"Same same, but different" is a popular saying in Cambodia. Most often it is used in communication between Khmer & tourists. For example, when I ordered coffee I would usually be served a hot, black beverage that was not real coffee. I would ask, "This is coffee?" & the smiling response would be, "Yes coffee. Same same, but different." The statement can also be used the other way in trying to explain something from the western world to the Khmer. In essence it means that two things compared are not precisely the same, but are so closely related one may satisfactorily substitute for the other.
During our visit God revealed a few characteristics of the Khmer culture that at first glance appeared incomparable to anything in western culture, but are actually "same same, but different." Although I understand these characteristics may be applied to the western part of the Church as a whole, I must wonder how they may apply to me individually as well.
One bit of Khmer culture that stood out to me the whole time we were there is the idolatry that goes on. There are spirit houses, shrines, pagodas, temples, monuments & idols virtually everywhere. Worship, offerings & sacrifices to these gods & spirits are commonly offered & openly promoted. Even though idolatry is unheard of in the Church, it is just as common. We do not set up spirit houses & shrines in plain view, nonetheless we worship gods other than the One, True, Living God we claim to be devoted to. We bow to the gods of popularity. We give offerings to the gods of prestige. We make sacrifices for the gods of power. God revealed specific examples of this idolatry to me, but I doubt one has to give it much thought before realizing how widely they are promoted even within the Church.
Another bit of Khmer culture that stood out to me (& frankly has me confused even now) is how people relate to each other, especially their children. In general Khmer are very friendly, polite & innocently affectionate. However, such sweet kindness is mostly superficial. Relationships do not involve much commitment. People do not seem to be truly attached to one another. The sweet kindness of the western Church is similar in that we host skads of services, studies, concerts, conferences & even cruises, but we have a gross lack of commitment to one another as individuals. Week after week we meet for events of various sorts & promise to pray for one another, but we rarely commit to real discipleship, to true fellowship that actually & practically bears one another's burdens, or love that sacrifices personal convenience for the benefit of another.
The worst expression of this detachment is the abandonment of children. We saw innumerable children, some as young as 3 years-old, roaming the streets without any supervision. Many even slept on the streets alone thru the night. We shake our heads with disgust, but to our shame, for the western Church shows the same neglect to her spiritual children. We invite people to church services & Bible studies that they might be born again, but once they are, we leave them to fend for themselves. Unlike the apostle Paul, we do not say to new converts, "Follow me as I follow Christ." No, we occasionally see them & pat ourselves on the back for birthing them into the Church, but we leave them to roam the streets on their own. And, when they come up missing, we barely notice.
During our stay in Cambodia we were approached at least three times an hour by someone begging. In the Khmer culture begging is widely considered a career. There is no shame involved, no humiliation, nor desire to do any different. If all one has to do to receive supply is to ask, why not ask? The western Church operates much the same way. There is little ambition for spiritual maturity, for genuine holiness, for sincere righteousness toward God. Why "study to show thyself approved of God, a workman who need not be ashamed," when one really only need attend retreats, conferences, so-called study groups to obtain Biblical doctrine & spiritual discipline someone else has prayerfully studied & applied himself to? We expect to ride into the Lord's presence on the coattails of our "wealthy" brothers & sisters.
We'd like to think we're above the Khmer culture because we don't walk around with our hand out, leave our children outdoors overnight, nor build shrines in our front yards, but as much as we hate to admit it, we truly are "same same, but different.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Big Day
We made it back to Indiana safe & sound, thank God. It was difficult to say good-bye to the friends we made in Cambodia. There was lots of hugs & handshakes & bowing, & a few tears too. I'm looking forward to returning in May, but am very, very, very happy to be here in the US for the moment.
The one thing that stands out to me concerning all the experience of the last 2-1/2 weeks is smallness. The smallness of the world, the smallness of our problems, my own smallness.
The internet & global travel have made this entire little world easily accessible to everyone who will take interest in life beyond his own little world. Even so, like most Americans, I knew very little about Cambodia before our trip. It boggles my mind to think I've lived only a day's plane ride away, yet had no idea who was there or how they lived.
