The Last weekend of January we took the high school youth group to the beach for a "camp". It was great fun. We hung out on the beach, had worship around a camp fire, and ate smores (some for the first time). The kids were awesome. It's always good to relax with them outside of the classroom. We had an superb time.

Eating Tarantulas

The Cambodians eat spiders as a tasting snack. A few of my Cambodian friends have told me that when they were kids they'd go out into the rice fields and find tarantula holes. They'd pour water down the holes until the spider was forced out for air. Then they'd catch it and eat it. Sometimes they'd fry it over the fire. Sometimes they'd eat it uncooked.
So one of my goals before I leave Cambodia was to eat a spider. Last night we went out to a restaurant that serves Tarantulas (to tourist). They were well cooked in yummy sauce. It tasted a lot like pork rinds. It wasn't bad. I can totally understand why they would eat them. I wouldn't shutter to do it again.

Spirit Week

Spirit Week is a ridiculously fun time for students to have a little fun at school. We started the week with a Team Color day. Then we had Crazy Hair day, Twin day, International day, and finally Sports Day.
It's always fun to dress up and act like a kid again. This year I had my face painted almost every single day. Rachel, our make-up artist, loves face painting. So we had a good time with it.
We played games every morning with our teams. My team, the green team, got 3rd place. Not so great when there are 3 times! lol. Oh well. We tried!
Sports day was killer, with 90+ degree weather on January 28th. I was so dehydrated by the end of the day. AH. hot hot hot.

Top Ten Books of 2009 According to Me

The books I liked the best out of the 30+ I read this year.

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (fiction)
2. Escape by Carolyn Jessops (memoir)
3. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (memoir)
4. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen (fiction)
5. Jemima J by Jane Green (fiction)
6. Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (Christian help)
7. For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani (fiction)
8. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes (fiction)
9. The Host by Stephenie Meyer (sci-fi)
10. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella (fiction)

The runner up in the number 11 spot is Safely Home by Randy Alcorn (Christian Fiction)

Really I should know better. I've been told before not to be out in town alone later then 9PM. Since nothing's ever happen to me, I have taken the advice for granted and fudge the time I'm out to later. Really 9:00 seems so early to be in the house. But there's a reason.
One night I was driving home alone around 9:30. The streets were mostly deserted, but a few cars remained out. On one of the major intersections, I saw a scuffle between 4 or 5 boys. It looked like the 4 boys were beating the one boy. Then, before I had time to react, they picked him up and forced him into the back seat of the car. It was a kidnapping! I'd read about them in Phnom Penh! But to witness one! It was traumatizing. There are no police to call and report to. Even if the police were helpful, I don't know their number. I couldn't do a thing. I definitely wasn't going to get involved. It was probably gang or loan related, but it was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.
I'll be more careful about getting home early from now on.

Out in the Village

Village life is quite different than the life I live in Phnom Penh. Still all around me, I'm reminded that the average Cambodian lives in a wood hut and makes $1 a day during the harvest season.
A month ago, I went to Retdy's (Kate's bf) village to meet his family. They were very sweet. Their neighbors were so excited to see foreign girls visit.
The whole time Kate and I were constantly bombarded with compliments. They kept telling us how beautiful we were and how ugly Retdy was (because his skin is dark from the sun).
We went for a walk through the town (which was about 20 people) and we drew such a crowd. People were watching us, and finally they asked us to sit down and talk with them. One woman kept telling us how beautiful we were, and in the next breathe she said we were big enough to have 10 children each. AH! So I'm beautiful, but I'm fat enough to have tons of kids!

Alone

Traveling alone.
So I before I left for Malaysia, I googled traveling alone. I thought it would be a good idea to get some tips about being a single girl in a foreign country. What I got was this ridiculous list of things to do by yourself. One of the things was, “Enjoy yourself”… thanks… I needed google and the internet to realize that. The last thing on the list was, “Take pictures of yourself.” Kristi and I had a good laugh over the ridiculousness of this article. So while in Malaysia, I took lots of pictures of myself. Here are a sampling of them.


