To the Lives That Were Lost at Choeung Ek

Day 1 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Saturday, 17 August 2013

2126 Hours

Another excellent day. I woke up with the sunlight, and was still able to go back to sleep for a couple hours. I took my time getting ready, and this time remembered to ask for scrambled eggs, because the hotel defaults to sunny side up (gross!). Anyway, today was the first time I traveled domestically via airline in a foreign country. The food at the airport after going through security was to die for: ham and cheese croissant, with a raisin croissant and a mango yogurt smoothie. So good.

The first thing I noticed flying into Phnom Penh was the skyscrapers…the small handful, of course. Cambodia looks insignificant from the skies, as if you had a backyard with nothing but dirt, and it had been raining constantly for a week. I am blessed just to be an American. Today, again, was spent mostly in awe, horror, and sadness from seeing the way some of the people live. Prior to today, the most people I had seen on a motorcycle was two. Now, it’s four. I saw a mother, father, and two very young children cruising through the streets without helmets, boots, or any type of protection. I saw people driving their motorcycles one-handed, with a friend in the back, while eating corn-on-the-cob. There are few street lights or stop signs. What would normally be a two-lane road in my home town could fit dozens of motorcycles, side by side, as if they were racing each other. The sidewalks here are not for walking, but rather for street vendors, trash, dirt, and rocks. Children don’t hesitate to cross a busy intersection that has no rules. It wasn’t unusual to see people driving the opposite direction in our lane. I am so thankful – so thankful – that I grew up in a city that had ZERO pollution by comparison. It smells similar here to the way it smells at a go-kart racing track. People cook food next to piles of trash, which is burned on the sidewalks. Anyway, I’m thankful for the life God gave me. Nick and Andy should come here sometime, too.

I also saw the main killing field where Pol Pot’s regime executed thousands. I had an audio tour. What was most horrifying was hearing the guards would hold babies by their legs, and smash their heads against a specific tree. The Buddhists leave bracelets and other small things to honor those who passed, or spirits that remain…that tree was full of color, and had more bracelets than anywhere else. They would blast revolutionary Communist music to drown the screams so the other prisoners wouldn’t hear. They didn’t use bullets, because those were expensive. They resorted to crude gardening tools and sharp tree branches. The thousands of skulls displayed in the main memorial building were covered with man-made cracks, holes, and scrapes in areas around the head, eyes, and nose. It was weird seeing the depressions in the actual ground where people were buried – and where skeletal remains continue to be discovered.

On the way back to my hotel, my tuk-tuk driver let me check out the Independence Monument. It was very cool-looking…it is in the center of a huge round-a-bout and is surrounded by a long water fountain. I liked seeing a large Cambodian flag proudly displayed next to it. In all honestly, I am abnormally fascinated with flags. After growing up in the U.S., I think it is pretty easy to get used to seeing Old Glory everywhere: inside classrooms and sporting arenas, or in front of homes and government buildings. After awhile, it starts to blend in and become camouflaged with its surroundings. I love going to another country and seeing their flag proudly displayed, and knowing that those colors mean something special to the people that reside in that specific country. Then, when I see my own flag...I remember what it represents and means to me.   

Alright, it’s 2208, time for bed. I’m leaving at 0730 tomorrow for S-21, a high school-turned torture center, and maybe the Royal Palace and National Museum. I need my rest so I can be motivated! 

“It’s All About Perspective…Even in the Cambodian Countryside”

Day 2 of Siem Reap, Cambodia

Friday, 16 August, 2013

Local Time: 1919 Hours

            Today was a wild success. Everything went better than planned. I started the day to the sound of a rooster cock-a-doodling. I got a solid three hours of fun on an ATV going through the Cambodian countryside. My motto for the past couple weeks has been “it’s all about perspective”. And it’s true. How easy I as a middle class American complain about the dumbest things. Today, I saw naked children playing in the dirt roads in front of their shacks, waving to me with enthusiasm as I drove by in something their family would likely never be able to afford. It was very weird stopping to take pictures of them…it was like I was at a human zoo, fascinated by the creatures who lived in a diseased swampland. Why, without fail, were small children running to the side of the road to wave at me as I passed? What kind of person would pay money to take pictures of people who were going about their daily lives? God, I pray for forgiveness for all the times I’ve failed to notice the blessings I’m surrounded with every day.

            After the ATV adventure, I was dropped off to my hotel to find my taxi driver patiently waiting for me. I had told him I would be ready at 10:00 am, not 11:15. I apologized, and he smiled, revealing a full set of yellow teeth. The simple fact that I have white teeth is something to be thankful for. He took me to a popular restaurant that is frequented by tourists. No offense to him, but I wanted to try the local foods…without trying the local food. I ate outside on the second floor, overlooking the massive moat on the side of the Angkor temple.