Although I've seen several problems that may never be overcome in Cambodia (& here in the US), our problems are nevertheless pretty small. Hunger is so simple to solve. Making sure people have clean water is easy. Reaching out to the lonely, protecting the weak, caring for the infirm-all absolutely do-able. The more I understand this world & its problems, the less I understand why we still have problems. Why are people suffering so? The only reason I can find is lack of compassion. I believe that's our real problem, our only truly big problem.
Which leads to my own smallness. It only took me a day to get to Cambodia & very little effort to solve some problems. On the other hand, I'm just a middle-aged, middle-income, Mid-American homemaker. I'm just one of billions. I'm small. I'm hoping & praying for other small ones to realize the smallness of this world & the smallness of its problems. If we'd all make a small difference we'd see a big change.
(God willing, I'll continue posting over the next several weeks to keep you abreast of preparations for the May trip to Cambodia.)
The one thing that stands out to me concerning all the experience of the last 2-1/2 weeks is smallness. The smallness of the world, the smallness of our problems, my own smallness.
The internet & global travel have made this entire little world easily accessible to everyone who will take interest in life beyond his own little world. Even so, like most Americans, I knew very little about Cambodia before our trip. It boggles my mind to think I've lived only a day's plane ride away, yet had no idea who was there or how they lived.
Although I've seen several problems that may never be overcome in Cambodia (& here in the US), our problems are nevertheless pretty small. Hunger is so simple to solve. Making sure people have clean water is easy. Reaching out to the lonely, protecting the weak, caring for the infirm-all absolutely do-able. The more I understand this world & its problems, the less I understand why we still have problems. Why are people suffering so? The only reason I can find is lack of compassion. I believe that's our real problem, our only truly big problem.
Which leads to my own smallness. It only took me a day to get to Cambodia & very little effort to solve some problems. On the other hand, I'm just a middle-aged, middle-income, Mid-American homemaker. I'm just one of billions. I'm small. I'm hoping & praying for other small ones to realize the smallness of this world & the smallness of its problems. If we'd all make a small difference we'd see a big change.
(God willing, I'll continue posting over the next several weeks to keep you abreast of preparations for the May trip to Cambodia.)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Almost There
We're in Korea as I type, so it won't be long now b/4 we're back in town.
Our last day in Cambo was riddled w/ power outages, so the blog entry I tried to send couldn't make it out. Oh well, here it is now....I hope. :o)
See you real soon!
**
Today being Sunday, it is a holy day for buddhists. Everywhere we went today, people were begging for money to repair or maintain pagodas, temples & shrines. They were also trying to sell flowers, incense & the like which are offered to idols.
We toured a couple of buddhist landmarks. The first place included walking stone steps up a mountain. Our guides (more about them in a minute) told us how many steps there were, but I don't remember the exact number. Somewhere around 509 or 609. After the first 200 or so I was too hot & tired to take in the more trivial facts such as this.
Upon our arrival at this religious hotspot two young men, 14 & 17 years-old, began to give us a history lesson about the place. We weren't more than a few steps up stone stairway when I realized they expected to give us the whole tour & receive a generous donation in return. They seemed to have their script down pat & they assured us the money would be put toward teacher fees so they could attend english class in the evenings. Evidentally the first thing the english teacher teaches them is a lovely history script to present to tourists such as ourselves. Apparently it's working for them & it sure beats begging as many of the other children do.
In between rehearsed snippets of history & trivia I was able to engage my guide, the younger of the two, in personal conversation. He plans to attend school a few more years, then become a monk to continue his education in english.. He said that all monks receive an excellent education. A sort of scholarship here. Of course, he'll have to do some hard work, to beg & to live a lot less comfortably than he does now. It's worth it to him to learn english well enough to get a good job.
It was very difficult to speak to them about Jesus, but I think Isaac planted a couple of seeds. At the first of several places where shoes were to be removed, I asked why we were supposed to do this. The boys realized we are christians & offered to let us keep our shoes on, but Isaac explained that we would gladly take our shoes off out of respect for them even if we did not believe in their gods. That impressed the boys as their idea of Christianity, like most non-believers, is one of arrogant intolerance of other religions.
The next seed Isaac planted was in a special temple where our tuk-tuk driver told Isaac it was OK to for him to pray to Buddha even though he did not pay a donation or make an offering. Isaac explained that he could not bow to any god but Jesus. The tuk-tuk driver, in turn, explained that Buddha accepted all religions, so Isaac could go ahead & worship him. I nearly laughed out loud at the man trying to convice Isaac that Buddha wouldn't mind if he were a christian. Isaac simply told the man again that we believe only Jesus is God, but that he was happy to wait for the driver to bow on the mat provided.
