The end of the year

 The year is ending and will soon be over. I have spent most of this year living overseas and in a nutshell it has been life changing. I can't imagin my life with out this year and it is a year I would live all over again. I had some fun housemates I got to live with, amazing people to work with, and other random fun people I got to know.

Housemates

I got to eat lots of good food! This is one of my favorite things...Chocolate Wedge :)

And these next two lovely ladies I will miss! I always looked forward to eating and chatting with them.

And then there are the some of the ladies I got to work with. They usually made me laugh and I was always amazing by the love and passion they pour into their work. It was a true honor to spend time with them.

I have no idea what 2011 holds for me but I know it will be good...maybe even great!

Home

I am back in America. My flights were easy and didn't feel that long. I was so thankful the time slipped by quickly as I was being entertained by some very funny movies. I made all my connects and arrived home in time to change and read scripture at my parents church for their Christmas Eve service.

It feels good to be home and I am ready to start my break. I feel I can breath easier here as I can understand the language and can navigate myself where I ever I need to be. I even ran some errands today and enjoyed driving. I have to be honest and speak about the goals I had while out of the country. I had heard certain things and made a mental list of things I would like to avoid while living overseas. I can now say I have successfully avoided everything on my list!

Here is the list:
I don't want to....
1. Get anything stolen
2. Get bit by a dog
3. Get a burn on my leg from a  Moto
4. Have to go to the Hospital
5. Catch Dengy Fever or Malaria
6. Didn't want to get thrown off a Moto or get injured in a traffic accident

     I love that none of these things happened!! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!

Bad Day

I arrived at the airport ready to leave. My bags were packed, re-packed, and weighed. I had said my final good byes and bid farewell to my friends. The man standing next to the curb didn't make sense to me...how could the flight be cancelled. I went inside to see if it was true and what I had to do. All I got was a slip of paper and instructions to call in the morning. But I didn't want to call in the morning, I want to get on the plane and leave. It felt like a dream climbing back into the Tuk Tuk and heading back to my house. I was wide awake thanks to my iced coffee and an afternoon nap. I was let back into the house by my flatmates and climbed the stairs to one of my flatmates rooms, I have no bed here any more.

I tried to sleep but kept thinking about what I would find out. I had to get home...I had to. At 5:30 I gave up sleeping and jumped on-line to watch TV shows and check e-mail till 8am when the office would open. I called and called and finally got through. When the lady told me the next flight out was on Christmas Day I cried because in my mind it was all over.

I am tired and just want to come home. I have taken every step to be ready for this and yet now I have no choice and can only do what is available to me. Thankfully the lady told me I could fly out of another airport on the 23rd and arrive home on Christmas Eve. In the flurry of seeking all other means of getting home I was struggling inside. I don't understand, it doesn't feel loving to not be allowed to be home with my parents right now. I need this break and in my anguish I cried out to God and clung to Him even in my rage. I then attempted to leave the house for some lunch only to discover I had been given the wrong keys which meant I was locked out of the house and in our gated area with no way out. That felt like the last straw, so in a small tantrum I threw the keys on the ground as well as my moto helmet. I was done.

Thankfully after getting that out of my system I realized I could climb our 9 foot divide between us and the people next to us. I found as the day carried on and I got my ticket for the 23rd that I had come to accept what was happening. I can't choose what is happening but for some reason I am still here. I can only choose how I will respond. Yes I want to get home for Christmas and Yes I will be sad if I miss that. But on the other side of things my goal is to get home, which will happen. The weather can't stop me forever and I will make it back. Granted it took me most the day to reach this conclusion but I decided I would rather trust God in what is happening then be angry and resentful when there are so many blessings even in this situation.

I don't understand any of this mess but I don't have to. I have to only trust the One who sent me here. The One who loves me and has provided for me in every way. The One who sees my heart and knows what I need before I even ask. Life happens and God can handle my angry outbursts of frustration. I love Him and I trust Him, no matter where that might lead me or how long it takes to get home.