            He then took me to the Landmine Museum. The statistics were staggering: 600,000 civilians maimed or killed from the American bombing campaign to cripple the Khmer Rouge. The best part of the museum was finding Cambodian flags to buy! I got an amazing deal of five flags for $10. I also bought soap in the shape of a landmine for my mom. It’s up to her if she wants to use it, but I have to admit, it would be an awesome decoration in any bathroom.

            I had originally planned on seeing the Floating Village, which is a two-hour boat ride that shows what local life is like. Judging from what I knew of that from YouTube, I decided to skip it, because I had already seen that on my awesome ATV ride. I decided to just spend a little time at another temple – a great idea. Throughout most of that, I was bombarded by little girls trying to get me to buy bracelets, postcards and other goodies. They wouldn’t leave me alone, so I started to mess with them (in a loving way, of course). To get them to stop asking for money, I starting asking about them; what was their favorite subject in school, what they wanted to be when they grew up, etc. One adorable 10-year-old said she wanted to be an English teacher. Her favorite food was pancakes. After many attempts to get her to lower her prices, I finally got a great deal: five magnets for four dollars. I agreed, and gave her six dollars. She showed her appreciation by giving me a bracelet and a small wooden flute that was protected by a cool case she said she’d made. By the way, I just realized she reminded me of Lily on Modern Family. I’m so thankful I got a video of her talking. I’m excited to see my friends and family’s reaction when I upload it tonight.

            Another thing I’m grateful for: my hotel has some computers for the guests with free, high-speed internet. Yesterday’s photos uploaded very quickly. I just had the thought that Mom would probably like it if I typed up these thoughts and sent them to her.

            A lot to look forward to tomorrow: I get to visit the nation’s capital, Phnom Penh. I have a few friends there, so I hope to link up with them. Anyway, I’m done with my delicious food. Time to upload my media, and get a lot of sleep…I asked my driver to pick me up at 1030 am. 

Day 1 in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Thursday, 15 August, 2013

Local Time: 1943 hours

What a day! I’m very excited to be here. My flight and arrival here went extremely smoothly. When my flight originally landed, it was pouring rain. This was shortly after 4 pm, and I knew if I didn’t get to see Angkor Wat today, I wouldn’t be able to do much else, as the other attractions I researched close very early.

I’ve heard and read many things about this place, but of course, nothing compares to seeing it firsthand. My taxi driver is extremely kind. He waited a couple hours for me while I walked inside Angkor Wat (he would have to pay $$$ for a ticket if he joined me). I was bracing having to not have many pictures of myself, since I came alone and my driver couldn’t join me. Miraculously, as soon as I entered a temple a man (named Moon, but sounds like “Mahn”), started giving me advice on what angles I should get for my pictures. At first, I thought he was trying to act as my tour guide, then force me to pay him when I left (I had heard stories from friends of this happening). I made sure to clarify I wouldn’t pay him, and he told me he was only doing it as a generosity. I was very skeptical, especially after having numerous children trying to sell me things, and from what I read online. I ended up staying there until 6:45 pm – well after sunset. 

When I initially arrived, I noticed how many hundreds of tourists there were, and this was a Thursday! My new friend talked to a guard, and for $10 extra dollars, was allowed to climb to the very top of the center tower to get a bird’s eye view of the place. I was the only tourist there, in what was labeled as being closed off to visitors. The view was literally breathtaking! It looked like it was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie or the Uncharted video game series. The fact that my friend was able (and willing) to take portraits of me was incredible. I'm still amazed that I didn’t get a single tourist in my shots. How was I allowed to visit a restricted area, when the others were being asked to leave the main park? God, this I am thankful for. I just hope and pray the pictures turned out as good as they looked on my preview screen. Oh, and the fact that the rain stopped as soon as I got there…wow.

Everyone I have come in contact with speaks English. However, judging from some of the body language, facial expressions, and generic “yeah” responses, not everything I say or ask is totally understood. Something neat about the bed in my hotel: there are mosquito nets around it. Finally! I get to experience that myself. I’ve read about them and seen those in movies, but tonight I will understand. I just hope I don’t get too personal with the bugs while I try to sleep. I was just going to say I haven’t seen too many bugs, until I looked up and saw three lizards crawling in the light fixture overhead. As long as they aren’t touching me, I’m fine. This restaurant I am currently eating at is right outside, but is still part of the hotel. I am drinking bottled water. I really don’t want to be like my buddy who spent 10 days in Vietnam, and came back sick as a dog. For now, I’m enjoying the heck out of my French fries and bacon/lettuce/egg/ham sandwich, which I drenched in ketchup. Also, the breeze from the fan is super enjoyable. The group of people behind me are speaking in a language I don’t recognize.

