So monday we met with the staff of world Relief (WR). We got great presentations on the activities of WR and updates on their progress in 2012 and plans for 2013. WR is a very a well run operation with great vision and mission and a grand mission. Monday evening was dinner on our own so I stumbled down to a little pizza place and chilled on a patio and just watched stuff happen.
Tues we ventured off for a "cultural experience" to learn more about the life of the people being served. We paired off and got dropped at a house in a remote but typical village to live with a family for 24 hrs. Keeping in mind that neither I not my partner (Nate) speak Kamai, ok I thought, this will be interesting and uncomfortable, but I can do this. I'll just make it a big game of charads and manage. Right, you cant play charads when simple gestures mean different things. It was kinda like trying to explain football to a camel. You get starred at with a look of utter confusion until the head turns slightly to the side and then you get spit on...accidentally. If your wondering, yelling louder does not make a foreign language somehow understandable.
I'm not sure I can blog in a way to capture the experience, but here are a couple unforgetable snips
- We got assigned to a family in the commune of N.Kandal in the district of Sa ang in the province of Phnom Penh. I never did quit catch their name, but they were very nice and 'honored' to have a couple white guys as their guests.
- So I'm (deathly) allergic to fish oil and tried to do my best to provide a heads up so as not to offend hosts as fish is the obvious cultural staple. Well I show up in a village with the collective GDP of about what I have in cash in my pocket to be welcomed in with a feast. What's on the menu? fish. How can I communicate? I can't. What do I do? offend.....off to a good start.
- When we arrived we were greated by the WR provincial leader. He took us to show us some of the WR programs in the area that were under way. This work is difficult and requires years of investment. I was tremendously impressed at each location by the staff and volunters that are mobilized in this effort. Their commitment and passion for their people is inspiring. We saw 3 programs, each one better than the next,.
- cell church
- kids ministry
- teen ministry/HIV-AIDS education
- I decided I would make amends and add some value. I saw a pile of banana palms that appeared like they used them for firewood for cooking. great. I'll chop wood. I can do that. I found a rusty machette thing and promptly motion to my host family that I could chop in 1 swing. whack, fling. banana wood in the face-now I'm bleeding. fail.
- They sat me down so as not to cause any more harm to myself or damage to their home until dinner. Ok just relax. Ha not for long... turns out the people in these villages shower 3 times a day before every meal. Hmmm, I don't see any shower facilities. The mom was determined and made it clear that we would not eat untuil we showered. Her frustration grew until she finally yelled over to a neighbor young man to come. He came over wearing a sarong and thats about it and motioned for us to follow. So off came my clothes on went my sarong and off we went. He lead us to the MaKong river. This is a huge and famous river that runs from vietnam all the way across Cambodia and out to sea. As I approached up over a hill came a heard of cows coming from the river aka my shower!-I was very happy I had all my shots. Nate and I prayed on the spot for a hedge of protection and "Geronimo" in we went. We tried to get out but were informed we were not done with a motion to get back in. I stood as still as possible for as long as I had to until they deemed me clean.... I never felt so nasty. Either way. bathing in the MyKong...check.
- Their house was a bamboo/thatch hut on stilts with some corregated steal.
- We slept on a matt on the bamboo floors under a mosquito net. I played human rotisserrie all night trying to relieve pressure points-but at the end of the day...it stunk.
- Ok so after about 5 hrs of turning trying not to think about how bad I needed to pee, come 4:30am I made the decision I was going for it. FYI, you can't sneak out of a bamboo hut without waking the village...Anyway the hut is about 5' off the ground on stilts. I was trying to remember the location of the steps as best I could in the dark when I learned I can fly. As it turns out, when a litter of puppies lick your feet in the middle of the night-in the middle of a village, when your backing out of a hut, you can fly.
- ma fabric looms
- pa construction
- where are you from? Americ
- constant dust clouds
- pa comes home drunk. climbs coconut tree.
- BTW, why do you have to take off your shoes before entering a room with dirt floors? whatever.
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