Well the Hewitts have arrived back in Queensland and the Rasmussens are getting to know the UK… so now it’s up to us – Jonathan & Melinda Saxon, and Sara-Rose Pogson! I don’t know if we can quite live up to the amusing blogs that you’ve been reading over the last 7 months but we’ll do our best.
What does Cambodia mean to me?
Warm, humid days and nights. Sudden downpours of rain. Tuk-tuks. Motos. Crazy traffic going at max 40kph. People smiling. People laughing. People asking questions about the Bible. People asking questions about me. People with a great sense of humour. Amazingly delicious food. People trying to sell food everywhere. People trying to make a living out of almost nothing. People who look to education as a means of moving up. People with courage. People I am learning from. My home for the next few months.
Misconceptions I had…
Before I came to Cambodia I formed a number of misconceptions in my mind. These were based on articles and books I read, warnings from others and misunderstanding blogs. So I thought I’d share what I’ve found since I’ve arrived.
Food
I was led to believe we’d be living on rice and watergrass!! In actual fact we have some delicious restaurants just 5 minutes walk away which serve a range of scrumptious asian food for only about $2US. And our housekeeper is the best cook of all. She just has to taste something and she can cook it better than the original. Plus she’s taking western cooking lessons at the moment so she’s cooking both Khmer and Western. You’re guaranteed to get a well-balanced, healthy diet here!
Traffic
I was led to believe that the traffic is a nightmare… well it is!!!! But it’s not as bad as I thought as the max speed you can get to in the city is 40kph. Once you get used to the horns and the traffic coming from different/wrong directions it’s quite easy to cross the road, ride a bicycle and drive a motorbike.
Safety
I was led to believe that heaps of people carry guns and westerners are always getting robbed. The only guns I’ve seen so far are carried by police and security officers (just like Australia). During the day it’s safe to walk anywhere (more safe on busier streets). At night, as long as you’re with a group and stay in the tamer areas of Phnom Penh you won’t come across any problems. We’ve not yet seen evidence of any threat to our safety.
Attitude
I was led to believe that the Khmer people are brutal and rude (probably due to what happened during the Pol Pot regime, and other political wars). In fact the people are very friendly, helpful and nice. They always smile. They don’t mind if you refuse a tuk-tuk ride. Our contacts are always giving us advice on how to live here… e.g. make a price for a tuk-tuk ride before you get in. And one even comes to check on us every second day to make sure we’re going okay! The Khmer people also seem to have the same sense of humour as Australians… so everyone is always bagging each other out! J
Bartering
I thought bartering would be easy! It’s not!!! Everything is so cheap that I feel bad bartering. And then when I do, I don’t know how much the item is worth so I’m worried I’ll offer a price that is too high or too low. And when I’m bartering I’m sure I have an apologetic look on my face because the seller has a smug look on their face. I figure it should get easier as I go along… but I’m not too confident!
Clothing
One book told me that I’d need to wear long sleeves and trousers to the ankle. In fact most people wear short sleeves (it still needs to cover your shoulders), and skirts/trousers that cover their knees. The Khmer traditional dress is a really cool skirt. It looks like a wrap-around skirt but the material tucks back around and in. So it looks straight but it’s really easy to walk in and very comfortable. As an aside you can get clothes tailored here for a very decent price!
What can you do in Cambodia?
There’s so many things that I can’t list them all. Since I’ve been here I’ve formed so many projects in my mind. Projects that I have no skills for and will never be able to start… like improving sanitation, garbage disposal, provincial roads… providing a stepping stone for people with disabilities to obtain a job (instead of beg)… providing nutrition to the poor… forcing parents to work instead of encouraging their children to beg… providing medication to the sick…
The list could continue forever. But the thing I keep reminding myself is that this world will never be cured until Christ returns. The only way to really provide for these people is to teach them the Truth… teach them how to study their Bibles… show them the power of God’s word to change this whole world… feed them with heavenly food.
So what can you do?
- You can join us for a short holiday assisting us with our Seminars, Bible Studies, Sunday School, Correspondence Course, etc
- You can take over from us in December and continue on the work of providing spiritual food
- You can continue to pray for our God to guide the work here in Cambodia
I guess I haven’t talked much about what we’re doing here… but I thought I’d share some experiences instead to give an idea of what it’s like here.