Wendy's and Krispy Kreme... It's like America, but in Asia.

KL, Malaysia

This year for the Water Festival holiday we had 10 days off of school, and I had nothing to do. No plans. No trips. So Kate and I decided to go to Battanbong to visit our friend Corey. But Battanbong is a tiny little town, and there isn’t much to do. So when Retdy (Kate’s boyfriend) got a Thai visa, we decided to go to Bangkok with him. I have been to Bangkok 5 times already, so that was not exciting. But there is a train that runs from Bangkok to Malaysia.
Malaysia. Now there is a place I could get excited about! I decided to hop the train and head down to Malaysia from Bangkok. Then the more I talked to people the more they suggested I go to Kuala Lumpar, the capital. The town I’d previously planned to take a train to was Penang, a historic town on the coast.
Change in plans. Kuala Lumpar, nicknamed KL, was my new destination. It was a cheap plane ticket down. So two days before I left, I booked my flight from Bangkok to KL.
KL was awesome. I went by myself, which seemed like a scary idea at the time. I really loved the time alone though. After travelling with Kate for a week, it felt great to be alone and decide things independently.
I spent three nights in KL. The great thing about Malaysia is that everyone speaks English because it used to be a British colony.
I stayed in Chinatown, the dirtiest district in KL. It was the backpacker’s district though. Things were cheap, and temporary friends were abundant. Chinatown was a night owl’s paradise, and torture for a recovery shopaholic. The place came alive at dusk, and roared with excitement as travelers packed the streets.
During the days I scheduled tours through my hotel. I joined temporary tour groups as we explored outside the city. The first trip included a visit to a pewter factory, a batik factory, and the famed Batu Caves.
The Batu Caves is a Hindu temple in a large cave outside of KL. It is populated with monkeys who feast on the snacks of tourist. Its temple is not that impressive when you finally reach it inside the cave. The impressive attribute of the cave is the stairs leading to the temple. Apparently Hindu believers climb the 290 stairs as atonement for their sins before reaching the temple. My favorite part of the temple was the Python they let me hold when I reached the top of the stairs!
My next tour was a trip to Melaka, a small city 2 hours south of KL. Kate recommended this trip to me. She said it was a historic town where I could see lots of old things. I took this to mean it was a tourist city set up in the old lifestyle of ancient Malaysia. I was wrong. It’s just a city with some old buildings. Nothing too fascinating. An old Dutch church here. And old fort there. A Chinese temple that was 300 years old... You can only take so many pictures of an old building.
I did plenty of shopping during my time in KL. I went to one mall called “Times Square”. They had a Krispy Kreme Donuts (yum!) and a Papa John’s (heaven, I’m in heaven). It was just like being in an America except for the clothing stores were very Asian (cramped tight with strange looking, miniature-sized clothes). The coolest thing about Times Square was that apart from the two movie theatres and the bowling alley, there was an amusement park, in this 10 story mall, complete with a rollercoaster.
I never got to climb to the top of the Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest buildings until 2004. I never got to see any of the museums of KL. I never got to see than many mosques of this Islamic country. I guess I’ll have to go back.

The Policeman is in love with me...

What do you do when a man with a machine gun tries a pick up line on you? Really when the guy hits on me, and he has a huge gun slung over his shoulder, what am I supposed to say? “No way, you mangy dog!” Lol. How about, “Put the gun down, and I’ll give you an answer.” It’s more like, “Oh! Why thank you! I know I’m beautiful.”
A policeman, with a big black machine gun, was staring at me in the market today. The second time I walked by him, he jumped out in front of me and said, “hello.” He then started to follow me a little. As I fled, I heard him tell me that I was beautiful. He left me alone after that. I wanted to yell back to him, “Why thank you, scary man.”

