Friday, February 26, 2010

Masks, Weddings, Laughter and License Plates


There is never a boring day over here. Even menial, daily tasks can become adventuresome and something new is always experienced. For instance, in one second I fully realized why so many wear masks (like surgical masks) outside over here. I was driving the moto and a large truck passed. He kicked up much of the dust and sand from the side of the road and in an instant my gum was filled with tiny particles of sand. Yum. Another thing to get used to is how weddings are celebrated here. Picture the second busiest road in your town. Is it a major artery for your city? Great. Now imagine a young couple in love is going to be getting married. So the family rents a large awning to set up tables, chairs, dance floor, music, food...etc. Where better to set it up? Why don't we take up half of the street in front of our house? Perfectly logical, right? That is exactly what they do here. At least half of the width of major streets are bottle necked by wedding tents, elaborately decorated in pink and yellow. The next thing I am recognizing is just how out of place I/we must seem to the Khmai. Fair skinned, light hair yet we don't go home like most westerners. We just keep showing up. One thing that always garners a laugh from the locals is a new phrase I learned. It is: "bien moto high" (strictly phonetic...I couldn't attempt to write Khmai and I am sure you wouldn't be able to read it). It means "I have a moto" and is used while pointing in the general direction of your moto. I use it when walking out of a market when invariably there are a half dozen moto and/or tuk tuk drivers ready to bring tourists to their next destination. It is probably the last phrase they are expecting to hear come out of my mouth. They always laugh and smile.
The last thing that I will share with you this time is my license plate story. There is so much to the story but I will just hit the highlights. The purchase of the moto (found on the "The Moto" post) was only the beginning. When purchased, the dealer gives you a record of import tax paid since there is no sales tax. Then within 15 days, the seller has to accompany you to the license plate place to verify the authenticity of the transaction. So I showed up at the sellers at 7:45 this morning. I had all of the appropriate documentation including passport, visas, signed proof of address, proof of employment, $50, sales receipt...I think that was it. Then I took off on my moto following Meng, the son of the owner of the shop, on his moto. That in and of itself was a challenge. He was weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, up onto sidewalks and through some less than green lights. Nonetheless I made it to the right location right behind him. That definitely boosted my driving confidence. So we pull up to an open air but covered waiting area with 120+ people and there is not another fair skinned person anywhere. That doesn't bother me at all since we are in Cambodia. I walk in and I feel so out of place yet at peace. Out of place because every sign, every form, every name tag is completely illegible to me and at peace because this is right where we are supposed to be. To give you a little indication, the font on the top of the license plate says "Phnom Penh" in Khmai and that is the font that everything is in. As one of the brothers that works at the moto shop was filling out all of my paperwork for me, I was told the wait would be about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. Then about 40 min into my wait, the guy who filled out my paperwork for me motioned for me to follow him. I then got up, followed him past the row of windows with the workers, through offices in the back, up some stairs, along an outdoor corridor and into an office. The man in the office looked important as he had pictures of himself shaking presumably the prime minister's and king's hands. After short dialogue in Khmai (not with me) I gave my thumbprint on a couple more documents we went back downstairs. Much to my pleasant surprise, about 15 min later I was out the door (or gate) with my new plates. I don't really question what happened, I just know where I am going for my next moto.
These definitely are interesting times and we are embracing the differences and appreciate the opportunities to share them with you. Blessings!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

A view from Chapel


This is a video clip of a Middle/High School chapel service at Logos. The kids have chapel twice a month. It is usually comprised of worship, fun and a teaching. We joined them a week and a half ago and enjoyed it. The video is a shot from the 4th floor cafeteria of Logos where the chapel time takes place. This is also where our church is held. It is a strange mix of beauty and poverty. I hope you Enjoy. Blessings!!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Jog-a-Thon 2010






Today we participated in the Logos Jog-a-thon. The 300+ kids at Logos ran a course, different based upon age group, to try and raise money for the school. It was an amazing time to meet people and connect with kids. Carolyn spent a lot of the time taking pictures for the event and scooping ice cream, I ran with all of the students, Alex, Abby and Calli ran and Cameron just got to play around. The course for the middle/high school went outside of the school's walls and weaved throughout some very poor areas. It was enjoyable to run by families with kids as they paused to watch all of the students run by. I greeted many of them in their indigenous tongue which always makes them smile. Overall the event was a success. It raised much needed funds for the playground and many other important items. The playground at Logos has a lot of fun equipment but the surface under the play equipment is concrete so the added funds will be very welcome.

