Honest Blog

It's not always a bed of roses here. While I thoroughly enjoy riding my bike, patience is tried when the rain comes and there are groceries in your basket and important paperwork in your backpack. And while being sweaty has become commonplace and expected, mixing damp clothes with sweat is far from a sweet aroma. Waking up to piles of sawdust on your wardrobe one morning because somehow termites appeared and decided to eat away at it can get under the skin a little, too. Or a leaking sink that you're not confident the landlord will fix so you put a bucket under it and you just know mosquitoes try to use it for a breeding ground...yeah, that too. Speaking of mosquitoes, have you ever woke up to a line of itching down your body and as you lose the stupor of sleep realize you've been bitten five times so you turn on the light and wait 10-15 minutes to catch the little bugger?

All that to say that life is life here, too. The exhilaration of adventure in a new country does not entirely mask the day-to-day annoyances of life that we're all familiar with. That's all I'm sayin'.

Praise be to the Father that joy is a choice!

An Ideal Day of Language

Thursday marked the greatest day I've had for language learning. A man next to me at lunch finally understood when I asked him where he bought a fried pie with banana (something I'd wanted to try for weeks now). My language tutor changed her teaching style to allow for more authentic practice. We only spoke Khmer the whole time and carried on normal, albeit broken, conversation. Then a woman in the market sat me down to teach her common greetings in English and I could because I understood a lot of what she asked me. Yeah. Yeah! Good language day.

Time spent at the university continues to pick up. Two more students have joined the staff, meeting our needed quota. They've cleaned the books and cleaned the shelves. Now they're warmly greeting visitors and helping us plan for classes. They are delightful, truly delightful.

Pop! Flap, flap, flap... [stop]. "Oh..." That's what happens when your bike tire blows. The inner tube was still intact, allowing me to continue on to school. I took it to a bike service station where I got a tire change, oil, and lube job for $3. My name is in their computer now so maybe I'll get some coupons for the next visit. Kidding, kidding...

The last picture below is just a glimpse of the sea of motos parked at the university. Motos: The Students' Choice for Transportation.

Rain Came Down and Flood Came Up

The rain fell over a 24 hour period and some change. Absolutely incredible. We ventured out by tuktuk one evening, deserting my bike at school for the night, to hear a guest speaker at our Fellowship. The tuktuk drivers charged extra for the hazardous conditions. Rightly so. I didn't accept that at first and that wasn't very cool of me. The one that carried us home was forced to take many detours and dropped us a little ways from our house because we didn't want him to try to get through the water. We waded through, I don't know, 6 inches of water in the dark. Not something you Write your mom about. Sorry, Mom ;)

Please PLEASE enjoy the pics and vids below. They do not do justice to the gravity of the situation, but hopefully you'll get a feel for what it was like. Two fun moments came from this rain.

1) As we pedaled through the high waters one evening my flipflop fell off and began drifting away with the current. I had to put my feet down in the water and chase it while still holding onto my bike. Bekah wanted to stop but wasn't in a position to help, so she unwillingly road slowly on.

2) BECAUSE my bike was left at the school, Bekah and I decided to kick it Khmer and ride one bike with two people. Yes, we fell once and she's got a wicker (for you, Bekah) bruise to show for it. We received many a curious glance from our Cambodian passerbyers. I don't know if that's what was meant by be a light on a hilltop for all to see, but we're glad they know we're here.

The library painting is complete! Opening day is Tuesday and we meet with staff on Mon. Again, this is a place I will take a lot of time developing and ministering. Quick story: a student walked in, wanted to help paint, and now we're getting together next week some time.

Deserted Streets

A bicycle ride through town is noticeably different when the country is celebrating a holiday like Pchum Benh. All but a few store fronts are closed and the streets are bare. From what I've heard, it's a time when ancestors are released from a place of eternal damnation so that they can gather food. Living family members travel to seven or more temples to leave designated food for the spirits in hopes they'll find some of it. Many people travel home to their provinces.

I visited a temple last Friday with my language school to observe the rituals of Pchum Benh. To prepare for the visit, they offered us the vocabulary used when speaking to monks. Words like "yes," "food," "thank you," and "sleep" are different from those of every day use. I don't know if it's for respect to the monks or reverence for their god. Along with leaving food for their ancestors, they light incense for the forgiveness of their sins. This lasts for a total of 15 days, the last three being the most significant.

The English library is still undergoing renovations to prepare for the new school year. We'll be brainstorming as a team about what we'd like to offer there once it opens. It looks like this will be a place I spend a lot of time serving and I'm really excited. Right now Bekah and I are co-managing it's operations. Sounds important, huh? We like to think it will be a very meaningful place for many students. We just need to get them to visit...

The third pic below is of our beloved market. It will be hard for you to accurately picture what it looks like or how things work inside. It's unlike what we know and we really enjoy going. The fact that it's named after a tree helps its appeal to me.

And the fourth pic, well...I don't think riding in the back of a pickup truck is the most dangerous thing we could do on the road, is all. There are so many great ideas here. WARNING: If you let your children view all the ways people travel in Cambodia they may suffer serious injuries by trying them out.