Survival Skills

It's 12:55am and I'm in a coffee shop somewhere.... time seems to have lost it's meaning lately.  I have no idea what day it is, and I'd have to consult my passport to tell you what country I'm in. (China, I think??)  I should have another espresso.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Here's how it started... /  Es 12:55am y estoy tomando un café por algun lado.  Ultimamente, el tiempo ha perdido todo sentido... no tengo idea que día es y tendría que ver a mi passaporte para decirte en que país estoy.  (Tal vez la China?)  Debo tomar otro café más!  Pero me estoy adelantando.  Comenzó así....

April is always a busy month because of the Memorial and all the auxiliary pioneers.... unfortunately, I spent the first half with a nasty eye infection, and wasn't nearly as busy as I would've liked to have been.  This year the Memorial date fell at the same time as the Cambodian New Year.  A lot of people travel during that holiday season, so the attendance wasn't quite as high as we expected...  but still pretty good. Where I was,  two congregations rented this convention center, with a total attendance of 449 (12 deaf students ).  One brother in my hall rented a truck to provide transportation for some of his return visits, and 40 people came from an outlying area. / Siempre estamos ocupados durante el més de Abril por la conmemoracion y todos los precursores auxilliares... pero lamentablemente yo pasé las primeras semanas en casa con una mala infeccion en mi ojo, y no pude hacer todo lo que queria.  Este año, la fecha de la conmemoracion cayó durante los días feriados del Khmer Año Nuevo.  Muchas personas saben viajar durante este tiempo, entonces la asistencia no fue tan buena como pudiera haber sido... pero de todos modos, no fue tan mal tampoco.  Donde yo estuve, dos congregaciones aquillaron este estadio con una asistencia total de 449 personas (y 12 estudiantes sordos).  Un hermano de mi congregacion fletó a una camionetta y llegaron 40 personas de una zona lejana.

My friend Lynda has some really nice photos online of the memorial celebration in the countryside of Takeo, where she and her husband are pioneering.  If you'd like to have a look, the link is www.littlecubintakeo.blogspot.com   /  Mi amiga Lynda tambien pusó unas fotos chéveres en su blog del Memorial en el pueblo de Takeo, donde sirve con su esposo.  Si quieres ver, puedes hacer click en el link arriba.


Being in Cambodia has meant lots of new things to figure out.  And for the most part, you have to just learn on the job.  My most recently acquired survival skill was:  how to drive a motorcycle in a monsoon.  /  Estar en Camboya ha significado muchas cosas para aprender... y muchos talentos nuevos hay que consiguir para poder sobrevivir! jaja.  Ultimamente, aprendí como manejar a una moto en un diluvio.

I'd never driven in floodwaters like that before, and really had no clue what do.  In the first 2 minutes my bike stalled twice and I nearly got hit by cars.  The entire engine was under water and I didn't even think it was physically possible to keep going!  There were frantic drivers and stranded vehicles everywhere.  Lightning was striking all around the city.  My friend Chelsea was up ahead, and through the sound of pouring rain and blairing car horns was yelling advice over her shoulder.  "KEEP YOUR RPMs UP!!"... "DON'T STOP!!!"  Well, the next spark I could coax from the engine, I did like she said... put it in first gear and pulled back on the gas until the engine was screaming like I'd never heard before.  And..... it worked!  The little bike sputtered, and choked, and... plowed through the water like a jet ski!  It was definitely the best adventure I'd had all day.  / Nunca habia manejado con tanta agua antes, y no tenia idea que hacer.  En los primeros 2 minutos, la moto murrió 2 veces y casi me choquaron.  La maquina estaba completamente hundida en el agua, y no pensé era fisicamente posible para seguir!  Habian carros por todos lados y relampagos cayendo por donde sea.  Mi amiga Chelsea andaba unos metros más adelante y, por la bulla de la luvia estuvo gritandome surejancias.  "HAZ LA MAQUINA CORRER DURO!!" ..."NO TE PARES!!!"  Bueno, hice lo que dijo, y... funcionó! Mi motito chiquito gritó, y luchó, y.... corrió por el agua como una fibra!  Era la mejor adventura que habia tendia todo el día.

