En Rout to Poipet, Cambodia
Since we got back to Phnom Penh from Field Forum we have been spending a lot of time with the students at the dorm. The guys at the dorm spend a lot of time obsessing over their motorcycles or motos. It is pronounced with the emphasis on the t. They spend a lot of time cleaning them and applying sheets of colored adhesive plastic to change the body colors. There are even tinted colors that give the head and tail lights a smokey look. It seems like guys are very similar no matter what country they live it. When we have dinner we all sit on the floor with a bowl of rice and scoop up stuff from a variety of dishes in the center of the circle. Overall the taste and appearance of the food is very typical Asian except for the sour soupy dishes which are common at Khmer meals. This morning I made fried egg in bread (you know the kind that was in V for Vendetta) for the dorm guys, I think the liked it. They were rushing off to classes so they just grabbed them as they were going out the door so I didn't really get any feedback.I'm on the bus going to Poipet now. It's about an 8 hour drive but it has been going by quickly. As per standard procedure for bus drivers the horn has been going off about every 30 seconds and I'm wondering if its pointed forward at the road or directly into the cabin of the bus. But the constant use of the horn has probably helped us to avoid accidents as the bus constantly crosses the dividing line on the two lane road to pass slower vehicles. A lot has been changing in Cambodia including the extent of paved roads. The main road running through the center of Poipet is now a nicely paved, four-lane road. This helps the flow of traffic and decreases travel time since cars and trucks do not have to snake through the numerous gaping potholes that once dotted the road. However this also presents a great danger because the low incidence of traffic accidents was due largely to the speed of the vehicles. Now that the road is paved people are driving much faster and not at all safer so more and more people are being injured and even killed on the road.
While I am in Poipet I will be helping the Copelands unpack and clean up their house in preparation of moving back in. I visited the Copelands for the first time two years ago. Kent is a surgeon and his wife Chrissy is a nurse. During their last four year term they helped to build and run a trauma center where Kent would treat injuries and sicknesses and witness to people in the process. They left for a year-long home assignment in the states and handed the clinic over to the government who is now running it. They just returned to Cambodia a few weeks ago and so they have a lot of preparations to make before getting settled in again. The Copleands have 5 children: CJ, Amber, Beth, Kendra, and Katie. They are all very well behaved and they always call me Mr. Jonathan. They didn't do that so much at Field Forum this time, maybe because they were not in front of their parents all the time. But I still think they are awesome because they always laugh at my jokes... well most of them. I'm looking forward to spending the next couple days before the Siem Reap English Camp with them.
Prayer Requests:
- Safe travel
- Good conversations with the Copeland adults and children
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