Elder and Sister Johnson arrived in Cambodia this week. They are from Sparks, Nevada. They will replace Elder and Sister Spencer in November. Their responsibility is member leader support. They have a 2 month lease at the same apartment complex as the Spencers. The Spencers will fill them in on all they will need to do. Dale and I wish that our replacements could come a week or two before we leave. This calling was VERY FRUSTRATING when we first arrived. Now it is just frustrating. I am grateful for Dale's computer knowledge. We would be in big trouble without his know how. We pray for a smooth transition next year for Elder and Sister X. Our departure date is at a critical time for our students. We will leave at the end of August when most of our students need their loan money for September and October.
Back to the Johnsons. All Senior couples who were available met at the Titanic Restaurant to welcome the Johnsons to their new home for the next 18-23 months. Yes, we ate at the Titanic. Yes it is on the water. No the ship did not sink...this time. This was a new restaurant for us. It was a great introduction to Cambodia for the Johnsons. The menu choices were varied from pastas and sandwiches to Khmer cuisine. Customers may dine inside or outside. Our group chose to be outside. Lately the days have been hot and humid. There was a pleasant breeze that we all welcomed. The sun had gone down affording us a beautiful view with the night lights reflecting off the water. As we were dining we could see lightning flashes in the distance. Fortunately the rain came as we left the restaurant.
At 7:00 we were able to watch traditional Khmer dancing and listen to traditional music.We were located at the edge of the stage. Our view was perfect.
The dancers turn their toes up and fingers back in a very unnatural way. You really have to watch them live to understand how controlled their movements are.
We have seen these types of performances several times since we have been in Cambodia. The best so far for us has been the performances by the children at the orphanage. I loved the little boys doing the monkey dance.
For lack of photos to share I decided you might like to see our laundry room. Not really a room. It is a space off of the garage. It gets wet when it rains.
I mark my washers by sticking white bags in the handles so no one takes our stuff. The laundry room is not a place you want to hang out at for an hour or two.
The washer water drains out of a hose into a gutter in the ground.
The hoses have more holes than they are suppose to and are usually positioned in a way that they overshoot the gutter. They are nasty and I am not going to handle them to make the necessary adjustments.
For the tenants comfort and convenience the mangers have provided these luxury plastic stools.I use them to put my laundry basket on so it doesn't get dirty.
I do our laundry Friday evenings. Most often I am the only one washing at that time. The laundry facilities are not really available during the day hours. The housekeepers do the tenants' laundry then. The housekeepers fill huge stainless steel bowls with soap and water. They sit on the little red stools seen above. With scrub brush in hand they prewash the laundry before placing it in the washers. I have learned why they do this. These Korean brand washers often do not clean the clothes well. I recently bought myself a scrub brush.Unlike the Khmer I do my scrubbing at the kitchen sink and then take the clothes to the laundry room. I have had our clothes come out dirtier than when they were put in. Slowly all my clothes are being destroyed. I think we rode in a tuk tuk that had been recently painted. It is the only place that I can think of where I would have come in contact with red paint. My only brown skirt now has red paint stains on the back near the hem. I scrubbed it. It is still red. I'm wearing it anyway. One of my blouses got a black grease spot on the back, compliments of the washer. I tried to clean it but my scrubbing efforts left a faded area and a dark gray spot. I wear it anyway. I figure all these things are behind me...literally...the back of my skirt, the back of my blouse... "Out of sight out of mind", "stick my head in a hole" and life is good right? I only have 12 months left to wear this stuff anyway.
We had the brother and sister who's home burnt down come to visit us this week. They do not want to defer their loan payments for 6 months. They both said they would be OK. Family and friends have stepped up to help them. Sophy is living with a friend and looking for a place to rent. Sovann is also looking for a place to rent. They were living with their Aunt the first week after the fire. There were 15 people crammed into a very little home. Both Sophy and her brother said that this bad luck will help them to be able to understand and help and serve other people better. They are truly amazing. They are a great example to us. We can learn so much from the younger generations.
We did not have a very eventful week. That is obvious since all I could blog about was helmet bushes and washing clothes. With all that has happened and is happening on the home front I guess a HO-HUM week in Cambodia is a good thing.
Word of advise:
Keep smiling...just remember to check for broccoli between your teeth before you leave the house.
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