i am thankful.

its amazing what a change in your environment will do for your thoughts. i think a part of it is that life in cambodia is slower--there is more time to think. usually i do my thinking on my bike rides around town... contemplating life as i profusely sweat and ask why its so freaking  hot. but, another part of it is how I experience completely different worlds, sometimes just hours, minutes, seconds apart. 

i work in a very poor community. the children wear the same outfits for a week and the only time they wash (may) be at our pre-school. but, they are also very happy and loving and affectionate. and (obviously as you can tell from my other posts) they are just so great. but, i see this poverty and then i leave. i bike for 5 min and I'm back at my safe haven.

i live in our teams wonderful house and as I write this, i'm sitting in a five star hotel's lobby (its pretty legit... you can come and use the internet for free). 

this paradox just makes me think. could i go and work with the poor communities... living with them... or do i need my comforts? do i need my bed? do i need my coffee? (i actually really think i need that one...)

well, needless of what the answers are, i feel very blessed to be able to experience both worlds. i am very thankful that i ate a wonderful breakfast today and that i slept in a mosquito net last night (btw: my mosquito count varies, but my max has been 35 bites at once... 20 just on my left leg. i think i was attacked by a swarm....). i am very thankful that i can wear a different outfit each day and that i can do laundry every monday and thursday (i smell like pee after work... so this is a blessing that pays forward). i am thankful that i have a computer so i can email family and friends and (lets be honest) i am thankful that i can go on facebook. i am thankful.

i am thankful that i continue to learn on this adventure and that i continue to see how blessed i am. i am thankful that these experiences challenge me to think outside my box and that they challenge me to really understand what Jesus meant by saying, "it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick."

i am thankful.

Can I take a small child home with me?

 The children here are incredible. They are SO cute. I really want to take a Khmer child back with me… roommates, we could fit a small child in our house, yeah? There is this one little boy who is fascinated with my leg hair. Obviously, I don’t shave every day, so I have little prickles. And the kids are so amused by it. The one boy literally just rubs my leg, looks at me, smiles, and then tells is friend to feel it. Bahahaha.

 Yesterday, during play time at the pre-school, one of the little girls was nursing a bear. She literally was lifting up her shirt and nursing it. After the bear was fed, she and the bear took a nap... she first made sure the bear was perfectly comfortable, giving it a pillow of other stuffed animals. It was so cute!

 I am really loving me time here. The people I work with are great and the Vietnamese and Khmer people are wonderful as well. I would love to come back and continue to do this type of work. I love engaging with the different people and seeing God’s heart for the world. He made every person and every culture so unique. Of course, there are aspects of the world that are broken, but how exciting that God wants to use us to help heal, restore, and rebuild the world. 

Well, I will put up some pictures soon. Hopefully.  Probably.

GOODBYE!

11 and counting.

I have 11 bug bites right now (mainly mozzies but some ants). 5 on my left leg. 3 on my face (awful yes). 3 on my right leg. They ich. The mozzies (my new Australian friend introduced me to that term) usually come out at night, but the ants are everywhere all the time.

Well, its Saturday here. I feel like I have experienced a lot for only being here three days. My role with VOICE is a “floater.” Most the volunteers are here for 6 months to a year so they have specific roles; since I am only here for 5 weeks, I float. But, I will mainly be working at VOICE’s community center. I help out with the pre-school, outreach, and tutoring.  The kids are SO cute. I cant communicate with them very well since they only speak Khmer and Vietnamese, but I smile, point, tickle them, and let them cling to me. Yesterday we were looking through kids books so I just made all the noises that matched each animal. Animal noises are pretty universal. I have learned some Khmer. I can count to ten, say “no,” “pretty,” “stop,” and “thank you.” I use those words as much as I can. I am really hoping to pick up a few more words, but these languages are SO different then English.

 In the few days that I have been here, I have seen how much there is a need for people to just come and love on the community. They are such friendly people and very welcoming (wait, quick story. Yesterday at the pre-school, a little Vietnamese boy came for his first time. He was about 3 yrs. He took one good look at me and BURST into tears. Literally was sobbing. All the kids were just pointing at me and he just kept crying and crying and crying. I think I might have been the first white person he ever saw… I had to leave the area. Oh gosh. I was so confused, but definitely laughed it off). Anyhow, God really is growing my heart for these people and I am excited to see what four more weeks will do!!! 

today, i rode on the back of a scooter.

Oh hello again. I am in Cambodia. After 30 hours of being in airports and in the air, I made it. I was originally kind of excited about doing this by myself. But, by the time I got to Bangkok, I felt the pressure of being all alone and being the only American. Literally, I heard ZERO English in the airport. But, I made it to Siem Reap and am again so excited. I am working with 6 other women and they are great. We are all close in age and 4 of us are from California. We live in this big, old, renovated motel. Its very Cambodian. But, because of safely and bugs… my room is very similar to a cell. And it is HUMID. I will be showering EVERY day. Big step. Last night I went to bed at 8pm Cambodian time (6am US time), but woke up, wide awake at 3:30am. My body is WACK.
Well, today starts my first official day… Im not really sure what’s happening. But I am excited (I think I use that word like 50 times a day) to see how I can help!

Goodbye! Joob Kaneer! (That’s Khmer…Im already learning!)

and i'm off.

Hello. And WARNING. I have never blogged before and am thus unaware of blog norms (are there blog norms?)... but there is good news. cambodia is gunna be awesome. 

At this point, I am sitting in taiwan (after a 12 hours flight) and waiting for my flight to Bangkok (another 6 hours). From there I fly to cambodiAWESOME (just needed to make sure that the name of my blog isn't lost...).  The flight here was interesting. and by interesting, I mean that I met a very quirky man who was flying to the Philippines to pick up his fiancee. For the past 5 or so years, he has been all around the world looking for a wife. what the heck to you say to that (after casually asking why he is going to the Philippines). Other than that little conversation and him telling me about how he almost killed a man in the Philippines out of righteous anger, the flight was pretty kosher. Oh, I smell pretty bad too... a mix of cup a noodle and eggs. I was lucky enough to sit right by the food storage/place/thing. 

Well, i dont want to wear you out yet. so im done. goodbye!