Back to Koh Kong: November Staff Retreat

Cambodia has so many national holidays! At the beginning of November was the King's Birthday and Water Festival. NGO's (Non Governmental Organizations), like World Relief, are required by law to recognize all national holidays. To take advantage of this long holiday (at least four days), World Relief schedules the Project Leader's Family Retreat at this time each year. On a rotating basis, each Partner Church sponsors the retreat. This year, the hosting church was Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. Bent Tree sent an amazing team of 13 people to run the retreat! I was so blessed by the time I got to spend with them


[On our way to Koh Kong with coffee in hand!]

We were quite a sight as we traveled around Phnom Penh in a mini bus!They planned an amazing retreat with separate programs for adults, teens, and children--all based on scripture from the book of 1 John. They offered break-out sessions on topics such as Christian Men's Leadership, Love Languages, How to Lead a Bible Study, and Marriage Intimacy. There were also fun things like Jewelry Making, Lego Time for kids, and Beauty Spa (lots of pretty, painted nails!).


[My sneak peek at someone's notes during the session on Leading a Bible Study.]

In the midst of running around and taking care of little things, I did get to sit and enjoy some sweet worship and teaching time. It was so refreshing to spend time with fellow believers and "retreat" a little from daily life. I was also able to take some time to reflect on these past 7 months and all that God has done in my own life.


[On the beach preparing for baptisms.]

A very special event during the retreat was witnessing the baptism of three young believers. Victor Jue, 12 years old, accompanied his parents on the retreat team. (He served by ministering to the staff kids and led the popular Lego session!) Victor wanted to be baptized in Cambodia--and was!--and an invitation was extended to anyone else. Two young Cambodian women (daughters of staff) were also baptized in the Gulf of Thailand. It was a special time for everyone!

[One of my favorite photos from the week:
Victor Jue with his parents (on the right) and Marganne from church.]

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I Ate a Cricket...and I Didn't Die

Within weeks of arriving in Cambodia, I ate a tarantula. A friend challenged me to it before I left and I promised I would give them a try. I figured I should get the gross-ness out of the way, so the first time I saw them, I ate one--a lovely fried tarantula. It tasted...fried. I ate some mango right away to clear my palate. Overall, it wasn't so terrible. And I do feel pretty cool just saying that I ate a spider. Want to see? Pictures are here.

While I jumped at the chance to eat a fried spider. (Okay, I didn't exactly jump.) I was much more opposed to eating another favorite treat in Cambodia: fried cricket. Just something about all of the little parts: legs, wings, head, skeleton--you can see them all (as pictured below)! So, I avoided crickets...for awhile. Two weeks ago, I was traveling with our retreat team from Dallas to visit the CREDIT program. As we waited to board the ferry to travel out for a field visit, our bus was surrounded by vendors selling everything from packs of gum to fresh fruit. The thing that really caught the attention of one member of the team were the buckets of fried crickets!

Victor, for all of his maturity and blessing to the team, is very much a 12 year old kid--and he really wanted to eat some crickets! The staff member with us helped Victor buy a bag of the tasty treats and he was kind of enough to share with everyone! I gave in--once I saw that you can take off the legs before you eat it! (Apparently that was enough to change my mind. Crazy.)

So, here is one of the cute little fried crickets:



Yes, I look a little too happy about this!

And...I ate one! And I didn't die. :)

*Note: This photo was staged. There are some actual photos of me eating a cricket (on Matt's camera). The cricket in these photos had fallen on the floor and was put in a trash can after starring in my photos. Several crickets were harmed (and eaten) on this particular day in Cambodia.

From my plate...

I love food. And I like variety in my food choices. I've found some really great restaurants in Phnom Penh that have assisted me in need for different kinds of good food. I really do like Cambodia food, too, and get to have it fairly regularly at friends' houses and when I travel. And, thankfully, I don't tire of rice! I haven't cooked Cambodian food myself, yet, but I hope to take a cooking class before I leave. I like to cook--and occassionally take the time and effort to prepare a complete meal for myself and/or my roommates.

Usually, if I'm left to my own devices (like preparing food for just myself), I'm more likely to take the easy way out and make things like pasta, ham sandwhiches, cereal, and my beloved Mac & Cheese. (Mac & Cheese and Pringles are two of things that are "survival" staples in my diet overseas. I'm pretty sure Mac & Cheese, the Kraft brand if possible, will remain one of my favorite foods for the rest of my life.)

Anyway, back to good food. I was looking through some of my photos from the past few weeks and realized I had photographed quite a variety of tasty treats! So, I would like to show you a few of the yummy (and interesting) foods I've had in Cambodia!


1. Prawn and Pomelo Salad

Cafe Yejj is located just down the street from Russian Market, the place to go for gifts and souvenirs (as well as a great place for tailor-made clothing, silver jewelry, and cheap backpacks). Cafe Yejj promotes good business practices and provides training and education for their staff--who are very professional and kind! All of the food I've tried has been delicious! Recently, I watched a salad pass by me on the way to another customer. It looked so good and refreshing, so I asked the waiter what it was. I then ordered the Prawn and Pomelo salad for myself. Pomelo is one of the many fruits found in Cambodia. It's big and pink, and very similar to grapefruit, but a little sweeter. The salad was great, but surprisingly spicy! There were some chili peppers chopped up underneath all of that lovely fruit! There was definitely a Cambodian edge to this salad!




2. Caramel Latte

Well, it wasn't my first time to get a caramel latte from The Terrace Cafe, but I liked the photo of this one. Terrace is right around the corner from both my house and office, so I go there often in the mornings for coffee and quiet time. The staff know me now, too, which makes it feel a little like home. I love coffee and I am thankful that I can find a lovely cup so close to home!

3. Saffron and Gold Risotto

Luna d'autunno is on the top of my list of favorite restaurants in Phnom Penh. It's Italian, the atmosphere is fabulous, the staff are great, and the food is delicious. My roommates and I have been there often and I try to take as many friends there as I can. Each time I go I want to try something new and I'll often asked the owner, Michael, for his suggestion. When I was in mood for risotto, he recommended this:

Yes, the name said "saffron and gold" and that's what I got! It was really good, definitely something different and new. And what girl can resist edible gold flakes on her food? So fancy!

