Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Back in Thailand
So we got back to Bangkok on Saturday evening, but it's been so crazy here that I haven't had the motivation to collect my thoughts and get a blog written. Cambodia was so fun! The first week we spent in a remote village about two or three hours outside of Phnom Penh. The second week was spent in Siem Reap, the tourist capital of Cambodia. Both locations were fun and hard in their own ways.
The village was hard because I wasn't expecting such, ummmm, rustic accomodations. We slept on the floor of a church on bamboo mats with all kinds of creepy crawlies and a cow and chickens living below us. And the heat and humidity! WOW. We spent the week having classes under the church we were staying at (it was set up above the ground in traditional Cambodian style) and did Bible studies and taught a lot of songs with actions. The people were so sweet and hospitable! None of them spoke a lot of English, but it was enough to communicate the basics and we had an amazing translator. And the untouched beauty of the nature was so great. There were fruit trees everywhere! It was definitely an experience of dying to myself and my own comforts, but it was also a time of so much growth both in myself and in our team.
We stayed in a guest house in Siem Reap. After a week of squatty potties and bucket showers, I felt spoiled by actual beds and a flushing toilet! Siem Reap is much more developed because it's where all the tourists stay. The main attraction there is Angkor Wat, which is one of the best preserved ancient temples in the world. While we were in Siem Reap, we split into two groups. My group taught English at a Christian school in the city. I had no idea how hard that was going to be! It was my friend Kate and I in a room with 27 first graders who only knew their ABC's! But they were so cute and we just taught them things like A-Apple B-Book and had them write it on their boards...easy stuff like that. During our break time we'd play patty cake with all the little girls! SO CUTE!! On Wednesday night, I had a scare when I became very sick and had to go to the hospital. The doctor said I had acute gastro enteritis and dysentary. I had eaten something unclean or undercooked I guess. So they hooked me up to an IV and I spent the night there! I was so sick and so bummed out about everything I missed. But they let me go the next morning, and I was able to be a part of the last day of work and visiting Angkor Wat and going to dinner as a team by Friday. I'm so thankful that it wasn't any more serious than it was!
So that's my trip. I love the Khmer people and food. They were so welcoming and gracious and sweet. I truly cannot look back on my trip and not be thankful for all of it, the good and bad. Thank you to eveyone who was rooting and praying for me back home!
The village was hard because I wasn't expecting such, ummmm, rustic accomodations. We slept on the floor of a church on bamboo mats with all kinds of creepy crawlies and a cow and chickens living below us. And the heat and humidity! WOW. We spent the week having classes under the church we were staying at (it was set up above the ground in traditional Cambodian style) and did Bible studies and taught a lot of songs with actions. The people were so sweet and hospitable! None of them spoke a lot of English, but it was enough to communicate the basics and we had an amazing translator. And the untouched beauty of the nature was so great. There were fruit trees everywhere! It was definitely an experience of dying to myself and my own comforts, but it was also a time of so much growth both in myself and in our team.
We stayed in a guest house in Siem Reap. After a week of squatty potties and bucket showers, I felt spoiled by actual beds and a flushing toilet! Siem Reap is much more developed because it's where all the tourists stay. The main attraction there is Angkor Wat, which is one of the best preserved ancient temples in the world. While we were in Siem Reap, we split into two groups. My group taught English at a Christian school in the city. I had no idea how hard that was going to be! It was my friend Kate and I in a room with 27 first graders who only knew their ABC's! But they were so cute and we just taught them things like A-Apple B-Book and had them write it on their boards...easy stuff like that. During our break time we'd play patty cake with all the little girls! SO CUTE!! On Wednesday night, I had a scare when I became very sick and had to go to the hospital. The doctor said I had acute gastro enteritis and dysentary. I had eaten something unclean or undercooked I guess. So they hooked me up to an IV and I spent the night there! I was so sick and so bummed out about everything I missed. But they let me go the next morning, and I was able to be a part of the last day of work and visiting Angkor Wat and going to dinner as a team by Friday. I'm so thankful that it wasn't any more serious than it was!
So that's my trip. I love the Khmer people and food. They were so welcoming and gracious and sweet. I truly cannot look back on my trip and not be thankful for all of it, the good and bad. Thank you to eveyone who was rooting and praying for me back home!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Cambodia or BUST!
Ok guys, here's the deal! Tomorrow morning (Sunday the 5th) our DTS team is leaving for Cambodia! We'll be gone for two weeks. The first week will be spent in Phnom Penh and the second will be in Siem Reap. Our main focus while we're there will be to teach English and reach out to the youth of Cambodia. I don't know how familiar everyone is with Cambodia but in the 1970s there was a mass killing during a social reform by the Khmer Rouge that left almost 2 million people dead. The effects of that time are still seen everywhere in Cambodia, which is often referred to as the "Fatherless Country". So obviously, there's a lot of healing and learning that needs to happen there! Keep us all in your prayers while we're there. There's been a lot of sickness going around our group lately. Right now, I'm fighting a cold and both of my eyes are slightly infected. There are other girls with colds and flu-like symptoms. Also, swine flu has reached Bangkok! To leave you with a postivie note, here's a group picture of all of us with our speakers from our week 4 lecture:
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