We admired exquisite architecture, wondered at the beautiful creation provided on & around the mountain, planted a couple of gospel seeds & got a great calf & thigh workout. Not a bad take-away considering the whole thing was centered around false gods, idols & dead people.
Postscript: If you're wondering, yes, it did feel kind of icky to see such warped worship. More than loathing it tho, I pitied it. It was a good culture lesson tho.
Our last day in Cambo was riddled w/ power outages, so the blog entry I tried to send couldn't make it out. Oh well, here it is now....I hope. :o)
See you real soon!
**
Today being Sunday, it is a holy day for buddhists. Everywhere we went today, people were begging for money to repair or maintain pagodas, temples & shrines. They were also trying to sell flowers, incense & the like which are offered to idols.
We toured a couple of buddhist landmarks. The first place included walking stone steps up a mountain. Our guides (more about them in a minute) told us how many steps there were, but I don't remember the exact number. Somewhere around 509 or 609. After the first 200 or so I was too hot & tired to take in the more trivial facts such as this.
Upon our arrival at this religious hotspot two young men, 14 & 17 years-old, began to give us a history lesson about the place. We weren't more than a few steps up stone stairway when I realized they expected to give us the whole tour & receive a generous donation in return. They seemed to have their script down pat & they assured us the money would be put toward teacher fees so they could attend english class in the evenings. Evidentally the first thing the english teacher teaches them is a lovely history script to present to tourists such as ourselves. Apparently it's working for them & it sure beats begging as many of the other children do.
In between rehearsed snippets of history & trivia I was able to engage my guide, the younger of the two, in personal conversation. He plans to attend school a few more years, then become a monk to continue his education in english.. He said that all monks receive an excellent education. A sort of scholarship here. Of course, he'll have to do some hard work, to beg & to live a lot less comfortably than he does now. It's worth it to him to learn english well enough to get a good job.
It was very difficult to speak to them about Jesus, but I think Isaac planted a couple of seeds. At the first of several places where shoes were to be removed, I asked why we were supposed to do this. The boys realized we are christians & offered to let us keep our shoes on, but Isaac explained that we would gladly take our shoes off out of respect for them even if we did not believe in their gods. That impressed the boys as their idea of Christianity, like most non-believers, is one of arrogant intolerance of other religions.
The next seed Isaac planted was in a special temple where our tuk-tuk driver told Isaac it was OK to for him to pray to Buddha even though he did not pay a donation or make an offering. Isaac explained that he could not bow to any god but Jesus. The tuk-tuk driver, in turn, explained that Buddha accepted all religions, so Isaac could go ahead & worship him. I nearly laughed out loud at the man trying to convice Isaac that Buddha wouldn't mind if he were a christian. Isaac simply told the man again that we believe only Jesus is God, but that he was happy to wait for the driver to bow on the mat provided.
We admired exquisite architecture, wondered at the beautiful creation provided on & around the mountain, planted a couple of gospel seeds & got a great calf & thigh workout. Not a bad take-away considering the whole thing was centered around false gods, idols & dead people.
Postscript: If you're wondering, yes, it did feel kind of icky to see such warped worship. More than loathing it tho, I pitied it. It was a good culture lesson tho.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
O for the day
Today's entry is a rather personal one, if you don't mind.
As one would expect, I have found there are things I have taken for granted as a middle-class American. Some things are rather petty & the desire for them is easily overcome. Things like warm water, truly clean hair & real coffee.
Some desires, altho they cannot be totally put off, can be diminished to a bearable limit. I long for my husband more than I long for air. I'm absolutely convinced that I could swim the ocean to get back to him if necessary. No kiddin'. Nevertheless, I soothe my aching heart by reminding myself that I will soon see him.
Some desires are not so easily put off tho.
For me, the one thing I cannot conquer the desire for, or even slightly soothe, is hearing the name of Jesus. In the U.S. I live among a community of Christians who freely & frequently speak the Name. I hear His name innumerable times thru the day. I cannot accurately express how lonely I am for conversation & congregational singing & recorded music that includes Him & His name. This painful longing makes me all the more enthusiastic for the Day when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord is to the glory of the Father.