4. Pink Ribbon Bagel

This was brought in "special delivery" by the team from Dallas that came to host our staff retreat. I had mentioned that I bummed that I wasn't home during October to enjoy the special bagel Panera makes for Breast Cancer Awareness month. It was so good, and even better since it was such a special treat! This was definitely a surprising addition to my food choices!

There is one more very special food item...but the picture didn't load. Get excited--it's good one!

200 Days in Cambodia

How long is 200 days?

It's 4800 hours. It's 28.5 weeks. It's just over 7 months.

With each update that I have sent out, I have calculated the amount of time that I have been here in Cambodia. Now, as my current adventure is approaching its end, it's easier to count how many days I have left (an astonishingly meager 21) and harder to count how long I've been gone. Over the past 197 days, I have experienced many ups and downs, joys and sorrows, laughs and tears. There were times when I wanted to come home early. There were times when I thought I could stay in Cambodia forever. I have met so many new friends from all over Cambodia, all over America, and all over the globe. I've had the opportunity to explore much of Cambodia and even visit parts of Thailand and Vietnam. As I reflect on these experiences I am amazed that this is my life! I am so blessed!

Here are few photos taken over the past week...


[The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on one of the most beautiful days ever!]

[New shoes! Kerstin (left) and I enjoy new kicks from Beautiful Shoes. We designed them ourselves--I had some inspiration from J.Crew!]

[I finally made it to "The Best Iced Coffee in Phnom Penh" found tucked inside the Russian Market. It was really good iced coffee!]

[I got to meet up with Kevin Johnson (a friend from high school) and his friend Chelsea Wait as they traveled through Phnom Penh. We enjoyed a lovely evening at The Chinese House--one of my favorite places to take visitors.]

The countdown has began! Thanks for joining me on this adventure in Cambodia!

Languages I Love

I really enjoy languages. The more I learn, the more I love them.

It started with French. I choose French over Spanish in Middle School because I liked the way it sounded. It was my love for languages that kept me in French courses for nine years, despite ten-page writing assignments and the really, really long French novels that pretty much defined university level study. I've never been a big fan of homework, but I persevered--not to say "I have a BA in French" (because, really, what can I do with it?), but because I enjoyed discovering how novels in French communicate differently than novels in English; how individual words, when translated, take on whole new meanings; and that I am able to express myself in a totally different way in a foreign language.

My extended study of French and love for travel and heart for missions all came together at the end of my four years of college when I applied to serve as an overseas intern with Campus Crusade for Christ. I specifically applied to live and work in France and I was placed on a team headed to Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. One week before I was to leave, I got a phone call that informed me that we didn't have enough people for the team to France--but, they really needed more people in Rome, and would I please consider going to Italy instead. Yes, I know--Rome, Italy! For many people it would be a no brainer--they would much rather spend a year in Italy than in France. But, I was ready for France! I knew the language, I loved the culture, and that's where my heart had been pulled for years. I didn't speak Italian, I really didn't have a great interest to go to Italy, and, well, it was a big change!

In the end, I went to Italy. I initially spoke Italian (by speak I mean reading signs and things out of a language book) with a French accent. After a few weeks I enrolled in language classes (which is my favorite way to learn a new language--I do well with the structure). Once I learned how to pronounce Italian, the doors were opened and I soaked up my new language like a sponge. My many years of studying French really paid off as I dove into another Romance language. (I don't know much about Latin, but I do know that it's the root language for both French and Italian. For that reason, I am thankful for Latin; for making my language acquisition that much easier.) So, after two years living in Rome, I was able to have whole conversations in Italian! I had opportunities to talk about life and faith and the Bible with Italian students. I could share about my relationship with Jesus and communicate the Gospel in a beautiful language, so differently from my mother tongue. I loved it.

Then, I came to Cambodia. As I was preparing to come, language learning was not even on my list of things to do. My dad, in his preparation to visit, had purchased a book and listening CD to learn Cambodian. I took a look at it one evening, read part of the book, and listened to some lessons on CD. Yikes. It didn't sound or look like anything that I heard before! It was interesting, but I nothing to go off of. I closed the book and didn't think about Cambodian until I actually got off the plane.

When I first arrived in Phnom Penh, I picked up a few basic phrases from my roommate/host/coordinator-whose-job-I-was-taking-over. These few words kept from feeling like a complete tourist as I became oriented to this new place. Hello, thank you (which I don't think say correctly for at least a month), my name is...--the very basics. Once I started my actual language classes, the mystery that is the Cambodian language began to slowly make more sense. I can direct a moto or tuk tuk driver anywhere that I want to go. I can buy things at the market. I can barter at the market (very important). I can introduce myself and ask questions to get to know someone. Sometimes people even comment on how clear I speak Cambodian! Wow! Usually, though, people laugh when they hear their language stumbling out of the mouth of this barang (foreigner). But, I know they aren't really laughing at me--or are they? Either way, I love learning this crazy new language!

Unfortunately, my time for studying Cambodian is coming to an end. October will be my last month of classes. I begin my trip on December 1st, so I figured it would be okay to not take classes all the way until the end. So, last week I had to write on the calendar for the school that I was no longer continuing the classes. I asked my teacher, Sina, if I should write in English or Khmer (Cambodian). Dumb question--I can't actually write Khmer, I only know it in English letters written phonetically so I can pronounce it. But, she said 'Yes!', and began to write a phrase on the whiteboard in Khmer script. And then I copied it on my paper. Here is the result!

Language class that day felt a little bit like art class. I just tried to copy what she wrote--and it turned out pretty well! If I were going to be in Cambodia longer, I would probably want to learn how to read and write Khmer properly. Just learning the little bit that I have over the past six months has been a great experience. The classes alone have been a lot of fun. (Having a great teacher makes all the difference!) Even crazy, not-like-anything-else languages are a joy to learn. I can now add "basic knowledge of Cambodian language" to my language resume!

Now...I wonder which language will be next!

