Siem Reap

After another rough night I had a GREAT talk with my mom. Isn’t she the best? If anyone is looking for a life coach..she’s the one! We talked a lot about why I was struggling here..and a lot about “shoulds”. I felt like I was getting very caught up in what I SHOULD be doing..instead of just doing what comes naturally. We talked about how if I didn’t feel comfortable at the homestay, I could stay somewhere in town. If I didn’t feel comfortable at my placements, I could ask to go somewhere else. If I didn’t want to bike 10 miles a day, I shouldn’t have to. I felt a LOT better after (thanks Mom) and it was a friendly reminder as to WHY I am here. I am here to help. I am here to volunteer. I am here to give the gifts that God gave me to help influence others in a positive way.

With all that being said, I woke up with a better attitude this morning. I decided I wasn’t going to do the 10 mile bike ride. For some reason, I got caught up in this, ‘I have to do it’ thing. It seems it was almost expected of me to do it, and if you can’t already tell, I hate letting people down. I hate being weak (which is why I often struggle with being completely open and honest with the blog/journal because I am not always the person I wish I was) but anyway, I decided I didn’t NEED to do a 10 mile bike ride. I didn’t NEED to prove it to myself or anyone else. COULD I have done it? Eventually, sure I could have. Would I have enjoyed it? HECK NO! God gave me some wondeful gifts that I hope to share with the Cambodians, but bike riding isn’t one of them. So instead of wasting my energy on that, I decided I would ask if I could get a ride so I would be fresh when I arrived! (I did however read a blog by a guy who road there every day for the kids and felt a bit guilty..oh well..I am doing the best I can).

Ok well let me back up..so I woke up did my morning thing and road my bike to the Home of Joy. I first stopped at the laundry place since I am running low and she said it would be ready at 7:00pm. I did a quick stop at the internet shop next store to try and book some tour things! It was there (of all places) I realized I might be having a long day seeing as I was experiencing some “intestinal problems”. These problems have been keeping me company since I arrived, but it was strange because my body was normal the whole time in Vietnam. And I haven’t eaten anything crazy here because I was having issues. Ok enough about that..hopefully it will take care of itself!

Moving on..I then arrived at the Home of Joy and today it was just me! A little overwhelming to say the least! I played with the kids for a bit (they are SO active) and then I helped peel oranges for their meal!

Then it was feeding time, and I quickly bee-lined it to the same boy I had yesterday (he is easy!) There are a fair amount of kids who sit at the tables and feed themselves and then I think the youngest ones are on the floor so we (the nuns and I) help them!

I started talking to the nun (the Fr. Paul looking one..) and found out more about the kids. They are from the surrounding area and the Home of Joy takes them in (maybe for a few months to a year) because they come from such poor families! She said hygiene is really bad (no clean water, no food, etc) so they take them in..feed them A LOT (they eat 6 times a day!!!) and make sure they are healthy before sending them back home. It is actually pretty cool because I had never heard of that before.
The nun I spoke with (I am going to have her write down her name tomorrow) is from India and has been here almost a year. Before Siem Reap she was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for seven years and then Hong Kong for seven years. She is a bit hard to understand but hey I will take ANY English.

After they eat they nap..well at least they are suppose to. So I offered to wipe down the tables and sweep the room. It actually was quite a process because I tried to figure out how to get under the tables and benches. I know it isn’t rocket science, but honestly it was tricky. After that they asked if I would sweep the main room, which was a TON of work because I had to go under all the cribs. I am SO happy to help and I hate sounding like I am complaining (I really am NOT) but they have those awkward short brooms (EVERYONE in Asia has these)..so I felt like a hunched over old lady!

After that, most of the kids were in their cribs, so I asked if there was anything else (there wasn’t) and I headed out! I checked out the Catholic Church down the street because I am going to go to Christmas Eve Mass there! I am really excited (it’s the only one in English) so that’s something to look forward to!

I also asked if I could bring anything on Christmas for the kids..but she was no help! Haha! I think she said maybe a sweet or something as a treat for them..so I, as Ms. Clause, will have to start looking!

I called Leng (the head guy at ODA) to tell him I wasn’t comfortable biking and asked him if someone could pick me up. I thought he spoke good English but he did NOT understand so I called Maureen who said she would call him and someone would pick me up in front of the Blue Pumpkin at 1:00pm. Since I had my bike with me I did bike around a little bit (it was cool to see the more local area) and then headed to a small café back on the “main strip”. I just got a strawberry smoothie (I figured it would go do easy) and was able to quickly check email.

I stopped at what was called a Mall but really had NOTHING in it! I was looking for flashcards and knew they had a bookstore but I think it was a FRENCH bookstore (and THAT doesn’t help me!) I think the mall JUST opened a few weeks ago so I am sure it will be nice in the future, just needs some time. I shouldn’t call it a mall because there are a few stores on the first floor and should be more on the second, but it’s called the Museum Mall.

