Hello again!
I have been in my placement for... goodness knows when! Let's just say 4ish weeks. I thought I would bring everyone up to speed with what this week has been like! So far the adjustment has been better then I expected it would be. I guess that's the beauty of a journey like this, turning expectation into curiosity. Oh wait and curiosity into wonder (shout out to my orientation pals).
The language barrier is still an struggle. For example, this morning I tried desperately to understand what I heard my neighbor saying. He wakes me up at all times of night with his loud call. Is he saying "hello"? Is he saying "I'm hungry"? I just don't understand. Okay enough jest, I am not talking about my lovely human neighbors. I am talking about my neighbor the rooster (hence the blog title). I always thought roosters were supposed to crow when the sun rises. For someone who loves the sunrise, the rooster seemed like a perfect addition to the ambiance. But this rooster crows sometimes at midnight or 3 a.m, like when do you sleep Mr. Rooster? Last night I did not wake up until my alarm, that means I am learning to sleep through it, or the rooster is dead.
Mornings are slightly different from back home. An specific example comes to mind and it involves my flippy floppies (formal terminology). In Cambodia, you keep your shoes outside of your home. The Church office is also a no shoe zone. By the way, I love being barefoot. Point 37 for the reasons why I love my life in Cambodia. Sorry, back to the shoe story. A few days ago, I awoke to the usual village noises. I knew that it had rained a lot overnight. I had a funny thought, "I wonder if the water gets high enough to move my shoes?" Sure enough I left my room and my flippy floppies were gone! I found one about 15 from my door. The other had taken a journey all the way around the corner of building. Below is a picture of my door and the sidewalk where my shoes decided to take a swim. There is also a sneak peak of my pants! I hand washed and dried them, only to not pay attention to the weather and the lucky ones got another wash via rainwater. C'est la vie.
Besides losing shoes and waking up to roosters I've been a busy busy bee! I thought I might give a "day in the life of Allyssa" for people who are wondering what what I typically get up to. Every morning the staff at the church has a devotional and a small singing session. Occasionally they will sing a song in English but most of the time the whole hour is in Khmer. I don't mind, it gives my mind time to wake up. And drink my coffee! Then we have time before lunch, this is when the staff gets to work on the projects going on at the church. The most recent project has been the new hand washing station. It collects rain water and distributes the water via pipes. We also take food to a neighboring village for a feeding program for local children.
After the feeding program, we tuk tuk our way back for lunch the whole staff, they are all lovely people and I quite enjoy my time with them. After lunch is nap time! Since it's really hot from 12-2 most workplaces take a break. This time is spent napping by many Cambodians! I love it. After a needed nap, the church is filled with English classes and Khmer preschool classes. I have subbed a few times for one of the classes but usually I just hang out in the office or with one of the classes to help the teachers. I teach a English class from 4-5 for the staff of the Church. I have another class from 6-7. This is an advanced English class for high school age students. Some of the students help out at the church, so I already know them. It's comforting to know that sassiness spans oceans. They are all super smart kids and it's nice to know that they comprehend at least some of the things I tell them. After class, my supervisor and I go to her Aunt's home for dinner. She is an amazing cook and has been a great host.
We recently had a group from Australia visit Krus church and they were able to help with various projects. One of the project they were able to help with a mushroom project sponsored by the church. We were able to visit a family who grows the mushrooms. And there happened to be two new litters of puppies as well. Cuddling the puppies really made my day. Look at these mushrooms, they look like flowers!
The Australian group also helped fix a rode. This involved moving lots and lots of dirt, replacing our electrolytes, and getting decently muddy. I commend the groups hard work and energy. Scholarship students and other community members came out to help as well. The volunteers were also able to hang out with the staff, play some uno, sing some karaoke, dance some line dances etc.
Okay, I think I am done writing for this post! I know its been really random... so here is some more random pictures!
Here is my supervisor, her name is Sreyleak and she is the Pastor at the LCC Krus. She is very kind and has made me feel right at home. She is super funny and likes to make people laugh. I think she is so funny when she tries to scare me with giant bugs we find around the Church (just kidding... not a fan). I have a irrational, or very rational fear that every bug I don't recognize is poisonous. Note, none of the bugs thrown at me have been poisonous. Don't worry, I am sure I will write more about Sreyleak and other staff members as the year goes on.
Yeah Lutherans everywhere have some killer potlucks!
Here is a picture from a walk at dusk. Unlike Minnesota, I can walk around at this time and not get eaten by mosquitoes. Those are the rice fields that surround the village.
Thanks for reading!