WR Cambodia: Leadership Development

Over the past year, a group of key leaders within World Relief Cambodia have been learning practical concepts to help them become better leaders and project managers. They've covered topics, such as critical decision making and strategic planning, with the help of Jay Clark from the Kerusso Foundation. For their final project, teams presented new project proposals to a panel of "judges" (Tim Amstutz, Country Director; Joke Van Opstal, Hope Program Director; and Jay Clark). I got to sit in the back of the room as the teams shared their plans using PowerPoint presentations. It was fun to see staff members, whom I've gotten to know over the past several months, practicing their English skills as they demonstrated the new leadership skills they've developed over the past year.

One of the goals of World Relief is that international programs would become completely self-sustaining--which includes having a completely national staff team. WR Cambodia is well on its way to this goal--right now there are only five expatriates in the office and over 100 Cambodian staff and volunteers throughout the country. Projects like Leadership Development provide staff with skills that they pass down to other staff, which eventually will strengthen the whole of the organization.

Party for Prostitutes

Community Protection of Children (CPC) is a small arm of WR Cambodia that works to prevent human trafficking through education and community cooperation. The staff of CPC develop educational material about the dangers of human trafficking and the importance of sharing this knowledge. Children, parents, pastors, and village leaders need to be prepared and know how to ask the right questions when people come to the village offering jobs away from the community.

The Party for Prostitutes was held in partnership with Destiny Rescue in Kampong Cham province (northeast of Phnom Penh). Local prostitutes were invited to a very nice, catered lunch where they had the opportunity to hear about God's love for them. They received Bibles in the Cambodian language and silk sunflowers with a tag that read "Jesus is Hope." They played games, danced, and several girls won gift baskets from a raffle drawing. Staff members from Destiny Rescue made connections with the girls and encouraged them to contact Destiny Rescue if they wanted to learn how they could leave the life of prostitution.

My heart broke for these young women (who were mostly late-teens to early-20s). They were beautiful. They were kind. They were thankful. And, yet, there was no light in their eyes. Some of the girls brought their young children with them. The children will probably grow up within brothel walls. Will they ever know anything else?

When a woman loses her virginity out of wedlock, she is no longer considered worthy of marriage. She is then a disgrace to her family and loses all connection with them. The lunch provided at the party was similar to the meal that would be served at a wedding reception--each table was laden with a whole fish, seafood soup, lok lak (a beef dish), vegetables, fruit, and, of course, rice. This was definitely a special meal for these girls. They may never have their own wedding feast to share with friends and family. My prayer is that they may, one day, share in the marriage feast of Lamb!

"'Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright, and pure'--
...'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'"
--Revelation 19:6-9 ESV

6 Days in Vietnam: Arriving in Hanoi

I just finished editing, selecting, and posting my photos from my recent trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. As I sorted through them, I couldn’t keep from smiling. It really was a fantastic trip—a true holiday—and a great opportunity to see more of SE Asia. I don’t pause often enough to consider how cool it is that I live in Cambodia. That I’m a few hours plane ride to places like Thailand and Vietnam—and many more places I won’t get to visit (on this stint, anyway!). Never in my life did I think, or dream, of coming here. Yet, here I am.

Hanoi was beautiful. So green. So alive. So…different. Choosing Hanoi was kind of random. A couple of months ago I found a great deal on the discount airline, Air Asia. My roommate and travel buddy, Kerstin, and I made a quick decision and bought tickets that weekend before the deal expired. Then, we started to research Hanoi! The goal of this vacation was, essentially, to vacate. We’d been in Cambodia for five months and wanted to get out and see new places. Despite what I have previously written about being a ‘planner’ and ‘researcher’ (see posts on Koh Kong), my only planning for Hanoi was reserved for plane tickets, hostel reservations, and reading a tiny bit about a trip to Halong Bay (on the hostel website=not much). Kerstin did most of the reading up on Hanoi and told me it would be fun. That’s all I needed to hear!

I was (unusually) quick to blog about day one of our trip, a brief overnight in Bangkok. Seriously, I would have been content to relive that evening or something similar and call the vacation a success. It was pretty great. We did, however, have a plane to catch and a new country to explore! At 5am on Friday, we crawled into a taxi and set our sights on Vietnam. Driving to the airport in Bangkok before sunrise reminded me of the many similar rides I took to the airport in Rome, Italy. This would be the first of many instances where I wondered, “Where am I?” Eurasia has taken on a whole new meaning for me!

Please let us in?
Airports are airports. Yet, my experience in the Bangkok airport (smooth, uneventful, calm) was pretty nice compared to Hanoi! It seemed that we were never in the correct line! After running around in circles, we finally made it through customs. Thankfully, it was early in the day and we weren’t in a hurry. We also had the chance to chat with other Westerners as we all wondered what exactly we needed to do to get into Vietnam! With visas approved and passports stamped (I love getting my passport stamped!), we claimed our backpacks and exited the Hanoi airport in search of the “shuttle bus” that would take us into the city.

Despite the confusion with getting through customs, the transportation area of the Hanoi airport was quite organized! There were signs! And people in uniforms! We learned, after failed attempts to get information from random taxi drivers who approached us, that the people in the yellow dress shirts work for the airport! A very nice woman, in a yellow shirt, greeted us, asked where we were going, and directed us to the appropriate vehicle. We climbed into the front seats of a mini-bus that, once completely (and I mean every jump-seat) full, would take us into the heart of downtown Hanoi, just a few blocks from our hostel. At $2 a person, this was a great way to go!

Dodging a Scam
The mini-bus stopped a couple times as we made our way into Hanoi and most of the passengers, who were residents, got off before us. At the last stop, the driver and a helper, told the foreigners (me, Kerstin, and a German couple) to stay on and they would take us to our hotels. Nice!—or so we thought. The couple was dropped off first at their hotel. Then, the helper guy was asking us lots of questions about our hostel: did we have reservations (yes), did we get an email from Mark (um, maybe?) because he knows Mark and he’s a really nice guy, and so on. After driving a little further, we stopped on a street that wasn’t our hostel’s (I had been following street signs closely), another guy opened the van door and said he was from the hostel. I showed him our hostel confirmation and then he proceeded to tell me that they were full, but he knew another place that could take us. Um, what? I don’t think so! He pointed to a sign that said “Hostel” and said that was the place. I then told them that this was not the correct address and I wanted to go the “Hanoi Backpackers Hostel” on Ngo Treung Street. That’s when the helper guy said, “Oh, that hostel. Sorry, I was confused.” Yes, he was confused. And I was annoyed. The “helper” and the other guy got out. The driver then drove us a couple blocks, stopped at a random intersection, and we got out. Unfortunately, that “direct” ride to our hostel didn’t quite work out. But, we didn’t get sucked into a scam!