By then I wanted to head back because I needed to drop off my bike. I really enjoyed riding the bike this morning, although I was VERY content with my decision about the afternoon. The bike is like a banana seat bike and is NOT made for long distances. It was probably a 15 minute ride there and back and my butt is KILLING ME! This butt was not made for riding bikes!

I would love to bike every morning but it kind of becomes a problem. I don’t think I will come back to the homestay during the day because it is so out of the way. So if I take my bike to the Home of Joy and then downtown for lunch I could park it there while I am at ODA. Then I will be dropped off downtown to have some time to look around, internet, get things done and then have dinner. BUT by that time it is dark and I just don’t think I feel comfortable riding home. ESPECIALLY because it is SO bumpy and dark.

So my plan was to come back and drop of my bike and then get a ride into town. I was able to ride a little bit down the street and it is like REAL life Cambodia. It is cool to be able to see this (this definitely isn’t a tourist route) and to see how people live day to day. There really wasn’t anything that I would ride back for (although they do have stands selling snacks etc.) but I enjoyed seeing it.

Since my tummy wasn’t up to par I relied on good old PB&J to do the trick! Nothing like some comfort food! It was actually really good!

I then was a bit rushed for time since I needed to get back into town to pick up a ride for ODA. Of course NOBODY ever asks me if I need a ride when I DO (like last night with my groceries!) FINALLY a guy on a bike kind of looked at me so I waved him down. It is so funny how you just hop on the back of someone’s bike and give them money to take you somewhere. Obviously the tuk-tuk drivers do it for a living but I have no clue if some of these guys just randomly decide to make some extra money or what!

He dropped me off and I had JUST a few minutes to pop in the bookstore. I knew I had seen some English “workbooks” but thought they were a bit pricey. Since I had NOTHING else (they don’t seem to have flashcards here) I decided I would get the alphabet, fruits, vegetables, and animals books. I couldn’t remember how many kids were in the class, but there were only eight fruit books, so I decided I would get eight of each. I would have one, so the class could share seven other books.

Now I am NOT a teacher nor do I really enjoy it. I have the UPMOST respect for those who teach (Steve, Lorna, Emily you know I love you guys!) but it’s just not my thing. SO props make me feel A LOT more comfortable. I also already knew how much they would ENJOY brand new books and I thought future volunteers could use them as well! They were VERY heavy (even more of a reason not to bike 10 miles..like I needed another excuse) so I waited outside for my ride.

At 1:15pm I called Leng who STILL seemed very confused. We decided he would just pick me up tomorrow instead. So I had the afternoon FREE! Woo hoo! But now I had all these heavy books. I decided I would get a tuk-tuk back, drop off my books, get my laptop and spend the afternoon relaxing in town.

I found a new tuk-tuk driver (and thanks to Payal) I knew I SHOULD be able to negotiate a ride to and back for $3. He said $4 (it’s usually $2 each way) but I told him I usually get it for $3 (usually meaning I have never done it before but heard it could be done) and it was no problem. He was great except that he was SO talkative! I was ready to enjoy a nice peaceful ride but I was with chatty Kathy! At some points he would even turn around to talk to me but I thought I would just be wasting energy if I told him to WATCH THE ROAD!

When we got back into town he gave me his card which will be nice because I have someone else to call, IF I am in the mood to talk!

I went to the Blue Pumpkin, my comfort zone! It was nice to have my laptop because I needed to check banking and all that jazz but never do that on a public computer. I also downloaded more pictures (STILL coming) since I have to have my laptop to do that. I somehow passed most of the afternoon (with tea of course..my cough doesn’t want to leave) just relaxing, emailing, and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I want to do before I leave Siem Reap!

I had texted Payal to see if she and her friend from Korea were around for dinner and they were meeting at 6:30pm so I met them for dinner! Her friend, Ashley is from Korea and is visiting Siem Reap until Monday. They both met at some homestay in Sydney. Payal told me they were going to an Indian restaurant if that was ok and I sort of laughed because that was the LAST thing my stomach needed. I reassured her I would just get some bread or something plain.

Payal and I started talking about our WLS experience and we both HATE THE PROGRAM! I tried to say it was ok, blah blah blah, but when she said she hated it I was like, “AHHH ME TOO!” We had a GREAT time venting about it (how we both feel like they take our money and then leave us to figure it out on our own) etc. Poor Ashley who had to listen to all of it! But she said she already knew the disappointments from Payal.

I just got some garlic bread for dinner and ginger ale it was GREAT! I REALLY miss having friends to hang out with and talk to etc. They are doing a lot of sightseeing this week and traveling but I am hoping if they are in town I can join them for dinner!

I then texted Tay, my original tuk-tuk man, to see if he could bring me to get my laundry first and then home. Texting is SO much easier because he is always confused on the phone. He said ok, and then called me so I told him I would meet him in 5 minutes.
On my walk to meet him Maureen called to apologize. I guess she had never gotten a hold of Leng and then had forgotten, which is why he was SO confused when I called again!

Tay brought me to get my laundry (woo hoo clean clothes) and then I was home sweet home!

Hugs and kisses from Siem Reap!