Monday, February 15, 2010

The Moto





So we finally became independently mobile. We purchased a moto last weekend. Before I let you know how it all happened let me fill you in on motos real quick. Motos are to Phnom Penh as ants are to picnics. They are as plentiful and look equally as random in their traffic patterns. Since they are so small, agile and quick, they don't seem to feel the need to observe a lot of the traffic laws. Going the wrong way down streets, not stopping for red lights...etc. What are we getting ourselves into? So anyway, Alex and I set out last Saturday to look at a moto. We both hopped on to the back of a moto that a Christian Khmai man was driving. He works with a OMF (Overseas Missionary Fellowship) here and has a lot of insight on where to get good deals on motos. So he took us to a "dealership" in toward the middle of the city. We looked at one the owner of the shop had in mind for us (pre-arranged by the man taking us there) and it seemed like a very reliable one. We settled on a price that was very good and after graciously declining an offer from the shop owner to have "Chinese New Year" dinner with he and his family, Alex and I were off. Now is the time I should tell you that the last time I drove a motorcycle was about 25 years ago. It was a small one that we used to buzz around my grandpas farm on. Now is also the time I should mention that for Alex and I to reach the helmet shop, we have to drive on what may be arguably Phnom Penh's busiest street. With that context, imagine us entering traffic. I am sure it was interesting to say the least. Two caucasian males, no helmets riding a moto in a less than impressive way. Nonetheless, we reached our destination and purchased 2 helmets. Since then we have had one stolen, re-purchased and then purchased a helmet that fits Cameron so he can ride as well. It has really helped as we don't have to rely on tuk tuks as much (although we do have to use one when the whole family is going anywhere). It comes in very handy though for running to the store, date nights for Carolyn and Me, bringing one kid to school for an activity...etc. In fact, today Carolyn, Cameron and I rode it deep into the city for some errands. It can be a little nerve racking at times but as I am getting more used to driving it, the nerves get a little rest. Now my nerves are focusing on Alex as he is learning how to drive it. Makes me thankful we are all in God's hands.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A run in with the law

The title makes this post seem a little more exciting than it really is. Basically I got a traffic ticket today but there are a few details that do make it interesting. To start, I will explain how the traffic cops work over here. Each morning groups of cops are dropped off on random corners and streets throughout the city. Then they wait until they see someone "breaking the law" (I will explain quotes later) and when they spot someone, they walk out into traffic, step in front of your vehicle, blow their whistle and point to the side of the road. Then they will proceed to explain to you what you did and a final price for the fine is negotiated and agreed upon. Weird, I know. The quotes earlier were because often times no law was actually broken. Sometimes westerners will be pulled over because the cops assume you have money and you may not know all of the rules and may be willing to pay more. In fact I was told I may get pulled over 3-4 times my first month here. We are 3 weeks in and this was my first time so not bad.
So this gets us back to my story. I was driving into town with Carolyn and Cameron. I proceeded to enter an intersection on a green light which turned yellow as I was in the middle. Once through, an officer stepped in front of our car (only going about 5 mph because of heavy traffic) and motioned for me to pull over. I did. He came to Carolyn's window and I greeted him in Khmai with a smile and he returned the greeting. He then talked for about 2-3 min in Khmai with me smiling and saying I don't understand at each pause. So finally the moment of truth came: negotiating the amount of the fine. When I heard him say in understandable english that the fine would be $10 I politely looked at him, smiled and said "there is no way I am paying $10". The gauntlet had been thrown down :). He then replied, "Okay, how much will you pay?" I said I would pay no more than $2. He then said that that would be fine. So I gave him a $20 bill and he made change for me. The whole thing was hilarious and not nearly as intense as the story may sound. Traffic cops here make their living off of fines. The more they can get the more they make. We were told never pay full asking price for a fine and NEVER over $5. After we paid up, I smiled and said thank you and good-bye in my best Khmai, he returned the sentiment and reached in and shook my hand. The whole experience was fun, interesting and one I will remember for a long time. Thanks for sharing it with me!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Haircuts and Red Lights






Today was a productive day. We got an unusable vehicle towed back to our house from the mechanic still unfixed (hope that's a word) because the mechanic is taking 2 weeks off for the Chinese new year. Then Cameron and I went to get haircuts (see included pictures). That is a big splurge over here and frankly I spent twice what I had planned on spending. And for Cameron, even though he is just 5, his haircut was still half what I paid. I was shocked. Our total bill once we were all said and done, including haircut and shave for me and haircut for Cameron, was $3. See, I was planning on only $1 for myself but I had to go and include a shave with mine which doubled my bill to a whopping $2. Then tack on another $1 for Cameron and our whole haircutting budget was blown. From there we went to open up our new bank accounts. That took a while as most new accounts do even without language barriers. Our banker spoke pretty good English and we could say hello, good-bye and thank you in Khmai so that made things flow a lot easier. From there we had to run into the city to pick up some household necessities. Once in the city it began to dawn on me. I think this is the only place I have been where I feel out of place and a little like the odd one out when I stop at red lights and stay that way until the light turns green. I think traffic lights are viewed here as a loose suggestion or a courteous reminder rather than a mandate. At any given 4-way stop there are cars, bikes, motos, buses, vans, pedestrians, ox carts…etc coming from all 4 directions. And all yield way to the Escalades, Lexus and Mercedes that are driven by the wealthy upper class. Traffic over here truly takes a lot of getting used to. From there we went to pick up the girls from school and then home for dinner and homework. I will be having a conference call tonight with our CEO and chairman of the board tonight to discuss our new Hospitality House.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Superbowl Monday?