My First Cyclo Ride
Free from scammers, we stood on a corner and tried to figure out where we were and how to get to our hostel. Soon enough, a kind, older cyclo driver walked up to us and offered his helped. He said he knew the street and would gladly take us there in his cyclo! We crossed the street, saw the cyclo, and then wondered how in the world we were going to fit Kerstin, me, and four backpacks onto the little chair pushed by a bicycle! He insisted we could fit, so we climbed in! And, technically, we did fit—and I took pictures to document the fact! It was a slow ride those few blocks to the hostel, but I think our driver only had to get out and push twice. The $2 ride gave us a chance to relax and take in the street sights of lovely Hanoi! And this time, we made it all the way to the hostel—the right one at that! ...And I got my first cyclo ride! (I'd been wanting to ride on in Phnom Penh!)

Hello Hanoi!
Entering the hostel was like stepping into an alternate universe. We had entered “Backpacker World”—and I felt a little out of place. We checked into our room: a dorm-style room with bunk-beds, individual lockers, and a bathroom just for our room. This was definitely the cleanest hostel I’ve ever stayed in. At $7.50/night it was a great budget saver as well. While in “check in” mode, we signed up for the 3 Day/2 Night Tour of Halong Bay that we had checked on the hostel website. The Australian guy who signed us up (one of the owners) insured us that we were going to have a great time. We were ready!

At the airport in Phnom Penh, I stopped by the bookstore to purchase a street map of Hanoi. Instead, I paid a little more for a guide book (with really good maps). It was at the airport in Cambodia that I began my research of Hanoi. There was a whole section called “Cafés”. I’m pretty sure I read that section first! So, for lunch on our first day in Hanoi, we walked a couple of streets over from our hostel to Cafe Puku, a slightly hidden place popular with expats. The food was good, the atmosphere was chill, and we were just happy to finally be in Hanoi!

As soon as we began our street tour of the Old Quarter, I met one of the “tourist traps” found all Hanoi: I was “Yoked.” A sweet Vietnamese woman was selling bananas and pineapples from the yoke she carried on her shoulder. I’m used to street vendors, right? I smiled at her as she approached me and shook my head, “No, thank you!” Before I knew it, she had placed her yoke on my shoulder, put her hat on my head, and said “You want a picture?” Sigh. Since I was already set, I handed my camera to Kerstin for the picture. Then, because I’m nice, I bought two bananas (not the whole bunch that she offered me!) and vowed to stay away from all yokes for the rest of the trip! Even though I felt tricked into the whole thing, the picture is pretty cool!

Later that day we attended the popular Water Puppet Theater, a traditional Vietnamese art. Puppeteers stand in a waist-deep pool of water behind curtains. Beautiful music and song accompany the show as the puppets, on long poles, dance and swim in the water. It was fun to do something that was just about Vietnamese culture. I enjoyed just walking around--and being a place where we could walk! The sidewalks were wide and clean. There were lots of little shops to explore (and buy things!). There are lots of trees and parks in Hanoi. All the green was welcome sight! For dinner that evening we hit up another entry in my handy guidebook and enjoyed lots of new food! We took our shoes off, sat on cushions around a low table, and asked our waitress what to try! While the ingredients in Vietnamese food are very similar to those in Cambodia, the flavor was really different! After a yummy dinner, we found a cyclo to take us back to the hostel. Back at the dorm, I packed my bags for the trip to Halong Bay the next day. I climbed up into my bunk bed, chatted with my mom on Skype, and fell asleep fast! It had been a long day, but such a good one!

Precious Mia

There are many posts waiting to be written about my recent adventures to Vietnam, but first I have to share this sweet picture of my niece, Amelia Marie Williams. She was born one week after my birthday (fun!), on July 20, 2009. She is one of the top people who makes me homesick--and I haven't even met her yet! I so look forward to December when we get to hang out!

My mom and dad just paid a visit to Miss Mia and her parents (my brother and sis-in-law) in Atlanta, Georgia. The picture below is my new favorite and currently serves as my desktop background. Her smile makes me smile. Mia is a blessing to me just for that!

Hanoi Trip, Day 1: An Evening in Bangkok

I love traveling.

I love traveling and especially love flying. Today, as I was gazing out at the clouds while the plane glided from Cambodia to Thailand, I was again amazed that I get to fly. God is so good, so kind to me that He would allow me the privilege to see the world from up above. I can go from one country to another in less than 2 hours. And I can travel half way around the world in a day (or two). What a blessing! I pray that I never get tired of staring out of plane windows with amazment--and praising my God for loving me so much.

And he blesses me with the whole package of traveling, not just flying. Like luggage. (A quick shift to the material, I know.) I like buying new luggage (see my $13 North Face knock-off below). I like deciding what to pack--even if it keeps me up until 2:30 in the morning. And I really like planning the details of the trip: finding good deals, researching hotels, figuring out the transportation, and learning about where I'm going on my next adventure.




















[My $13 backpack purchased at the market in Phnom Penh]

Today I left Phnom Penh on a seven day adventure to Hanoi, Vietnam. This trip initially began as a venture to Laos, but reading about 24 hour bus rides made staying a week in Hanoi look really appealing. The great airfare I discovered a couple of months ago required an overnight stay in Bangkok before flying to Hanoi tomorrow. So, day one of heading to Hanoi begins with Bangkok!















[The busy shopping (and modern) shopping center just around the corner of our hotel]


My faithful travel buddy is, once again, my roommate Kerstin! When we first spoke on the phone (maybe in March?), we talked about wanting to travel and both got excited about the idea of traveling together--and so we have!

