First Week of "Official" Work

We wanted to give an update on our jobs out here since they are in full swing now:
School started at Logos (the school Chris is teaching at) this past Monday. He is teaching three different HS History classes including an AP World History course. One of the things that is so different for Chris teaching here is that these students are very aware that they are very blessed to be at this school and take their studies extremely seriously. One student has even taken the opportunity to read not only the course textbook this summer but also the AP version just so he is prepared for class. Something that didn't happen for Chris is the US. However, there also are some challenges these students face, such as poor written writing skills, and lack of critical thinking. One thing that is difficult for Chris is that even though the school is probably one of the nicest buildings in Phnom Penh, it still regularly loses all power, meaning that he loses aircon (which is precious here) and the ability to type, save, print, copy, laminate, or even see. You quickly learn that if you got half way through your TO DO list that you feel very accomplished! All in all, the first week at Logos was a good one, and yet another transition that we feel like we are doing well with.

I (Leanne) am also chest deep into my work. My schedule is more scattered and we knew that would be the case when we came into this. I spend my days working and training two Logos grads who are in an internship at the guesthouse that Asian Hope opened this Spring. I take for granted the fact I was taught many lessons at my first job at Hallmark when I was 16, and this internship is set up for them to learn those lessons. Things like showing up on time (or even just showing up at all for that matter), and making sure they are dressed and prepared to come to work for the full day are things we have gone over in the first weeks. One other major battle I face in helping these kids learn about the working world, is that when they face a situation they don't know how to handle that turning and running away is not an option (again the critical thinking piece). Rather I am trying to help them learn how to take the problem one step at a time in order to find the solution. Again, small steps I am making with them, but steps that I find give me a lot of purpose in helping here.

The other side of my job is working with trafficking, and researching a women's outreach project. I have been researching and talking with a lot of NGOs here in Phnom Penh that are currently running prevention based programs. Over the last week and the weeks to come I am meeting with these people and learning what they do, how they do it, and seeing if there is a niche that Asian Hope can serve.

Please pray for patience for both of us as some of these things like learning about culture and the people we are working with can be draining and yet fulfilling all at the same time. Also pray for the relationships we are starting to build with students, interns, and other workers here in PP.

Things that make us laugh!

Before we left for Cambodia I was advised to document all the things that made Cambodia funny to me because, as my buddy explained, “After a few months, they will no longer be funny to you.” So, I compiled a list of sights, sounds and activities that I find comedic about Cambodia. Perhaps this is not for you to enjoy as much as it is created so that I can remember the things that at one time were hilarious about Cambodia and which will inevitably become simply annoying or ordinary.

1) Multi-use motos: The moto is the family coupe of Cambodia and really is more of a utility than any SUV in the U.S. We have seen motos carrying 50 alive but bound chickens on their way to a hot-broth party. Motos carrying three mattresses balanced on the seat, forcing the driver to hop down from his padded throne in order to shift or hit the brakes. Motos carrying a family of five with the toddler between his father’s legs, the mother behind the father, the middle daughter behind the mother and another child standing on the tail light, holding sister’s shoulders. We have seen a moto operated by an eight year-old who was graciously giving his three year-old brother a lift to school. Also, Leanne looks pretty awkward on a moto, but that might just be funny to me.

2) Synchronized Dancing: Working out for Cambodian’s is a bit of a blunder. Many Cambodian’s run, albeit in jeans and polo shirts. Some walk, again with the jeans and usually with a facemask protecting them from the smog. However, the best form of Cambodian work outs are the public synchronized dances (see video). Each morning and evening, groups of Khamers gather to dance to electronic music. The temperature is cool, the jams are hearty and the company is rockin’. These are not work-out’s as much as they are socials for those who like to dance to instrumentals of Lady Gaga, Beyonce or the Black Eyed Peas. Needless to say, I fill in the lyrics over the instrumentals.

3) Cambodians being Cambodian: If you are a baseball fan, you have heard the phrase “It is just Manny being Manny.” Cambodians, like Manny Ramirez, are unique in their own way and culturally as different to Americans as could be in many ways. Staring is okay, traffic lights and lanes are optional, boys sit on the top of family vans if the cab is too full, bus drivers stop to eat a sit-down lunch in the middle of their shift and pedestrians cross the street without looking as if daring me to hit them. The Police expect money when they pull you over, getting a license plate is more difficult than throwing a perfect game and trying to find a place to get colored copies is more difficult than getting a license plate. Bananas and spoons are really small. Waiters hover while you look at the menu and grocery store employees follow you around with a look that guilts me into purchasing some item that I didn’t want in order to not disappoint them.

All of these things make Cambodia unique to us. It has been essential for us to realize that Cambodian culture is not wrong, it is simply different and just because we do certain things in certain ways in the States, does not mean that they cannot be done differently here. It has also become important for us to learn to laugh at these differences. The oppressive traffic, the smog and the buckets of rain are all things that could frustrate us but it has become important that they entertain us instead.

