Since arriving in the kingdom of Cambodia on January 12th of this year, you might say that a few teensy things have changed for us. We call it the new normal….
barefoot all the time- teaching, church, friends, home
roosters, stray cows, filthy dogs, roasted pig heads, geckos, snakes, mosquitoes!
rice 3 times a day at least
no sour cream, Starbucks or Chili’s chips and salsa
2-3 showers a day
can fill up our moto tank for $1.50 every 2 weeks
unlocked I-Phones FINALLY
data on my phone for $1 a week
sounding like a 3 year old when speaking
year round school with children in uniforms
tuk-tuks, cylos, mopadops, and motos
gorgeous fruits and vegetables- rombatans, lychees, pomelos, dragon fruit
filtered and bottled water
dust, dust, dust, dust, dust, dust
air conditioning ONLY AT NIGHT
Spraying your whole body with OFF before you jump in bed
Bug bites everywhere
kilometers and kilograms instead of miles and pounds
wishing you had paid better attention in math when they discussed the metric system
no mail
3 English speaking channels- America’s Top Model, American Idol and BBC CNN
no Ohio State football
Whole series of Downton Abbey for $1.25
beautiful, colorful weddings that last for days
even longer funerals with monks chanting round the clock for days
pepperoni pizza is “hot dog” pizza
right hand turns from the farthest left lane ignoring opposing traffic
being pointed and laughed at
very patient Khmer teachers and co-workers
language tutors who speak better English than you do
red lights and greens are merely suggestions
police?
being the only one stopped by the police amidst hundreds of Khmer on motos
banged up knees and elbows
learning to submit to husband when riding a moto at 59 years old
will we have internet this week?
getting up in the middle of the night to see our kids and grandkids faces on Facetime
power outages
no hot water- everything washed in cold
no dryers- hard crunchy towels
helmet hair
wanting to take home every child sex trafficked
poverty, filth, trash, sewage, decay
pleading with God every day to deliver this nation from sin and pour out His salvation
did I mention, Ohio State football?