After checking in to the hotel, we exchanged some US Dollars into Thai Baht at the shopping center above. We then wandered the night market stalls right along the street; we found our first souvenirs! Next on the agenda was dinner and a movie...and our long lost friend Ronald McDonald met us at the entrance to the movie theater!




















[Ronald and me giving the traditional Thai greeting. He's so polite and adapts well to other cultures!]


After a quick and delicious meal at McD's, we headed upstairs for a movie in a real movie theater! And after the movie, we went back downstairs to grab some Oreo McFlurries!




















[Major Cineplex in The Mall (I really think that's what it's called) near our hotel]

And that, my friends, was a pretty great way to start off a trip! Now I'm off to bed (in my comfy, clean, air conditioned hotel room: JL Bangkok Hotel) and praying that my 5 hours of sleep will feel like 8. Our taxi comes at 5am tomorrow and the flight to Hanoi leaves at 6:45! Hmm...maybe I'll have time to hit the Starbucks at the airport...

Koh Kong: Part 2

Arriving in Koh Kong

We arrived around 1:30pm in Koh Kong City. "City" is certainly an overstatement, but the spattering of storefronts, small guesthouses, and traffic let us know that we had reached our destination.

The information about our hotel said that the bus stop is just 20 meters away. So, I thought that the bus would stop right by our hotel and we would walk on over. It turns out that there is a main bus depot for Koh Kong City where all of the buses stop (there are several bus companies that go to and from Koh Kong). We arrived at the station with no idea where we were. I tried to talk to the moto drivers to find out how far away we were from the hotel. Several drivers hounded me as Kerstin waited to get her bag from under the bus. They, like always, followed me around asking where I was going and if they could drive me there. Eventually one of them came up to me and said he knew the hotel. (1 out of 10—not a good sign.) I still had no idea how far it was and, therefore, what was a fair price to get there.

I decided to call the owner of our hotel, a nice Australian guy who I had spoken with the day before to make the reservation. I figured he could tell me what to tell the moto driver. I told him we were "in the middle of nowhere" at the bus station. He said the hotel was just about 5 minutes away and, to my pleasant surprise, he offered to come pick us up! It was a nice break to be in a small town and already have friends! Grant, the Aussie, was there shortly and filled us in on Koh Kong on our way to the hotel.

The Hotel

My definition (and expectations) of hotels and other travel accommodations has been altered by my four-plus months in Southeast Asia. There doesn't seem to be a set standard. Some website and travel books use star ratings, but I'm pretty sure the stars are given at random and probably after someone has paid for a good rating. I didn't see many "star" ratings for hotels in Koh Kong. In fact, in all of my internet searching, I didn't find many hotels to rate. I typed "hotels Koh Kong Cambodia" (and variations of my search criteria hoping to produce more and new results) and found the same web pages over and over again. So, I visited them all, trying to find out as much information as I could about visiting mysterious Koh Kong.

One of my friends had been to Koh Kong before and recommended the Dugout Hotel (run by Grant, mentioned before). The Dugout does not have its own website, so I relied on the one photo and blurb online, as well as the information from my friend, to make my assessment. There were a several things that influenced my decision to choose the Dugout Hotel: 1) It was cheap. (Kerstin and I shared a room: $15 per night.) 2) It was on the main road. (This ended up being essentially insignificant upon our discovery of the actual size of Koh Kong.) 3) It had a restaurant. (Nice to know there is some Western food nearby.) 4) It had a pool. (We love to swim.) 5) My friend said it was good. (This was probably the greatest influence.)

We were greeted kindly by the Cambodian staff at the small hotel (12 rooms) and checked in. Grant led us through the hotel to our room at the back. The rooms opened onto the "courtyard" and the small swimming pool. We had the biggest room in the place, which included: a king-ish sized bed, a large TV (with sporadic cable access), a wardrobe, a small couch, and a coffee table. There was air conditioning (yay!). The bathroom was off of the back of the room, with screened openings to the outside; this means no A/C (not so uncommon in Cambodian hotels). Everything about the room and the bath was clean and in decent shape. The bathroom, however, left much to be desired—the water pressure was pretty low, poor tiling on the floor meant that it was always wet, and it got a little musty and hot. The bathroom aside, we had everything we needed and we slept very well every night—mostly because we were exhausted!

Friday in Koh Kong

After we settled in to our rooms, we headed back out to the reception desk/restaurant to get some lunch and figure out what do with our afternoon. Lunch at the Dugout was okay. I think I was a little optimistic and ordered the Fish & Chips (I mean you can wrong with a meal that is completely fried). Unfortunately, the fish just tasted weird. So, I ate my fries and perused the brochure and booklet about Koh Kong found at the hotel desk. We got excited about a couple of things we found until we realized that half of the booklet was about Sihanoukville, not Koh Kong. Apparently everything that I had read online really was the "Complete Guide to Koh Kong."

When we had check in earlier, Grant mentioned that he had a friend who rented out motorbikes by the day. I think that, originally, Kerstin and I planned to take our helmets for when we would ride as passengers around Koh Kong. When we found out that we could rent our own motos for $4 per day, we changed our minds. With Cambodian driver's license in hand (or wallet) and a meager amount of experience, we asked Grant to call his friend—moto drivers we would be! A few minutes later, two Cambodian men drove up in a pickup truck to take us to a guesthouse/hotel run by one of the men and his wife. Mr. Neat was a former police officer and now owns a hotel and organizes tourist trips around Koh Kong. He spoke English well, was very hospitable, and gave a deal on our half-day rental. We signed a rental agreement, agreeing to pay $1000 if the moto was stolen while under our care (apparently Mr. Neat had had some problems with shady tourists), and away we went!

Part of my reason for visiting Koh Kong was to check out some hotels for the upcoming staff retreat. Kerstin also wanted take a look at a possible place for her family to stay if they went to KK during their visit here in December. So, we used the most detailed map in the booklet and just drove around! The light traffic and wide streets gave us the extra confidence we needed for lots of driving practice and our most extended solo moto rides yet. We went to the riverside, found a couple of the hotel and went inside for a look, stopped and bought gasoline out of a barrel from an old man, and quickly realized how small Koh Kong really was.

