Oh Cambodia… how do I write about you and all that I have experienced and seen this month?! As I sit down to write this blog post, I am trying really hard to get over my writer's block because I want all of you to know how much this month has meant to me. Yet for some reason it is difficult to put all of my experiences into words. Perhaps it's because I have just a few days left in this amazing country before I leave and go to Africa and I don't want to think about leaving all of my new friends behind. Perhaps it's because I think it will be quite difficult to explain how great this country is to my friends and family back home. Whatever the case, it is my prayer that you will get a glimpse of just how great this month has been for me. So I have split this blog post up in to two parts. Part 1 is about my living situation, and Part 2 is about the experiences I have had whilst I have been here. Please be sure to read them both!
Part 1:
When my team and I first found out about our ministry in Cambodia, we were told that we were going to be in some village about an hour and a half away from Phnom Penh. We also found out that the rest of the squad (minus one other team) was all going to be in the city of Phnom Penh for the month. My first reaction/thought was "Great… I would be on the team in the middle of nowhere. Why can't I be closer to my friends in the city?" I immediately thought that these people would not speak any English and that it was going to be the longest month of my life. But then I reminded myself that I did not sign up for a year of comfort and I prayed that God would use this month to fill me up and change me. And that He did!
On June 4th, my team and I took an hour and half long tuk tuk ride out of the city of Phnom Penh and headed towards Kampong Speu. With each passing mile, the traffic began to thin out and the buildings became more and more scarce. Soon we started to see more and more factories and the beautiful countryside of Cambodia. There are miles of rice fields filled with the occasional cow and some palm trees. It is so green here, and I was so elated to see rain clouds off in the distance.
When we pulled up to our house, we were instantly greeted by a bunch of kids. It was a little overwhelming but fun none the less. We played with the kids for about 30 minutes or so before we unpacked our bags and set up our living arrangements inside of this house.
Photo from Sara Shoup
It may look like sort of like a typical American house from the outside, but don't let this picture fool you! The windows have no screens on them and there is a gap between the walls and the roof to let airflow come in. Each night we are "blessed" to have Mother Nature come and visit us in the form of flies, mosquitoes, praying mantis', frogs, beetles, lizards, geckos, snakes, cockroaches, ants and many other bugs. I sleep inside of my tent each night so I don't have to cuddle with the bugs 🙂 (Oh, and in case you were wondering, there is no A/C out here in the village. We use fans to cool off at night.)
Us girls slept in tents inside of the house in an effort to sleep without having bugs crawl all over us. (Photo from Sara Shoup.)
The boys slept under the mosquito net at night. (Photo from Sara Shoup.)
Here is a picture of our bathroom. My team and I (6 people in all) share this bathroom with 20 other people. We have one squatty potty and we use the "bathtub/basin" of water for bucket showers. I have come to learn that squatty potties aren't nearly as bad as you would think — all you have to do is squat over the hole and go! The idea of bucket showers might sound repulsive to some of you, especially since there are things like leaves and who knows what else floating in the water. As a selfish and wealthy American, I am used to taking showers with flowing clean water, so I was scared to take a bucket shower the first time because it was so outside of my comfort zone. But let me tell you, bucket showers are the bomb dot com when you are sweaty and smell bad. The water is nice and cool, and there's nothing like that clean and refreshed feeling to start of your day! (Photo from Sara Shoup.)
We have three meals a day cooked for us by our contact's wife, Noon. Breakfast is at 8 a.m., lunch is at 11:30 a.m., and dinner is at 5 p.m. We wash our dishes using water from this basin. And guess what!? A turtle lives in the basin of water!
(Photo from Daniel Auzenne.)
It goes without saying that there is no internet out here in the village. There is an internet cafe in the market about 5-7 minutes down the road from where we are staying, but we only go there on rare occasions. Not many people have what we Americans refer to as "smart phones." It is quite common to see Cambodians with phones similar to the Nokia phones and Motorola Razrs we all once had circa 2003-2005. They make calls and text one another just like we do, but without the added features of GPS, Facebook, Twitter, the internet, email, etc. Life is pretty darn simple out here, and I love it!
I think that pretty much covers the living situation as a whole for the month in Cambodia. I sleep in a tent at night, use a squatty potty and take bucket showers, and I wash my dishes using water that a turtle lives in. Oh, and I wear the same clothes for 2-3 days before washing them. Yep. I am officially living the World Race life!
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