Out and about, Shopping and Pizza PE5

Entry 10: Thursday out and about, Prek Eng 5 goes shopping

Another one sick last night, Alyssa decided to stay put this morning and Anne stayed with her. The rest of us went tuk tukking to Khmer Tsurin, a nice (very nice) restaurant to meet one of the Hunsader’s contacts with Campus Crusade, Bourin. We had lunch with them – probably our best meal yet – and spent time talking about the miraculous spurt of growth in  Cambodia’s house churches.  Trish and Mike have worked with Bourin doing Marriage Encounter sessions with military personnel. That is a whole other story and a good one.

We went back to pick up Anne and Allysa and then went on to the Central market again to meet Prek Eng 5 for their shopping and pizza outing.  Once again, it was amazing how good the children were and how interesting it was to watch them pick out what they wanted and make decisions.  The hardest time I had was getting the PE5 staff to choose something for themselves. Monta resisted until the very end and I wonder if she just got something to get me off her case.  I have to say that Asia’s Hope kids and staff have always looked clean, well groomed and well dressed anytime I’ve seen them.  The girls like capri jeans with designs on them and lots of them got hi-top tennis shoes.  Especially at the Christmas celebration the house mothers and staff had beautiful dresses and looked fabulous. I know they don’t have much but they take care of what they have and know a bit about fashion.

The pizza parade started about 5 and I was surprised at Sorya Mall when this group went up the escalators without any balking. This was their first time at it and they did it like old pros.  The restaurant was ready for us this time and things went smoothly.  The kids all got balloons on sticks and all they could eat plus lots of attention from all the adults. Chariya was the birthday girl this time and the staff came out with cake and candles, singing to her.  I really like the pictures I took of this pizza night and have to smile as I review them. These kids are just like those in any other part of the world – when given a chance they laugh, play, tease, and have fun.

Quite a few of us were noticeably tired and maybe a bit less festive tonight and I for one was glad it was not a late night. We were taken home to Samaritan House, and I probably didn’t take more than a half hour to be in bed and asleep.

Recovery and Pizza Day with Kids

Trish and I in our tuk tuk

Although most of those stricken with food poisoning were feeling better last evening, not many actually got up and moved around much. This morning was the real test.  Quenie brought  some rice porridge which was so good and agreed with all the sensitive stomachs. Jared was able to come over – he and Chris may have had the most severe cases.  They all had remaining muscular soreness and some headaches but we were able to leave a little before noon in tuk tuks to go to the riverfront for a walk.

The river here is wide, moving fairly fast, and has high sloped cement banks. The river level is low now and it was a long way down to the water.  At street level is a park with wide paved walkways, plantings and benches, people strolling, vendors selling sunglasses, and of course a busy street.  Raw sewage flows into the river by the looks of it and down stream a little ways a woman was at waters edge washing her clothes.  A little farther, two boys were swimming in the brown water and offering their services to people who wanted to release prayer fish (my name for them).  They would be given a bag of live fish in water by a customer and then swim out and release them and the bag and swim back.  They were also diving for something, maybe snails? I suppose they were cool and wet but I can’t imagine it being very healthy.  There is constant trash, plastic, building debris, etc… floating past all the time.  I took some pictures of fishing boats where families were apparently living and hopefully making a living. This is a place once again where you see the poorest of the poor right next to very rich looking buildings and businesses.




fishing on Mekong

Further on our walk we came to a place of worship, probably Hindu, and observed some of their practices. The open building gave us a good look at the central idol which was highlighted by flashing neon lights (???) and flowers.  There was a rather brisk business going on – people buying little swallows from cages and releasing them over the river, or buying flowers and setting them before the idol.  The flowers get removed and resold from what I’ve heard. 

Lunch was at a sandwich shop close to our walk. Almost everyone ordered something but appetites were definitely not back to normal.  Several plates were barely touched.  I had a serving of noodles with vegetables and a tangy sauce, finished up Anne’s French fries and a can of ginger ale.  We relaxed there a while, enjoying the shade and the breeze (fans) as encouraged by their sign “sleep till you’re hungry, eat till you’re sleepy”.  We were also reminded in the bathroom to “please mind your head” because of the low doorway.