Superbowl Sunday was a bit different for us this year than it has been in the past. We'll set aside the fact that we are trying to assimilate in a 3rd world country and really everything is different. So Superbowl Sunday started out like any other. We woke up, went to church, had lunch and then I went to the market with my family. That didn't seem right seeing as how it was the day of the Superbowl and all. But nonetheless, we hung out afterwards and got Alex ready to go to High School Bible camp this week. He ended up riding away from our house with a friend of his on a moto to spend the night at the boys home. Alex and all the boys were planning on walking to school in the morning to catch the bus for the 5hr trip to bible camp. We are so excited for him. But that still leaves us sitting at home on Super Sunday without a game to watch. Quite an adjustment as I was not relishing nor resenting a win or loss, I was preparing to meet some friends at a sports bar at 6:15 Monday morning. Superbowl Monday! It was actually quite enjoyable. Different but good. There were many expats there watching the game and the restaurant capitalized on it. They had special menus printed up with the Superbowl logo and special prices, higher than normal Khmai prices for food. I had a bacon cheeseburger (at 6:45 a.m.) and it was worth the inflated $6 price. And for those who are reading this and may be a little more on the legalistic side, I will have you know that I did not have a beer at that early hour...although it was 5:00 somewhere.
So we watched the game and it was good. The satellite feed was really consistent with one problem. We got the whole game but it was on ESPN out of Thailand so we got exactly zero of the highly anticipated commercials. Every single commercial (EVERY ONE) was an ESPN commercial. We also got football (soccer) and cricket updates...thrilling. Regardless, we enjoyed the game and I got my fix of AMERICAN football. God does care about the little things.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Take Take a Tuk Tuk

We had a great opportunity to adapt to some unforeseen circumstances today. The vehicle that we are temporarily using is just slightly unreliable. So today when we went to leave to pick up the kids from school, it wouldn't start. My natural response when this happens is to turn the key again, this time with more force because if the car knows you mean business then maybe it will start. Well I tried that to no avail. My next step is to open the hood and start jiggling wires around and maybe pull on a few hoses because I am sure that will fix the problem. Well, I am sure you will all be surprised to know that it still didn't start after all of that work I did on it. So finally, after burning about 10 minutes, I acquiesced to Carolyn's original request which was to call our favorite tuk tuk driver to go get the kids from school. So 2 weeks after getting here, thousands of miles from our old home and everything familiar, we called Vibol to pick up our kids. Carolyn's mother instincts were out and she was a little anxious but when they showed up at home, even sooner than we thought, all of our fears were calmed. God showed himself faithful to us again.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Cameron and a makeshift beday



It could very well be that Cameron is having the most culture shock out of all of us. Don't get me wrong, he really is adjusting wonderfully. Whenever asked, he enjoys it here, largely due in part to his new 4-legged friend that was awaiting our arrival. That being said, since he is the youngest and the only one of us who hadn't visited here before, he was the least prepared. Here are a few examples of things that are rocking his world a bit. First, being a fair skinned, fair haired boy, people feel the liberty to let their hands glide through his hair as he walks by or tickle him under the chin, all without warning. Another thing that is unusual for him is the way we cross streets here. Crosswalks? Nope. If you want to cross a busy street, just start slowly walking. Cars and motos move around you in front and once you get out far enough they start going behind you until you are across. This can be a little unnerving at first as an adult but picture all of these cars and motos coming at you at 3 1/2 feet tall. He does very well with it, though. Now the piece de resistance happened today for Cameron. (Disclaimer: The following may be a little graphic for some :). We were at a store today and Cameron had to go to the bathroom and he had to...um, we'll just say he had to "sit". So once he had already started I was frantically scanning the bathroom for toilet paper. Once I realized there was nothing resembling a roll of soft fluffy paper, I quickly re-scanned the room for anything that would double as toilet paper (ie. paper towel, tissue, pamphlet, brochure, leaf...etc.). There was nothing. That is when I spotted the "kitchen sink sprayer" hanging on the wall next to the toilet. I tried to break it to him slowly that there was no paper and that we would have to use the sprayer hanging next to him. Talk about culture shock, let alone other types of shock. Nonetheless, he handled it fine and we both kinda laughed about it on our way out.
So there you go. A glimpse into adjusting to a 3rd world culture through the eyes of a 5 year old. I can't wait to see him in a year or 2. He will probably be fluent and able to get around better than any of us.
By the way, I am including a pic of Cameron with our dog Hanah instead of a pic of him in any of the other above situations. Blessings.