The electricity is off and on and off and...

Hello Family and friends,
The heat is on (100 degrees) and the electricity is off and on and off and on and...
When this happens it makes for a slow week at work. We had several moments when were attempting to make payment requisitions for our students. After much waiting...waiting...and waiting for the power to kick back on we were able to print their forms. When the power fails my cell phone goes  dead. I called one student back three times...hello...disconnect...hello...disconnect...hello...disconnect.  Saturday morning was our most productive day. We had electricity most of the morning with only one glitch. We left the office about noon. If the electricity failed from that point on we did not care.

Several days this week the power was off when it was time for us to go home. The problem with this is that if we can not turn the air conditioner off it will work full throttle once electricity is up again. We are then cooling an unoccupied room through the night. This is a complete waste of energy. We care that this waste happens but we do not care enough to remain at the office waiting for the "window of  opportunity" when the power comes back on so we can shut it off. I do think about all the people sleeping in the hot open air who would be so grateful to sleep in a cool room.

I learned of several children who had fevers this week. I wonder if the change in the weather has anything to do with it. The sad thing is that cooling these children down is near impossible in this hot environment. Very few homes have air conditioning. Many people sleep outside. Those that have electricity have fans, but the electricity is often off. We have a Christian orphanage in our neighborhood. When we walked by Saturday morning there were several children sleeping under nets on the playground. Note: The playground is a concrete slab.

One of our PEF students wrote on their Face book site: Government not only cuts power three times a day but now also no water in neighborhood. What a life!

We haven't lost our water ...yet! Even though we don't drink it we do shower, flush toilets, clean dishes, mop  floors and do laundry. We are dependent on a water source regardless if it is contaminated or not.

It was so hot Saturday as we were walking home the streets were very quiet. Very little traffic. Everyone was sleeping or resting.

These workers are taking refuge in pipe sections from the scorching sun. They are part of the work crew that are installing pipes down 63rd Street near our home and office.

Kadaunaa!

REALLY HOT!

Every once in awhile I take a peek out the office window to see what's happening in the neighborhood. This brings to mind the Oldie Goldie Sesame Street song: 

Oh, these are the people in your neighborhood?

In your neighborhood?

In your neighborhood?

These are the people in your neighborhood?

The people that you meet,when you're walking down the street.

The people that you meet each day!

Preparing lunch in the alley. The women walk the streets of Cambodia in pajamas. They view them as light weight clothing not sleepwear. Some pajamas are floral or colorful patterns but most are Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse,and Angry Birds.

This scene is directly across from the lady cooking in the photo above. The alley is an extension of these peoples' homes. Dale shared with me a news article which reported concerning the poor air quality in Cambodia. It is partly attributed to outdoor cooking. This is the only method of cooking  most of the people we see in our neighborhood use. There are a few gas stoves. Electric ovens or ovens of any kind are rare. 

This guy really likes Dale. He repairs tires. He got a new muak (hat). Every day when we walk by he greets us and points to his hat. We are not sure how long he will continue to point at his hat and give us a thumbs up. His greeting adds to the routine of our many Ground Hog days. If he ever leaves I believe the universe will be knocked off balance.

Our walking path is getting slimmer and slimmer as the road continues to be dug up.

This is the same restaurant we photographed last week. This restaurant is really popular with the local people. It is very busy at breakfast and lunch time. We have seen both Khmer and Europeans customers. Some of the "white" people think they are immune to parasites and ecoli. We are not among them.

Meas Sameth works with us. We are now the PEF Self Reliance Center. Sameth is learning the ins and outs of  PEF. He has been a great help with communicating with our non-English speaking students. Prior to coming to work with us, Sameth ran the church Employment Resource Center (ERC).  He continues to help people find jobs in addition to helping us with PEF, teaching the Planning for Success Work Shop and Career Work Shop for the Khmer people. We continue to teach Career Work Shop for missionaries soon to be released.

Today was interesting in Relief Society. The Relief Society President asked one of the sisters to read a scripture. While this sister was reading the Relief Society President answered her cell phone and proceeded to carry on a phone conversation. During this time she also rearranged some of the gospel pictures she had on display.  We received a lesson in Khmer multi-tasking.

It's been a hot, slow, week.

Until next week. Pleasant dreams and stay cool.