We had time before meeting the children to visit Sorya Mall again. I think I covered all six floors.  I bought some Angry Bird flip flops. Evidently Angry Bird is the BIG thing over here and appears on all kind of clothing and other items. I also got some Ricolla lozenges for my throat which is constantly being tickled into a cough. My voice is also nearly gone.

Next, the short walk to the Central market where we were to meet the kids.  They were a little late getting through the traffic but I was there when they were dropped off and it was much fun to see them waving and calling to me, all in their matching purple polo shirts (makes it easy to identify them in a crowd).  They all had in mind what they wanted to shop for and the boys went with Mike, Tyler , Jared, Chris and Alex while Trish, Anne and I took off with the girls. Many of them wanted shoes, high top tennis shoes in a print fabric as it turned out. I took Sulange, the cook, off to find some slacks that she needed. I’m sure it was God answering my prayer that we were able to find some that fit her, and fit the budget, in that overwhelming place.  In the hour and a half before shops began closing we were able to find something for all the kids and the staff – a true miracle.

We paraded back to Sorya Mall for our pizza supper.  Trish said someone at Cornerstone Church had wanted to give for this occasion and it was a real treat for us to see the kids fill up on wings, pizza, soft drinks – things they rarely get to experience.  Two of the boys had birthdays and the restaurant staff all came out singing to them with ice cream cakes. They blew out their candles and everyone had cake for dessert.

One of the new anxiety producing things for the kids is riding escalators.  Going down I had SoKeeA with me and although she had problems with the first flight, by the time we’d gotten to the bottom she was much more practiced and we clapped for her.  Honestly, they were the most orderly, best behaved children, equal to any I’ve met and better than most. They have such patience and never complain or beg. They always just wait until the next fun thing and are ready to smile and give you a hug. 

Goodbyes were said and Savourn took us back to Samaritan House.  I didn’t mind turning in early. The temps have to be in the 90’s during the day and it is easy to get tired and dehydrated.

Oh no...

As you can imagine, when traveling in an emerging third world country, one is always a little nervous about the food and food borne illness. We have been taking precautions, drinking bottled water, sticking to cooked food, avoiding raw vegetables and keeping the Pepto Bismol handy, nevertheless, Monday night people started getting sick.  Of the eight of us, five were stricken with  nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, some more severely than others.  We cannot figure out what the cause was even after much speculation and I guess it doesn’t matter at this point.  Trish, Alyssa and I escaped and spent the day quietly trying to look after the others and catching up on our reading and writing. In the afternoon when Mike felt he was past the worst of it and could be left alone, we did go back to the Central Market to get some things Trish had asked her vendors to bring.  And Tyler felt well enough so we went to the Russian market again to have his suit fitting. 



on the street



moto riders



For our evening meal we decided pizza would be an easy choice, especially on buy one get one free night, and Narin, our host at Samaritan House volunteered to go get it. He was going with his very young son so I decided to go along to carry the pizza boxes.  They do not use a car seat so little Dennis was on the front seat between us.  This was at rush hour in Phnom Penh.  See picture for the 10 minute total standstill at one intersection (no stoplight).  At one point Narin got a call and answered it so he had only one hand free to drive.  I looked away for a second and when I looked back Dennis had crawled up on his lap and was playing with the turn signal.  Narin raised his arm for me to take Dennis away and I lifted him back, however, he is a very shy boy and didn’t like Auntie moving him away from Papa at all.  It was one of those cries that starts out totally silent while they are drawing breath for the scream and then of course you have a lot of noise.  We did make it to Pizza World, thanks to Narin’s skill at multitasking and got back with our pizzas which were well received by those of us able to eat.



traffic jam intersection



rush hour Phnom Penh



I have been struggling with a relapse of my cough and sore throat, and my voice is on it’s way out but I am thankful not to have the other problem and hope that the next three days are days of recovery for all of us.

