I am finally living where you imagined I’d be all year: under a mosquito net, in a wooden hut in the jungle. Check out the video at the bottom for a full tour! And yes, I am here with my new team: Team Undignified! Check out my teammate Amy’s blog for a sweet little introduction.
The Cambodian countryside doesn’t quite count as “jungle,” it’s more like farm land with thick clusters of banana trees and bamboo. In one of those thick clusters lies Pastor Uee’s family home, and just behind it on a winding dirt path, Ampil Church rises on stilts into the jackfruit treetops. (Ampil means “salt” in Khmer.)
Pastor Uee’s brother Youtry has been our main translator, guide, and friend. It turns out that Cambodian men are very protective of women. And as a team of six women, we appreciate that a lot!
At night, we lay our sleeping pads and pillows in a line under one large mosquito net in the church’s single open room. Youtry and a few of his cousins sleep right outside the door on the wide porch.
We wake in the morning darkness to an overwhelming amount of noise. We’re pretty sure that every rooster in the Kampong Cham province turns its head toward our tired ears and crows. Repeatedly. In rounds. At the bottom of the stairs, a one-legged duck likes to hang around and quackquackquack along with them. Sometimes injured cats join in as well.
When the animals pause long enough to let other sounds through, drums and bells from the nearby Buddhist temples ring like a neighbor’s alarm clock that you can’t shut off. All the noise starts around 3:30am, and we do our best to shut it out until we actually get up at 6.
We worship together, then walk to the family’s house for breakfast. We sit on their tile porch and share rice, fried eggs, veggies, and bananas. Some days we walk to nearby villages to play with the children and visit new friends.
Some mornings are busy with our Christmas program. We just sing a few carols, and read/reenact the nativity, as read from the Jesus Storybook Bible. It’s cheesy and hilarious, both of which are apparently in high demand in this province. We keep getting asked to go to different churches and schools to perform! We ended up doing this exact performance 6 times.
Sarah, Erin, Kelsie, Samara, and Amy
Youtry has been trying to teach us some Khmer, but all we’ve got down is how to introduce ourselves, and say “delicious!” Both things are very helpful.
Our afternoons are “down time” so we rest, plan our next lessons, play with kids, shower, etc. English classes for all ages start at 5pm, and that is our main ministry here. We teach in pairs, 2 classes each night. Even though I have taught English before, these lessons have their own challenges.
Try keeping your composure in front of a class while a spider the size of your face is just chilling on the wall. But more on the threatening wildlife on the other girls’ blogs…
Dinner is served, then we go back to the church and turn on the electricity! Youtry hauls a car battery up the steps and hooks a few wires to it. Halogen bulbs flicker on, and every outlet gets filled with our chargers. Some kids come to use the church’s computers for games. And if you’re wondering why you’re just now hearing about any of this, now that I’m out of the jungle… we were 2 1/2 hours from Phnom Penh, and not an easy 2 1/2 hours at that. We rode in a covered truck bed with children sitting on top of it. When we asked Youtry where the nearest place with internet was, he said “Phnom Penh.” I think we laughed.
So that’s where we are again: Phnom Penh. Our time in the nameless villages of the Khampung Cham province is over by the time you read this. But at the moment I’m typing, it is 9am Cambodia time on December 14, 2010.
So this post is dedicated to my baby brother, who is turning 21 today. It is still the 13th where he is, so I’m technically early rather than weeks late in saying HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, PATRICK! I hope you had an amazing day with everyone.
I love you, bud. I’m sorry that I tend to be out of the country during your major life milestones, but I am thinking about you, and I miss you so much. And of course, GO CATS!
-Katie