Farewell

There are somethings that I need to say good bye to:

1. Cutting through the gas station to cut the corner
2. Seeing motorbikes use the pedestrian cross walk to cross the street when their light is red.
3. The guy on my street who does a fast walk in the morning wearing his dress pants, tight muscle shirt, and umbrella in hand
4. My nose being assaulted by smells
5. Public transportation, "madame moto?" "Tuk Tuk, Madame?" (right as I am walking out of my door)
6. Eating fresh Dragon and Jack fruit
7. My Lebanese restaurant, I could cry their hummus and bread are so good
8. My scrabble nights with friends
9. Bloom; everyone should have a  place to eat cupcakes!
10. My Sunday night small group
11. Working with the staff here
12. Shopping in the market
13. Free delivery from restaurants

There are also somethings I won't miss...

1. My screaming neighbors
2. Walking two blocks and sweating
3. Not having my own car (though it wasn't as bad as what I thought it might be)
4. Ants....don't even get me started
5. Mosquitoes and the sickness they can carry
6. Being woken up at 5am by a wedding or funeral
7. Unable to communicate with all the people I work with because of language
8. Temperatures of 104 with 90-100% humidity
9. Not getting free water or refills at restaurants
10. My tub and knee high shower head
11. Dodging crazy drivers in traffic
12. Picking bugs out of my food...and bones
13. Possibly getting Tarantulas put on me at certain rest stops

Khmer Wedding

On the 10th I finally got to go to a Khmer wedding. I was hoping for a night of eating on the street in one of the tents they set up (see picture below). But this one was inside one of the wedding halls.

So we arrived at the Wedding hall and were greeted by the Bride and Groom, got our picture taken, and received our wedding favor. I am not sure what to do with mine...it is a cell phone charm. But this charm is not beads or something small but a little stuffed animal. It is was not a surprise to receive as most people have some type of charm hanging off their phones.

main entrance

 When we got inside we were seated and the food was brought out. We started with appetizer plates filled with deep friend fish (heads and tails still on), cashew nuts, and other various hard to identify dishes. I picked and choice carefully what I wanted in my mouth. The next course was a delicious salad with squid and shrimp, it is the picture shown below.

 Next came our fish...and as you can see it is still being cooked and you have to pick the bones out. Picking bones out of food here is very usual and I have started to learn the art of eating around bones and cleaning them off. If you ever travel here you have to try to fish...you don't have to eat the skin I always peel that off but their fish here is excellent!

 After the fish we received our rice, plan and fried, with soup. The final course was coconut milk with tapioca pudding. It was all very good. Once you are finished eating you can stay and wait for the cake to be cut and the dancing but who knows how long you have to wait. It "started" at 4:30 and we didn't get there till after 5:30 and there were still people coming in when we left right before 7pm. We had a chance to say hi to some of our other staff members we saw. I loved seeing everyone so dressed up, but you can't always recognize the girls! They wear tons of make-up and fake eye lashes. They out dress our weddings by a lot. Before we left we dropped our card with money into the giant gold shaped heart box. You use the envelope your invitation comes in (your name is already on it) to put money in for the new couple. They have no wedding showers and they use the money to start their new life. No room for Hallmark here...kind of nice not buying a wedding card.

With the Bride and Groom

The bride and groom also change clothes multiple times through out the day depending on how much money you have. Which is why they have a t-shirt here that says "no money, no honey". I told one of my Khmer guy friends, who was lamenting about being single, not having money, and wanting to get married, that he could marry a Western girl because you don't have to pay the family anything to get married like you do here. He told me that was true but Western girls would be expensive to have as a wife because she would like to eat cheese.

Food

It is time for Jack Fruit again...and well, this is just too good! If only this could be a scratch and sniff post! You would be delighted to smell the sweet aroma of this fruit. I got a whole Kilo in the market  for $2 and plan on eating them for lunch.

I also had to take a picture of my dinner from the other night. It was so good! I mixed fresh cooked corn, black beans, peppers, onions,  and homemade fajita mix. This all went into some soft shell taco's that my corner store owner asked who how you eat them...ahh, so much to miss when I go home!

Half Marathon

On Sunday December 5th I ran a 1/2 Marathon. This was something I had toyed with for a while. When I lived in the Midwest I had friends run mini marathons and thought it was something I could do, but I never really wanted to put the time in for training. Yes I run, but I run for me. I run because it helps me drain my brain, as I put it. It relieves my stress and is a great way to stay in shape...but this time I just couldn't help myself.

