NAVIGATING THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

5 Degrees of Separation

Temperature degrees, that is! What a difference the rain makes! So... if you have read my previous blogs... did you sense a bit of irritation coming from me? Well, I won't go back and change my first two entries... despite their slightly edging-on-bitter tone... andI won't lie... the first few nights & days here were DIFFICULT. Where we stay (offices of World Relief in Suong) there is no air conditioning of any kind... and so at night and during the day our room is about 89 degrees with 80% humidity (how do I know the temperature exactly? - I borrowed my Dad's travel alarm which has temperature readings on it... thanks by the way, Dad, because it has not failed to wake us up at 5am any morning! - still not sure if that is a good thing or not :). Yes... it is 90-humid-degrees day AND night!!! It has been nearly unbearable... sleep has been tough... sweating all the time is tough... which makes everything sort of difficult... which makes my brain turn to mush... and my coping skills fail... you get the idea, right? But all that changed after the rain yesterday... last night the temperature in our room was 84 degrees... it was AMAZING the difference that made! It almost felt cool, by comparison. I finally got a good night sleep... I finally took a cold shower without sweating... I finally have some sanity returned! So... that is the latest.

Update: PRAY!!
But with the good (weather drop) comes the bad (mosquitos come out in FORCE)... and despite being drenched in DEET I have TWO mosquito bites so far... Mosquitos just love me... so I sort of thought this might happen... and I won't say I didn't panic a bit at first, but chances are nothing will come of them (many foreigners who live here year round use no Deet at all and are fine...) BUT there is a chance I could get Dengue fever (google it and see how much fun that would be)... so I would appreciate PRAYER. HEALING PRAYER. I really don't want to spend two weeks here not feeling well. I want to be able to visit the places I have planned on my trip and finish teaching the students next week. So PRAY!

Tomorrow our whole team gets back together (yey!)... and we go visit one of the 10 man-made wonders of the world (Angkor Wat) in Siem Reap. I will update you after that!

Now that we have had almost 2 days in our Suong location. Life is settling into a little more of a schedule, I am finding I am coping a bit better. The nights are still unbearably hot... and I take like 3 showers a day, but my students are AMAZING. I have one student who left school during the Khmer Rouge's reign because he and his friends had heard that the soldier's were coming to force young boys into the military. So he fled and never finished any secondary schooling. We have another student who is probably older than I am, but who never in her life has gone to school. We have heard the stories of how teachers are not paid in this country very well, so they are expected to charge their students (extort, is really more the reality) and generally are still not very good teachers, despite what you can pay. So the poor LITERALLY can't afford an education. Also the very poor need their children, often to work the fields. The government seems largey unconcerned with the plight of the poor in their own country. I have one student who is a very proficient English learner... he has hopes one day of changing this system. That he is such high hopes in the face of what seems like a system in chaos and despair just BLOWS ME AWAY. Each day we spend in the worship & prayer time with the Cambodian staff at our sight... I can't understand what they say... but I would never doubt the utter sincerity of their prayers and the furverence of their worship. They trust in GOD to do MIRACLES. Kind of challenging to my western, Christian mind, I would say!


My lesson for today: When a Cambodian looks at you like you are doing something CRAZY, chances are you probably ARE.

We decided to explore Suong and walk to a "western" market. Everyone offered us rides... they kept saying, "Teacher, ride with me" ... but we (Amber and I) wanted to walk... you see in California walking is a VIRTUE... it saves gas... it is good exercise, etc. However, in this weather and this area it is NOT at all smart. By the time we got there not only were we covered in a layer of dust from the road... but we were so sweaty we were soaking our clothes. All for a Coke. Not really worth it, I realized. So... that is my lesson for you all and myself today.



Side note: we have the most AMAZING cook at our sight. She seriously makes us these gourmet meals... with a cooler (yep, no refridgerator) and a gas burner (yep, no stove... it is like a camping stove)... and this TINY room... she prepares these AMAZING meals... and presents them like we are royalty. I truly feel loved and valued by her. I wish she knew more English... or I knew more Khmy... and we could tell her how much we appreciate her. She will get many jewels in her crown in heaven... and we can have long conversations there when we meet again!

Yes, it is true. Our team made it through our 1 Night in Bangkok... and arrived safely yesterday in Cambodia... was it really just yesterday? I feel like I have lived a lifetime in the last 24 hours.

Here are some of the highlights (and low-lights):

1. It is HOT. Seriously. HOT. Sweaty and hot. Basically I am hot all the time... and sweaty... that expensive "quick dry, doesn't wrinkle travel shirt" I bought at REI... INVALUABLE. That quick dry shammy towel I bought... couldn't live without it! It never gets below 85 degrees... even at night... with as much humidity... but each day we driven 1/2 hour to teach a lunchtime class... and the car is air conditioned... seriously... when I got in today I thought I might CRY. It makes me happy now each day!

2. I had my first experience with a Cambodian, rest-stop toilet. I am thankful that I brought tissue paper and antibacterial stuff with me! I think I peed a little on my feet... which is OK becausse they are dirty like 100% of the time anyway. And I successfully flushed it... meaning... I figured out that how to flush it was to grab the scooper in the water bucket next to the toilet and put it to good use!

3. I have gotten to meet my students and the AMAZING Cambodians who do such wonderful work through World Relief. God is so here. I will learn FAR MORE than my students, I wager!

4. My busy schedule is nice now that we are in Suong: we teach one class in the morning (6-7:30AM), then join in the staff worship/prayer time, then we are driven to Kampong Cham city for lunch and an afternoon class... and then we will go back to Suong for an advanced evening class we will teach. Long days... and I keep going to bed so early... because I am truly exhausted each night. We have this AMAZING woman who cooks for us!

5. I am really startled by what I see here... can I be honest? Talking about coming to a "Developing" country is far more glamorous than the REALITY of it. I am struck by the juxtoposition of intense poverty here... and the amazing HOPE that this staff we meet with daily have... They need God "literally" to meet daily struggles... things that I take for granted. It is humbling. It is emotionally tough. I sort of had a "what am I doing here" moment last night when the thunderstorm caused the power to go out (think about sleeping in a humid, 90 degree bedroom with NO FANS)... but then the power came back on (the grace of God?)... and today we learned what an ANSWER to prayer the rain was for this struggling agricultural area... and I was truly convicted of my own selfishness.


I will continue to need your prayers to make it through. Pray for health... and safety... and mental energy... and emotional stability. Thanks!