Who doesn’t love traveling? There is nothing more exciting than experiencing a new culture and opening yourself to unfamiliar situations. Many times, the opportunities that come with traveling abroad includes putting yourself out of your comfort zone. I sat down with Ellie Blake, a junior in the Army ROTC battalion at the UD see what it was like when she was assigned a mission to work in Cambodia for a month for the army.
Her Campus: Why did you choose Army ROTC?
Ellie Blake: “That’s hard…Senior year I tore my ACL, so I couldn’t play soccer in college like I originally planned. My two best friends were applying for the Army ROTC scholarship and told me I should give it a try because they thought I’d do well with it. I have always had a calling for the military but I never really knew why. Holidays that commemorate our troops and veterans would always hit home for me as if It were something that I should be a part of. So I applied, got the scholarship and figured I would try it out. Now here I am three years later, a junior in the program, and knowing I definitely made the right decision.”
HC: What did you do in Cambodia?:
EB: “It was called a CULP mission. CULP stands for Cultural Understanding Language Proficiency. I taught English to their military at the Cambodian National Defense University (with 22 other cadets form across the nation). Myself and the other cadets I went with were each assigned a classroom, and we worked in groups of four. Classes had different proficiency levels, starting from basic English to extremely proficient. We taught them for about 5 hours each day. We learned a lot about their culture firsthand since we were staying in the same rooms with the Cambodians. We got to explore the capital, Phnom Penh, and Angkor :, which has many Buddhist temples, the biggest temple being one of the Seven Wonders of the World). Also, Lindsey got bit by a dog.” (I had to get 12 rabies shots for that)
HC: What was your favorite part of the experience?:
EB: ” I loved getting to know the other 22 fellow American cadets on the trip and learning about what their ROTC programs were like back at their schools. It was also great to experience the Cambodian culture and explore the country with college kids my age who were like minded individuals. I also really enjoyed becoming more culturally diverse
HC: I What was the most challenging part of CULP?
EB: “The food. It was hard to get accustomed to the culture of the food, which consisted of eating basically just rice every day. It was also difficult trying not to offend them if I couldn’t drink their water or some of their ice drinks because it could make us (Americans) sick.
HC: Would you do differently if you were to do it all over again?
EB: ” I would go out with the Cambodians more and really try to get to know them rather than be so focused on our job or hanging out with the other Americans.”
HC: What is your advice for people who want to travel, yet may be nervous about getting out of their comfort zone?:
EB: “Be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s okay to feel out of place because that’s when you will grow the most. If you don’t have crazy experiences like that you never grow and get to learn more about yourself or different cultures.”