Paul wrote in Ephesians that God serves his creation lavishly and abundantly, missing no detail and planning everything out so that his creation may be filled with great enjoyment no matter where they live. Regardless of how different life here may be, the reality of God’s lavish abundance has never been so clear and so enjoyable.

A Few More Photos From Kep

These images are of the pool at our hotel and of the crab market in town where we ate our meals.

Just a Few Notes...

These are just some funny things that have happened in the last few days:
1.) We have not yet decided if I can run without Chris yet, because of a few factors: stray dogs don't really run after 2 people but might go after 1 person, giving more time to learn our neighborhood, and just being a female. So I (Leanne) have chosen a few times to run sprints right on our street. Today while doing shuttle runs back in forth, a man not far away waiting on his moto for someone to hire him out for a ride (called a moto-dop) kept yelling, "ma'am, ma'am, I drive you, I drive you." I couldn't help but think, "does he think I am lost, and that I threw in the white flag and decided to run as fast as I can back in forth to solve the problem? Or is that he thinks I want to go somewhere and don't know how to go about it, and again just gave in and started running up and down the same street." Who knows what he was thinking, all I do know is he probably thinks I am crazy for not getting anywhere and just running back and forth, and back and forth.

2.) I enrolled in Khmer One yesterday at Logos and my first class is on Tuesday. I will be taking the class with mostly elementary schoolers and some teenage foreigners. So I have asked Chris to pack me a lunch and send me to school with a kiss. I hope to speak at the level of a 4-5 year old when I am done. It should be fun...

3.) We counted today and so far we have only had one day that we have not eaten rice!

Kep, Cambodia

With work beginning this next week, Leanne and I decided to take a trip to the coast of Cambodia and stay a couple nights in a small town called Kep. Known for its seafood and mellow atmosphere, this place was as opposite from Phnom Penh as possible. We ate at a crab market, rode a couple of rusted-out Japanese bikes and sat around the pool all weekend. It was not tough.

When we came back to Phnom Penh, it was the first time when the city felt like home and we enjoyed coming back to a place that is comfortable and familiar. We did not expect to feel like we were coming home and that feeling surprised us. We have been in Cambodia for three weeks now and feel great in our adjustment to a new city, a new culture and simply changing jobs. Things here have been wonderful and that blessing that we cannot deny.

Hope you are well, here are some pictures of our trip.

We also wanted to give our biggest blessings to Britt and Bob as they celebrate their beautiful wedding today. We have been thinking and praying for you all weekend, and we dearly wish we could be there with you. Miss you and love you! Leanne Send pictures soon...

Khmer Rouge Tribunals and a little light reading...

As Leanne posted a couple of days ago, we have been reading and learning about the genocide that took place in Cambodia between 1975-1979. Currently I am reading a book titled Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare by Philip Short. Even though I studied history at CU, I tend to find history books to be big-time snoozers. However, this book is remarkably well written and is composed like a novel more than a thick history text. I recommend it to anyone interested in the topic or thinking about coming to Cambodia for a visit. We are learning that it is impossible to understand Cambodia's current situation without having a full idea of how the Khmer Rouge defined the last 30 years of Cambodia's history.

This fall and summer, Khmer Rouge leaders will be put on trial for the crimes that they committed during those years. Today, the first of the leaders was sentenced to another 19 years in prison for "crimes against humanity." On our visit to Toul Sleng, the main prison for the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh, I learned that the four main contributors to the genocide, including the man who planned the extermination of 1.7 million people, will be put on trial at the end of this year.

It is a tough time for Cambodians, as might be literally unrealistic to find someone in this country who was not impacted directly by the genocide. However, as a Cambodian professor explained to us today, it is time for forgivness and with forgivness comes progress.

Below is a link to a New York Times article about the tribunals and the first sentencing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26cambo.html?_r=1&hp

Barbed Wire is the white picket fence of Cambodia...

As you may or may not know, Leanne and I were asked to take on another side project just weeks before we left for Cambodia. Asian Hope purchased a 6-room guest house with the intention of filling it with anyone coming to Cambodia to do aid work. We moved into the house this past week and are getting oriented to all that it entails. Multiple rooms, two cooks, two cleaners and two interns were left to us and we have been asked to get the project up and running as well as develop a meaningful internship for Rachel and Pov. These two are recent graduates of Logos International School and will use this year to apply for college and prepare for their transition out of Cambodia.

We met this project with mixed emotions. We are excited about the relational side of the house as well as creating a place where people working and serving in Cambodia can come to relax. However, this is also our home and it has been difficult knowing that we will be staying at the house until it is the right time to get our place. We know that there are huge possibilities here and the house will be great for Leanne as she begins networking and sorting through more of the details for her trafficking ministry.

As for the present, we know that there will be great things that are done in this house and through this house for those working in Cambodia. This is an abrasive place and just by walking down our own street, we know that there is a lot of need. It is also a beautiful place, with remarkable people who have endured much to get back on their feet.

Below are some pictures of our new home. Note the wonderful pink bathroom, our sweet new red T.V. and the killer barbed wire gate (mom, that does not mean we are in any danger, consider barb wire like the white-picket fence of Cambodia - something to be revered!).