I sit in front of a fan, the blessed thing, and it’s about 8:45 am. Back in the states, your days are winding down as you finish this day and prepare to rest. My day (one calendar tick ahead of yours) is just beginning!
This morning, I got up at about 4:45. Each morning, the students at ITCS have devotional at 5:30am. Oddly, they always start early. That confounds me. Today, I got up with them and joined in the singing, the prayers, and the devotional time. Today, I led the devotional, sharing things I learned from my time being a student. Because all my words needed to be translated into Kumai, I’m not fully sure how exactly what I said came across.
I was too awake to go back to sleep, so I started cooking lunch at 6:15am. One of the huge gifts God has given me this month is a big kitchen, a close market with fresh veggies, and the time to cook. Today I cooked a chicken white bean soup with some local mystery greens. Simmer simmer simmer. I’m pumped.
Most days I teach 2-3 classes. I spend my other time preparing for classes, cooking/cleaning, doing personal reading/devotionals, trying to convince myself to work out, and spending time with my team. Compared to the last two months, my schedule has more space for resting, thinking, writing, and praying. This has provided me a place to nurture some creativity. (Fun!)
I’m still not quite sure what to make of Cambodia. We live a little bit outside the capitol city, Phnom Penh. Here are some notable things:
–Our “streets” are covered in up to a foot of mud/water because it’s the end of the rainy season. Multiple times, our tuk-tuks have been stuck in the mud. We hop out, push the tuk tuk and pray we didn’t just get parasites or dysentery.
–The students refer to me either as “teeeecha” or “seeesta”, but never by my name (though they know it).
–We eat with the students most evenings. Every meal consists of a big plate of rice, a personal bowl of soup, and a communal platter of something else. The portion sizes are small and there is especially limited meat consumption. A typical meal would include about 2 (small) bites of meat and 2 spoonfuls of veggies. They eat a lot of fish, and the face is served just staring at you during dinner….And, it’s delicious.
–There are puppies here. My life is complete!
–Most of the people over age 30 here have PTSD. Mass genocide between ’70-’75 killed and estimated 2.5 million Cambodians—about 25% of the population. Those targeted were educated technically-skilled people and anyone who may compromise the Khmer Rouge’s plans for a full agrarian society. This has crippled Cambodia. About 1/3 of the population is illiterate, and there are prevalent issues with drugs.
–The streets are a mix of fun, chaos, and insanity. We ride tuk-tuks (like an open, covered wagon pulled by a motorbike) most places. So far, we have driven on the wrong side of the road on purpose several times. Lanes seem to be optional here, and drivers honk as a hobby, it seems. It’s fun…and I pray for my life.
–One of the classes I teach is basic science. We began the first class period by asking the students to recall anything they’ve ever learned about science. After a long pause, one student raises her hand: “Teeecha, we don’t know that word”. The word they did not know? “Science”. So that’s how we started class.
–It’s beautiful and lush here. I can find a minimum of 5 lizards at any given time without having to move, and the people are wonderful. My whole team has heat rash, and I’ve discovered that it is, in fact, possible for my upper lip to sweat 20 hours a day.
Suffice to say, Cambodia’s great.
nat
