Into the Jungle by the Sea

Those of you who know me well know that I am not really a city girl.  Yes, I have lived in cities off and on for the past 9 months, but I will always be a country girl at heart.  Getting out into the country is good for my soul.

This week, is the Pchum Ben Festival in Cambodia, which is a time when Cambodians visit Wats and offer sacrifices to appease the spirits of their ancestors up to 7 generations.  Pchum Ben is a 15 day festival, but most people only take three or four days off of work to visit their hometowns and make food offerings.  Because it is a national holiday in Cambodia, we have a whole week off of school.  (A fall break of sorts).

Anyway, several of my roommates, another friend, Abigail and I decided to take a little trip to the Gulf of Thailand, which is supposedly a three hour bus ride South. In our experience the ride took 5 1/2 to 6 hours due to rough road conditions, mechanical issues with the bus, stopping to let off other bus riders in the small villages and towns along the way, and slowing down to allow cows and goats to cross the road safely. However, I was relieved to finally get out of the city and take in the sights of the Cambodian countryside and rice fields.

We visited a sleepy, little beach town of called Kep and stayed at a quaint little eco lodge.

By quaint, I mean mud brick huts with thatched roofs, solar power, cold showers, and open eves, all in a beautiful jungle environment with a natural swimming pool, complete with fish and lily pads. During our stay, several little critters visited our cabin just to keep us from missing the army of ants, cockroaches, lizards, and mice that invade our kitchen in the city every night.  Personally, I would have appreciated it if they would have chosen to leave us alone during our vacation, but other than our visitors we had a truly lovely time at Jasmine Valley Eco Lodge Resort.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time reading in hammocks, savoring tropical fruit, taking in the beautiful flowers of the jungle, and chatting with friends.

While relaxing and drinking in nature was good for our bodies and souls, I believe that no vacation is complete without at least one or two harrowing hikes to beautiful overlooks.

We also embarked on a day-long boat trip to a Rabbit Island.  The seas proved to be bit rough, but the time of rain, sand, and surf made it worth every bump.

It is official, my daughter is a beach girl!

To top it all off, we savored dinner while taking in a spectacular sunset over the ocean one evening.

All in all, we came away from the four days in Kep refreshed body and soul.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23

Alas the time for me to attack the pile of papers that I need to input into my grade book before the quarter ends next week has finally arrived.  However, if you ever find yourself in Cambodia and in need of a little retreat by the sea, I highly recommend Kep.

PS.  Abigail wanted me to finish this post by posting a picture of her favorite part of our trip, the friendly snail that visited our cabin porch. Abigail affectionately calls the creature,"Snailey."

Life in Cambodia

 Life as We Know It

Well, we made it.  On July 20th, we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  Almost eight weeks later, I finally have time and energy to write a post.

The day after we arrived, we moved into our P'tay l'vang, which is a tall skinny row house.  We live on the first and second floors and four other teachers live on the third, fourth and fifth floors.  Our home is slightly quirky, but overall it fits us well.  We are still adjusting to living with bars on every window, "fabulous"gold flowery drapes complete with sparkly tassels (which might not last too much longer), and having to open 4 padlocks every time we enter our house.  Someday, I will actually take pictures to post, but in the meantime here is a view of our home from the gate.  We live on the first two floors, so the part of the house you can see actually see above the gate in the picture is the section where the other teachers dwell.



After arriving we were quickly thrown into the hustle and bustle of training and preparing for a busy school year.  I am teaching 4 history classes, 8th grade Medieval World History, 9th grade Renaissance through the French Revolution, 10th grade Modern World History, and a Modern Asian Studies class for a combo of 11th and 12th graders.  Overall, I am enjoying my classes and the students are amazing.  The course outlines and topics cover much more Asian and Cambodian history than I am used to, so I am having to brush up on my history as I prep lessons.  Needless to say, with 100 students, I keep busy prepping and grading.  I have to admit that I love it more than I thought I would. I am also a sponsor for the 11th graders, so I have already been thrown into fund-raising and planning for the Jr./Sr. banquet/prom.

Last weekend, Abigail turned 6.  In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that I was holding her for the first time, and in other ways, I really don't remember my life before she was with me.  She is a little go-getter and social butterfly, but she is a little bit more emotional than normal as she adjusts to our new life in a new country.  She quickly made a couple of friends and has even done a few sleepovers already.  In fact, she had three little friends over  for a sleepover to celebrate her birthday.

When we first arrived, we got around via tuk tuk.  Traffic here is crazy and sidewalks are for parking cars or motos, so it is difficult to walk anywhere.

