A Day in the Province

Cambodia is a relatively small country, when compared to the United States. If the roads were highways, and there were no pot holes, cows crossing, flooded pathways, or millions of moto drivers.....it wouldn't be Cambodia. But, it also would take a lot quicker to get places! Cambodia is a bit smaller than the state of Oklahoma, and so if the roads were highways, I think it would take about 6+ hours to drive the thickest length of the country. Regardless, the roads are NOT highways....in fact, the "highways" here that take you from one major city to another are often barely big enough for 2 cars to drive side-by-side. It is a slow, bumpy, dusty, animal-filled, rice paddy traversed road to go anywhere outside of the capital where we live. That being said, I (Karie) LOVE to get out of the city because it is where you truly see the rural-ness of the Cambodian lifestyle. I truly find beauty in this side of the country! Of course there are plenty of animals I can look at and laugh at as well: chickens, running crazily around the road when cars pass by; water buffalo with their mean looking faces, wallowing in the muddy rice paddies; anacondas, crawling up the Cambodian peoples' legs...........ok, just kidding on that last one! Here's a great picture I found on the internet of a water buffalo: yes, they always look this ticked off.


All this to say, I love going out of Phnom Penh and into the areas otherwise known as the provinces. There the scenery is like none other: mountain peaks, lime green grasses, palm trees laden with coconuts, thatched dwellings, and LAND as far as the eye can see! I have had the privilege now twice to take a day and visit one of the surrounding provinces. See my previous post on going to the orphanage, which was in the ____________ province.

This past weekend, a friend of mine who teaches Kindergarten at our school, invited me to accompany her to the Takeo province, about 2 hours drive from Phnom Penh. I gladly took her up on the offer, and had an incredible, unforgettable day! Let me tell you the brief history of our visit: another friend of ours who is Cambodian grew up in this province, specifically in the village we visited. Polly (K teacher) and Srey (our Cambodian friend) visited this village last year; Polly's heart broke as she went to the local school and peered into empty classrooms. A school room with no books, no supplies, and some rooms even had no desks. It was from her initial visit that Polly decided to take action. With support from her church back home in Pennsylvania, she was able to get enough school supplies donated to create 500+ school kits for the kids in this rural village school. Wow. Her Dad and cousin flew out to Cambodia earlier this year with the kits in hand. This past weekend was the commemoration of a long, prayer filled journey to bring these school kids hope and joy.

So many stories came out of this day, but I will save them for when we are home and can tell them to you in person!!! (16 weeks and counting.......). Some brief stories I will share are that we were able to share the gospel message with these 500+ students, teachers, and even in front of a Buddhist monk! Some of the kids had never seen a foreigner at all; we got many stares and a few smiles! The kids were more beautiful than I had even seen, and they were so thankful and deserving. The classrooms were bare and the school has no electricity. The village is made up of traditional dwellings, up on stilts off the ground. There just might have been more animals in the village than people. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Here are some photos from our time. I cannot wait to show you the over 80 pictures that came from this beautiful day, again, in PERSON!

One of our 2 vans, loaded up with abundant blessings!!

One of the women selling sun-cooked meat to us when our van stopped at a local market area.

Beautiful school children, peeking out the windows of their school.

People come in different colors??!

This school was militant about straight, quiet lines.

Enjoying coconut milk with Soapon and Stephanie; they gave us each our own coconut when we arrived!

Passing out the kits to the grade 6 girls.

The small pond on the school campus.

The Kindergarten classroom.

Walking to visit some of Srey's relatives in the village: to our left are empty rice paddies.

Truly the simple life: I will miss this greatly when I leave here.

Shy, precious kiddos in the village.

Cows, loving the village life. Tied up to a tree all day with green grass a-plenty!

Day-2-Day Joys

If you haven't heard, we have decided through much prayer to return home after this first year of teaching. Since the decision has been made, both Brian and I have agreed to consciously make the most out of each day we have left in this multi-cultural, international, so-different-from-home country. Personally, I have tried to search out the things that bring me joy here, although sometimes they are hard to find. I have also decided to go out on the weekends and document, through photography, more pictures of the Cambodian way-of-life. We have a lot of pictures of things we've been doing and enjoying, but I feel our over 1,300 pictures is lacking the lifestyle of the Cambodian people. Needless to say, today's blog will be all about those things: life's joys, and the Cambodian lifestyle. Enjoy! I sure do.

