Twelve Fast Sundays to go....

Family and friends,
We are no longer the "new kids on the block". Unfortunately our Khmer language skills are still weak. When listening to others speak we are able to pick up words from sentences better than when we first arrived but I had anticipated our speaking skills would be better at this point. I have been mispronouncing correct words. As a result I have not recognized what others are saying and also get frustrated that no one knows what the heck I am saying. Grrr...!

Dale snapped some photos I will use for my spring board for this week's blog.

When we first arrived in the country I was beginning to feel like a bobble head doll. There was lots of nodding of heads and Cum riap Sua and Cum riap Lia going on. We have begun using less formal expressions for saying hello which leads to a hand wave as we pass by and not so much head bobbing.

 These guys didn't get the message and bobbled their heads right off.

 "NO MORE CUM RIP SUA FOR YOU!"

The use of mannequins in Cambodia is interesting. As seen in the above photo they are often displayed out on the street in front the clothing shops. The people here are little yet their mannequins are " big white guy size". This is a typical clothing store along the roads that we walk each week. This store is close to the Church Service Center.

Mannequins in glass cases that can be rolled out on to the street each day are also popular. There are many tailor shops and evening gown stores. Weddings are a big deal here and people like to dress up. They love lots of gold and sparkle. The more BLING the better. 

Sometimes it is a little freaky when you come upon some of these mannequins. There are some little children mannequins that are quite troubling to me. When it starts getting towards evening they sort of look  like standing dead people.

We spent most of the week at the office. We ran out of peanut butter and had to go shopping. Our preferred merchandise is getting difficult to find. The owner of the USA Donut Shop near our apartment orders items from Costco and Sam's Club. Unfortunately this last shipment had no peanut butter. He said he hoped to get some in his August 15 shipment. We will buy as much as we can if the order comes. At the present time there is hardly any peanut butter in the stores. What is available is small 8oz. or smaller jars costing $3.50-$4.50 a jar. We broke down and purchased some. We eat lunch at our office. Peanut butter is a good protein that needs no refrigeration. This week we purchased a large box of plain old cornflakes because there are no inexpensive cereals on the shelves. In past blogs I mentioned we love the "Magic Time" products. The shelves have no "Magic Time" left.  After searching all the stores we are aware of  in our area it seems the "pickings are slim" everywhere.

We got to Lucky Market early the other day. As the day commences the aisles are packed with carts and people. I am trying to find a decent can of tuna fish to purchase. For $2.50 I want to make sure I won't puke when I open the can. Needless to say this week I did not purchase any. The brands were strange and they were packed in oil or mayonnaise. If I can't read the can I stay clear of it. That was the case with the tuna choices this week.

The shelves appear filled but in reality they are only one row deep. We went home with some basic food items like fresh green peppers, carrots, tomatoes,potatoes, cucumbers, onions, a few apples, bananas, watermelon, Oreo cookies, Frito corn chips, a loaf of bread, a package of rolls, a box of milk, a small chunk of cheese. We just hope that in the next week the choices will improve. We are spoiled in the United States, however, with the droughts in the Midwest that story may change in the next year...hmm... just about the time when we return.

Saturday we visited the Olympic Market. We had never been here before. It was early morning and many of the shops were just getting set up. The markets are always packed with stuff. The markets are overwhelming to me and I find it difficult to shop them. Some people just love to shop the markets. I can't claim their enthusiasm for "the sport".  We did get a small fan for the kitchen area of our apartment. The air does not circulate well at that point and so we are hoping the fan will help when I am cooking and washing the dishes.

This is more of the Olympic Market on the first level. We didn't shop the entire market but believe that there were three levels. The people are beginning to arrive. If you like to shop and have plenty of time to waste you probably can find anything you need somewhere in this place. The trick is to find it. If you want to do comparison shopping you need to take good notes on where you have been because it can be challenging to retrace your steps. Sometimes it is just best to buy it when you find it and hope you get a fair price.

Dale clicked one last picture in the Olympic Market. This gives you an idea of how the shop keepers pack their areas. There is a whole lot of the same merchandise repeated throughout the market. The shop keepers seem to work together in that if they do not have what you want they find another shop keeper that does.

On our tuk tuk ride to Tuol Tom Pong Branch Sunday morning we passed this nursery. It is probably one of the prettiest sites in our community. We do not see much of this landscaping in Phnom Penh. If we could see beyond the walls and gates that lock the world out we might see some of these plants landscaping the homes of  wealthy residents.

MAMA'S NEW YORK DELI

I wrote about this place in past blog. This is the place I had my first grilled cheese sandwiches while listening to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". If you recall is was a very bad sandwich. We went back about a week ago and had a very good meal. The contrast from my first experience is like night and day. MAMA is Cambodian but lived in New York for many years. She came back to Phnom Penh to open her restaurant. We met MAMA's daughter and toddler grandson.We were able to see why MAMA is back in Cambodia. Family is important.

NOT QUITE MAMA'S

This is a road side restaurant. Pretty much open air. We have gone past this at times when every seat is full. It is very popular with the people that live in this area. Cooking is over wood. Water is stored in buckets hauled in from I do not know where. Refrigeration is probably an ice box. 

This week in the office we have been cleaning up our records. I spent a day adding  a "0" to the beginning of every students mobile phone number. This is necessary in order to do text messaging. We found that over 60% of our students were not receiving the messages we had sent out. We also make personal calls. For the month of July we were able to contact 90% of our students. We have over 170 students. There are about 10 students that we have no contact information on. We feel last month was pretty successful. We even had three of our "most wanted" students surface during the Pioneer Day celebrations. Hopefully we will be able to keep in contact with these people.

Dale is still helping people with their computer problems as well as dealing with our own dilemmas. We purchased a larger screen to go with my laptop this week. That has made a difference for me. My eyes were going bad from trying to read a small screen all day. I was starting to get headaches and unable to see because of eye fatigue. Now I'm good for another twelve months of service.

This Monday we have Family Home Evening at our place. Dale wants to orient the other Senior Couples to the PEF program and let them know how they can help in its success. If the weather permits we will meet on the roof of our apartment near the pool. Our apartment isn't really the best for entertaining 14 people. It would be crowded.

This month will be busy in the office because many of our students begin school again in September and need their payment requisitions to pay their tuition fees. They will come to our office to get their requisitions and take them to the finance department at the Church Service Center. We do not handle money in our office. We are pretty much the step in preparing the loans and checking that our students are living up to their promises. The loan can not be processed until we get approval from Salt Lake. There are three committees that review the loans. Our committee in Cambodia, a committee in Hong Kong and finally a committee in Salt Lake.  This was probably more information than you wanted to know. Now you can come on a mission to Cambodia and take up where we leave off.

In institute we are teaching Religion 115 Scripture Study: The Power of the Word. It has been an interesting course to study and teach. We have been rotating teaching this class. When Dale and I taught the Book of Mormon we would split the hour and half class between the two of us. In October we will teach the New Testament. We will probably teach the rotating schedule. It seems to work well.

For those that may want to know. We still pray for Doug Harada. The last report we had was that he was awake and recognizing people. This is good news. We continue to pray for him and his family and ask that you join with us in requesting divine intervention for Doug. 

Thanks to all who are helping us as we serve here in Cambodia.

Until next week be of good cheer and face each day with a smile.