I think of all the hotels around the world. Some, the nicer ones, all kind of blend together. They are all the same to me. But, I think about the cultures and idiosyncrasies of the places that stand out: 1849 in Mammoth, CA, and the Shining Boutique in Siem Reap, Cambodia. These places have culture. All hotels can be simplified into one, with all being inheritantly the same, as they all serve the same general purpose. But, I think of this hotel, along with other three-stars in places like Pakistan, Morroco, and Venezuela. I think of the cities they are in, and what’s unique to those ones. Anyway, time to walk around and get a feel for my surroundings. 

It's Been Awhile!

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. I don't have a real excuse, other than just being forgetful or not having the patience to write.

I can't believe it has been a year since I last posted; since then, I've been promoted to Corporal, and was blessed with the opportunity to deploy to Afghanistan. Unfortunately, my first deployment was cut short, due to all the draw backs we are making over there. Even though I was only there for less than a couple months, I am so happy I was able to go. I didn't play the sax much; I mainly worked a humble desk job in the Combat Operations Center, as well as a logistics section. The coolest thing I think I did was being the "slide-clicker" for the general's nightly powerpoint briefs, silly as it sounds. I never got to go outside the wire, so I never felt like I was in any significant danger (hats off to all the combat veterans reading this). Being able to work with stellar Marines outside of my job field was a blessing. I was able to gain perspective by seeing how other Marines do their job, as well as make a few new friends in the process.

Me at the Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan, the final stop before going off to Afghanistan. 

I was so happy visiting my first country outside of the U.S.!  

I was honored to be awarded the Non-Article 5 NATO ISAF Medal for my short time there.

After 30 days in country, every Marine rated the decoration, 

along with the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

I really hope I get to deploy again, and see more of this awesome world. In the mean time, subscribe to my band's YouTube channel to see some of the cool videos we post! 

http://www.youtube.com/user/1stMarDivTFB

Promotions in the Marine Corps

To be frank, I find the way the promotion system works in the Marine pretty interesting. 

You see, I graduated boot camp as a Private First Class, or E-2, primarily because of my contract in the music program. If a Marine recruit has a certain number of college credits, JROTC/prior military experience, or helped recruit a certain number of people while in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), that recruit can graduate boot camp at a slightly higher rank than his or her peers. I'm sure there are other enlistment programs that guarantee slightly faster promotions...the Musician Enlistment Option Program (MEOP) is just one of them. 

The way the Marine Corps sees it, in order to be good enough to make it as a professional military musician, it takes skill, which is only gained through time -- lots of time. In essence, I've been preparing for this job for almost 10 years. Ever since I started playing the saxophone at age 10, I've basically been learning how to do the job I'm doing now. I've spent 10 gaining experience in my field...10 years of concerts, rehearsals, sectionals, auditions, private lessons, competitions, practicing, and classes. Ask any musician, and they will tell you that in order to get better at your instrument, it takes long-term dedication. Excluding the young prodigies you see on "America's Got Talent", it would be impossible to make a living without all those years of experience. That is what makes the musical field different from most other jobs in the military. Not everyone can decide after graduating high school that they will just join a military band -- they must have years of job experience under their belt.

Anyway, back to my original topic: the enlisted promotion system in the Marine Corps. There are two big requirements that remain consistent with every rank: TIME, and RECOMMENDATION. The two parts to the TIME requirements are TIME-IN-GRADE, and TIME-IN-SERVICE. Before getting promoted, the Marine must be in the Marine Corps for a certain amount of time (TIS), and have held their current rank for a certain amount of time (TIG). For recommendation, no Marine will get promoted if they don't have full recommendation in their chain of command. I will now discuss the normal promotion procedures for the first few enlisted ranks, the non-non-commissioned officers (or non-NCOs). 

Private (E-1): The lowest rank at which a Marine starts their career. 

Private First Class (E-2): Awarded after six months TIG and TIS.

Lance Corporal (E-3): Awarded after eight months TIS and nine months TIG.

Non-Commissioned Officers, or NCOs:

Corporal (E-4): Eight months TIG, One year TIS. 

*Of course, with meritorious promotions (which are only awarded to a few stellar Marines), the usual time requirements are waived. 

For the non-NCO ranks, a Marine must simply meet the time-in-grade/service requirements (and receive recommendation from their superiors) to be promoted. However, to be promoted to the NCO ranks, things change. To be promoted to Corporal (the first of the NCO ranks), the Marine has to compete against everyone in their field, which is done via a points system, otherwise known as "Composition Scores." The comp score is a final number that computes how well a Marine performs all around: on the rifle range, on Physical/Combat Fitness Tests, and so on (you also get points for education and for TIG/TIS). The better you shoot, the faster you run, and the longer you are in the military...the higher score the Marine will have. Having a higher score makes the Marine that much more competitive for promotion. 