My favorite part of the long, afternoon ride was when we drove out to find The Oasis: a cluster of bungalows, surrounding a serene swimming pool, and bordered by palm trees. I remember running across this place during my pre-trip research and thinking how lovely it looked and sounded. It only had about 10 bungalows, so it wouldn't work for the retreat. It turns out that Kerstin's dad had come upon it online, as well, and told her about it. The route to the Oasis took us away from the paved streets of KK. The first sign we found for the Oasis had a foam board (broken in half) over it that read: "CLOSED for Rainy Season". Since we just wanted to see it and not stay there, we headed on down the road. We passed some road construction (they were paving the road!) and came to another sign with arrow pointing right and some indication of how many kilometers away we would find the Oasis. I've never been good at knowing distance and really don't know how far "5 km" is, but after dodging some chickens in road and getting some stares and smiles from the locals, we headed right.

The hot midday sun had settled down and the sky was turning a beautiful deep blue-gray color as evening storm clouds made their way in from the sea. We found ourselves driving past fields and small houses and more chickens. We didn't see another sign for the resort, so we turned a few different ways, went down new streets, and saw more lovely scenery. Once I remembered that we had no agenda, I began to make stops along the way to get out my camera and try to capture the beauty and the moment. After a little more driving, excited "hello's" from children, and more chickens, we asked a woman where to find the Oasis. It was just down the street! This street made me really feel like I was off-roading, but did in fact lead us to the Oasis! We peeked in the closed gates, agreed that it did look like the picture, wondered what it would be like to stay so far away from everything, and considered our mission accomplished!

Our ride back to the Dugout was simple (and we definitely knew our way by then). We stopped at a convenience store for some snacks, ate dinner at our hotel (much better than lunch!), took a dip in the pool, and hit the sack! Our trip to Koh Kong was already, most definitely, an adventure.

Koh Kong: An Adventure into the Great Unknown, Part 1

During my four months here in Cambodia I have had the chance to see a lot of the country. Where have I been? Phnom Penh (I live here), Siem Reap (a weekend trip; visited the famous Angkor Wat temples), and the beach town of Sihanoukville (twice). My most rural experience was in Kampong Cham for a 2-night stay in little Suong. That trip was arranged by my office and the purpose was part cultural orientation and part program orientation. My most recent trip was past weekend to one of most untraveled parts of Cambodia: Koh Kong. It was definitely an adventure!


Koh Kong is directly west of Phnom Penh and is the last coastal town before the Thai border. Koh Kong is known mostly for being a border town and a good way for tourists to go from Cambodia to Thailand (or the other away around) via land travel. I had never heard of Koh Kong until I began planning the staff retreat for this November. (Where is Koh Kong? See the Google map here.) One of my jobs as Interim Church Partnership Coordinator is to find the location and arrange the details for retreats that are sponsored by our church partners. In the past the Leader's Retreat has been held at a retreat center on the way to Sihanoukville or at the beach town itself. This year the staff would like to go some place new! So, the hunt began.

[Koh Kong: on the way to the Ta Tai waterfalls]

Armed with my trusty (yet, not always helpful) friend Google, I began researching Koh Kong. "Developing" is the word most used to describe Koh Kong and I have to agree! My internet research turned up a few possible hotels and many questions about what one could actually do during a visit to the beautiful land of Koh Kong. I read about possible waterfall trips, boat rides to islands, beaches, and mountains. What I didn't find were any details about these trips or any good descriptions about what they involved. It was clear that to plan a retreat to a new place, I would need to actually go there myself and check it out! So, I marked "Trip to Koh Kong" on my calendar and planned to make the trip with my roommate, Kerstin.

[A river in the mountains of Koh Kong]

I am, by nature, a "planner." I like to know what, where, how, when, and what to wear. My trip to Koh Kong, however, was less planned and more prepared for. I want to share about my visit to Koh Kong (and share pictures!), but I would also like to write out some information that might be helpful to other people (coming from abroad or within Cambodia) as they plan an adventure to an area of Cambodia that is still developing as a tourist destination.

Preparing

I packed a backpack with the basics for a 3-night journey: basic clothes (khaki pants, t-shirts, modest tank tops, long shorts, and pj's), swimsuits for waterfalls/beaches, Keen's for trekking, flip flops, toiletries, sunglasses, sunscreen, computer (which I didn't use), and camera (which I did use—a lot!). I went to the bus station in Phnom Penh the day before and bought tickets for the trip: $10 per person each way (from Virak-Buntham, St. 106 across from the river). I called the hotel in Koh Kong and made reservations for an air conditioned room. I was as prepared as I was going to be!

Getting to Koh Kong

I really like taking busses around Cambodia! It's relatively inexpensive and easy to navigate. We left our apartment around 7am and hired two moto taxis right outside to take us to the station (the "station" is a really store front on the corner and the busses park on the street). We decided to take motos to the bus and to carry our helmets with us to Koh Kong. I always wear a helmet when riding motos. (It's the law if you're the driver and it's just smart if you're the passenger!) Motos are usually faster than tuk tuks and cheaper as well. Moto ride from Toul Kork (NE corner of PP) to Virak-Buntham Bus Company (near Wat Phnom on the NW side): $1.

Since I woke up 15 minutes before we left (whoops!), breakfast didn't happen at home. Thankfully, we arrived at the bus with plenty of time to spare—and there was a lovely café just to the right of the bus company! Jaan provided the perfect breakfast to start a day of traveling: bagel with cream cheese (hard to find in Cambodia!) and a cup of really good coffee for $4. We had time to drink the coffee, but asked to take the bagels to go. The great people at Jaan packed up our food in very nice (but not very eco-friendly) containers.

[Kerstin: on the bus and excited about the yummy bagel.]

The bus was quite nice and the staff was friendly. It had air conditioning (essential) and some perks that I hadn't yet experience on the Cambodian buses: they gave each passenger a chilled bottle of water, a wrapped pastry, and package towelette to wash your hands. Wow! Such service! The bus ride was pretty uneventful. They played the standard Khmer karaoke videos (music videos with the words at the bottom that light up like karaoke). I listened to my own music, read, and napped. Kerstin did the same.