Killing the rat

Killing the rat.
The school started a rampage against the rat population living in our educational facility. It began by putting out sticky pad traps. These traps are not affective in killing the rat but in catching it. Seeing how the traps cost money, the Cambodian staff thought it was best to save as many of the used traps as possible. So after a rat was caught on the sticky trap, it was ripped off. The ripping generally killed the rat.
One day, a rat was caught in the school office. When the maintenance worker came to collect the dead rodent, he needed to dispose of the carcass. As you do with most waste in Cambodia, he just threw it out the window. However, this particular window was above the children’s playground. Yes, he threw the rat out of the window and into the playground. A dead rat.
Of course the expatriate office staff screamed when he did this. He was sent to retrieve the dead rat and dispose of it properly.
Luckily no children were walking under the window during the original “disposal” of the rat. If I had been walking under that window when the rat was thrown out… Well, I would not be writing you from Cambodia; I’d be writing you of my departure.

Cambodian Man Stance

The Cambodian man stance
I don't know why, but all Cambodian men pull their shirts up when they are standing around. Sometimes you can tell, that they are proud of their bellies. These are not pretty bellies. I've never seen a guy pull up his shirt and have a six-pack under there. Yet, daily I see men pull their shirts up and show of their skinny or flabby bellies. To be fair, it is very hot here. I do think the main reason they pull their shirts up is to cool down, but it's not pretty.

I'm learning Chinese (Mandrin or Cantonese I'm not sure)

I was standing in the dvd stall, when I heard “why you should by the gold dvd instead of the purple dvd” and I quoted it along with the dvd that was playing. The tv was facing the other way, and I couldn’t see the screen. But I’d heard that phrase so many times that I instantly knew the words. The funny thing is, that it was in Chinese. I don’t speak Chinese, but I’ve been watching so many pirated dvd’s recently that I know their campaign ad by heart. I guess I now know one Chinese phrase.

(P.S. the picture is taken in a market like the one I buy dvds from)

Abstract Photos

While I was researching abstract art, I came across some abstract photography. I've decided to try my hand at it. Here are two pictures that I find particular interesting. I took them while I was in Thailand last month.

Reflecting after a Year

I was thinking back over all the excursions I've been on in the last year, and I flipped through some of my pictures. I remembered this one Buddhist temple I saw in Thailand. It was probably one of the most beautiful things I've seen in the last year. It was gorgeous. The inside was equally fascinating because it has a giant mural of aliens, George Bush, Star Wars characters, and Keanu Reeves. The mural was basically crazy, but the building was breath-taking.
I thought it was worth adding to the list of things I've really enjoyed in Southeast Asia.

