Sohm Toh for Not Writing!

Hello everyone!  I am so sorry for being such an awful blogger. I had no idea how slow my internet would be and how tired I'd be at the end of every day!  I am hoping, however, to catch you all up slowly.  I won't be able to post any pictures until I get back home, since there is no hope of doing that with my internet! 

I am now officially at my halfway point - very strange.  Definitely not a long enough time. 

Anyway, I will try to post  a little bit every day to catch you all up on my life these past few months!  

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!)

Asi es la vida ...

I have to be honest here; I had forgotten how difficult it is to live in a foreign country, especially because I'm female. The independence one has when living in the US is taken for granted. And the little things, like being able to drink the water, or walking down the street without watching every step to avoid stepping in something disgusting ...

And especially being able to communicate well! I guess I was assuming my Spanish would take off where I left it three years ago in Costa Rica. It just takes time, but wow, is it ever frustrating to try to sound like an intelligent human being! I get so tongue-tied! I can read Spanish wonderfully. Listening to it, however, is another story, and speaking it well (with all the vocabulary that I know) is so difficult. I know I have a lot in the Spanish compartment of my brain, but darnit, it just won't come out sometimes (ok, a lot of the time!).

I'm fine. I like being here. I just hate the loss of independence. I guess I don't always do well with situations that humble me without my consent. :)

Pray for my comprehension and ability to learn fast and to communicate. And for my drive to continue to study and my energy. Thinking and communicating in Spanish zaps me!

Off to go be with the girls :) ...

Ir de Compras y La Puerta Cerrada

Marta y yo - finally!!! Mom and Nana have sponsored her for years.


This is Heidi ... at least that's what her name sounds like!!

Still raining ... well, hay muchas lloviznas (drizzle). Not really the warm tropical weather I was hoping for! Classes were good today as well. We went over indefinite articles and things like that. Argh, it's so detailed when you really start to study. Que frustrante. Hondurans seem to talk much faster than I remember Costa Ricans doing ... oh well!


After classes, Ashley and Valerie, volunteers at the Home, took me to the mall to get a cell phone and to the grocery store (food!!!). We had to take a taxi there and back. I forgot how frustrating it is to feel trapped by being an American (it's unsafe to travel alone). Really funny: Ashley went to college with and is friends with John Nunn, a guy I kinda grew up with. Small world....

Tonight the group from Alabama made spaghetti and garlic bread. I think I'm eating more American food than Honduran! I have had my share of refried beans, tortillas, and mantequilla (kind of like sour cream).

The girls are so wonderful. Three more came to the Home today and they are expecting two more soon. Wow. I wish you could all come and just be with them. I'll have to post some pictures. :)

OH ... I locked my keys in my room today, too. Wonderful. I think it took eight people, Honduran & American, to open it!

Word of the day: hipo - hiccup


Marta y Heidi on the soccer field/gym



Marta and her sister, whose name I've forgotten...


And I am having an awful time trying to arrange the pictures on here! I don't remember how I did it! From L-R: Fanny, me, Marta, y Sondra.








Sondra, Marta, Fanny, y Melissa ! I am learning names slowly ... when there are sixty girls it takes some time!!

Vanessa!

Little Girls and Language School

Day 2 of Honduras! I arrived yesterday completely exhausted but without problems. Kevin Perez, director of the language school, picked me up at the airport and took me to meet Julia Ortiz, one of our sponsored girls, at her house. She's 23 and done college, so she's working as an accountant of sorts. It was so wonderful to meet her after almost ten years of writing letters and seeing pictures. I couldn't believe it! She's beautiful and shorter than even me. I'm looking forward to being friends.

Kevin showed me around the compound, but I'm still lost somewhat. There is a school here and a bilingual school as well (Holy Family Bilingual School - for the Honduran kids). The girls of Our Little Roses (Nuestras Pequeñas Rosas) live downstairs in dorm-type rooms. Tias ("aunts") come and take care of the girls (I'm not sure if they live here or just have specific hours), but they all watch out for each other as well. There are 60 girls here now, from a 1-year-old to the twenty-year-olds in the transition houses down the street. I'm living on the second floor in the building next to the girls' dorms. Next door are houses upon houses (well, tin shacks) of squatters. The difference between those who have enough and those who don't are stark.

The girls are wonderful, loving, and so happy. This is the way it should be. This is what Christians should be doing more often.

