Thursday, December 07, 2006 @8:49 AM
MY REFLECTIONS(for my cambodia trip...the copy i'm sending to mslim)All my life, I've grown up in a very pampered and protected world. My parents provided me with everything i ever asked for, so coming onto this trip, seeing how hard people have to work for the things they need, not just merely want, really changed me deep inside.Firstly it made me realise, all the poverty and desperation to survive that i saw in that little black box in my living room is real. Its not a 256 true colour resolution motion picture but reality.I remembered one day I saw two little kids rummaging our trash when our group were still preparing for lessons in the afternoon. They looked no older than five and should have been siblings from they way they held each other's hand. They were happily going through what we have just thrown out from the library, worthless junk to us. However, these two kids prized our junk. They ran through everything and was drawn to those things that were colourful. They took what they wanted out of the trashbags and I did not have the heart to stop them but looked on.I continued observing them till i could stand it no longer. They looked so adorable I had to approach them. Upon a closer look, I noticed the worn-out patches in their clothes, the gaps and decay in their teeth. I reminded myself they were only five at most, but their teeth look positively old. It was only the glint of mischief in their eyes that suggested that they were little children and it was that glint that captivated me.I chased them around the compound and help them gathered as much "trash" as they could. Sometimes they held up things that were not trash and I had to take it back from their little hands, it was so heart wrenching. I wished I could give them everything they wanted and a set of toothbrush and toothpaste, but I could not.I just continued playing with them and at that moment, the elder sister shouted something in khmai and she started running out of the compound. The little boy took a few seconds to comprehend his sister and followed estastically after her.I chased after them, to make sure they did not get hurt. Once they come to a bend in the road, they looked back and waved to me, saying goodbye.This incident greatly changed me as the things we absent-mindedly thrown out seemed to be the world to those kids. It make me wonder if there are other things in life we are throwing away, something others value so much but we are ignorant to its value.I was throwing away my relationship with my parents, having no care for what they say or do for me at times. However after seeing these two kids, i feel so blessed to have my parents.I've changed.I've stopped throwing things that matter away.I'll cherish all that i have now and appreciate my parents more for allowing me a chance to have them.WEIXIN