Prek Eng 4

Entry 7: Central Market and PE 4

For some reason we seem to be starting a little slower each day. Maybe it’s getting a little easier to sleep on our Asian style beds, making we are just getting a little more tired each day.  We weren’t up and out until nearly 11 and the first stop was Jared and Chris’s apartment. It was a really nice, secure looking building and I guarantee that their unit was one of the  most secure.  What thief in his right mind would want to walk up five flights of stairs? But there was a superb view of the city from the large balcony and the rest of the place was new and modern and very neat, especially for two bachelors

I didn’t mention it but this was our day to ride in tuk tuks, or Cambodian taxis. Jared had made friends with a particular driver who came when he called and all 8 of us got into two tuk tuks and went on to find our lunch.  Tuk tuks are everywhere, waiting for passengers. They are carts, like mini stagecoaches, that attach to motorcycles. When you travel in them you are really seeing the city up close and personal. We stopped first at a furniture shop. Jared and Chris have been exploring possibilities for an import/export business for themselves and this vendor had some unusual and good quality furniture that they were considering. I took pictures of several of the creative pieces I liked. Not many things there would fit in my suitcase though. 

Back in the tuk tuks. We were actually looking for hamburgers, of all things, and the first place we wanted to go was closed. Sorya Mall was the next stop and it had anything the American stomach could desire… pizza, burgers, ice cream, all in a modern, commercial setting.  They didn’t have western bathrooms – I’ve already gone into what that means.

The Soya Mall is a block away from Central Market and that was the next stop after burgers and fries.  It was a little more open, and a lot less claustrophobic than the Russian market but many of the same types of items for sale. Again, I wanted to watch Trish and Allysa bargain and buy, but I was starting to get the resale fever and trying to think of what I could get to earn my next trip. Trish got a lot of cute jewelry, and visited some of her favorite merchants and I actually did get a bunch of cashmere scarves and some cotton ones too. I got a good silver bracelet. Lots of low prices, lots of temptation.

Fortunately we had limited time there and by 3:30 were heading back to Samaritan house in our tuk tuks.. Our van driver was ready at 4 to take us to PE 4 for dinner with the kids. On the way we stopped to look over a house that was the next potential orphanage for the group at PE 4. It was in need of some repair and cleaning but was large, sturdy, with a big yard and several fruit trees. It didn’t really sink in how great the need was for this new house until we arrived at PE 4 a few minutes later.  There are also 20 kids in this little family and they are in a space so small – it could be considered sacrificial living. Of the two houses that Hunsaders support, this one has the older kids. They are still small people but many are teenaged and there are four adults living there as well. Three small bedrooms and an open porch area are their sleeping places.

The cooking was done outdoors on a couple of charcoal cookers and one portable gas burner. It was like a camping kitchen – with no sink, or food prep areas, or conveniences. Much of what they were doing was done down low in a squat position.  This is where my friend Sulang works – she is the cook for PE 4. She and I have the distinction of being elders in this crowd. She is 56 and I am 60. She is very flexible and can dance like a 20 year old but I still wonder if her joints ache when she has to get down on the ground and scrub pots and pans…

Girls table, mealtime prayer



The kids gave us a tour, the dinner table was set up, we all sat down to our meal. The pattern here is that the children have already eaten or have their meal in a different area. We are seated together and are served special dishes that they don’t all get to eat. Their meals are quite plain and simple, always some rice and maybe a little meat, sometimes egg and vegetables mixed in the rice, lots of fruit. They all look healthy, slim and well nourished. For us this meal was fried rice with vegetables and shrimp mixed in, spaghetti noodles with ground beef and a wonderful tomato sauce (I had three helpings of this), fried chicken, pork ribs, fried eggplant, carrots, apples and fish.  We got to sample milkfruit., For dessert we had a fruit shake made from coconut milk, milkfruit, and banana. It was really good.



Lina and Chanra (center) at PE4



Again we had an evening of crafts and fun with the kids. Everyone (even boys) got their fingernails painted, they all made bead necklaces, we all got massages and the evening ended with the children singing and performing to several of the songs they liked. They all get along so well. God has really made them to be one family when they had no family at all.  We ended with the usual half hour of hugs and goodbyes.

