The past few days have been spent getting back into the
routine of things here in Phnom Penh. We
were prepared to continue to teach Bible Study through this week, but were told
that the last 3 nights of our time in Phnom Penh will not work out for the
students. So we will only have one final
meeting with the students. Today was our
last province visit to Kompong Cham. A
two and a half hour van ride took us into a small city surrounded by
countryside landscapes. We participated
in the worship service at a church then were treated to a traditional Khmer
lunch. At the beginning of lunch one of
the students talked about Khmer dinner manners, “When Khmer people eat we don’t
have discussions; we enjoy our food then talk when we are done. He continued to
explain, “Most people come and ask questions and talk, but I tell them to wait
until we are done eating.” This being
said, we didn’t feel like we should talk during the meal. Candice commented, “I wish we would have
learned that on the first province visit rather than the third one.” I respect the Khmer way of eating, but I prefer
to talk while I eat; I think I would get bored during meals with no discussions.
On our ride back to Phnom Penh we stopped at a rest stop
that is famous for its spiders. And when
I say spiders I mean edible spiders.
Ladies carried hundreds of spiders in buckets on their heads. Between all of the spider vendors they must have
had thousands of spiders. Apparently
they get the nasty creatures in the forests in the surrounding areas. Ryan was with us and he actually ate a
spider. He said it wasn’t bad, but
bought some pineapple right afterwards to get rid of the taste in his mouth. The spiders didn’t smell too bad, but I
picked one up and just the sticky crunchy feel was enough to keep me from
eating one.
This evening, my friend Ginger, treated everyone to grilled
hamburgers and hot dogs. The food was
delicious and hanging out on the roof overlooking Phnom Penh was the perfect
way to celebrate 50 final days of The World Race. It’s hard to believe that so much time has
passed on the race. It is going to be so
strange to go back to life in the US, but I can’t wait to see my family and
friends.
Thanks Ginger!!!
