In Cambodia!

I'm in Poipet, Cambodia, now!  That means several things ....

1. I won't have great internet access from now on, I think.

2.  I get to start working tomorrow!

3. I'm going to take Khmer lessons ... how awesome is that?!

So, to stay in touch, you can always email me, or here is my mailing address ...

Sarah Wineland

c/o Cambodian Hope Organization (CHO)

House 168A Group 01

National Road 5

Poipet City, Banteay Meanchey Province, CAMBODIA

Please don't send packages to this address ... they almost definitely won't reach me.  So if you reallllly want to, email me and we can figure something out :). Thank you !! 

I also have a Skype number that you can call to leave me voicemail: (804) 435-5190.  For now that's all it does but I may be able to expand that in the future ... or you can always get on Skype and see if I'm on (which I probably won't be!): belikethestars.

We crossed the border into Cambodia from Thailand, and immediately there is a big difference.  The people are much darker (they work in the sun more) and it is evident that they are poorer. Most of the people I see were affected by the Khmer Rouge in some way or another, especially in that most of them probably had family killed by them.  The director of CHO himself worked in a labor camp under the Khmer Rouge, as most people his age did.  And many of the families served by CHO are former Khmer Rouge, as Poipet was one of the last provinces to be involved in the civil war.  Pol Pot's wife lives here. Crazy.  But what a neat opportunity to be here. I hope I can be helpful in some capacity!

Also ... I want to apologize to everyone who tried to fit in a phone conversation or dinner before I left.  I was sick the two weeks before I flew out and spent most of the time in bed feeling awful. I wasn't ignoring you!  And I want to stay in touch!

Sawat Dee Kaa, Thailand!

Well.... I am in Thailand!! I keep putting off posting already because I want to go out and do things. But it's 5:50 pm, and I'm meeting Matt & Nori and some boys from TearFund UK for dinner at 8, so that's not much time to do anything, really. So I will post!

I have no idea where to begin. I've only been here two days, dazed with jet lag, and it feels like it's been a week! I suppose I'll start from the beginning ...

My parents and Chris were nice enough to drive me up to DC Saturday to spend the night at Aunt Lizzie's, which was the biggest blessing, considering she's right next to Reagan airport. (I might add that my brother Robert kicked butt in his wrestling meet on Saturday and pinned all 4 guys he wrestled. Heck yeah!) We got to the airport the recommended two hours early, but it was practically empty, so Dad parked, and they spent about an hour and a half with me in the airport just hanging out. I can't tell you how much that meant to me!

I flew two hours to Chicago, then 12 hours to Tokyo with a 2 hour layover. By the time I got to Tokyo, I felt completely awful. My head hurt, I was congested still, I'd gotten hardly any sleep the past few nights (about 2 hours - no kidding) and my stomach felt weird. Just as we started boarding, I realized I need to vomit, so I ran to the bathroom, got it over with, and ran onto the plane. I slept for almost the entire 6 hour flight to Bangkok. The entire trip, I felt so nervous, perhaps because I've never been to Asia and didn't know what to expect, and partly because I hate being away from Chris. But as soon as I landed, I felt at peace. Matt & Nori Turinski, Australians who work at CHO, picked me up at the airport around midnight and we took a taxi about 30 minutes to the center of the shopping district (near MBK and Paragon and other malls - it is HUGE), where our hotel, Bed & Breakfast Inn, is located. It's only 600 baht a night ($18.18). Pretty basic, but clean, and right next to all of the hustle and bustle - perfect!

On Tuesday, Matt & Nori took me around the shopping centers to pick up a few necessities that we won't find in Poipet as it's a small town. In the evening, I met up with Rolf Kleinfeld, a former Nazarene youth pastor who's lived in Thailand with his wife Debbie for the past four years (and Cambodia before that). It was so crazy to see him here - I think he felt the same way! I love how small the world is - I feel like God is very much taking care of me in the small things. It was fabulous to spend the evening catching up and getting tips for living in Cambodia. He's fluent in Thai and Khmer ... totally jealous :).

Today (Wednesday) we tried to buy a Thai phone for me so I can have internet at home, but apparently the prices have gone up (they are asking $100 at least), so we are going to try to find older (cheaper) models in Cambodia. I have to buy a Thai phone for internet access (but totally worth it, I think) and a Cambodian phone for practical use. But the good news is that this means I can text Rolf and my friend Annabelle (also a global BC student) in Thailand AND my friends Susie (Rolf's daughter) and Cheryl (another global BC student) in Cambodia. So fun!!! :)

I feel like I haven't done anything exciting yet. The past two days, I've really just been taking it easy and getting small things done to make life easier in Poipet (grocery shopping, phone stuff, buying a belt because my pants are falling down ... awesome). But Matt & Nori have offered to let me rent a room in their house, which is so wonderful! I am completely ecstatic about that. This means that I won't have to live in a hotel, that my housing/food costs will be very cheap, and that I won't be living alone. AMAZING. That was the biggest thing I was worried about. Rolf mentioned last night that something like 70% of the things we worry about don't come true. And so far this trip has proved that over and over. Perhaps there is a big lesson to be learned here (Chris is probably agreeing to this out loud as he reads it!).

This afternoon, I decided to do a bit of exploring and go visit the Jim Thompson house. Turns out it's about a ten minute walk from my hotel. So much for venturing out!! Jim Thompson, in short, developed the Thai silk industry in the 40s through the 60s and is the most famous "farang" (foreigner) in all of Thailand, according to the guidebooks. Everyone here knows who he is. (See this website for all of the details! It's very interesting - look at the pictures and "The Life and Legend" section. http://www.jimthompsonhouse.org/) He built a huge, very beautiful home (he was an architect) composed of six separate buildings right on the canal. Anyway, he just so happens to be my grandfather's uncle as well, so I've grown up hearing stories about this mysterious and adventurous man. Needless to say, I was so excited to finally visit his house! He disappeared in Malaysia in 1967 and no one knows what happened to him. I was surprised to realize how big of a deal he is here, still.


I am so incredibly excited to be here. I feel like my heart is going to burst because I just can't believe that I am here in Asia, and that it is so beautiful and exciting and completely different than anything else I've experienced. I'm still pretty sure I'm dreaming. I've learned "hello" (kind of spelled saswat dee in English) and "thank you" (kind of spelled khorb koon in English) (http://www.learningthai.com/useful_phrases.html - you can hear them here!). I have to put a "kaa" at the end of both of the phrases because I'm female (haven't figured out why yet). I think about six Thai girls today told me I was very cute. Funny ... they are so beautiful!

The most difficult thing about traveling for me is that I experience such amazing and life-changing things, but no one I love is with me to experience it as well. It completely kills me that I can't share this with any of my friends and family (though I of course make new friends on the way). So ... people, start traveling with me!!

By the way, I am reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, and it's AMAZING. SERIOUSLY. Go buy it right now.

I think that is it for now. We are heading to Poipet tomorrow, and I will probably move into the Turinskis house sometime this weekend (I cannot believe my luck!). I miss you all - thank you everyone for being so wonderful about staying in touch and letting me know that I am loved. It means a lot when I am on the other side of the world!! (7,000 miles away, to be exact!)