I tried to get better pictures of the flooding- snap a few while driving- but they're mostly just a blurry mess.  I took this one when I finally stopped, on the street in front of my house.  It wasn't too bad here.  The  black water in the road is about 12 in deep and the bike is on the sidewalk.  / Intenté tomar mejores fotos de la inundacion, pero no son nada buenas.  Tomé esta cuando por fin paré en la calle en frente de mi casa.  Esta zona no era tan mal.  El agua negra en la calle es como 12 pulgadas de profundo y la moto esta en la vereda. 

Another skill that comes in really handy, is the ability to graciously eat whatever you may be served.  When a sister asked if I 'ate duck', I said "sure!".  But I never imagined that she meant the whole entire duck!  This was a very special meal that our sister had taken a lot of her precious time and money to prepare.  The duck was, crispy.  And the lovely afternoon spent with friends- that was priceless. /  Otro talento útil es saber comer qualquier comida que te sierven.  Cuando una hermana me preguntó se comia pato, dije "claro!".  Pero nunca me imaginé que me iba a dar el pato entero!  Esto era una comida muy especial que nuestra hermana gastó sus valiosos recursos para preparaar.  El pato era, croqante.  Pero una linda tarde con amigos, fue sin precio.

In Cambodia, you learn to be resourceful.   For example, propane gas for the stove is really expensive, so I've been learning to cook food the traditional way; over a charcoal fire built in a one of these terracotta pots. / En Camboya, aprendes a ser creativa.  Por ejemplo, gas para la cocineta puede ser muy caro entonces he estado aprendiendo a cocinar de la manera tradicional.

Sometimes, it's not the money to buy gas that's a problem, as much as finding a way to get tanks of it up onto the roof of my building.   So, when the going gets tough...   I discovered it takes 5 candles and half an hour to make a pot of coffee.  / A veces, el problema no es falta de dinero para el gas, pero falta de maneras hacerlo llegar al techo de mi edeficio.  Entonces, durante los momentos dificiles.... descubrí que necesitas 5 velas y una media hora para hacer un jarro de café. 

I think sometimes as teachers, we wonder how much of what we're saying (or attempting to say, in my case) is really getting through into the minds and hearts of our students.  But a few weeks ago I had a revealing experience... / Creo que como maestros, a veces nos preguntamos cuanto de lo que estamos diciendo (o intentando a decir, en mi caso) relamente esta llegando al fondo del  mente y coraón de nuestros estudiantes.  Pero, hace unas semanas tuve yna experiencia reveladora con uno de mis estudiantes...

In the Cambodian language, the words "Christian" and sometimes "Christendom" can be referred to as "Religion [of] Jesus", which sometimes causes confusion.  During the Watchtower study, my student tapped my arm so that I would see as she wrote the words "LORD JESUS" in big letters at the top of the page, with a cross next to it...  /  En el idioma Camboyano las palabras "cristiano" y a veces hasta "cristianismo" se puede traducir como "religion de Jesus", y a veces esto puede ser un poco confuso para los estudiantes.   Durante un estudio de la Atalaya, me llamó la atencio para que la mirara mientras ella escribe "SEÑOR JESUS" en letras grandes, con una cruz al lado...

...and then she proceeded to confidently draw a big "X" through it!  ("WRONG!" she signs to me)  Then she points to the picture of the church and puts a big "X" through that too.  Finally she circles the pictures of the person in the foreground, turns to me with a smile, and gives a HUGE 'two-thumbs-up' sign.  It was so unexpected and funny that I almost laughed out loud!  I knew what she meant to say.... but I also wanted to make it clear that actually Jesus is not bad.  We do not need to cross-out his name in the magazine; only avoid those who misrepresent him.  She rolled her eyes at me.  "I know" she said "I understand the bible now!"  (hehe)  It was absolutely adorable. / ...entonces, con confianza, ella lo rayó con un "X" grande.  ("MALO!" me dijo)  Despues, señaló la foto de la iglesia y la  tachó con un "X" tambien.  Fianalmente dibujó un circulo alrededor del hermano en la foto, y me miró con una sonrisa gigante y señaló dos pulgares ariba, como decir "BIEN!"  Era tan chistoso que casi empezé a carcajar en voz alta!  Yo sabía lo que ella queria decir pero tambien queria dejar claro que Jesus no es malo.  No tenemos que tachar su nombre de la revista.  Solo cuidarnos de las personas quienes no enseñan la verdad sobre el.  Ella me ruedó su ojos.  "Yo sé" me dijo "Yo entiendo la biblia ahora!".  jaja  Ella es linda.

