Same Same, But Different

The saying "same same, but different" is prevalent here in Cambodia. We are not exactly sure where it came from, but is makes us LAUGH every time we hear it or see it advertised somewhere. The Cambodian people use this saying to describe things, and when you think about what it says, it really makes no sense. Anyway, this blog is going to be the "same same" as other blogs in that it tells stories of our adventures....."but different" in that the stories you are about to read are different from any you've read yet. Here is what's included in this blog:

• The MONSTER Gecko in our house
• New friends and cheap haircuts
• Refugee Camp story time
• Le Duo: Dinner for 7

Tukay Gecko: (Pronounced Two-Kay)

The other night, Brian and I entered our home after dark. As we turned on our overhead lights, Karie was horrified to see a Tukay Gecko on the wall in our kitchen. If you read my previous blog about the Gecko who lives in the A/C in my classroom, this will be significant for you to read. If you did not read that blog, scroll down a bit to my blog with pics/stories about my classroom.
Back to the Gecko. I HATE THEM. They make loud clucking sounds, hide in precarious places, are very large, and are not seen often by humans (except for a tail showing here and there). They scare me, because I know they must be poisonous, as they are made up of very vibrant colors. Anyhow, we walked into the house and I (Karie) let out a scream once I saw there was one of these in plain sight, hanging out on our kitchen wall. They are not supposed to be in people's houses. After a few minutes of devising a plan as to what to do with it, we figured out it came in through a hole in our ceiling. Believe me, we will be patching that up ASAP. We think it came in the house to hunt, as it had a few smaller Geckos (the normal-sized ones) below it on the wall....acting fairly paralyzed with fear. After we snapped numerous shots of this "glorious creature"...as well as video footage of him, he took off back through the hole, hopefully never to be seen again. Anyway, below is a picture of our friend. On the window you can see the normal-sized Gecko (on the right, in between one of the triangle shapes), which should give you an idea of how large this one really is.




Cheap Haircuts:

We set out yesterday to get our hair cut. It's not that it had gotten particularly long; just that with the heat here, you don't want to possess much hair on your head. We were unsure of the cost as we sat down at a local salon. Brian was on one side, Karie was on the other. The haircutters spoke pretty good English, and we were glad they would understand what we asked them to do with our hair. As we were each in the chair, we began conversing with the people working with us. Karie talked to a woman who is the owner of the shop. When she found we taught at Logos School, she immediately told me she was a Christian!!! This is crazy, as this country is 99.9% Buddhist. I was thrilled to meet her, and hope to become friends with her as our time here continues. A man who also works there talked to us, and he was very interested to know if we were working for a church, or for their city. He seemed interested to know more about what we are doing, and he was great to talk with as well! We are excited to have made our first Cambodian friends, and thrilled that we may be able to encourage them as fellow believers!! Oh yeah, and each of our haircuts was $1.00. WOW.

Refugee Camp Stories:

Some of the missionary families at the school hosted a welcome back dessert night on Friday, in which all teachers and parents at the school were invited to. It was fun, and we each were able to meet new people. We also thoroughly enjoyed the desserts, as many of them were familiar and delectable! I (Karie) had the privilege of talking with a man there who has a Kindergarten student at our school. Through talking to him, I found out he grew up in the middle of the Khmer Rouge time in Cambodia, and spent 10 years of his life living in the refugee camps at the Cambodia-Thailand border. Wow. I was able to hear, first-hand, someone's story of living here through the war. It's one thing reading about these stories, or hearing about them through a movie or other form of "entertainment".....but to sit face to face with someone who lived through this horrific time in this country's history, was intense. He was brought almost to tears as he told me about his childhood, and I was so thankful to have met him when the night was over. I hope he has some avenue in which to share his story. I know I was deeply moved by our conversation. I am not sure if he knows the Lord, as parents enrolling their kids at Logos do not have to....but I pray he finds the comfort that only God can provide at some point in his life.

Le Duo:

We have thoroughly enjoyed the company and budding friendship of another family here at the school, who arrived 1 week after we did. They have 3 girls (one of which is in Karie's class) and they moved here from Canada. The father of the family is our school's Vice Principal, the mother teaches Music and Grade 1. We have spent some time getting to know them, and we all went out for a NICE dinner last night. A restaurant called "Le Duo" was recommended to them, so we met them there for dinner. All I can say is W.O.W. This restaurant is an Oasis in the middle of a dirty, stinky, Phnom Penh City. The atmosphere, the freshly made pasta, the ambiance, all was fabulous. Our food was impeccable, and we all decided we would come back to this place as much as possible. Although it was a little on the pricy side for Cambodia (dishes ranged from $7-20), the food was perfect. We all hopped in a Tuk-Tuk for the ride home; the TUk-Tuk is really only made to hold 4 people....but we squeezed 7 in, and had many a laugh on the way home. Here is a photo with all of us squeezed. It was a night to remember!!!