The New Life

Well, it's been about a week since I live here in Phnom Penh. I've pretty much got used to the new life here in Cambodia and pretty much settled down. I came to realize that this is now my new home: it has become a reality in my mentality that I'm not gonna go home for at least another 8 months. Whenever I try to think about home (about all the comfort, families, and friends), I get a little bit sad. But I think that its gonna be okay because I've made some new friends here in Phnom Penh already and I got a good family that I stayed with. With the Asian culture, it does really feels like a family because I have to address them as such (i.e, calling the older ones brothers and sisters and calling the host family auntie and uncle, etc).

The new life is actually pretty exciting when I'm not thinking about home. I'm living in a pretty spacest room compared to dorm at Ambrose. The place where I am staying at is called CAMA dorm. It is a dorm that host Khmer university students as they study at the university. Currently, it has a guy dorm and a girl dorm (which are basements rented from the local and house 7 guys and 8 girls). It has a big yard, big enough for me to exercise every morning and do things like basketball and volleyball (which the guys and I will be doing starting as of now really). Here is a picture of the front and what it looks like.

Inside the guy basement, there is a BIG living room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. Each of the bedrooms has its own toilet and shower, which is nice since I share a bedroom with only one guy. The other bedroom is shared between two other guys and the living room is shared between three guys. Each of the bedroom has a bunk bed and the living room has two bunk beds. Here's the living room.

And here's my bedroom and toilet. I got my own closet, computer tables, and bed, which is very nice. I actually just recently bought mattress with bed sheets, coverings, pillow, and a sausage pillow (all for only $100). It felt so comfortable, just like home. But I do feel guilty because the other guys have like mattresses that's half the size of mine… And there is no AC in our house, which is kinda disappointing because it gets really really hot. However, we use fans and each one of us have one. It was kinda funny but my roommate actually gets cold so he lets me use his at night. So at night I got two fans blowing at me while I sleep, which is as good as AC =) I know I know, I'm spoiled. But it is necessary for me to ease into the process of climatization. =)

And here's what the kitchen looks like. It's pretty plain but it's also spacest as well. We don't have a stove or anything like that. It's pretty much a gigantic barbecue that is hooked up into another ginormous gas tank. We use these pots and pans that was quite old to cook and so food sticks to them like mad. In order to correct the problem, the guys used twice/three times as much oil to get the food off: so I will be gaining quite a bit of weight (pooyah!). But its always fun to experience new things and find creative ways to work around problems. And beside, the guys are really nice. We have a system for every meal. Whoever cooks doesn't have to clean, which is very nice. Currently, I'm cooking with use my roommate because the rest of the guys complain that we eat too luxuriously (meaning we spent about $0.50 per person per meal).

And here's an interesting bit of information. Our dorm does not have a fridge. I was so disappointed when I first but as time goes on, I'm getting use to that fact. What end up happening is that my roommate and I go to the market everyday to buy fresh vegetables and meat (not so much the meat) for every meal. The markets are just little shacks put together. It was okay to buy vegetables there but the meat were below standards… There were flies and pest always flying around the meat… But I guess my stomach will have to adjust to that LOL.

And of course to get to the market, I rode on a moped. It was so much fun because my roommate had a moped and he taught me to ride it. Traffic was crazy but it seems like I got used to it pretty fast. I even kept up and pass some of the local during traffic, which is pretty fun and exilerating. Here's a picture of me and my dorky helmet on the moped.

And finally, the place where I'm staying at also have like 4 dogs! This is such a big bonus for me because I love dogs. When I first came, they all rush at me and my roommate was like, "Don't pet them, they'll bite off your hands." Dogs here are quite vicious until they get to know you. So I was so scared at first but after they got used to my smell, and rubbed my legs a few time (arrgghhh!), they are fine with me. And to sped up the process, I bought some bread and stuff and started to feed them. And now, they're like my good friends and we have fun hanging out. I'm even trying to teach them new tricks using psychological methods like learning through association and conditioning using positive rewards (food). I taught all of them to stand on two legs, which is pretty cool =) Here are their cute faces.

Anyways, life here is pretty fun and exciting if I just focus on where I am and not necessary where I'm not. I really do miss family, I really do miss friends, and I really do miss going to school. But God is so faithful and there's nowhere else I rather be than here where He called me to be.