I cling to this screen looking for emails from my ministry partner Kelly Stanley because she always includes God's name in some form or fashion. I've saved every letter like precious sips of water in a dry & weary wasteland. Evenso, I can hardly wait to hear & to speak the Name again
Brothers & sisters, if you live in a place where you are free to speak & frequently (or even regularly) hear "Jesus," I urge you to thoroughly enjoy that freedom & to fervently pray for those who do not have such luxury. It is a luxury.
As one would expect, I have found there are things I have taken for granted as a middle-class American. Some things are rather petty & the desire for them is easily overcome. Things like warm water, truly clean hair & real coffee.
Some desires, altho they cannot be totally put off, can be diminished to a bearable limit. I long for my husband more than I long for air. I'm absolutely convinced that I could swim the ocean to get back to him if necessary. No kiddin'. Nevertheless, I soothe my aching heart by reminding myself that I will soon see him.
Some desires are not so easily put off tho.
For me, the one thing I cannot conquer the desire for, or even slightly soothe, is hearing the name of Jesus. In the U.S. I live among a community of Christians who freely & frequently speak the Name. I hear His name innumerable times thru the day. I cannot accurately express how lonely I am for conversation & congregational singing & recorded music that includes Him & His name. This painful longing makes me all the more enthusiastic for the Day when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord is to the glory of the Father.
I cling to this screen looking for emails from my ministry partner Kelly Stanley because she always includes God's name in some form or fashion. I've saved every letter like precious sips of water in a dry & weary wasteland. Evenso, I can hardly wait to hear & to speak the Name again
Brothers & sisters, if you live in a place where you are free to speak & frequently (or even regularly) hear "Jesus," I urge you to thoroughly enjoy that freedom & to fervently pray for those who do not have such luxury. It is a luxury.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
A Day at the Beach
Today we were back to work. We checked out a couple of ministries the May team can be involved with. There's plenty of charities here, but most are corrupt-government agencies & NGO's alike. So, it's absolutely crucial for us to have God's wisdom in scouting these places out. (Thanx Myrtle for constant covering in this area!) We have been blessed to find two trustworthy ministries in Sihanouk Ville.
I thoroughly checked out one called Cambodia Children's Painting Project. Street children, who seem to be innumerable here, are welcomed in to play, eat & paint postcards & 8-1/2 x 11 pictures which are sold to help cover costs. Most of the funding comes thru other means of support tho. These activities keep the children from the danger of the streets, of which there are many. The live-in staff keep track of the children & their families diligently. They make sure the children go to school, even paying tuition, teacher fees & purchasing uniforms. They take seriously wounded & ill children to a local clinic free of charge too. They visit the families encouraging every member to live safe, healthy & with dignity.
I was pleased those in charge wanted to thoroughly check me out too. That's always a good sign in this pedophile infested country. Fyi, any children's charity that welcomes visitors without background checks is a cover for human trafficking or pocketing all the donations.
The other was an easy find. We visited the orphanage Isaac worked with when he was here last year. This orphanage, Mission of Mercy, is by far the best thing I've seen in all of Cambodia. MoM houses about 75 children on a virtually self-sustaining walled-in compound. The children receive the highest quality education in this area & possibly the entire country. In addition, they learn many life skills that are of value at the orphanage & will be of equal value once the children graduate university. Yes, they get to go to college too! Best of all, the children are trained to love Jesus & to spread the Gospel wherever they go. Hallelujah!
We also saw again how the less fortunate children are forced to live here. I cannot tell you how many tourists we saw "escorting" children today. Neither can I count how many children begged me for money or offered me some cheap trinket or service for purchase. Even those who attend school work after class is dismissed. I'm not talking about teenagers flipping burgers for pocket money here. I'm talking about 6 & 7 year-olds hawking tourists here to support their familes....if they have a family to live with.
Schools share in the corruption as well. Families are charged a hefty tuition & must purchase the school's uniforms (generally half a month's wages). Plus, the children must daily pay "teacher fees" to enter the classroom. Teachers charge students $1 or $2 per day for general education & english classes usually run even higher.
It's not a matter of Googling local charities or contacting the local Red Cross here. To find trustworthy, worthwhile charities that are really making a long-term, helpful difference is like finding a needle in a rice paddy here. Please join us in thanking the God whose eyes are roaming to & fro across the earth looking for faith, for today He has shown us where He's found it in Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia.