This has been a month for parties too.   There are some friends who're leaving soon, and also my congregation (Toul Kork) is going to divide, starting in May.  The two new congregations will be called Tuk T'La and Phnom Pehn Tmey.  In 2 years and 8 months, the city has gone from having 2 congregations to 5; and it already looks like there's more on the way!  So, we've had a few gatherings to say our goodbyes to eachother...  / Tambien ha sido un mes para fiestas.  Unos hermanos se van a otros partes, y tambien mi congregacion (Toul Kork) se divide en Mayo.  Las dos congregaciones nuevas se llaman Tuk T'La y Phnom Pehn Tmey.  En 2 años y 8 meses, la ciudad ha ido de 2 congregaciones a 5, y parece que pronto puede haber aún más!  Entonces, tuvimos unas fiestas para despedirnos...

This was my goodbye dinner. / Esto fue mi despedida.

If you're reading this, then you probably already know about the reasons that are taking me back to the US for a while..... / Si estas leyendo esto,  probablemente ya sabes las rasones que  me llevan a los Estados Unidos por un tiempo...

Since I'd been planning on moving apartments next month anyway,  I decided to condense my life into this pile of boxes and leave it all in storage while I'm gone.  So, before I knew it, my bags were packed and it was time to go... / Habia planeado cambiar departamentos el proximo mes, entonces decidí reducir a mi vida a esta montón de cartones y dejarlo guardado mientras no estoy.  Tan rapido, mis malletas estaban hechas,y llegó la hora de partir... 

I'd gotten a really great deal on a flight leaving from Bangkok, so I traveled overland to Thailand.  On the way, I stopped to spend a few days with friends in Battambang.  This is the missionary home, where I stayed; A charming old wooden house, left over from the French Colonial era.    

The downstairs is used as the kingdom hall. / la parte de abajo es un salon del reino. 

I spent some time out in service there.  These kids were adorable. /  Fui a predicar con los hermanos.  Estos niños eran lindos. 

And just observing scenes of typical Cambodian country life. /  Simplemente observando escenas de la vida tipica en el campo. 

While out in service, we passed a nice family who make their living by selling roasted rats on the side of the road.  One rat costs $200 Cambodian Riel; the equivalent of about $.05 US.  So, you can imagine they've got to catch & cook a lot of rodents in order to pay the bills.  And, of course, being the friendly people that they were, they wanted to give us a little sample.  And so....  I hate to admit this, but it was actually good; as in good enough to eat again.  (Possibly even on purpose next time! haha) / En la predicacion, nos pasamos a una familia que vende ratas asadas al lado de la carretera.  Una rata cuesta $200 Rieles Camboyanas- que equivale casi  5 centavos Americanos.  Entonces, puedes imaginar que ellos tiene que consiguir y cocinar muchas, muchas ratas para ganarse la vida.  Y, como eran personas muy amambles, nos querian regalar uno para probar.  Entonces... Me da cositas decirtelo, pero era rica- rica como, para comerlo de nuevo!  (posiblemente a proposito la proxima vez!) jaja

...and so 4 days, 3 bus rides, 54 hours of airports, and one armed border conflict later, I'd wake-up in America again.  / ...entonces 4 días, 3 buses, 54 horas de areopuertos, y un conflicto armado en la frontera despues,  me despiertaría en los estados Unidos nuevamente.

So long Cambodia.  Next stop, South Carolina... 

 Hasta la vista Camboya.  Proxima parada, Carolina del Sur...