Composition scores are only updated a couple weeks before the beginning of each quarter. Cutting scores are released every month, so the Marines who don't meet the cutting score for the first month of the quarter, still have a chance to get promoted in months 2, 3, and 4. This system is to ensure only the most qualified Marines are promoted earlier. Getting promoted just one month earlier can mean higher pay for two pay checks, and an extra month "Time-in-Grade" (which means more points for promotion to Sergeant).

Pretty soon (maybe this week my friend tells me), Headquarters Marine Corps will be releasing the "cutting scores" required for each MOS (military occupational specialty, or job). When they release the score, all Marines who meet or exceed the score will get promoted, assuming they get recommendation from their chain of command. 

Here's hoping I meet the cutting score! 

A Dream Realized

Dear readers,

A lot has happened in the past four months since my last update!

On June 10th, I graduated the School of Music with class 11060, with a final audition score of 2.9. After graduating, my family and I spent the weekend touring Washington, D.C. and Arlington National Cemetery. We all had a great time seeing all those historic places!

A few weeks ago, I finally checked in -- and have since performed in a few ceremonies with -- the 1st Marine Division Band. I absolutely LOVE my job. Every day I've learned more and more about the idiosyncrasies of being a military musician; specifically, what goes on behind the scenes. To me, this job doesn't seem like work, I love it so much! And the fact I'm getting paid to do what I love is incredible. Because I live so close to base, my family has been able to see many of my ceremonies, which means I can share some videos and photos with you!

My first parade as a Marine musician: a July 4th celebration in Oceanside, CA.

My first big performance with the band...playing in a major league baseball stadium!

Currently, we are on our make-up 4th of July 96 hour liberty. Because the band often does ceremonies on holidays such as Independence and Veterans' Day, we don't get that time off like most others in the military do. So instead, we will get the following weekend or day off. Later this year, we will have a couple weeks off for leave, and also spend some time on the range, fulfilling our annual qualification requirements on the M16.

I deeply appreciate all of you, my readers. I know I haven't been very consistent lately with the updates, but when I log on occasionally and see the comments urging me to post, that makes me motivated to keep you updated! Please comment my blog...it helps me to know that I have people that read what I write! Anyway, if any of you have questions about my time in the band, feel free to ask! I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Until next time,

LCpl Rice
Saxophonist
1st Marine Division Band

Greetings from Virginia!

Hey everybody,

I apologize for not posting the past few months. Updating this site has been on the back of my mind for a couple weeks and now I'm finally taking the time to update it.

Continuing from my last post, I ended up spending Christmas in Virginia, far away from my family back in California. Myself, along with a few friends from guard duty, got "adopted" by a civilian family off-base. Anyway, we had Christmas dinner with them and had a great time.

For New Year's, I was very fortunate to go home for a couple days. The $800 ticket round-trip was well worth it! My family held off on celebrating their Christmas until New Year's, so really it was like I didn't miss anything!

As far as the School of Music goes, I'm about a month and a half into the program. I absolutely LOVE it here. Our days are pretty long due to the number of classes we have, but being so busy definitely makes the days go by very fast. Everyday I participate in concert band, ceremonial band, jazz band, ear training, music theory, and marching band. We exercise quite often. Many nights I have to go back to the school to complete my minimum 2 hours of daily individual practice time, but lately I've been pretty lucky and have had the evenings off.

A neat thing about this base -- and the school -- is that the Navy and Army is stationed here, too. It is great being able to talk to people from other branches of service, and hearing their stories. (Oh, and seeing different uniforms definitely breaks up the monotony of seeing the same uniform everyday.)

The Counter-March -- We are learning how to do this move in marching band

I almost forgot to mention...I got promoted to Lance Corporal! I'm very stoked. I earned the rank on February 1st, after completing more than 6 months of active duty service. For band members, promotion to the first couple ranks are automatic (promotion to PFC after graduating boot camp, and LCpl after 6 months). However, not every musician who went to boot camp when I did got promoted. There are more than a few that are still PFCs. The reason? Those Marines either got Page 11 entries for underage drinking (without incident), or Non-Judicial Punishment for being late to school one too many times (we call this going UA, or Unauthorized Absence...same thing as AWOL). Being promoted has much more prestige knowing that not everyone made the cut. It has to be earned.

Well, that is about all I have to say for now. Being President's Day weekend, we are on what is called a 72-hour liberty, or 3-day weekend. I haven't eaten dinner yet, so I'm going to go for a walk and stop by Subway. 

Thanks for reading! As usual, if you have any questions, feel free to post a response! Or, let me know what you think about my blog! 

Until next time, 

LCpl Rice