I thoroughly checked out one called Cambodia Children's Painting Project. Street children, who seem to be innumerable here, are welcomed in to play, eat & paint postcards & 8-1/2 x 11 pictures which are sold to help cover costs. Most of the funding comes thru other means of support tho. These activities keep the children from the danger of the streets, of which there are many. The live-in staff keep track of the children & their families diligently. They make sure the children go to school, even paying tuition, teacher fees & purchasing uniforms. They take seriously wounded & ill children to a local clinic free of charge too. They visit the families encouraging every member to live safe, healthy & with dignity.
I was pleased those in charge wanted to thoroughly check me out too. That's always a good sign in this pedophile infested country. Fyi, any children's charity that welcomes visitors without background checks is a cover for human trafficking or pocketing all the donations.
The other was an easy find. We visited the orphanage Isaac worked with when he was here last year. This orphanage, Mission of Mercy, is by far the best thing I've seen in all of Cambodia. MoM houses about 75 children on a virtually self-sustaining walled-in compound. The children receive the highest quality education in this area & possibly the entire country. In addition, they learn many life skills that are of value at the orphanage & will be of equal value once the children graduate university. Yes, they get to go to college too! Best of all, the children are trained to love Jesus & to spread the Gospel wherever they go. Hallelujah!
We also saw again how the less fortunate children are forced to live here. I cannot tell you how many tourists we saw "escorting" children today. Neither can I count how many children begged me for money or offered me some cheap trinket or service for purchase. Even those who attend school work after class is dismissed. I'm not talking about teenagers flipping burgers for pocket money here. I'm talking about 6 & 7 year-olds hawking tourists here to support their familes....if they have a family to live with.
Schools share in the corruption as well. Families are charged a hefty tuition & must purchase the school's uniforms (generally half a month's wages). Plus, the children must daily pay "teacher fees" to enter the classroom. Teachers charge students $1 or $2 per day for general education & english classes usually run even higher.
It's not a matter of Googling local charities or contacting the local Red Cross here. To find trustworthy, worthwhile charities that are really making a long-term, helpful difference is like finding a needle in a rice paddy here. Please join us in thanking the God whose eyes are roaming to & fro across the earth looking for faith, for today He has shown us where He's found it in Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A real day off
We knew God wanted us to take the first couple days in Sihanouk Ville off to fully rest & fully rehydrate, but it was very difficult to fully obey. We kept feeling like we should be doing something else. Constantly surrounded by need, it's hard not to jump in with some kind of relief. So, we spent the majority of our first day in our room just trying to be still & reminding each other that it is God's plan for us & it is good for us & those we'll be ministering to later in the week.
I was ashamed of my sin & hated my struggle. All I could do was confess my failing, ask partners to pray & trust God's mercy. Whoda' thought anyone would need God's grace to relax & have fun?
Bless God, His mercies are new every morning! This morning I slept in. If you know me, you know that's rare even when I'm in the States. Surprised to see the sun already up, I got dressed straightaway & headed for the beach hoping to have a little time with God before the tourists dragged their hangovers into the streets. He ministered to my soul in the awesome beauty of His creation & in the last few chapters of Psalms.
Isaac & I determined to have a relaxing, refreshing, fun day. We headed out the front of the hotel to meet a tuk-tuk driver we've been using. We told him we wanted to eat & to enjoy the day. We left the rest to him.
We've had a GREAT time today! Ly (Lie) is a Godsend, to be sure. He took us to places whites don't go. Quiet places. Beautiful places. Fun places. He even took us to his own home! Ly is very much in love with his family & they adore him even more. They were very hospitable. In fact, the whole neighborhood was friendly....or at least curious. Whites don't get to that section of town, so we were quite a draw. They were, as usual, especially fascinated by Isaac because he is so "fiat" (that's fat, which to Khmer indicates any kind of big).
We have finally seen compassion in Cambodia! It came from a poor tuk-tuk driver who recognized weariness & did something about it.
Ain't God funny? He's the best. Or, as Psalm 148 says, "Let them praise the name of the LORD for His name alone is exalted."
I was ashamed of my sin & hated my struggle. All I could do was confess my failing, ask partners to pray & trust God's mercy. Whoda' thought anyone would need God's grace to relax & have fun?