A group from Alabama (I think) is here for a week. They come at least once a year, and they just adore the girls. They made us a dinner of hotdogs and chips last night, and we played soccer and a type of dodgeball. Oh! I met Marta as well! She's our other sponsored girl. She's 11 and very friendly. She dragged me around everywhere last night and sat next to me at lunch today and made me read several children's books to work on my Spanish.

I started classes with Kevin today - just the basics to review. It's wonderful! I have four hours a day of classes by myself. I think I'm going to learn a heck of a lot here. I met several volunteers from the US and one from Holland today as well - they're here teaching classes in English at the bilingual school.

I think I'm falling in love already ... though I'm frustrated that none of my friends or family is here to share it with me. I'm sure I'll be back.

Ok, I'm off to unpack and go tutor girls in English. Go look at the website of the school: www.ourlittleroses.org.

Palabras del día (I like random):
Estrellar - to crash into
el arpa - the harp
resaltador - highlighter

Chao y Dios les bendiga :)

Week of March 26-April 1

A famous American journalist and author, David Lamb, said in his book The Africans that the only time an African is in a hurry is when he is behind a wheel. The Ugandan is no exception. Little wonder then that in spite of having the lowest vehicle per capita ratio in the world, our continent also lays claim to a fatal accident rate that is ten times higher than that of London and New York. Sensible car driving has simply refused to blend with our culture….

Once on the road, what matters most is confidence. Learn to sneer at other drives and in a traffic jam, ask the fellow disputing the lane with you if he just bought his license, unlike you who passed the driving test. When you approach a junction, never leave any empty space in front of you. Whether you can clear the junction or not, enter it anyway. A thick jam will build up on your side. Regard it and nod with satisfaction. Then look behind you in the rearview mirror and behold the nice, long snakelike jam growing longer by the second. Savour this all, take a deep breath and smile. Roll up your windows to close out the impatient hooting as the fellows you have blocked build up blood pressure like yours.

Like the British, we keep left while driving. But that is only while driving on a straight stretch. At junctions, left and right stop making sense – just take the shortest straight line to your objective. Jam on the breaks when you are almost head-on with the fellow from the opposite direction who insists on keeping left. What are brakes for, anyway?

- From How to be a Ugandan by Joachim Buwembo

I thought I would offer you Ugandan insight into the insanity that is called driving in Uganda!

This week was slow; we attended two days of child counseling classes with TASO counselors and then were taught the basics of counseling. On Friday, however, an American study abroad group visited TASO from Kenya, and one girl went to high school with a friend of mine from ENC, Amanda Fish. Another guy in the group attends Boston College, so he promised to show me around when I start attending in the spring. How funny!

On our walk to TASO, Aubrey and I pass a mosque. We’ve heard rumors about camel sacrifices there but had never actually seen the camels. Well, this week we lucked out and got to see two of them! After taking pictures from the road, someone inside the mosque grounds invited us in to take pictures, and the camel graciously slobbered Aubrey’s face.

Since Charles is back home in the States for a few weeks, Aubrey and I have become better at using boda bodas (bicycle taxis with an extra padded seat on the back) and picky-pickies (motorcycle taxis) to travel. We’ve definitely decided to stay away from the boda bodas in town, however, because they don’t have as much control in traffic (yikes!). Don’t worry, all you parents; we’re fine and we don’t travel after dark. We’re taking a mini spring break this week after TASO since we don’t have many practicum hours left and are traveling in two weeks to learn about counseling for LRA returnees in Lira.

Aubrey and I are currently house-sitting for the Howards, mostly so we can have a break from the nonstop flow of guests in the CURE guesthouse. Right now, two Welshman, Rob and Aowyn, are living there. Both of them are great and are working with a community development organization. Across the street for the next two months is Justin, a British medical student from the University of Edinborough. I’ve finally found someone to accompany me on Mt. Elgon!

Two American guys who’ve been living across the street since mid-January, Nick and Patrick, are leaving soon to head to Kenya, Tanzania, and Egypt (and who knows where else!). I wish I could just travel like that! They organized a boda boda race on Sunday, complete with cash prizes and a new bike for the winner. Patrick insisted on slaughtering a cow for a barbecue afterwards. Ha! The head was just sitting in a room next to their apartment yesterday. Gross. Apparently a Muslim has to cut the cow’s throat facing Mecca to make it acceptable for Muslims to consume.

Well, there’s last week for you! I’m sitting here trying to finish all of the papers for my practicum portfolio. I have two more papers, two revisions, and three reports. I will be ecstatic when I’m done; I had no idea it was going to be this much work!