The scenery really was amazing as we made our way of the city, past rice fields, small town, markets, and into the mountains. Cambodia was changing before my eyes. I was thankful for a gorgeous day to take it all in. The trip was long, longer than the books said (4 hrs.), and we arrived in Koh Kong City around 1:15 pm, a little over 5 hours. Some road work and careful driving on the part of our bus driver (no complaints there) may have accounted for some of the time, but I think the roads probably aren't as good as they were three years ago when the travel books came out.

[Me at the "bus stop" on the way to Koh Kong.]

Our only stop on the 5+ hour journey was along the side of the road. Um, yes, in the middle of nowhere. Usually the bus stops at a roadside "bus stop" with vendors selling drinks, snacks, and Cambodian food—and toilets (of varying degrees of cleaniness). This "bus stop" was more rural; i.e. people went into the trees to rest. We got off the bus to stretch our legs and take in the middle-of-nowhere-ness. Oh Cambodia.

To Be Continued…

The Summer Wrap Up

Wow. I cannot believe that the month of August is half over! The summer months were very busy with many volunteers here throughout the summer teaching English to the Cambodian staff. ESL ended the last week in July and we had a fun graduation dinner and ceremony to celebrate everyone's participation. Two of those volunteers were my wonderful parents! Mom and Dad came the first two weeks of July to teach here in Phnom Penh. Their visit included my birthday (the big 27!) and we celebrated together at a really cool restaurant in Siem Reap during a weekend trip to visit the ancient temples of Angkor Wat. It was so good to have my Mom and Dad here, but their arrival triggered every emotion possible! I was pretty homesick! I'm doing much better now, but it was rough for awhile.

[Mom and Dad atop one of the temples at sunset.]

As soon as ESL ended, a team from my home church, College Park Church, arrived in Cambodia to lead a staff retreat for the SPY (Community Health) program. It was so great to see familiar faces! (And they only made me a little bit homesick.) I got to get out of the city for a week and join the retreat held on the coast in Sihanoukville. The team did a great job teaching, organizing activities and games, and connecting with the staff. Many of the SPY staff are not believers, so a major focus of the week was to communicate the Gospel clearly and share the message of Christ's love for all people. We showed the Jesus Film, as well as a movie made to show before the Jesus Film that does a great job summarizing the Bible starting from Creation all the way to the life of Jesus. The second movie was also in Khmer and had Cambodian actors and actresses as narrators. Several staff members told us how much they enjoyed the films and that they were able to understand the Bible stories better after seeing what the places and people may have looked like.

[Me and Mom with some of the ESL students at the Kandal office.]

It is now exactly halfway between my arrival in Cambodia and my departure date. It's been an adventure so far and I can only imagine what God has in store for the next 3.5 months!

[That's me on the way to the famous Angkor Wat.]

Here are some ways to pray:

1. Pray that I would be disciplined in spending special time with the Lord each day.

2. That I would hunger and thirst for the Word and prayer.

3. I don't know very many people in Cambodia outside of work. It's easy for me to feel lonely, but I know that God is with me and I want to use this time to really grow in my relationship in Jesus.

4. As I mentioned, the month of July was a tough one for me. I was very homesick and discouraged about pretty much everything. I'm doing better, but could use prayer for my work. That I would have joy for the tasks before me and diligence to work hard and well.

Thank you for praying & for reading! It is a blessing to be here!

A Day in My Life

Some friends have told me they really want to hear about my day to day life in Cambodia. Well, yesterday was such an interesting day that I'd like to share the whole thing with you! It's pretty detailed, so if you want the good part, skip to the afternoon!

To set the scene: We've had groups of volunteers in Cambodia throughout the summer to teach English to the WR Cambodia staff. We have three teaching sites: Phnom Penh (the capitol city), Kampong Thom (near Siem Reap), and Kampong Cham (northwest of Phnom Penh). We are in the last two weeks of the ESL program. On Sunday, on the way to K. Thom, one of the volunteers lost his passport. Today, I help him get a police report, as well as try to get some other work done.

Here is the story of Wednesday, July 22, 2009:

7:15 am Wake Up; get ready for the day; eat American cereal with Lactose Free Skim Milk in a box (UHT—Ultra High Temperature milk). This week my cereal is Post Banana Nut Crunch. At $5 a box, it's one of my treats.

8:15 am Take a moto taxi from my house to the office: three blocks, 1000 Riel ($0.25). A major plus is that most of the moto taxi drivers on our street now know where our office is!

8:30 am Call the volunteers coming back to Phnom Penh to see what time they might arrive.

8:45 am Check with our office manager to make sure the driver can take me to pick up the volunteers.

9:00 am Search online to find some lessons and activities for the Advanced ESL class. I find a crossword puzzle about geography and a paragraph correction activity. I do them myself to see if I can and to find out how hard they really are. I'll look for more later.

Continue my research on how to replace a lost passport in Cambodia and how to acquire a police report.

Work on balancing a cash advance for the ESL program.

9:45 am Send an email to a local hotel to reserve rooms for the volunteers for one night next weekend.

Talk with Ashley, our ESL Coordinator, about the plan for today and the next couple of days as she travels to Kampong Thom to substitute teach. Also, make plans for girls' night on Friday and for a pool visit on Saturday!

10:45 am Receive an email from a hotel confirming rooms for the volunteers for next weekend. Send my own email with names, final confirmation, and a "thank you" for being so quick. Check that item off of my To Do list!

11:30 am Send some emails to people in the states to make sure details are set for the volunteer team. Hope that I get a response and everything resolved by Thursday.

12:15 pm Leave the office and drop Ashley off at the ESL house. Run in the kitchen, grab two pieces of cold fish sticks left over from dinner and stuff them in my mouth. Lunch will happen later!

12:30 pm Go with our driver to the bus station to pick up Randy & Tim (two volunteers from Lake Ave. Church in Pasadena)

12:45 pm Purchase a bus ticket for Ashley for 2:30pm today. Find Tim & Randy and head back to the house.

1:00 pm Eat some lunch: this time I heated up a plate of fish sticks and French fries and enjoyed them more.

