WORLD RACE MONTH 8
Where:
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
(Russey Keo District)
When:
August 3rd – August 22nd
Who:
The Thunderbirds (Abbie, Jillian, Lindsey, Jackie, Lauren, and Britney)
Ministry:
This month, our team is working with a ministry called the Solomon International School within the Russey Keo Baptist Church.
Hosts:
Pisey (pee-si-ee)
Currency:
Cambodian Riel
Language:
Khmer and some English
Dress Code:
This month, our dress code has been pretty laid back. While the idea was to wear “teacher-ish” clothes, we quickly ran out of options. Basically our main guidelines were to not show our shoulders and not wear short shorts. BUT, regardless of what you wear, you will sweat through it. It’s inevitable. At home and during our free time, we can wear whatever we please.
<< I tried to wear my capulana (colorful fabric used as a skirt) that I got last month from Africa, and I got so many weird stares from the locals. Clothes are so culturally sensitive. >>
Food:
PSA: Panda Express does NOT prepare you for the real Asia! In my head I pictured fried rice, some noodles, and maybe a few egg rolls. I was very wrong… 99% of the meals do include rice or noodles but also tons of other weird things like bony sardine-like fish, chicken feet, strangle slimy vegetables and other indescribable things.
And yes, I know I’m being dramatic, but apparently I’m a very picky eater and I’m kind of mad at Panda Express for lying to me.
The food here really isn’t that bad, it’s just…. different.
Also, don’t ever take boneless meat for granted!!! Ever!!!
Lodging:
This month, we are living in a house in the district of Russey Keo. Our house is located on an alley, about a 15 minute walk from the school. We are sleeping on our sleeping pads (yay!) on the floor of the extra bedroom. It is super cozy, but also ridiculously hot. We were able to snag a few fans from the church to use, but it still just feels like hot air blowing on you. It’s been a huge adjustment going from Africa (where it was on the colder side) to Asia (where you are literally covered in sweat 24/7). But! We’re doing it!!!!
Bathroom:
This month, we have an all-in-one shower/toilet/sink/bidet. It’s pretty freaking great. You can easily use all four without really even moving. We kinda have access to hot water, but if you use it, the power goes out and when the power goes off, the fans go off and when the fans go off, it gets miserably hot and when it gets miserably hot, your team yells at you and when your team yells at you… Well it’s just not a good situation for anyone. So the moral of the story is… don’t use the hot water. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Also, bidets are sooo strange. Like I get it, it washes you off. But how do you get dry??? Is that even a thing? So we had to give in and splurge on some tp.
Laundry:
I still have no idea how our laundry gets done… But basically we just set it out and then it ends up hanging on the roof lines by the end of the day. #blessed
Ministry:
• Teaching: This month we helped out in several classrooms teaching English, pronunciation, shapes, colors, numbers, math, and whatever else we could think of. At first, it was very frustrating because there was no curriculum and a huge language barrier, but over time we got the hang of it and just enjoyed being around the kids. It really was an awesome ministry and so much fun to get to know the students and teachers. (Also, I learned that I most definitely NEVER want to be a teacher)
• First Aid Seminar: One Saturday, our team got to hold a first aid session for the staff of the school. We made a PowerPoint and got to teach some basic health things like treating cuts, doing the Heimlich, caring for broken bones, and even lice awareness.
<<< Fun fact: the school is riddled with lice! Most of the kids have it (which we didn’t know until about 4 days ago, so pray for us lol). >>>
Adventures:
• Angkor Wat: While in Siem Reap for our debrief, several of us visited the famous Angkor Wat Temple. Angkor Wat is the biggest religious monument in the world, originally constructed in the early 12th century with multiple monuments that spread over 400 acres. It was an extremely long and hot day, but an awesome experience to see an eighth wonder of the world.
• Tuol Sleng (S21): This was one of the many prisons used during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. From 1975 to 1979, over 20,000 Cambodian people were tortured and killed at Tuol Sleng. Before the mass genocide, Tuol Sleng was originally a high school. So basically we spent the day taking a tour around the prison and learning all about its history.
• The Killing Fields: This was another genocide site of the Khmer Rouge. Many of the prisoners from Tuol Sleng were taken to the killing fields in order to be executed and buried. Between 1975 and 1979, it is estimated that up to 2.5 million people were killed here. It was a super interesting, but super sad day learning about this stuff. I honestly had no clue it even happened and still can’t really tell you much about it. But seriously google it! It’s crazy.
– Not-so-fun-fact: the Khmer Rouge targeted educated people because they posed the “highest threat”. So even today, many Cambodians do not want to be educated, from fear of another genocide.
• Exploring Phnom Penh: Most free days, we just took a tuk tuk into town and explored around. Several of our destinations included the Royal Palace, Brown Coffee, Blossom Cupcakes, pizza, the Russian market, and wherever else looked interesting.
• SWAT Ministry: One day, we all met up with some of our teammates mutual friends who live in Asia. They have a ministry that is aimed at training women in self defense. This is especially important with the amount of sex trafficking that occurs here. We got to join in on the training and meet some of the girls. It was an awesome day and tons of fun (especially when the day ended with us just wrestling on the mats).
Thank you sooo much for your continued prayers and support. It means the world to me.
If you want to reach out to me, please do! Even just to say hi! Facebook is the way to go and I’ll reply as the the wifi allows.
Love you all!
Cheers, Abigail Sheckells
