Hello hello hello everyone and once again welcome to Don Donh Diaries, the official record of our antics on the beautiful island of Don Donh. Over the past twelve days we have lived and laughed with the amazingly kind and generous people of this......Read More
Welcome back everyone to Don Dohh Diaries (not Dairies — sorry about last time). For those of you who are new here, this is the second installment in a series tracking and recording the funny, unexpected, and just plain weird moments we as a group......Read More
A few days ago we arrived on this little island of 100 households where everybody seems to be friends. In the morning, each of us leaves their home and joins the only cemented street on the island to go to the primary school yard where our lessons......Read More
Hello everyone and welcome to Don Donh Diaries, a series dedicated to recording and sharing the odd, unusual, or hilarious moments we as a group encounter during our homestay here on the island. I’m not promising any major life lessons, just a......Read More
The first days at our homestay in Don Donh, a small Catholic village on an island between two channels of the Mekong River, have been filled with Lao language and history lessons, village volleyball matches and local games, and seemingly endless......Read More
Somewhere deep in the jungle within the Mondulkiri Province, we are sipping Nescafe from freshly cut stalks of bamboo and preparing for the second day of our trek; our bittersweet final day in Cambodia. Our guide, Nao, a member of the indigenous......Read More
Breaking news! Our bus has broken down on our way from Pakse to Thakhek, Laos, but don’t worry, another bus will be coming for us soon. Early this morning, we had an amazing breakfast with coffee from our guest house. After breakfast, we......Read More
Picture this: it’s nine o’clock pm, twelve sleepy dragons are trying to put up their hammocks on the roof of a boat to sleep; very unsuccessfully I might add. As we pulled up to dock where we were to stay for the night, we saw giant laser beams......Read More
Sabaidee from Laos! The group is adjusting very well to the slower, laid back culture that is embodied in “Laos time” as we wrap up our in-country orientation in the second country of this fluid, river-born experiential program. Our last couple......Read More
I decided to include some of my favorite pictures in this Yak Post. I hope they convey some of the powerful energy I felt taking them. Photo 1: Our First Long Bus Ride: Phnom Penh Photo 2: Simple Joy This is probably my very favorite picture. I had played with this little girl for some time. When I asked her for a picture, she picked up her cat and burst into laughter. Photo 3: Camping and Bonfire Preparations This was taken on the first night of our trek in Kirirom National Park. We had so much fun collecting wood, making… Read More
Almost a week ago, we left the island of our first homestay after a teary goodbye and a wicked dance party with our host families. Our group headed back into Phnom Penh and within a little more than an hour we were at the Starwood Inn where our trip......Read More
We’ve spent the past week learning about Cambodia’s distant and recent history. After leaving our homestays in Koh Sach Tonlea, we spent a few days in Phnom Penh, where we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Euk Killing......Read More
Water rained down upon us, as we plunged our hands in and out of the normally still and shimmering Bassac River. Through the chaotic fray, it was impossible to decipher how many of us there were or who was splashing whom. Our group of seven or eight......Read More
Seven misty mountains Oh you are an endless, awesome blue It was with my hands That I calmed your slopes And gave you simple grace This soundless calm Touched me And I reached out And smoothed Seven misty mountains...Read More
Suasdey (hello!) from the village of Kbal Koh Kait on Koh Ksach Tunlea, an island situated between two channels of the Bassac River in Southern Cambodia, the home of our in-country instructor Thavry and the site of our first homestay. Our days here......Read More
Growing up in Vermont, my parents were always avid believers in appreciating the great outdoors. We have often laughed over memories of the ways I used to recite the words to The Cat in the Hat as a coping mechanism when facing “the scenic......Read More