Bless God, His mercies are new every morning! This morning I slept in. If you know me, you know that's rare even when I'm in the States. Surprised to see the sun already up, I got dressed straightaway & headed for the beach hoping to have a little time with God before the tourists dragged their hangovers into the streets. He ministered to my soul in the awesome beauty of His creation & in the last few chapters of Psalms.
Isaac & I determined to have a relaxing, refreshing, fun day. We headed out the front of the hotel to meet a tuk-tuk driver we've been using. We told him we wanted to eat & to enjoy the day. We left the rest to him.
We've had a GREAT time today! Ly (Lie) is a Godsend, to be sure. He took us to places whites don't go. Quiet places. Beautiful places. Fun places. He even took us to his own home! Ly is very much in love with his family & they adore him even more. They were very hospitable. In fact, the whole neighborhood was friendly....or at least curious. Whites don't get to that section of town, so we were quite a draw. They were, as usual, especially fascinated by Isaac because he is so "fiat" (that's fat, which to Khmer indicates any kind of big).
We have finally seen compassion in Cambodia! It came from a poor tuk-tuk driver who recognized weariness & did something about it.
Ain't God funny? He's the best. Or, as Psalm 148 says, "Let them praise the name of the LORD for His name alone is exalted."
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day Off
Last time we tried to take a day off Isaac got violently ill before we even made a real start of it, so we've tried again. We took the Mekong Express Limosine Bus to Sihanouk Ville on the southwest coast. It was a fairly comfortable four-hour ride in "aircon" (air-conditioning). We were served a cool bottle of water & a flat bun, & were able to watch "K-TV" (karioke TV) on a small television which hung over the driver's head.
Two long-legged foreigners on holiday were dissastisfied with their assigned seats in front of us because of lack of room, so moved to the back seat (a bench seat right behind us). The stewardess tried to coax them back into their seats because the rear is her assigned seat, where she stores her bag & her only work space. Unfortunately for her, the Asian culture would not permit her to do as you or I would simply saying, "Sit in your seat or sit in the street." No, no, she was much kinder in her efforts to persuade, but did go so far as to say, "I must sit here for my job." I'm not sure if the foreigners were actually trying to be compromising or just sassy when they offered her a seat between them because half of my attention was toward keeping Isaac from tossing them out the window (He understands the culture & cannot stand a bully in any country). The culture here also prohibits the stewardess from sharing a seat with men as it would be a sign of permiscuousness. She resigned herself to stand for the duration. To help the woman out Isaac moved forward a seat & I told the stewardess she could sit next to me. She was visibly relieved & very appreciative.
The stewardess, Leang, was quite talkative, so once she served the bread & water we enjoyed pleasant conversation. She told me that she is from China, her family moved to Cambodia to work in the province-that is, to work in rice paddies outside of town. Her parents arranged for her to stay with an aunt in Phnom Penh so she could secure a job beyond rice work. She was not allowed to go to school because she is Chinese, but learned khmer & english from her relatives. She makes $18 a month working 15 hours a day with one day off every fourteen to twenty-one days. She gives some to her aunt & some to her parents. You can understand better what Leang's earning by considering that a studio apartment rents for $30 per month (electricity is included but there are no appliances). You can also understand why she was distraught at having last month's pay cut by $3. She received the cut because a costumer complained.
Part of Leang's duty is to make an offering & pray at a buddhist shrine about halfway through the trip. She offered a large bunch of bananas & incense sticks at the roadside shrine praying we would have safe travel & that all passengers would have prosperity. She was very tired, but regularly got up & made light conversation with other passengers, which is also part of her job. In addition, at regular intervals she went to the front of the bus to make announcements in khmer, english & chinese. Announcements such as, "Mekong Express Limosine Bus Service is very sorry & much regret to say water is full, so passengers may wait until Sihanouk Ville to use water closet. So very sorry for inconvenience." (translation: The bucket is full, you'll have to hold it.) Once passengers disembark, it is up to Leang to clean the interior of the bus & prepare it for the next trip.