Dear Friends and Family,

Fourteen months. Fourteen months in Cambodia. It feels like I’m still on a short trip, yet I’ve been here for over a year. I can’t believe that I’m in the third quarter of my time here. Only nine more months until the end of my term.
Being a missionary has it perks. First of all, there is a certain confidence that you’re living a life pleasing to God. Secondly, there is the gratification of helping others. Also there’s the joy of seeing another part of the world and living the adventurous life. The last perk, is that people back home think you’re cool.
As amazing of a life that it is, it is so hard. Emotionally it’s draining to be pouring so much of yourself into everyone else. It’s lonely to be thousands of miles away from your family. It’s discouraging when small things set you back. It’s difficult when all your friends have no idea where you’re coming from because they’ve never been to America and can’t relate to why you’d miss it. It’s frustrating to get sick from the food and the water repeatedly. It’s scary when the neighborhood monkey tries to steal your lunch.
Pro and Cons aside, it doesn’t matter which outweigh the other because I’m confident I’m here because God called me here. I’m told that He’s doing a good work in me; and whether or not I see those results, I’ll trust His words. He told me that all things (even the rat in my house?) work together for good. I believe that. I don’t feel it, but I believe it.
This week has been so discouraging. So many things are tough. Work, church, and youth group feel overwhelming. I was starting to wonder if God knew what he was doing when he called me here. I was starting to think that I was not woman enough for the job. Surely God called the wrong girl. But then I heard the worship song, “You Do All Things Well.” I instantly was confident that “all things” probably includes when He calls people overseas. God did well when he called me over here. Even if I don’t see the good coming from my presence, God did well when He planned this season in my life.
To be honest with you, I’m feeling so weak. God said that in my weakness His strength is made perfect. I’m waiting for his strength to swoop in. I’m writing to ask you to pray for me. Pray hard because I need it. I live in a country dominated by evil spirits. The Devil has ruled this land for years. Cambodia is 95% Buddhist and 4% Muslim, Hindu, and other. 99% of this country is ruled by lies and deception fed to them by the Devil to hinder them from coming to a knowledge of the true living God. My apartment is above a Cambodian family’s home. I often here the grandmother saying chants and praying with monks. Even my home is open to attack from Satan and his followers, because I live surrounded by people worshipping a thinly veiled form of the Great Deceiver.
Missionaries all over this country are exhausted. I went to a prayer group on Tuesday night. When I looked around at the six of us, we were all tired. Not physically tired, but spiritually and emotionally tired. We need you to lift us up in your prayers. We need your prayers to support the work of God in this place. Spiritual warfare is tangible in this country, and we need you fighting on our side. I’m asking you to plead with the God of the universe on behalf of the missionaries here (if all missionaries here are too much, just make sure you squeeze me in your prayer).
When learning to teach, they always tell the soon-to-be teachers that notes, written to parents about how horrible their children are, should end on high notes. So I’ll end this letter on a high note.
The students that I teach are amazing. I love them so much. They are great kids who, for the most part, do their homework and respect their teachers. Everyday I have a new favorite student, because they are all so great. They are talented and energetic. Teaching them is so much easier this year. I finally know what IGCE stands for. The British curriculum no longer looks like Greek to me. In fact I got some great news from England. My two students who graduated and took the Cambridge exams scored A’s! I am a good teacher (there was a lot of doubt last year, so this is a revelation).
We’ve just started rehearsals for the Christmas musical, which I’m directing. It’s scary and exciting. The cast is talented and eager to learn their scripts. It should be an awesome show. If you want to fly over and watch it, I’ll save you a seat.
Thanks for your love and prayers. God is working in the crazy, smelly country; and I’m excited to watch His progression.

God Bless,
Carrie
P.S. Next time you see a missionary give them a hug. A BIG HUG.

A little hobby

I painted a picture today. It's been a while since I've painted anything. I think that's because I hated the last picture I painted. I'm very critical of my art work.
Kate reminded me last week, that I like painting. I guess I forgot.
It feels good to let your mind focus on a single task: to not think about the outside world for a few hours, but still to be actively engaging the mind. It feels nice to complete the task, and then step back and think "hmm, that's good."

This is my first attempt at abstract art. I think I like it.

My traveling companions


Road Trip
I have had the strangest weekend ever. So some new friends decided that it would fun to ride our motorbikes to the beach. Well, people go on riding trips all the time. They take these big dirt bikes out and just drive. It sounded like fun.
I momentarily questioned whether our smaller motorbikes could make the trip, but I was assured that it would be fine.
So the bus to the beach takes 3 ½ hours, so I estimated that it would take us 4 to 5 hours because on the roads motorbikes seem to keep good time with the buses and cars.
Right before we left my friend, April, convinced me to drive my own bike (which I wasn’t planning to do because it’s really slow). Her bike was slow and she wanted someone else to lag behind with her. Well my bike is a 50cc. So it’s tops out at 40 kilometers per hour.
The first 3 hours were great. The scenery was beautiful, and I had good music playing in my ears. We were dodging cows and pot-wholes. However, my but has been hurting for 2 hours and 45 minutes at this point.
Well my bike broke down. It just stopped. In the middle of the road. Great!
So we walked it over to a shop, where the guy took the whole bike apart. After an hour of sitting around trying to figure out why it wouldn’t start, they figured that it was the ignition switch. So the didn’t fix anything. They just put it back together and told me to fiddle with it if it happened again.