I have come to know both sets of houseparents for Mike and Trish’s houses and they are wonderful couples with such love for the kids and for each other. An and Smie (I’m going phonetically here because I’m not sure how they spell their names) and Ravi and Rie are close friends and the women are always laughing and  smiling about something and appear tireless to me. The men seem to know more English so they talk to us more but all four of them are very communicative and outgoing. They are very easy to love.  

Phnom Penh and Prek Eng

The last two days we have been in Phnom Penh visiting the city and the orphan houses here in Prek Eng. Here the houses are not all together and are not all the same and they are rented not owned .  On Sunday we went to church just a short walk from where we are staying where our host Naarin is pastor. Their service was familiar in many ways. They had worship led by several young men who played keyboard, guitar and drums and sang – even the songs were ones we knew and the words were projected on the screen in Khmer and English. I thought it was especially inspiring to hear the two languages being sung at once, they seemed to blend and enhance one another, and isn’t that the picture we would like to see with ourselves as a church? There were a number of English speaking people there but the majority were Cambodian so we had headphones and an interpreter for the sermon.  Mike gave a short greeting to the people and Trish, Alyssa and I sang a song for them. After the service we toured the rest of the building which is five stories high and unoccupied except for the church on the bottom level.  One of the projects in working is to use the other floors as a rooming house for university students to give them a Christian option. Many students stay in the Buddhist pagodas where it’s free but there is a feeling of obligation to the religion afterward.

Second event of the day – Kentucky Fried Chicken!  It is a big hit here in Cambodia and it was a big hit with us.  I had mash potatoes and original recipe chicken, washed down with soft serve ice cream. They have a two story building with seating upstairs and the stairs were a bit wicked on poor Alyssa and the four ice cream cones she was trying to carry. Two of them made it up to the table and she got some good bruises.



Russian market



Third event – the Russian market.  I found it a bit claustrophobic and very warm since no breeze could make it through all those mazes and stacks of clothing. Think flea market on steroids.  It was overwhelming until you got used to it.  And you are expected to bargain for what you want.  I can do that but I have no idea where it should end, or for that matter where it should start, so I hate having to bother with it. Hunsaders had been there before and knew pretty much what they wanted to look for and where it was so I followed and tried not to get lost. 

Fourth event in a busy day – dinner at Prek Eng 5. Jared Hunsader was our driver in a van borrowed from Samaritan House. We made it all the way across town and as we were pulling into the gateway of PE 5 the clutch failed utterly.  We had to push the van in.  The reason I’m telling about this is the amazing solution that came about. The house parent called a mechanic who was there within the hour on his motorbike, diagnosed the problem, rode back into the city and got the part, returned and made the repair before we were finished eating dinner.  And this was on New Year’s Eve, a holiday. Try getting that to happen in the U.S. 

While waiting for dinner to be ready I found out I could still play volleyball.  The children had been waiting eagerly for us to appear and wanted to show us around and talk and play. They are so interactive and cheerful.  Dinner was great – some Cambodian dishes, but throw in the rice that we all know and love and nothing was so unfamiliar that it wasn’t welcome.  I got to taste mangosteen for the first time.  After dinner activities were making bead necklaces and more glowsticks and of course, massage. 

Again, many of our pictures had the spots or bubbles, we’re not sure what to call them.  We are beginning to wonder if our cameras are getting a glimpse into the spirit world.  It would be nice to think we’re seeing angels guarding the children. We still have no explanation why they are there sometimes but not always.

It was a busy and productive day. We went to bed happy.

Return to Phnom Penh

Another bus ride today.  This one started out quite joyous with the children singing songs and putting barrettes and ribbons in Mike’s hair but ended up with frequent stops to throw up and quiet hurting stomachs.  Some of them get car sick and get medicated before a journey – you can tell they are the quiet ones that sleep most of the time. Others just get sick from something they ate.  They are amazingly good even when sick and just curl up in a corner of their seat or use their barf bag without being noticed. I was kind of worried about them and someone else was too because we made a stop at a roadside market for some ginger. I’m not sure it was the best thing to do because they were also selling fried crickets there and a couple bags of those got brought back on the bus too – several of us had new reasons to feel a little queasy.