1:40 pm Go with the driver again: to a police station to get the report necessary to get the replacement passport for Tim. (The first thing on the list from the embassy is "A police report substantiating loss or theft.") *I'll write more on my police station experience, but overall, it was a highly unsuccessful visit and a complete waste of time. (Thankfully, only 15 minutes.)

2:00 pm Drop Ashley off back at the house to take a tuk tuk to the bus station.

Go back to the WR office to find out which police station can actually help us.

Do some more research online and a PDF from the UK embassy called "How to Obtain a Cambodian Police Report," which turned out to be the most useful information I'd found so far. *Why can't the US Embassy have a similar document? 10 points for the British!

Solicit some help from Grace, our office manager, to contact the Tourist Police and type a letter from our organization. She is Cambodian (her Cambodian name is Rachny) and speaks English very well.

I find some more material for tomorrow's ESL class. Two lessons on adjectives: Comparative and Superlative. The lesson is complete! Print copies, punch holes (with help from the volunteers), and check it that off my To Do list!

3:00 pm Grace convinces me to drive (for the first time!) to take us (Tim, Grace, and me) to the police station. *I have my Cambodian driver's license, but have not been brave enough to actually drive a car here. More on this later! Note: I avoid telling Tim that this is my first time driving in Cambodia! Innocence is bliss, right?

3:30 pm I drive, Grace is the navigator, and we make it safely (in the afternoon rain) to the Tourist Police office. *Thankfully, it's on our side of town and traffic is a little lighter than the city center.

We meet with the police officer (I'm not sure what his position or rank is) in his office. He is very nice and seems quite helpful. Grace is invaluable in this whole process!

I play Solitaire on my iPod Touch (Thank you again Mom & Dad!), while Tim and Grace work things out with the officer.

5:00 pm The report is almost done! Tim pays the $30 "fee" to the officer and we arrange to meet him later to pick up the final report. He needs to get one more signature from one of his superiors.

5:30 pm I drive through a few ponds and lakes that have accumulated on the roads since the rain started and drop Grace back at the office.

Tim and I go to the ESL house to eat dinner and wait for the call to meet the officer.

6:00 pm The report is ready early! (Does that really happen in Cambodia?!) We drive 2 blocks to meet the officer and get the report. Step 1 of 'Getting Tim a New Passport' is complete!

6:30 pm Eat dinner!

7:00 pm I drive back to the office to leave the car and pick up my moto helmet. *My first nighttime driving. Only 4 blocks.

Blessings!: I get a ride home on a moto from one of the WR staff that is heading home late. And the night guard loans me his poncho to wear home in the rain!

7:15 pm Home!

Watch some TV on DVD with roommates. Send some emails. Eat some Pringles. Eat some ice cream.

10:15 pm Lights out! Sleep!

And that, my friends, is one day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

Two Months in Cambodia!

This week marks two months since I packed my life into two 50 lb. suitcases (as well as a compact carryon and a computer bag) and moved to Cambodia. One forth of my stint here has already passed by! Wow!

So, how am I doing? How is life in Cambodia? I am doing very well! And I am really enjoying life here on the other side of the world!

I am amazed at how normal my life seems after just a couple of months. I don't have a regular routine (and I may not for a couple more months!), but I feel like I'm settling into the Cambodian way of things. I'm continuing to take language classes; I'm learning my way around the city (and able to tell the drivers where to go!); and I'm starting to feel comfortable...natural...at ease. I have yet to have a dramatic "culture shock" moment. Perhaps it will come still. (But I hope not!) I do feel homesick occasionally, but I've only cried myself to sleep one time! But really, I do miss my family and my friends and my church family and the many, many people who are so dear to me back home. I am so thankful for technology. We have pretty good internet at the office and at home, so I can use Skype, facebook, email, and this blog, to keep up with those so far away.


[Chilis drying in a field near a Wat (Buddhist temple)]

I feel like I am getting into the swings of things. I’m merging into my role as Interim Partnership Coordinator. I’m thankful for the gradual transition process. Right now the main focus for partnership is our summer volunteers. Our summer ESL (English as a Second Language) program began two weeks ago and will continue through the end of July. Groups of volunteers from our partner churches come for two weeks at a time to teach English to the WR staff. This is the fourth year of the program and it’s evident that this is a great opportunity for the volunteers and for the Cambodian staff. I have really enjoyed meeting and helping to host the diverse teams of volunteers while they are in Cambodia. The teams bring lots of energy and enthusiasm for the work of WR and for building relationships with staff members.


[Fun friends at the Hope staff retreat in May]

I get to be involved in ESL in my own way this summer by writing new curriculum for the advanced class! No, I was not an education major, nor have I ever formally taught ESL (or any other course!), but it needed to be done! I consider this an opportunity to take advantage of my internet resourcefulness. I hunt down grammar and writing lessons, find devotionals and stories, adapt exercises and games, and put it all together in a lesson format. I can’t promise that it’s anything remarkable, but as long as our staff are practicing their English and feeling at least a little bit challenged, I believe I have succeeded.


[Reviewing last years curriculum...and working on my own!]

Thank you so much for praying for me and missing me! My parents tell me often about friends from home who ask about me and say “hello!” It means so much to me. I feel so loved. And God is so good. He continues to confirm that Cambodia is exactly where I should be right now. I would appreciate your continued prayers for my future and clear direction from the Lord as to where he would want me next.

Please pray:
--For the summer ESL program: that WR staff and church partner volunteers would each be blessed and be a blessing. Pray that volunteers would gain a vision and passion for the work of WR Cambodia and take that back to their church families.
--For me as I continue to write lessons for the advanced ESL curriculum. Pray for diligence and joy for the work. I do enjoy it, but it’s a bit daunting and seems never-ending! Pray too that I will do a good job and create lessons that are helpful for the students and teachers.
--That I would hunger daily for God’s word and time with Him. I am excited about how God is using this time in my life. I desire to learn more about Him and what it means to live a life devoted to Christ.

Photos!

Me and my Off! Deep Woods--we're bonding.


This photo goes with the post below on mosquitoes and their daily interference in my life.

You can see many more photos of my life in Cambodia, the crazy things I see while driving around the city, and my trip to Thailand in May!

Go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/Katherine.E.Williams