So we took off again. The sun was setting and it was beautiful as we approached the mountains! The problem with the sun setting is that it becomes dark after it sets. Driving in the dark was a little scary; plus I was getting hungry. And as if dark wasn’t bad enough, then it started to rain. Well in a 3rd world country, dark wet roads are bad! There are pot-wholes the size of coffins, but when it’s wet its hard to avoid the pot-wholes.
And April fell. She fell on the muddy road. She had some scrapes, but she and the bike were totally covered in mud.
At this point we were 50 kilometers from our destination, and with April injured and shaken, we can only move at a snail’s pace (about 10-15 kilometers and hour). At 9:30, we arrived in a town called Kampot (we were going to Kep), 30 km from our destination. So hungry and tired we decided to stay at the first guest house we could find.
I ate a granola bar instead of going to eat with the rest of the group because I just wanted to fall into bed. We’d been on the road for 8 hours.
There was a problem with the hotel room though. The air-conditioning remote was broken. It wouldn’t turn off. We were all cold and wet (it was the one night of the year that it was cold in Cambodia!). And the air was set to 16 C. It was ridiculously cold, and there was nothing we could do about it.
Around 1:00 AM I woke up freezing. I couldn’t sleep I was so cold. I tried the remote several more times. It still wouldn’t work.
After an hour of cursing the air-con remote, I felt sick. I ran to the bathroom and disposed of the very little that was in my stomach.
Head in a Cambodian toilet, freezing toes, I was wishing I was dead.
I finally got to bed later that night.
After spending the day vomiting, the last thing I wanted was to drive for at least 7 hours that day! My butt couldn’t handle it anyway.
April’s bike was in need of a re-alignment. So she and I decided to find a bus service that would take our motorbikes on the bus too. The other five were going on to the beach, and would drive back later that day.
No bus would take our bikes, so we got a van. These vans are a 3rd class way of travelling. They often pile 50 people in a 15 passenger van. Luckily ours was mostly full of coconuts and other products.

Bikes in a van.
So to load our bikes, they slab of wood and extended it from the back of the van. The coconuts were on top of the wood to keep it in place. Then our bikes were loaded onto the wood and tied to the van with a rope. But even still half of our bike was hanging off the wood (this wood that is hanging off the van). It was insanity!
So as we drove we picked up more passengers. Finally we had so many people that one guy rode on my bike as it stuck out that back! Craziness!

There were a million funny things that happened in that van…
One funny story was the second of the six times we were stopped by the police. Our drivers were bribing all the police so we could keep moving (which worked 5 out of 6 times). The second time the driver didn’t have any money out, and he was fishing in his pocket for money. Well the police officer was staring at me. Like he wouldn’t even look at the driver when he spoke to him. So finally I was annoyed and gave him an annoyed “please stop staring at me” smirk, which he took as a smile. So he gave me a thumbs-up and let us go for free. It was so great! We got off with a smile.

Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home. My back, legs, and butt were sore from riding a motorbike for 8 hours. My stomach was weak and sickly. My head hurt from heat and lack of water.
What a weekend!

PJ Fashion

Pajamas are the coolest thing to wear if you're Cambodian.
Why not? If you saw a button-up shirt and pants that match, wouldn't you think it was cute??

This article was written a year ago in our local forum. expat-advisory.com
http://www.expat-advisory.com/articles/asia/southeast-asia/cambodia/pjs-are-khmer-girls-best-friend

Monkey Trouble

A monkey came to my front door. Not a monkey on a chain. Not a monkey with a person. Just a monkey. He crawled from the roof of our next door neighbor’s house to our door (which is on third floor), then he crawled through our laundry room and back to the neighbor’s roof.
It was surreal. I don’t live in the jungle! Yet for two days I have seen a monkey face at my front door.

The neighbors are worried because apparently they can be very destructive if they get inside your house. My roommate is scared to leave the house because she thinks he'll bite her.
The monkey is still hanging out on the rooftops. The dogs are barking like crazy. The neighbors are staring at him from the street. It's basically a circus here on street 472.