The idea to run the 1/2 took root in August while chatting with some friends. The lure for this run came from the location. The entire course was around Angkor Wat, an area of ancient temples, and well...I just don't think a course can get much better then that. The route would be shaded and it was thrilling to think about running past all that history. So I looked on-line to find a training schedule and started trying to talk some of my friends into running it as well.

Over the next 4 months I trained and got up to 10 miles before I started having a couple problems...the first being body issues such as a hurt foot and knee pain and secondly I was being chased by dogs. Neither of these issues am I a big fan of. But as the Race Day approached I found myself just wanting it to be over. I had been getting up at 5am to go running in an attempt to avoid dogs and the heat. The joy of running was being sucked out of me because I had to run a certain amount on certain days which gets tiring and mentally exhausting as you have issue that come up and a dead line you are trying to meet.

Heather and I before the race

The day before the race I caught a ride up to Seim Reap and had dinner with a friend who was also running. My one goal was to make it in under 3 hours. With my foot pain I hadn't been able to run for about a week and had no idea how far back this might set me. I originally was aiming for under 2 hours and 30 mins. By the morning of the race I just wanted the time to slip by and be done with it. There was a level of excitement as we lined up. But I started to also feel inadequate as all these people were dressed in super professional gear. I was wearing a painting shirt and shorts I got in the Russian Market for 2 dollars. As I pondered this I told myself it must just be the "smoke and mirrors" routine and prepared to start.

My friend Heather who was running as well gave me some advice. She told me to keep my pace steady and I would be surprised at how many people I would pass before I finished. So heading her words I started the race and found a pace I felt I could run for 13 miles. As I was running I noticed that some of the very professionally dressed people were speed walking, not running...but some were running as well. It was a great place to run and I enjoyed the sights as I passed the Kilometers. At the 5 Km mark I realized I was holding a 10 min mile and if I did that I would finish in under 2.5 hours.

So with determination I kept my pace and watched as fellow racers stopped to take pictures in front of a few temples, ran into the woods to pee, and took pictures with all the kids lining up to slap our hands. But I kept running. The rhythm seemed to flow through my legs and even in moments when my foot started to hurt or my knee felt tight I gave myself a little pep-talk. It went something like this, "Really? I don't think so. It isn't that much longer and then you can hurt all you want." It worked and I found myself on the final stretch pain free and still making good time.

The final stretch!

 As I neared the end another friend and her husband were standing on the side cheering for me. As soon as she saw me she started yelling my name and encouraging me to run. I had a water bottle still in my hand and as I passed her I felt it was time for the final sprint. In a very dramatic move, not really intentional but the way these things happen, I took a last swig of water, and threw my bottle to the ground. I reached inside and tried to pull out the last of what ever I might be holding back. I can't say I had much left in me but I pushed it all out and hit the finish line at 2 hours and 24 mins.

My friend Heather was also correct in her advice. I passed more people and chuckled inside because slow and stead does win the race. It is about pacing yourself and finding things to help encourage you along the way. I thought of my friend Beate yelling and cheering for me and the renewed sense of energy it brought to me. I feel in some ways that the Marathon was kind of like my year here. I had my markers of knowing when I would be done, I had to find my pace and keep at it, and like my new certificate from the Marathon it is about being a Finisher. It is about holding to the task you are given and finding out that you can end well, but like all things it will end.

Finisher!

I can't say I got up and ran these last two weeks or when I might run again. I am enjoying staying up later and sleeping in longer. I am spending time with the people here who have come to mean so much in my life. Because my time here is ending too. I see the markers come and feel the pain of saying good bye. But I try to hold it off because I am not there, yet.

Another Visitor

With the end of November brought my third and final visitor here. This time it was my friend Aletheia who I have worked with and lived with before moving here. It was so fun to see her and spend a week together. Though we did many similar things as my other visitors, each person brings their own flair to the experience...which is half the fun :)

We spent the first few days in the city such as shopping for Christmas, eating really good cupcakes, doing our nails, and eating really good food! On Thanksgiving we went to the Raffles, which was very fancy! Part of the reason for going was the giant Chocolate Fountain they had. The food was also amazing! They had pumpkin soup, pumpkin au gratin, turkey, cranberry apple cider, au gratin potatoes, and much more. So much good food and only one size tummy! This is not mentioning the spread of deserts they had besides the Chocolate Fountain!

