I found out that I prefer:
Palm trees TO skyscrapers
50 cent street food that might not be completely up to modern world sanitation standards but is served with a HUGE, sincere smile TO $12 lunches where everything is perfectly clean and the person serving you doesn’t even look into your eyes much less give you a smile worthy of the Guinness book of world records
Haggling for ten minutes over paying $1.50 for that t-shirt rather than $2 TO paying $20 for the same t-shirt made in the same factory by the same beautiful brown hands
Tiny bathrooms with the shower and the toilet and the sink practically touching and everything getting wet when you shower TO large, ‘clean,’ unfriendly rooms where everything is perfect
Monsoons that cause the streets to flood and leave everyone stranded wherever they are right at that moment (such an adventure) TO all day drizzles
Magical smiles that light up your soul paired with happy ‘Sousdays’ that linger for minutes everywhere you go TO mandatory thin smiles and greetings that are meaningless and forgotten
Strangers offering you directions or anything that you need when they don’t even speak the same language but somehow that mix of broken English, bits of Khmer, and a lot of gestures gets you there TO strangers who do not even make eye contact on the street, the train, or at a restaurant
Rows of endless chaos of fruits, vegetables, smelly meats, breads, grains, insects, and who knows what else TO perfectly organized and labeled aisles crowded with carts overflowing with food, much of which will eventually rot and be wasted
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
UPDATE...
sorry I am not very good at blogging :)
Just wanted to fill anyone in who doesn't know....
I am now in Melbourne. Not by choice :)
My heart is still 100% in Cambodia and I DID NOT WANT to leave, but it was a necessity. Mary and I are both going to focus on working here for awhile, maybe 6-8 months so that we can support ourselves in Cambodia for longer. Things were more expensive than we had originally anticipated and we did not have sufficient funds to live there unemployed for a year like we were hoping. BUT...we learned a TON, built amazing, life-long relationships, fell in love with the country and the people that make it what it is.
There is no question...I will go back :) I don't have an exact date, but I do have plans, ideas, dreams, and they will happen!
Please keep in touch, I will try to be more diligent about blogging now that we have wifi in the house we are living in. Found an amazing place to live after about a week of wasting money on hotels and hostels... :( It is cozy and the couple we live with are super fun, laid back, rock climbers, very easy to get along with. The ocean is a two minute walk away :) I will post pics soon.
Love you all! Please pray that we will find the perfect jobs soon! So we can get back to Cambodia soon!!! :)
Just wanted to fill anyone in who doesn't know....
I am now in Melbourne. Not by choice :)
My heart is still 100% in Cambodia and I DID NOT WANT to leave, but it was a necessity. Mary and I are both going to focus on working here for awhile, maybe 6-8 months so that we can support ourselves in Cambodia for longer. Things were more expensive than we had originally anticipated and we did not have sufficient funds to live there unemployed for a year like we were hoping. BUT...we learned a TON, built amazing, life-long relationships, fell in love with the country and the people that make it what it is.
There is no question...I will go back :) I don't have an exact date, but I do have plans, ideas, dreams, and they will happen!
Please keep in touch, I will try to be more diligent about blogging now that we have wifi in the house we are living in. Found an amazing place to live after about a week of wasting money on hotels and hostels... :( It is cozy and the couple we live with are super fun, laid back, rock climbers, very easy to get along with. The ocean is a two minute walk away :) I will post pics soon.
Love you all! Please pray that we will find the perfect jobs soon! So we can get back to Cambodia soon!!! :)
Friday, August 13, 2010
hate hurts. . .
Watching the news lately, being in the place that I am, seeing the situations that victims are in, it is difficult to overcome feelings of anger and hate. God has been teaching me over and over again that hate only hurts (yourself most of all). He keeps reminding me of Saul (not Paul, Saul). Saul openly led others to kill people simply for their beliefs, in otherwords he was a terrorist. It is not a secret that he lead others to imprison and kill Christians.
Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
You cannot decide who is worthy of God's grace. I cannot decide who is worthy of God's love. I cannot determine how to distribute justice. All I can do is trust and run (as quickly as I can) away from feelings of hate, anger, and despair.
Romans 12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"
Deuteronomy 32:35 "Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them."
Proverbs 20:22 "Do not say, 'I will repay evil'; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you."
Proverbs 24:29 "Do not say, 'Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.'"
These are not just random verses pulled out of context with the purpose of judging others. These are just few examples of commands and advice given throughout Bible. There is no room in our hearts for LOVE AND HATE. We must keep our hearts pure and untainted. Leave the wrath to Him.
Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
You cannot decide who is worthy of God's grace. I cannot decide who is worthy of God's love. I cannot determine how to distribute justice. All I can do is trust and run (as quickly as I can) away from feelings of hate, anger, and despair.
Romans 12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"
Deuteronomy 32:35 "Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them."
Proverbs 20:22 "Do not say, 'I will repay evil'; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you."
Proverbs 24:29 "Do not say, 'Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.'"
These are not just random verses pulled out of context with the purpose of judging others. These are just few examples of commands and advice given throughout Bible. There is no room in our hearts for LOVE AND HATE. We must keep our hearts pure and untainted. Leave the wrath to Him.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
yes, things are different here...
1. In Cambodia the bottom floor in never floor 1, it's ground floor then floor 1, 2,3 etc. So in our apartment we are number 203, but we are actually on the third floor. It's like this in all buildings here.
2. Because western influence has come from so many different countries (Australia, America, all over Europe, etc. some Cambodians have English accents, some have Australian accents, some have American accents it's funny. Just depends on who they learned English from! They also use different words for things like the bathroom is called the toilet. Elevators are called lifts, etc. It's interesting seeing the different influences that have affected everything.
3. Nobody uses chopsticks here, just spoons.
4. All 'bathrooms' just have a shower head, have yet to find an actual 'shower' or 'tub'
5. Babies do not wear diapers here, they just seem to wash a LOT of clothes :)
6. Foreigners can purchase homes in Cambodia, but they cannot own the ground floor! Only floors one and up!
7. Lightning killed 140 people in cambodia in 2009, more than any other country
8. In my level 8 class at the school we were discussing crime and when I asked my students if drinking and driving was illegal they were shocked and said "Of course it is!!!" When I asked what the punishment was they said 5,000 riel ($1.25). I said no jail time? They said, "'No!"
9. Now that the monsoon rains are here, there is now a lake outside of our apartment every afternoon. (it replaces the roads) Literally that cars and motos are about halfway covered with water. It is quite a site :)
more to come...
2. Because western influence has come from so many different countries (Australia, America, all over Europe, etc. some Cambodians have English accents, some have Australian accents, some have American accents it's funny. Just depends on who they learned English from! They also use different words for things like the bathroom is called the toilet. Elevators are called lifts, etc. It's interesting seeing the different influences that have affected everything.
3. Nobody uses chopsticks here, just spoons.
4. All 'bathrooms' just have a shower head, have yet to find an actual 'shower' or 'tub'
5. Babies do not wear diapers here, they just seem to wash a LOT of clothes :)
6. Foreigners can purchase homes in Cambodia, but they cannot own the ground floor! Only floors one and up!
7. Lightning killed 140 people in cambodia in 2009, more than any other country
8. In my level 8 class at the school we were discussing crime and when I asked my students if drinking and driving was illegal they were shocked and said "Of course it is!!!" When I asked what the punishment was they said 5,000 riel ($1.25). I said no jail time? They said, "'No!"
9. Now that the monsoon rains are here, there is now a lake outside of our apartment every afternoon. (it replaces the roads) Literally that cars and motos are about halfway covered with water. It is quite a site :)
more to come...
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