May God bless you all
With love,
Melinda
What does Cambodia mean to me?
Warm, humid days and nights. Sudden downpours of rain. Tuk-tuks. Motos. Crazy traffic going at max 40kph. People smiling. People laughing. People asking questions about the Bible. People asking questions about me. People with a great sense of humour. Amazingly delicious food. People trying to sell food everywhere. People trying to make a living out of almost nothing. People who look to education as a means of moving up. People with courage. People I am learning from. My home for the next few months.
Misconceptions I had…
Before I came to Cambodia I formed a number of misconceptions in my mind. These were based on articles and books I read, warnings from others and misunderstanding blogs. So I thought I’d share what I’ve found since I’ve arrived.
Food
I was led to believe we’d be living on rice and watergrass!! In actual fact we have some delicious restaurants just 5 minutes walk away which serve a range of scrumptious asian food for only about $2US. And our housekeeper is the best cook of all. She just has to taste something and she can cook it better than the original. Plus she’s taking western cooking lessons at the moment so she’s cooking both Khmer and Western. You’re guaranteed to get a well-balanced, healthy diet here!
Traffic
I was led to believe that the traffic is a nightmare… well it is!!!! But it’s not as bad as I thought as the max speed you can get to in the city is 40kph. Once you get used to the horns and the traffic coming from different/wrong directions it’s quite easy to cross the road, ride a bicycle and drive a motorbike.
Safety
I was led to believe that heaps of people carry guns and westerners are always getting robbed. The only guns I’ve seen so far are carried by police and security officers (just like Australia). During the day it’s safe to walk anywhere (more safe on busier streets). At night, as long as you’re with a group and stay in the tamer areas of Phnom Penh you won’t come across any problems. We’ve not yet seen evidence of any threat to our safety.
Attitude
I was led to believe that the Khmer people are brutal and rude (probably due to what happened during the Pol Pot regime, and other political wars). In fact the people are very friendly, helpful and nice. They always smile. They don’t mind if you refuse a tuk-tuk ride. Our contacts are always giving us advice on how to live here… e.g. make a price for a tuk-tuk ride before you get in. And one even comes to check on us every second day to make sure we’re going okay! The Khmer people also seem to have the same sense of humour as Australians… so everyone is always bagging each other out! J
Bartering
I thought bartering would be easy! It’s not!!! Everything is so cheap that I feel bad bartering. And then when I do, I don’t know how much the item is worth so I’m worried I’ll offer a price that is too high or too low. And when I’m bartering I’m sure I have an apologetic look on my face because the seller has a smug look on their face. I figure it should get easier as I go along… but I’m not too confident!
Clothing
One book told me that I’d need to wear long sleeves and trousers to the ankle. In fact most people wear short sleeves (it still needs to cover your shoulders), and skirts/trousers that cover their knees. The Khmer traditional dress is a really cool skirt. It looks like a wrap-around skirt but the material tucks back around and in. So it looks straight but it’s really easy to walk in and very comfortable. As an aside you can get clothes tailored here for a very decent price!
What can you do in Cambodia?
There’s so many things that I can’t list them all. Since I’ve been here I’ve formed so many projects in my mind. Projects that I have no skills for and will never be able to start… like improving sanitation, garbage disposal, provincial roads… providing a stepping stone for people with disabilities to obtain a job (instead of beg)… providing nutrition to the poor… forcing parents to work instead of encouraging their children to beg… providing medication to the sick…
The list could continue forever. But the thing I keep reminding myself is that this world will never be cured until Christ returns. The only way to really provide for these people is to teach them the Truth… teach them how to study their Bibles… show them the power of God’s word to change this whole world… feed them with heavenly food.
So what can you do?
- You can join us for a short holiday assisting us with our Seminars, Bible Studies, Sunday School, Correspondence Course, etc
- You can take over from us in December and continue on the work of providing spiritual food
- You can continue to pray for our God to guide the work here in Cambodia
I guess I haven’t talked much about what we’re doing here… but I thought I’d share some experiences instead to give an idea of what it’s like here.
May God bless you all
With love,
Melinda
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