On Friday we spent some time up at Wat Phnom, walking along the riverfront and met up with Mary and Hubert for lunch. They were the couple I stayed with in Koh Kong earlier this year. It was lovely to see them again before leaving and we had a nice time together. We left Saturday morning for Seim Reap for a couple days of exploring the temples. Once we arrived and had some lunch we went to the same workshop that Michelle and I went were they make baskets, candles, and other fun things.

Palm branches drying after being dyed

making a box

Pineapple Plant!

Our next stop was also to the Silk Worm farm as well. It was fun seeing everything a second time. I even learned more things. After this we wanted to ride the elephant to watch the sunset but when we got there learned they had no more rides to the top, just coming down. Having walked up this hill before I suggested we take the ride up and try the next night. So after eating some fabulous food for dinner ($2 for my meal) we met up with my friend Ines before going back to our hostel. In the morning we went back to the little lake to watch the sunrise. We also had a guy with us named Kyle. Kyle is the brother to a girl who got married to a Cambodian who is friends with Aletheia's Co-worker(not the Cambodian but Kyle's sister)...do you follow :) He was in Cambodia for his sister's wedding and Aletheia was suppose to take back something for her co-worker. As we were heading up to Seim Reap we found out he was as well and invited him to join us for a tour of the temples. It was very random and had fun hanging out.

Sunrise

Road through Angkor Wat

Ants...they were all over the place

Boys getting ready to sing for us...they wanted money

We had fun seeing the different temples and watching all these crazy ants marching in a single line. After seeing everything we wanted we had some lunch in town before going to see the floating villages. I had been out there before but it was near the end of the dry season which meant all the houses were out on the lake. Now that rainy season had just ended they were all further inland as what will be the road with trees is under water.

After seeing the villages we went back to see the sunset which also meant the elephant ride up. All three of us climbed aboard and had fun as we rode. At the top the sunset was very nice and we saw a whole group of monks that people were getting their picture taken with. We then headed back into town for some dinner.

Leth's favorite Tuk Tuk

In the morning we came back to the city with Kyle who was flying out that night. We ate some lunch and then went to Toul Slang and the Killing Fields. As I have done these multiple times I sat in the Tuk Tuk and waited for them. It started to rain and by the time we arrived at our dinner location they had both bought poncho's. After dinner Kyle went to the airport and Leth and I went home. On her final day here we spent the morning doing laundry and watched a movie before meeting one of my friends for lunch. In the afternoon we stopped at another market and went to the cupcake place for a second round :) For dinner we ate at a North African place and sat on their roof lounging on pillows drinking the best Mint tea ever!

It was such a blessing to have Aletheia here and to watch her fall in love with this place. I was happy to share my world with her, and as we won't be living together again when I get back (she got a job out of the state) it was fun to have a chance to spend so much time together.

Water Festival

Over the weekend of November 20-23 was Water Festival here in the city. This meant no work on Monday or Tuesday, Fireworks every night, and loads of people coming into the city. I was excited to see what this would look like, as most holiday's means the city is almost empty from the departure for the residents. Water Festival is celebrated because twice a year the current of the Tonle Sap will change the direction it flows. This weekend marks the changing of one of those times. It is thought to happen because in PP the Tonle Sap and Mekong river combine. The Mekong apparently at this time of year has so much water that it pushes the current of the Tonle Sap North instead of the usual South ward flow.

The air in the city seemed to buzz with excitement and the warmth of the days  gave the feel of summer. But everything in my head told me it is November and the Christmas decorations I saw while Skyping with my parents couldn’t be denied. But the activities and fireworks during water festival whispered differently. I went with friends to the river front to see some of the boat races and hoped to see the single team of rowers that were foreigners. Apparently in years past their boat has sunk.

We found out upon arriving that the foreigners had gone earlier then we thought but we still enjoyed watching the boats. On each boat was 50 rowers each in a matching shirt and they moved in such a fluid and perfect way that it was fun to watch them speed along the river. They start at the North most point of the river front to the Southern most place, two boats at a time. There is a load speaker explaining which boats are racing and each boat has a number. The foreigners, who had only practiced once, had begun and then were passed by two other races. I'm sure their were multiple contributing factors to this loss, but seeing as they were using a boat built for Khmer people who are smaller and lighter then the foreigners, I'm sure that was one of the reasons. The only way we could speculate how they decide who wins from the over 300 boats racing is by time.

