Arriving at Wat Opot

Tuesday, December 18

James arrives promptly at 9:30 am in good spirits. We chat the whole 2 hours and he seems impressed with our ambition and by Xander’s MIT education. He calls us the ‘Double A Team’.  He tells us a bit about SE Asian politics and feels that Cambodia is on the rise. The near 2 hour hot and dusty drive passes quickly.

Wayne, the orphanage director, greets us at the gate with Sam Nang and Sa Oun, 2 children who aren’t at school because their teachers didn’t show up. This time of the year in Cambodia is rice planting season and teachers often need to help out at home in the rural areas. Sometimes they only show up a couple of days in the week.

Wayne seems happy. He’s grown back his hair and beard since my last visit and seems relaxed and happy for visitors. We get the full tour with James. Lots of development has taken place in the last 3 years: new dorms, new craft rooms, a pig pen, more murals.

We eat lunch and I’m pleased to observe James and Wayne getting along as I know this is a prerequisite for his potential future employment at Wat Opot. James and I get out our ukes and start jamming in the gazebo. Kids gather and I see that James shines with the kids…Wayne is also paying attention to this. He teaches them the C chord and practices steady beat. He remarks how quickly Nac Toe (age 8) shows steady beat… “he has the nack!”  We play for about an hour, with kids of various ages coming in and out. The kids are back for their lunch time break from the heat. Finally, James has to catch the bus home, so he leaves after chatting to Wayne about some possible ideas for the music program. At dinner, Wayne says “if anyone can do it, James probably can” and I know he’s in.

The air feels lighter around Wat Opot this time. Melinda, who joined Wayne at Wat Opot in the last 2 years has made a dramatic difference and lightened the responsibility for Wayne. She makes light and cheerful conversation at dinner and there is an air of optimism.

Every evening after dinner, there is a mandatory meditation for everyone. Volunteers sit on stage with Melinda and all the kids sit in straight lines in the theatre. It is a time for daily announcements, then a song is played “Breathe into your quiet center”, sometimes another song of Wayne’s choice and then a few minutes of silence. The whole 20 minute ritual is quiet and most of the kids, ages 2-19, are focused.

After our evening’s meditation, we present the instruments. I open the box and show them how to take them out safely and carefully put them into their cases. I do a recorder demo and get a wild applause. Excitement is in the air! I invite children onto the stage to join in the unwrapping ceremony most are respectful with the instruments. We take the box with all the instruments (12 ukuleles and 20 recorders) to our dorms so we can make sure they’re all together and keep track of them.

Xander and I bring out a couple ukes to sit outside and do some pre-bedtime practicing and see if there are any older kids around. Leak, a 15 yr. old boy, comes with his phone and sings along to a pretty song in Khmer. He has an amazing voice! I remember him well from my visit 3 years ago as a very sweet boy, who always wanted to be near me and spoke excellent English, even then. He apologizes for not remembering me. I’m not that surprised, as Wat Opot gets many volunteers that stay anywhere from a weekend to 9 months. Naturally, his song has the standard 3 chords common to most pop songs, so I can show him how to play it pretty easily. He practices for a few minutes, then loses interest/gets sleepy and goes to bed.

 The older kids here have serious talent, but often don’t take much interest in volunteer programs. They’ve grown up with foreigners coming and going all their lives, so the novelty has worn off. I’m hoping James will have the opportunity to offer a class for the older kids and tap into their talent. Maybe his routine visits will offer them the stability and trust they need.