Here is my landlord's dog, Timmy. Contrary to popular belief,
Timmy is not a boy dog. He is a she. Timmy brings me much
joy for many reasons: he/she has an under bite, which can be seen
if you enlarge this picture. He/she also loves to grab whatever scrap of material can be found on the floor, and proceed to ask me (how only a dog can) to chase her around the driveway. Precious.

This pure joy goes without saying. The flowers here are bright, bold, and bloom year round!








There is something about clean, colorful laundry that my camera loves to photograph. It is very common in this country for homes to not have a dryer. Actually, many homes don't even have washing machines. Either way, laundry gets done, and it is always hung outside to dry.

Life long friends are hard to come by, but we were so blessed by the friends we made right when we got here. In this picture is Tess, me, Dean (it was his surprise 40th birthday bash), and Jo. It is so fun to be able to be goofy with these people, and then to work side by side with them throughout the weeks. I love you guys!




This is a view through the fence at the public junior high/high school next door to our house. The public schools here are in very poor condition, and the education follows suit. Trash is everywhere, the fences have barbed wire, and the students are expected to attend school 6 days a week here. It is very hard to see schools in this condition, but it causes us to be grateful for schools like ours where students can learn in a clean, safe, environment.

My favorite, local, Cambodian coffee shop!! My friend and his family own this shop. I recently found out that his entire family believes in the Lord!! I love to come here weekly, to encourage him and to support his newly opened business. I typically order 2 iced coffees (they are very small), and the total bill is $1.00. Gotta love it!

This is a typical Cambodia restaurant. They are most always found on the sidewalks in the open
air. The food is cooked over a simple propane-fueled burner, and it is very cheap. If we ate at these street food restaurants, which we don't, we could probably both eat for under $2-3.00.

Not Me

I did not find two, beady-eyed mice staring at me from under our toaster oven yesterday morning.

I do not freak out now, every time I enter the kitchen...anticipating the rodents running out from small hiding places.

I am not feeling cold in this knowingly hot and humid country's "cool season"; and we for sure did not sleep with the air conditioner OFF last night for the first time since we have lived here.

I did not get hit by a moto last weekend while riding my bicycle, and my leg was not burned by the hot tail pipe as I fell on top of it.

We have not already been here 6 1/2 months, and we are not counting down the days until we will be home free (.....147....).

I do not have a class of 27 pre-pubescent 5th graders, representing 10 different countries.

A store called "USA Doughnuts" did not just open up down the street from the school, and they do not carry a bunch of items in bulk that they ship from Costco in the US. And we defiantly do not love going there, because all of the items on their menu are made with ingredients from the United States.

I do not find myself speaking in simple, choppy sentences.....making sure my Cambodian friends understand what I am saying. And I for sure do not find myself speaking the same way to English-speaking co-workers...

Oh no, not me.

::Craftiness::

Being in a truly 3rd world country, the chances of finding the resources to enjoy your favorite hobbies are slim to none. I thoroughly enjoy using my god-given craftiness back at home, and I miss being able to run down to the local Michael's to pick up ingredients for my next creation. At home, in my free time, I enjoyed scrapbooking, putting together creative gifts, decorating my home, looking through magazines for new ideas, taking with my sister about baking, and just plain being creative in every day life.

I think that is a BIG part of what I am missing in Cambodia. I get no chance to enjoy my crafty hobbies!! Well, while in one of Bangkok's many HUGE malls, I discovered a crafty store and was in heaven!! This store sells appliques (little things to add onto bags, purses, etc.) of all kinds! They also sell bags, shirts, baby clothes, etc. to iron things on to! Brilliant. By the way, their website is www.appliqueshop.com. I asked, and they DO ship to the USA.

I got this wonderful, crafty idea to make baby gifts (I know 3 people in Cambodia about to have babies, and my cousin at home just had a baby as well). I am all about personalized gifts. Anyway, needless to say, I purchased some appliques and wallah! See the photos below:

The beginnings of something fabulous!

The iron on's chosen for baby Jeremiah (my Cambodian TA's first baby)

The final product: 3 personalized baby onesies!