Video of one of the "races":

The races happen all day for the three days and only the teams that "win" more on to the next day's races. After watching the races for a while I headed back to my house. From the kitchen in the evening I could hear the boom of fireworks and went up to our roof to see if I could view them. Side stepping a bat on the floor I was able to see the fireworks popping and booming in all their brilliant colors.

The following evening with some of my housemates and a friend we journeyed to the river front hoping to see the fireworks and eat food at the night market. The riverfront was chaos and because of the extra traffic we got their late and missed the fireworks. So fighting through the crowd we went to the market to grab some dinner. After eating we walked along the riverfront to find a building where we could sit on the open roof to see the floats in the river. Each float is done by one of the different "ministries" here. The Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Planning, etc. Here are some pictures of what we saw.

After a little while I headed back to the house so I could get up early in the morning to go running. My fellow companions stayed out and got some pictures of the river front from the other bank and saw the second set of fireworks they had planned for later.

I spent the rest of the Water festival avoiding crowds, making posts for my blog, and catching up on The Office. It was marvelous to have a few days when I didn't have to work or travel but could simply enjoy resting and doing what ever I wanted.

Dentist

One of my friends here had told me about a Dentist she had found that she was very impressed with. I haven't been to the dentist since last October and thought that if he was as good as what she said I would try him out. I have been diligent with my oral hygiene living here as I knew I might not get a chance to see a dentist but felt it was time to get my teeth cleaned. I was also very curious about what this type of experience might be like. So once the team left I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned.

When I arrived I found a shoe rack were we could leave our shoes and put on clean Kroc's that they had lined up wait to be worn. So slipping out of my shoes and chose a nice bright green pair before going inside to let them know I had arrived. When the time for my appointment came the dentist himself was the one who came in to clean my teeth. The chair they had me sit in was nicer any I had sat in before and the room was clean and looked like any other dentist office. I explained quickly about my filled in front teeth before he started cleaning. For those who don't know I had a gap between my front two teeth and my dentist filled it in when I was 21. But because of this I also tell a new dentist or who ever is cleaning my teeth because at the top of where they started the process is a little ridge that can catch food or my dental floss. I am very faithful about making sure nothing is stuck up there and have never had a problem with it.

The dentist set to work cleaning my teeth and once he was done pulled out a little piece of metal and began working on my filled in teeth. I was very confused at what was going on as nothing that I knew of was wrong with my filling. I had images in my head of it breaking and then reminded myself of all the work he had done for my friend, which means he could easily fix it if he did any damage. He must have noticed the creased look on my face as he stopped to explain that he was filing down the ridge because it wasn't healthy for my gums. (He spoke excellent English...He is Khmer) I was astonished at the care and quick work he did. He told me it would be better in a week and sent me on my way, even sending my bill electronically to the front desk as I was walking out of the room.

It took him only 30 mins from the time I walked into the room and left to pay...which was only $15 for the cleaning and $10 to file down the ridge. The following day when I thought I would floss I realized  why he said it would be better in a week as I felt pain from the slight inflammation. Oops :) I should have listened to my new dentist!

Kratie (craw-che)

During my last team's visit, the Rural Development director and I decided to take them one of our projects in Kratie. This meant spending the morning in Kompang Cham and then driving up the last 2.5 hours to Kratie, which helps break up the drive. On  the way to Kompang Cham there is also a rest stop we will use to take a short bathroom break and I usually find some delicious banana chips. There are also girls ready to tell you how beautiful you are to sell you their fruit. They also sell other things there as well, which I have pictures of...spiders, eggs, and ducks already cooked.

After leaving Kompang Cham we ran into a short delay, which our driver was able to fix. Though when I offered him my help he was surprised to learn that I know how to change a tire.

After making it to Kratie we spend the evening at the school we were visiting to give them supplies. It was here for the first time in the open I saw one of the creepiest spiders I have ever seen...

After church the following morning we went to see the freshwater dolphins that live in this part of the Mekong River. It was fun and very peaceful to sit on a boat in the middle of the river listening to the water. We sat silently waiting to hear the small stirring of water and intake of breath as a dolphin would surface for a minute before vanishing again beneath the brown waves.

Leaving the docks

After seeing the dolphins we headed back into town to eat lunch before returning to PP for the rest of the team's trip. On the return back I took some pictures of the country side.

Water Buffalo