Blog days come quickly.
Last Sunday we visited Tuol Tom Pong Branch. As we left the building we saw this really cool cloud formation.
Most days are cloudless here. In a couple of months this will change. We have one more season to try to avoid wearing "sewer boots". Only time will tell!
I picked up an Out & About booklet to be used February- April. It states, "As we go to press in late January, the weather is cool and dry and the skies are generally sunny. From late January through April it should stay mainly dry though the temperature will steadily increase until it approaches 38 C (100 F for our American friends) around Khmer New Year in mid April." ( I can hardly bear the anticipation of the mercury rising. They ought to have some kind of a holiday for this.)
Today as we were walking home from church Dale said that it was hotter than the 85 F the weather report had indicated. The mornings continue to have a welcoming breeze. Because the streets heat up under the sun it takes time for the evening air to cool.
Currently Cambodia is celebrating Chinese New Year and Vietnamese New Year (Tet). This year is the year of the Snake. These days follow the lunar calendar and because the new moon changes from year to year the exact dates can fall between late January and mid-February.
A day before the celebration people thoroughly cleanse their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for good incoming luck.Visiting family and friends is part of the celebration. People often visit their local pagodas, pray and pay respect to their grandparents, parents and deceased relatives.
Clothes, cars, gold, money ( US$ in particular) made of paper are burnt and offered to the spirits. People do not work during this celebration.
Several months ago I told you about the $100 I found on the street. When I got home I tried to wash it only to have it crumble in my hands. As we were walking home today we saw a pile of leaves mingled with $100 bills. Obviously they were created to be burnt offerings to the deceased.
Wouldn't it be great if money grew on trees? It sure would make Fall raking more pleasurable and profitable.
This blog is not in chronological order. Monday we did not work because Cambodia was still dealing with the loss of King Sihanouk. We decided to take a walk. It was a very hot day. We met up with some of our PEF students who invited us to walk with them. The goal was to get to the Royal Palace to view the King for the last time. Every road was gated and guarded. We were stopped at each gate. There were simply too many people. Those that made it through the gates began early in the morning. We did not get started until 9 AM. It was fun to walk with the young people and catch up on their lives. We also met a guy and girl from France. They spoke English and had just arrived in Phnom Penh. They asked if they could tag along with us. We said no problem. Kong Seyha had a friend that worked at one of the gates. He thought he could get us in. It was not meant to be.
We were wearing black and white in respect for the king and those in mourning.
Dale and I feel like giants in comparison to the Khmer. I have never had so many guys that I am either taller than or the same height as.
How do you like Dale's missionary standard sneakers?
Tuesday it was work as usual. Or we would have liked it to be work as usual. Due to computer technicians that do not know what they are doing we had no Internet. This has been an on going problem. This week we became loud squeaky wheels. Nothing was getting done to repair our problem. Tuesday was a loss. Wednesday we had the same problem only worse. A maintenance crew came to clean the air conditioners in the offices. They use water to clean them. When they were done we had water in our printer, water on the floor , water under the glass on my desk top, and water soaked posters on the wall. That was all fine. We had no Internet but I could use Microsoft Word to work on my talk I was preparing for Sunday. Dale left the office. While I was typing there was a big pop. The electricity to our computers shorted out. Water had gotten into the electrical outlet which we share with the adjacent office. The maintenance guy tried to fix the problem. While Dale was trying to get the Internet problem resolved I was left to guard our office and Sophornn's office from theft. It was now lunch time and the maintenance guys were getting hungry. One of them came to me and showed me that all the electricity was fixed. Our power bar was lit. I had Dale come back to check to see if all was good. Not so good. All the guy did was plug our power bar into the outlet on another wall. When I praised him for fixing it I did not realize what he had done. That made me mad. I could have done that. We needed our electricity fixed. They went to lunch and we were told that maybe someone would come fix things around 3:00. Dale needed to GET AWAY . The Rhyne's had been trying to do Family History but with no Internet, they were out of business also. We decided to GET AWAY together. We went to Tous les Jours, a French bakery that the Rhyne's discovered. We purchased REAL bread. It was SO GOOD and we also purchased a few other pastries. The bakery is a distance from our apartment but is a place I would like to return to. We ended the day at the Blue Pumpkin to indulge in chocolate chip mint ice cream cones. When we arrived home Sophornn called us and told us that the electricity was fixed. Yes!
Thursday we had electricity but no Internet. Another wasted day as far as PEF was concerned.
Friday Dale made arrangements again for the guys from the Church Service Center to work on our Internet problem. The Church has contracted with EZ Com. They insisted that the problem was on our end. Dale reported to EZ Com that their repairmen had not checked our office computers. Dale resorted to letting them know that someone was lying. EZ Com finally did what they were supposed to do in the first place. It was indeed their error. After a month of frustration I believe the problem is fixed. We might actually get some work done on Monday.
Dale has been reporting his frustrations to Elder Kelly. We love him and his wife and we will miss them when they are released in April. Elder Kelly suggested that Dale take two Aspirins and call him in the morning. He also sent a few funny photos. I can not put the photos on the blog but I can explain them and you will get the idea.
1. A label inside a shirt: These T-shirts were tested on animals. They did not fit.
2. A wall sign in a variety store: Open 9 Days A Week
3. Sign for bananas in Ecuador: Long Yellow Things .78 lb
4. National Park sign: Bottomless Pit 65 feet deep
And the sun sets on another week in Phnom Penh.
We plan to have a great week. We hope yours will be great too.
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