Leang's greatest concern is that she is not yet married & truly has no time for prospects because of her long work hours. Marrying age here is between 16 & 20 years-old. Those who are not married by their mid-twenties rarely find a mate because they are past child bearing age. Remember, the average life expectantcy is mid-50's, so this thinking isn't really out of line. Because she is Chinese she has no chance of being promoted in her job (eg. working at the ticket desk) & her current position is for "young" women only.
Despite her concerns, Leang considers herself very fortunate. She has a home, a job & food (rice & bits of meat wrapped in leaves...I think it's meat anyway. She offered me a bite, but I wasn't brave enough to accept. Besides, it's customary here to refuse food offered understanding that it's an extravagant gift).
As a gesture of friendship Leang offered me all she could: a bite of her rice roll & two extra moist wipes. I accepted the wipes with much bowing & thanks, a short embrace & a little blessing as we stepped off the bus into a mass of ambitious tuk-tuk & moto drivers pulling at our arms for business. I hope my report to Mekong Express about the wonderful stewardess we enjoyed will bring her salary back up to $18 this month.
Two long-legged foreigners on holiday were dissastisfied with their assigned seats in front of us because of lack of room, so moved to the back seat (a bench seat right behind us). The stewardess tried to coax them back into their seats because the rear is her assigned seat, where she stores her bag & her only work space. Unfortunately for her, the Asian culture would not permit her to do as you or I would simply saying, "Sit in your seat or sit in the street." No, no, she was much kinder in her efforts to persuade, but did go so far as to say, "I must sit here for my job." I'm not sure if the foreigners were actually trying to be compromising or just sassy when they offered her a seat between them because half of my attention was toward keeping Isaac from tossing them out the window (He understands the culture & cannot stand a bully in any country). The culture here also prohibits the stewardess from sharing a seat with men as it would be a sign of permiscuousness. She resigned herself to stand for the duration. To help the woman out Isaac moved forward a seat & I told the stewardess she could sit next to me. She was visibly relieved & very appreciative.
The stewardess, Leang, was quite talkative, so once she served the bread & water we enjoyed pleasant conversation. She told me that she is from China, her family moved to Cambodia to work in the province-that is, to work in rice paddies outside of town. Her parents arranged for her to stay with an aunt in Phnom Penh so she could secure a job beyond rice work. She was not allowed to go to school because she is Chinese, but learned khmer & english from her relatives. She makes $18 a month working 15 hours a day with one day off every fourteen to twenty-one days. She gives some to her aunt & some to her parents. You can understand better what Leang's earning by considering that a studio apartment rents for $30 per month (electricity is included but there are no appliances). You can also understand why she was distraught at having last month's pay cut by $3. She received the cut because a costumer complained.
Part of Leang's duty is to make an offering & pray at a buddhist shrine about halfway through the trip. She offered a large bunch of bananas & incense sticks at the roadside shrine praying we would have safe travel & that all passengers would have prosperity. She was very tired, but regularly got up & made light conversation with other passengers, which is also part of her job. In addition, at regular intervals she went to the front of the bus to make announcements in khmer, english & chinese. Announcements such as, "Mekong Express Limosine Bus Service is very sorry & much regret to say water is full, so passengers may wait until Sihanouk Ville to use water closet. So very sorry for inconvenience." (translation: The bucket is full, you'll have to hold it.) Once passengers disembark, it is up to Leang to clean the interior of the bus & prepare it for the next trip.
Leang's greatest concern is that she is not yet married & truly has no time for prospects because of her long work hours. Marrying age here is between 16 & 20 years-old. Those who are not married by their mid-twenties rarely find a mate because they are past child bearing age. Remember, the average life expectantcy is mid-50's, so this thinking isn't really out of line. Because she is Chinese she has no chance of being promoted in her job (eg. working at the ticket desk) & her current position is for "young" women only.
Despite her concerns, Leang considers herself very fortunate. She has a home, a job & food (rice & bits of meat wrapped in leaves...I think it's meat anyway. She offered me a bite, but I wasn't brave enough to accept. Besides, it's customary here to refuse food offered understanding that it's an extravagant gift).
As a gesture of friendship Leang offered me all she could: a bite of her rice roll & two extra moist wipes. I accepted the wipes with much bowing & thanks, a short embrace & a little blessing as we stepped off the bus into a mass of ambitious tuk-tuk & moto drivers pulling at our arms for business. I hope my report to Mekong Express about the wonderful stewardess we enjoyed will bring her salary back up to $18 this month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)