Water comes straight from the ground. It is not treated, you do not drink it, it does not smell good, but you’re grateful to have it.
We have a water pump that pumps water for us, but it goes out a lot and we have to pump water from the well out back and bring it up in buckets for things like washing dishes, flushing toilets, etc.
The people here can’t believe that in America we can drink water from the faucet. I can’t believe how much water I used in America… it seems like I only use a bucket a day here.
Washing machines and dryers don’t exist in the villages, and hardly even in the cities. A bucket, water pump and clothes line is the only way to clean them. My clothes are all stretched out. And they usually still smell.
Pants on small children are optional. What clothes look like don’t really matter as long as they fit.
Most people do not own cars… usually a bicycle is the transportation of choice, or if you are lucky a motor scooter. We bike to town… 10 miles each way.
You can get an hour long massage for $4. We don’t because we feel too guilty. They should make way more money for what they do.
In the village, you grow and make your own food… and house… these people have skills.
I never knew how much work went into growing and harvesting rice. I guess in America, we don’t really think about where the food comes from. It really makes you want to think about all of the boxes and bags of food we buy and where they came from.. we have it so easy.
Humans and ants coexist. We feed them… then we eat them.
What is makeup? Is it that stuff that drains off of your face when you sweat all day?
I thought I would miss hot water, but I would opt to take a cold shower anyway to cool down before bed.
Just eat the meat. Don’t ask what it is.
Basically… I love Cambodia! Just because everyday living is much easier in America doesn’t mean it’s better. These people are happy, hard working, and caring. Living here makes you appreciate PEOPLE and not what you have.
I wrote down hour by hour what we did today so you can get a picture of what we do during the week:
8:00: Wake up, get dressed, load on deodorant, turn on the faucet to find there is no water.
8:15: Breakfast =1 piece of bread with peanut butter and jelly
8:15-9:00- I lead our morning devotional
9:00- Put on more deodorant
9:00-10:30: Walk through the village and meet local families
10:30-12:00: Lesson plan for the 3 English classes I’m teaching later today
12:00- 1:00: Skip lunch to fast and pray for the village, students, their parents and future villages we will meet. (this was awesome by the way)
1:00-1:30: Last minute lesson planning
1:30-2:00- Sweep the 4 classrooms and set out chairs for classes (my daily chore)
2:00: Put on deodorant spray because regular deodorant is not working
2:15- Get on bikes to ride to a new village to do songs and a story for the kids. Ride down 4 dirt roads with lots of bumps. Hear dozens of kids yell ‘Ello!’ on the way. (So cute)
2:45: Arrive at village, but our contacts aka our translators got lost on one of the dirt roads.
2:45-3:15: Sit awkwardly with village people and try to make small talk. The children look terrified.
3:16: Contacts Arrive to translate for us.
3:17: Nicole and I have to leave to get back in time for our class.
3:45: Stop on the side of the road while biking back to take a picture of kids swimming in a ditch of brown water. I wanted to jump in with them.
3:50: Get back from bike ride, chug a half gallon of water and sit in front of the fan to try to dry off the sweat before class.
3:55: Try to wash my hands but the water is still out.
3:57: Take my malaria pill, but then regret it because I just realized all I’ve had to eat today was a piece of bread.
4:00-5:00: Teach pronunciation class. It went great.
5:00-6:00: Teach elementary English. Love this class.
6:00-7:00: Teach Intermediate English. Come up with 3 review games on the spot.
7:00-7:30: Devour the most amazing Philipino dinner I’ve ever had.
7:30-8:00: Look at kitchen clean up duty scedule: my turn!
8:00: The water is back on! Time to shower!
8:30: As I’m in the shower, I realized the water is going out again, so I fill up buckets. Proceed to take a bucket shower. It was wonderful.
8:30-9:30: Team feedback and daily prayer for our team and other teams on our squad.
9:30-10:00: Stretch and do crunches
10:00-10:45: Listen to some music in my bed and read the Bible (I’m reading the whole thing this year and I’m almost through Genesis)
10:45-11:00: Write this then pass out. 🙂
Enjoy Pictuers of our Visits to the villages, teaching English and our trip to the capital Phnom Penh! 🙂
