I knew traveling to Asia would be quite the learning curve, but I could not have anticipated the vast cultural differences. Firstly, Khmer is the language spoken here, and it is nothing like English. The majority of our communication comes down to expression and tone of voice which has been a good challenge. Despite the language barrier, we are still able to worship the Lord together. The Holy Spirit has provided a unity here that I have never witnessed before. In the community we pray together, read and discuss Scripture together, and sing and dance together as one body in Christ. A few community members translate which is very helpful, but oftentimes we raise our voices up at the same time in our different languages and it is so moving.
Also, the environment is very different from the US. I definitely expected this, but it is really cool to experience it in person. My team, along with one other team, is staying at a school facility called YDC. There is a building on site that houses a few staff members that we also stay at. We do have bunk beds which is nice. We do not have AC, and everything is open to the outside for airflow, but we do have fans! The bathroom situation has been very interesting. They do not typically use toilet paper here, they use badets which has been interesting. They also do not typically use soap or hand sanitizer to clean their hands after using the bathroom(yes, we did buy some for ourselves because we couldn’t go without). This is why they use their right hands for almost everything, they consider the left hand to be dirty, so we have learned to avoid using our left hands for things like high fives. We also take our shoes off before entering rooms… This is very important or else you’ll get some dirty looks. These are little changes to our American habits, but it can be hard to adjust when you are so used to doing things a certain way for such a long time. The thing that has surprised me the most about Cambodia is the level of cleanliness. Everything is much dirtier than I expected, and it is hard to stay clean. It doesn’t help that we are sweating 24/7 because it is so humid and feels like it is 110 almost every day! Coming out of the Minnesota winter season, the hot weather has been quite difficult for me. It is a struggle to stay hydrated, and it is quite a jaunt to fill up jugs of drinking water. But I cannot complain. I love that this is all getting me out of my comfort zone and giving me a new perspective and gratitude. It has been amazing to watch my team adapt to the ways of life of the Khmer people!
Outside of the cultural habits, I absolutely love the vegetation here. The team loves to sit in the hammocks in the hut while looking at the coconut trees. My favorite part of the day is playing soccer while the sun is setting over the field… it never fails to take my breath away.
I must say the animals are very interesting. There are chickens and stray dogs running around everywhere, and there are cows pooping on the field while we play soccer. And one day I turn around, and there is a black scorpion on the floor right behind me!!! The geckos hang out next to me while I’m trying to sleep, and the ants and beetles get into everything. I have really enjoyed experiencing the different environment, especially being that we live in a very rural area with little to no service. We have learned to appreciate and enjoy our surroundings and people around us rather than sticking our heads in our phones. I could not be more grateful to be forced to stay present and enjoy this opportunity the Lord has blessed me with.