The four hour ride from Battambang to Phnom Penh seemed more like eight hours – oh, wait, it was eight hours, or maybe six. I think no one here really knows how long it takes to get from one place to the other because they aren’t timing it, and there is nothing they can do to make it longer or shorter than it is, so who cares?

picnic in the field



also present at picnic



Lunch was interesting.  I was prepared for picnic because we had stopped at the market earlier for ginger, and I was prepared for eating on the side of the road because we had done that on the way to Siem Reap. But I was a little surprised when we stopped by a big Buddhist pagoda and got out on a really trashy roadside with nowhere clean to spread the mats.  As the plan unfolded we all crossed the road into a small field that wasn’t fenced, water buffalo grazing on the perimeter and spread the mats out under some shade trees.  Much better, except for the cow pies (as I write… why are there ants crawling out of my computer keyboard?).  The owner of the field kind of looked on as forty plus people camped out on his property for an hour, and then we finished and I know you want to assume we left the place better than when we came but the truth is, we threw the big bag of trash in his ditch and left. True, it had a lot of trash in it already but it still pained me to see it done.  There is a definite cultural difference in the way trash is viewed.  I asked the orphanage parents what they did with trash and they also just put it in a corner of the yard and burn it once or twice a year…. Hmmm….

So the long bus ride ended, but not until we had stopped again to wash the bus.  Seems that there is a law against having a dirty bus in the city and the police can stop and fine the driver. Is this not paradoxical? We arrived at Samaritan house and were much pleased to rest and cool off in our nice aircorned rooms.  Yes, that is not a typo.  They call it air corn.  I don’t know why.  We also had a nice supper prepared for us by Pastor Naarin’s wife Quenie.  The courtyard at Samaritan house is beautiful with plants everywhere and tables and colored lights in the trees.  That’s where I’m sitting this morning as I write. 

Battambang

Arriving in Battambang we checked into the Golden Pagoda Hotel. It was also quite acceptable and familiar to our western senses.  I guess what I’m  talking about is the toilet – if it’s a raised commode with a seat and a flush tank, they are catering to us.  If it’s a depression in the floor with a drain hole to squat over, it’s what they are accustomed to. People are more flexible in the Asian world , there is no doubt about that.  We also had the Dark Night Restaurant next door for our meals.  I wasn’t too crazy about the name but it turned out to be insignificant. 

The highlight of our day was the visit to the Battambang Asia’s Hope campus, and it really is a campus. There were seven nice houses, one so new that it hadn’t been occupied yet.  They are nicely designed with big dorm rooms for the boys and girls, rooms for parents and helpers, kitchen and eating area  and a large central hall for congregating.  This hall is open to the outside most of the time but does have large sliding doors for bad weather and security.  Everywhere we have gone there are tile or stone floors that are really quite beautiful. I have yet to see a carpet anywhere and I can certainly see the sense in that. They also take off their sandals before going inside but are tolerant of us who forget to do it. 

This was dance night and we all had been looking forward to it.  Around dusk everyone got together outside one of the houses and the music started.  It was a dance much like one would see back in the states with modern music, modern moves, some line dances, lots of rhythm and probably the notable difference was that everyone participated.  They have a good idea about keeping everyone moving in the same direction around the middle of the area. It was fun and we needed the exercise after all the sitting.

It’s hard to get good pictures in the dark but I tried taking some when Trish passed out glow sticks to all the kids. In playback I was disappointed to see marks like water drops on the pictures, assuming it was dirt on outside of the lens.  Other people had the same thing happen with their pictures but I don’t think we were aware of it until the next morning.  We all went back to the hotel around 9:30 and tumbled into bed, not necessarily to sleep. Trish and Mike get massaged (nearly to death)at every opportunity – kind of a good thing and very kindly intentioned.  I would say there is an occasional bruise but most of it feels good, I think. 

 See the strange bubbles in the picture below.