3.
Days.
Holy cow.
The past week was full of fun and friends and food. Monday we taught our wonderful students. On Tuesday, Shanleigh and Mallory came out for the afternoon and watched us teach the students and then the children. They also got to experience one of our frequent walks to the riverside with the students, as well as enjoy a traditional meal prepared by Srey Nang. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty typical. Then on Friday, we joined the girls and Sharon on their trip to the countryside to feed the children in various villages. It was really neat to see what they get to do every other day. The kids were wonderful and beautiful and joyful. It was such a great day and we even got to climb a million stairs to a Wat and enjoy a breathtaking view of the countryside from atop a mountain. That night, Sarah, Mallory, Shanleigh, and I ventured out *got lost for an hour* and searched Phnom Penh for Mike's Burger House. We eventually found it and enjoyed a DELICIOUS burger as well as great conversation with Mike himself. He even gave us complementary nachos. And we got pictures with him. And we are now on his Facebook page. Love that guy. The girls spent the night at our hotel and we slept in, enjoyed a breakfast *fried rice and pork* at the top of our hotel, and then made our way to the hotel pool. Lucky for us, the one day that we wanted it to be hot and sunny, it was cloudy and windy and cool. But we made the most of it and enjoyed relaxing poolside. After "swimming" we headed to the Russian Market for a little more souvenir shopping and then enjoyed a nice lunch/dinner at a local *and favorite* coffee shop. The girls stayed with us again and we all attended church at Sokhom's in the morning. *Sharon, Dennis, Theary, their daughter-in-law, and grandson were also there* After church we met Natalie and Andrew for lunch at a wonderful middle eastern restaurant and enjoyed a meal of *too much* hummus and bread and wraps *gyros* and falafel. After lunch, Andrew said goodbye and we ran some errands. We stopped in a little shop and paid for a $1 manicure and then headed to the movie theater where Natalie had reserved tickets for us. This movie theater was a little different from the one in the mall. It was in a residential area. Actually it was in a house itself. You walked in the gate and then up the stairs. You removed your shoes and then walked through this hallway and into a lounge area. It reminded me a lot of Monks *coffee shop in Abilene* and I was immediately in love. We paid for our tickets *$3.50* and then made our way into the movie room where you could choose to sit in couches our recline on the cushions on the floor. We chose the floor and settled in to watch the movie. It was called "Unfinished Song (Song for Marion)" and I literally cried the whole time. It was one of the best movies that I've ever seen. You have to find it. It's like "Pitch Perfect" except it's a British film and it's with old people. It is amazing. *side note: there is some language* It may change your life. Maybe. Natalie drove us back to our hotel and we had a wonderful conversation about culture shock and fitting in and living in a different country. She is seriously one of my favorite people ever. SUCH an inspiration.
So anyways.
We've been a little busy lately trying to fit everything in before we leave.
And I don't want it to sound like I've been goofing off this last week and don't even care about teaching anymore, because that is the furthest thing from the truth. We just found our groove and now it's life for us. Which I'm so grateful for. Our days are routine and I was telling you about the different non-routine things that we did last week. Okay. I'm done justifying myself.
Moving on.
I've learned a lot of things in Cambodia.
Maybe not learned entirely new things, but my knowledge about certain things has grown that's for sure. Here's a recent lesson.
Assertiveness vs. Self-Control.
I am not an assertive person.
At all.
But I like to lie to myself and say that I am. I like to think I'm confrontational and when asked what I want to do, I like to think I can easily answer. But I'm not confrontational and I hate telling people what I want. Why run the risk of making someone unhappy when you can just let them choose? This past year, I've been going to counseling to work on some anxiety/OCD/control issues as well as learning how to not be held captive by other people's expectations of me. *or the expectations I assume people have of me* It has totally rocked and I'm proud to be a success story. I can sign autographs later. Everyone should go to counseling. I'm serious. It rocks.
