Cambodia, Part 3

Souvenirs and Shortcuts
08.03.07

These last few days of my trip have been interesting to say the least. We spent our last day at Rapha House on Monday – it was a day of pampering for both the girls and us. The team from Indiana brought all kinds of fun makeup and hair baubles for the girls and we spent the day playing dress up. For you hardcore missionary types this might seem a tad frivolous, but the truth is that these girls all had their childhoods ripped away from them and the simple act of playing is HUGE. After that we went to the salon that some of the girls work at and had our hair and nails done. This is when I discovered that I picked up an unwanted souvenir – they found a louse in my hair! Immediately my whole scalp started itching. Lice! But what did I expect, hugging on these 60 girls who all live together? Lice are bound to be rampant. Luckily, I’ve had someone check my head every day since and it appears that my strategy of using half a bottle of hairspray to drown the little suckers has so far prevented any eggs or more bugs.


After a tearful goodbye, we left Battenbang and took a four-hour boat ride to Siem Reap. The boat was long and skinny, barely big enough to hold our group. I kept jumping up and switching sides because I was sure we were going to capsize. At one point the driver decided we should take a shortcut and the next thing I know we’re pushing our way through weeds and bushes - you couldn’t even see the water anymore! For about 45 minutes all we could see was vegetation and sky. I still don’t know how we made to our destination in one piece.


At Siem Reap we visited the temples at Angkor Wat (where Tomb Raider was filmed) and saw a spectacular sunrise. One of the temples had a monkey running around, carrying a live frog like a child would carry it’s favorite stuffed animal. This place really is amazing.



One of the trees growing on and through a temple.



Temple Monkey

Back in Phnom Penh I took advantage of the hotel’s cheap spa services while the rest of the group toured the places I had visited with Bill and Mary just the week before. My massage was very thorough - something I wasn’t expecting. Fair warning if you get a massage in Asia. Thankfully I had a female masseuse. Otherwise, Ben would be very, very unhappy with how that $15 was spent! In case you get the munchies while exploring Phnom Penh.

Oh - also, another first for me on this trip: being the one with the best sense of direction　This, my friends, is a very scary thing indeed.

Cambodia, Part 2

Things I Don't Understand
07.27.07

- most of the Khmer language
- extremes within such close proximities to one another – Cambodia has more millionaires per capita than the States, leaving a very odd mix of the haves and have-nots.
- joy in the midst of such sorrow
- the cost of free will
- the sheer amount of irony in this world – on Women’s Island I saw a tree that was used as a place to throw babies against to kill them (so as not to waste bullets) and that also served as a source of ingredients to make an important medicine used during the Khmer Rouge time. It was like a modern day tree of good and evil. Additionally, I found that the Killing Fields aren’t actually fields, but an old building that used to be a school before it was taken over and turned into a prison and torture center. A place that used to provide hope for the future was turned into one that killed it. And finally, sex. A beautiful gift that has been transformed into an ugly, horrific commodity.
- what God wants me to do with this experience.

These past few days have felt less like an adventure and more like a very, very sad history lesson. After spending a couple of days in Battenbang with Rapha House, I traveled back to Phnom Penh with my in-laws to visit Women’s Island and the Killing Fields before they flew back to the U.S. It was very odd to be sending them back, telling them to tell Ben I loved him, and staying here. When Bill and Mary flew out, I joined up with another team going to Rapha House and made another 5 hour bus ride back to Battenbang. The girls planned a big reception and last night was full of dancing, weird food, and fun. The girls are trying to help me build my Kamir vocabulary and I think they get more excited when I pronounce things correctly than I do – and that’s saying something!

God’s really softened my heart towards this whole experience in the last week. After the jet lag wore off, I looked around at my surroundings and thought to myself, “I don’t like hot weather. I’m not a fan of Asian food. I’m not very good with kids. Why the heck am I here?!” But as I began to take pictures and get a glimpse into this world through my lens, something changed. I’m building relationships with the girls, particularly one little four-year-old named Andea, with whom I am utterly smitten; as well as gaining so much respect for the staff. I don’t think I’m ready to take up permanent residency, but I will be leaving a piece of my heart here. In the beginning I thought one trip was going to be enough for me, but my feelings about that are changing – given that Ben can come next time! This whole spending weeks apart thing is really starting to get old.

Cambodia, Part 1

Because I'm lazy, I'm just going to post the e-mails I sent home to friends and family throughout my trip.

Squatty Potties are NOT my favorite.

07.22.07

Greetings from Cambodia! That's right - I made it in one piece. Despite being my typical self! The trip got off to a banging start when I waddled (heavy backpack!) up to the ticket counter and provided the attendant with my itinerary and gave him a blank stare when he asked for my passport, as well. Passport?! Yes, genius here forgot to grab her passport out of the lockbox. My amazing, wonderful, fabulous husband came to my rescue and rushed home to retrieve it. (And then offered to "keep it our little secret"- what a guy!) Since my favorite coping mechanism is denial, I just kept telling myself during the hour that it took him to go home and come back that, "I'm not going to miss my plane. I'm not going to miss my plane. I'm just simply not going to miss it." And, luckily, I didn't. Although I did get a stern lecture from the ticketing man about being so late. Jerkface. Anyway, after running through LAX, I made it to my gate on time and settled in to my coach seat next to two boys from Peru on their way to Bali for a month of surfing. Rough life, right? The rest of the trip went really smoothly considering I've never traveled so far on my own, had to make a connecting flight in Tai Pei, and had only this description by which to identify the girl who was supposed to pick me up at the airport: small, dark hair, and dark eyes. Let me tell you - that does NOT narrow things down in Cambodia. But, by the grace of God, Theara and I found each other and I've been in good hands ever since.

The first night I met two other ladies who were joining me on the trip and we went to Theara's kids' club and practiced the great spiritual gift of play. I got some great pictures and realized the kids could not grasp the concept of red light, green light. After traveling around the city, however, I found out why. NO ONE grasps that concept here. I will never complain about L.A. traffic again!

The following day we met up with the rest of the group and took a four hour bus ride to Battenbang, where Rapha House is. It was quite an eye-opening experience. For one, I've never seen green so vibrant. Or such poverty. Even still, I felt so much more at home in the countryside than I did in the city, per usual. It's really amazingly beautiful here. And hot, but I was mentally prepared for that. After awhile, you just get used to wearing a wet shirt.

Today we went to church and Rapha House and I experienced my first "moto" ride with my father-in-law. All the other passengers ride side-saddle, but when have I ever cared about looking ladylike?! I had my first real Cambodian food for lunch - yellow noodles and veggies. Very good. But since I'm grossed out by most meat in the U.S., I've pretty much decided I'm not going to sample any meat here. That's why my bag is full of powerbars, jerky, and nuts. I may have only ended up with two pairs of pants, but at least I've got food! Yes, you could say I forgot about half the clothes that I intended to take, but whatever. It's all good. And it's not because I didn't pack until the last minute, Dad! It's because I did a mid-term, book review, online post and journal for classes on the same day that I left - I was a bit distracted.

Anyway, that's enough for now. The language barrier here might be the worst I've ever experienced, but the internet sure is cheap! I hope you are all doing well and that this e-mail finds you happy and blessed. Thanks for the prayers - I know they're the only reason I made it here without more mishaps!