mejkids

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Our new home


In the 7 months we've been here, we've moved 3 times(if you count the first initial move). The first place we lived was in Phnom Penh in an apartment above a coffee shop. We stayed there for 2 months. It was too small for us and too expensive so we moved to a place down the street where we lived for 4 months. We had to spend our first 6 months in Phnom Penh doing formal language studies. After our language class ended we were asked to move to one of the provinces, Battambang, which is about a 5-6 hour drive from Phnom Penh. We have been here for a month now and we are so happy to be out of Phnom Penh! The city is way too loud and busy for us. Battambang is small and easy to navigate. We've been here for a month now and it's the first time since we've moved here that I finally feel like I can settle and call this place home.

We live in a village pronounced "Kabko". Our landlady is the Village Chief and everyone who lives around us is her family. We awake every morning to the sounds of either techno music blaring(usually Gangnum Style) or roosters crowing(quite obnoxiously too). The past week it's been to the sound of firecrackers because they have been celebrating Chinese New Year(Cambodians celebrate many different holidays). We have a mango tree that should have some pretty juicy, sweet mangos on them in the next couple of months. We have a small little "yard"(note the quotations) for Sy(our poodle) to roam around in. The reason for the quotations is because it's completely different than a yard that we're used to having back in KY. There's no grass! Sy wouldn't know what to do if we had grass because he uses the bathroom in gravel. And in our 2nd home in Phnom Penh there was nowhere outside to take him so we had a rubber mat in our outdoor kitchen(yes our kitchen was outside) and he did his biz out there.

Cambodian living is so different from America. I'll save that for another post...

Monday, February 18, 2013

Wow I suck at this...

So in September I posted a blog and said that I was going to try to blog more often. And my last blog was in September. Oooops...

Obviously a lot has happened since then. We've now been in Cambodia for 7 months. We've celebrated  many first holidays in Cambodia-our anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, and Valentine's Day (my birthday is the day before Valentine's Day so it was a combo celebration. We call it Valenbirth Day ;b). We are getting used to Skype date relationships with friends and family. We usually try to Skype with our parents at least once a week and other family members as well as a couple of good friends as often as possible. There's a line we have to draw between staying connected with people back home but not so connected that it interferes with us being "all in here". That was something I struggled with a lot the first few months. Seeing pictures of friends and family and not being able to be involved was really hard for me. God has done a lot of work in me and I'm at a good place now where although I long to be with my friends and family, I have a strong desire to see God's work be done here in Cambodia and I know He's called me to be a part of it. I have days where I feel really homesick, but during those times the Holy Spirit comforts me and reminds me of why I'm here. And right now I actually feel like time is flying by way too fast. Before I know it our term will be up and we'll be heading back to the states. I feel like if I even blink I'm going to miss something! I have a year and a half left here and I don't want to miss a single second of what God's doing and what He's called me to be a part of!

That's all for now. Once again, I'm gonna try to keep this up. Maybe 3rd time's a charm :) I really do have a lot on my mind and in my heart that I'd love to get out "on paper", just need to take the time to do so!

Peace & Love from Cambodia!
Jess