I'm sitting in the school office on break time in between classes. My schedule changes daily; sometimes I teach two or three class periods, sometimes I teach only once. Today is one of those easier days, so I use my free time to catch up on e-mails, blogging and preperation for the next classes. While I was checking my e-mail, three boys came into the office apparently because of bad behavior. I'm not sure what the issue was..they were each disputing about each other's role in the issue. I may not be able to speak Khmai, but there are some things that are universal, such as a child trying to explain why he is not guilty, yet the other two are. The lady they were talking with is not the principal, but is "second in command" you could say. One of the boys exited the office, assumingly the unguilty party. Then I watched as the other two boys turned around, the lady grabbed a bamboo stick and swat each of them twice! One of them was considerably taller than the other and I saw her gain more momentum to make sure his were felt just as much as the smaller boy. I definitely did not expect to watch that happen in front of my own eyes, but I am much in favor of spanking to combat bad behavior. I'll deem that lady "the spanking lady."Definitely would want to be a good student here..that bamboo stick looks painful!
The weather here has been significantly cooler than the past three weeks. The recent amounts of rain, breeze from the ocean and significant clouds have given us some much needed relief from the heat! I'm still sweating, just not as profusely as before. I pray that this weather stays for the next two months!
We just came off our first weekend here as "teachers"in the orphanage. Sometimes I feel a little crazy from being confined inside the walls of the school and orphanage all day long, so we did spend some time outside the of the walls this weeend. I think we're going to make it a weekly tradition to have breakfast at a small restaurant here in Sihanouk ville called Sisters. They serve great breakfast food and make it known on their menu that the chocolate chip pancakes are *amazing* and the pumpkin and spice ones are *delicious.* I have to agree-pumpkin spice are my favorite. And even better, the price. An iced coffee, two pancakes and bottled water amounted to just $4. I sure love these cheap prices. =) Cracker Barrell..maybe you could take some lessons from Sisters. Our goal in having breakfast here is to develop relationships with the girls who work here and hopefully help them practice speaking English. We were too shy to tell them of our plans, but next week we will make our intentions known!
So far, we have eaten almost all of our meals at the orphanage with the kids. The food has been much better than I anticipated. I had visions of loosing a lot of weight from not being able to eat anything, but I feel like the opposite may happen instead! We always have rice. Without fail. Rice for breakfast. Rice for lunch. Rice for dinner. Oh, rice for snacks too! Cambodians cannot stand to eat a meal without rice. It's just foreign to them. It would be like peanut butter without jelly. Or a McDonalds happy meal with no french fries. The two cannot be seperated. I'm trying to get my body used to such a large intake of starch, but it's not agreeing as fast as I would like it too. I've come to the conclusion my own body cannot physically handle eating that much rice per day. So I try to supplement with other foods such as peanut butter, bread, apples and yogurt.
Meals consist of rice, some type of meat and some sorts of vegetables and fruits. Those who know me know of my disdain for vegetables. I'm happy to tell you Mom, that I'm slowly adjusting to these foreign substances which I do not care for. The good thing is most of their veggies do not have much taste to them! And I have found that you can add soy sauce to anything to cover it's stench or flavor. Soy sauce, seriously, you are my best friend! I've been eating some type of lettucey substance which looks like a mixture between spinach leaves and kale. It's kind of tastelss, but they seem to serve it in all of our lunches, so I have gotten quite used to it. I've also been eating something along the lines of green beans. The tomatoes here are yellow..I still haven't gotten used to them yet.
The kids and the dorm moms love to watch our reaction to foods, especially mine as I am a bit more expressive and slightly pickier than Amanda and Emily. Every time its our turn to receive our bowl full of food, they all crowd around to see what my expression will be. For the most part, I have eaten almost everything in my bowl. But they love to laugh when I am sitting there looking at a bowl full of foreign, disgusting looking substances and trying to figure out how on earth I will consume it. The other night, they had a great meal of chicken, pineapple, carrots and onions. It's been my favorite thus far and the kids at the table all watched in wonder as I scooped up every last morsel from my bowl and then were amazed when I asked if I could have more.
The kids also love to give us new things to try. So far, I have eaten pig ears, pig intestines and pig stomach. They also made me try pig fat..and that was not a favorite of mine. The dorm moms are always cutting up different fruits for us to try. Yesterday, we had one that was a sour/spicy taste and they serve it with sugar. They all cracked up when they saw my "sour"face of disgust. The worst by far is the Durian fruit. Just do a quick google search and you will find that it is on the top list of worst fruits in the world. It smells terrible, looks terrible and tastes terrible. Yet, Cambodians love it. It's so nasty, that most hotels refuse to even let it in because of the stench. The markets reek of Durian. I will for sure NOT MISS it's rechid stench. The girls tried to get Amanda and I to eat some sticky sweet rice with a durian mixture hidden inside. Poor Amanda.. she fel victim to their evil plot. Fortunately, my stubbornness to never eat Durian fruit again prevailed! (I tried some in an ice cream without knowing it. It was terrible!)
Apparently our neighbors had a family member die because they have been blasting loud music from their house for the past three days. It's common in Cambodia that when someone dies, the body is displayed in your house, and you play the loud music to attract friends and loved ones to visit the deceased. This wouldn't be such a problem for me if the music wasn't unbearable to hear. Seriously, I wish they could pick some nice traditional, soothing music. But instead, what is blasting 24/7 is a tape which sounds like it got run over. I hope this family is not rich because rich folks keep the music blasting for 7-10 days, while the poorer families can only afford it for 2-3 days.
You know what I have found to be a fun sport? Dodging flying cockroaches and other flying bugs while in the shower. Have you never tried it? Oh, it is great fun! Rinse some conditioner out and swat at the bug, hoping it isn't one that bites. Then, you should try shaking out your clean clothes because the small knats have found a new "home"for themselves inside your clothing. Those smart bugs always go for my clean clothes instead of the dirty sweaty ones. I guess if I were a bug, I would too!
This seems to be a random sampling of my observations so far while here in Cambodia. I'm working on getting all of my photos moved onto a cd so I can upload photos. I hope it works, and that the internet here allows me to upload my rediculously large sized photographs!
I feel almost completely adjusted to life here in Cambodia. I just love being here and am so greatful for the opportunity. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am supposed to be here and I am so very glad I listened to the Lord's leading on my life. I cannot tell you enough how I am so glad the Lord's plans are so much greater and better than our own. I cannot believe that I almost missed this opportunity to be here. There is so much I am learning and experiencing each day. I have gained 75 new brothers and sisters. They are all so very precious to me.
The other night, a few of the boys decked me out like a princess! They gathered tons of flowers from around the orphanage grounds and laced together a large lei of flowers and bracelets and an anklet also made of flowers. A few of them even did my hair and I must have had about 50 flowers sticking out of my hair. It was great. The kids are just filled with so much love and are constantly wanting to give me things. It's so precious.
The school bell is ringing. Morning session has ended. Our two and a half hour siesta has begun! It sounds like an earthquake as hundreds of little feet come pouring down the steps!
More to come..
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