However, after a few weeks, my independent streak came out.  I really wanted to be able to explore more of the city and get to and from school on my own time schedule.  I am not quite ready to purchase a car and drive through the crazy traffic, so I opted for a cheaper and more convenient form of transportation.  We got a moto, and for the most part, we love it (except for the occasional drenching in the sporadic daily rainstorms).

You can pray for our safety as we travel busy and sometimes flooded roads with unfamiliar traffic patterns and wandering dogs, cow, and chickens.

About a week after we arrived, Cambodia held its 5 year election for seats in the National Assembly and Prime Minister.  The current Prime Minister has been Prime Minster for 27 years and plans to continue for at least 10 more years.  However, the election was closer than anyone believed possible, and the opposition party claims they actually won the election, but due to election fraud and corrupt government control, they were denied the win.  The opposition party has been calling for an international investigation into the election results, but the ruling party has claimed the that election results are accurate and refused to consider international investigation.  To show their displeasure, the opposition party hosted several peaceful protests and has requested the King intervene.  Anyway to make a long story short, tension has been high, but thankfully violence has been low and people are praying for peace in the nation.  Please join us in prayer for the peace of Cambodia, especially as the new session of government is slated to begin next week.

Random Thoughts

•  I have come to appreciate the wonder of a well-placed fan.  In the past, I rarely used fans, but now I feel lost without one. 
• Those of you that know me well will laugh when I tell you that I wear a skirt at least 4 days a week and actually prefer wearing skirts to pants or shorts.
• When I lived in Colorado, I had one key on my key ring, my car key.  I didn't even have a key to my house of office.  I currently have 11 keys on my key ring that I use almost every day.
• I think I have consumed more rice in my two months here than I have in the entire rest of my life combined.
• It is a little bit ironic that for the past 11 years in the States I have not had cable or satellite TV in my home. In Cambodia, I now have cable TV that comes with my house.  (Although, I personally have not watched an entire show in the two months I have been here.  Abigail likes the cartoon network though.)

Prayer Requests

• As previously mentioned, pray for the peace of Cambodia
• Pray for us as we continue to adjust to life in a foreign country
• I have been specifically praying for two of my students who have shared some of their difficulties at home with me.  Please help me pray for them.
• The grocery store is about 1/4 mile straight up my street.  Along the way, we pass at least 10 brothels with incredibly young ladies sitting out front waiting for clientele, and it breaks my heart.  Please join me in prayer for the souls of these young ladies and their clients as well as an ending to the horrors of sex trafficking.   
• Pray that I will begin to rely more heavily on God's power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit rather than on my own strength and plans. 

A Walk in the Rain

Once again that time has arrived. This morning, I pulled out my suitcases again with the intention of beginning the packing process. 

After taking a deep breath and rolling up my sleeves, I decided to forget about packing and go for a walk in the rain.  

Equipped with an umbrella and flip flops, I went for a short romp around my neighborhood savoring the refreshing rain the feel of splashing through puddles.  In the process, I also tried the savor my last week in the Korea.  

Unconsciously, I ended up at one of my favorite places to savor one of my favorite smells, sights, and tastes and reflect on life.  

Ahhhh….the beauty of  procrastination

Snack Time

Old and New

One of the things I love about Seoul is the intermingling of old and new.  The stunning six hundred year old palaces stand surrounded by shiny new skyscrapers. 

 A stately old city gate is an out of place island in the midst of a bustling of sea of traffic. 

The intricate wooden carvings captured in picture form by the newest innovative technology.  Old and new dwell side by side.  In the heart of the city, the past intertwines with the present and the future. 

 

For me Seoul illustrates the role of the past in shaping my future. My beautiful and sometimes painful memories of the past are surrounded by the new life God has erected around the remnants of the old.  My life is moving forward, advancing into the future.  I am moving on and expanding in new directions and new lands, but the memories of the past still dwell nearby.  Occasionally, I find my mind wandering back to the past and recreating images from my past life before everything changed one February evening in 2008. I visit the old the grounds for a few minutes every now and again, but then I know I need to step back into the reality of bustling city of everyday life. 




Over the last couple of weeks, I have actually taken the time to visit the old palaces, both literally and figuratively.  Enough time has passed that I can look back and celebrate the beauty of the old without idolizing it.

 
 I can take a few minutes to wandering around the grounds, but God also gives me the strength to turn and face the uncertainty of the present and the future and walk away from the safety of the old palace walls into real life.  Having time to walk through the palaces has been a bit difficult but also beautiful and healing.