Anyways, I've always had trouble standing up for myself and saying no... which can easily lead to my time, energy, money, etc. getting taken advantage of. Shocking right? Well I have found this idea of assertiveness to kind of be a theme here in Cambodia. You want a tuk tuk ride? Go get you a tuk tuk. He's asking for too much money? Try to pay the least amount. He won't go as low as you want him to? Go find another tuk tuk. The lady at the market is asking too much for the purse? Tell her you'll only pay $3. She won't go lower than $4? Walk away and find another bag at a different shop.
After all, you are the paying customer.
This is all great and haggling is expected here, but this is not the environment that I particularly thrive in. The tuk tuk driver is asking for $5 and yes, it's a little steep and you could probably find a cheaper driver, but he has a family to feed and this is his job, so what's a couple of dollars? The lady is asking for $4 but you really only want to pay $3. But this is her job. She hardly makes any profit as it is. Will $1 really make a difference in your wallet? It's so easy to get caught up in the "limbo game" and it's fun to see how low you can go. *ha limbo, get it?* I have to admit, haggling can be fun and it's nice when you don't have to pay over $5 for anything.
But are you being assertive?
Or are you taking advantage of someone?
Then there is a whole other side to the game.
I'm automatically a target because I'm a foreigner. I get charged more at the markets, my tuk tuk drivers ask far too much, and I'm on every street-beggar's radar. The police tried to make me pay to enter Wat Phnom... guess what you don't have to pay to go to a city Pagoda. The police were trying to take advantage of me. I'm a foreigner and so I'm assumed to have more money. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of money and I hate when people take advantage of me.
So where is the line?
Where is this fine line between taking advantage of someone and getting taken advantage of. Because wherever that line is, I need to be walking on it.
It's all about balance.
But how do we find balance in a world that is full of corruption? Who do we listen to in order to find out what is right and what is wrong? How do I know how much is too much for a tuk tuk ride? When can I tell if a lady is asking for way more than what the purse is worth?
Marie-Clair taught her Bible study lesson over this very idea in Siem Reap the other week. She talked about right and wrong and how we know which is which and who teaches us the difference. Can you imagine asking a group of girls that hardly know Christianity and are living in unimaginably corrupt country this question? I live in a free country where everyone has equal opportunities. Yes, there are still people that get taken advantage of and there is still a lot of injustice. But it's nothing compared to here. Do you know how foreign equality sounds to me right now?
I'm still learning how to be assertive while maintaining self-control.
I'm still learning how to walk that tight rope between the two.
The best solution comes from straight out of the Bible. *duh* In 1 Thessalonians, there is a verse that talks about loving and serving God wholeheartedly. Like with your ENTIRE heart. If you love and serve Him, with all that you have, there is no question that He will bless you with the wisdom and heart to serve others while still respecting yourself.
Obviously, I'm still learning.
It's just another observation I've made.
in other news.
It's hard to digest that we'll be leaving Cambodia in 9 days.
It's kind of like camp. You're so pumped to be there and you make all of these amazing friends and you want to stay there forever. But then the end of the week comes and you shove everything back into your suitcase and hug all your friends and tell each other that you'll keep in touch and then you go home. And the whole way home you're depressed. But then you get home and you're mom washes all the mud out of your socks and she makes you bathe. You have a nice meal full of the fruits and veggies that you had been successfully avoiding all week. And you hug your parents and climb into your own bed, under your own covers and it's okay. Yeah. You're sad about leaving. But you're so happy to be home. And there's always the excitement for next summer and the chance that you'll see all your camp friends again.
And that's kind of how I'm feeling right now.
Anticipating the flood of emotion.
Happy, sad, lonely, depressed, angry, excited, relieved, exhausted, overjoyed, and comfortable. And I'm not too entirely sure if I like the thought of feeling some of those emotions.
But I know I will feel them all and probably many more.
So I'm getting ready.
Until then, here's to enjoying CampBodia for 9 more days.
Love you all more than you know,
Cassie
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