban Koma again.
After successfully finishing the performances at the CKCC Hall and at Soban Koma, we held a party to celebrate, and for that day everyone shook off their tension and worries and enjoyed themselves to the fullest. As the days passed, the initial awkwardness disappeared, and I increasingly felt that everyone was such a wonderful person.
Most of them were older than me and very talented, but their humility and very cheerful manner made them easy to approach, and because we had many points of mutual understanding, it wasn''t difficult to feel comfortable.Through this volunteer work I felt that I made many good connections, and I was truly grateful.The next day we moved from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. After dozing fitfully on the bus for eight hours, we visited Cambodia''s representative Angkor Wat and the night market. Enjoying the exotic and novel sights, for that day I truly felt like a tourist in Cambodia.
©Korea gapyear
After many events in a flash, in the blink of an eye the last day arrived.This day was especially busy because there were three performances. Although the schedule was a bit tight, the performance team successfully completed all three performances, and when the final show ended, it felt a little empty knowing there were no more events.
After completing all these volunteer activities, I suddenly felt that although we had started the service to give something to Cambodia or through music, rather than giving them more, I think I received more from them.
I felt very grateful that I was able to take precious things into my eyes and heart and return much stronger than before departure, and I gained a resolution and a bit of confidence that if another opportunity like this comes, I want to perform even better.
While running, playing, and laughing with the children, I was able to once again feel the flutter in my heart for the things I do.
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