Another Lena!

Lena’s (Lynat's) house church.

Not by plan, I ended up going to three different church services Sunday January 24^th. How this came about is a long story. I guess it is all connected to teaching English. Free English classes at the drop in center, Bright Spark, has allowed me the opportunity to get to know Cambodians better. I learn things first hand from my students that statistics might verify, but are more indelible in people.

Because this is a Christian drop in center and my lessons are free I see a very narrow group of students. They definitely want to learn but are limited in their means for yet one more educational expense. My students mostly come to school by bicycle, with a few motorbikes in the lot.

Religious faith seldom comes up in class as I have all I can handle communicating simple English. A student will often ask me what I do. I tell them in English “I am a youth pastor.” I am pretty sure they don't know what that means as they have few here. At Christmas I was given the opportunity to give a message at the Bright Spark Christmas party. Seeing me speaking up front with a Bible in my hands finally helped some understand what I do back in the US.

An older adult student, a parent who came with her daughter, saw this as an answer to her prayers. Lynat (sounds like Lena) is my oldest student and a faithful attendee. After we returned from Christmas vacation she enthusiastically invited me to “sponsor her house church which has 20 to 30 percent children attending.” After a couple conversations I understood she needed a Bible teacher for the adults and older children, sometimes twenty to thirty people attend. Final syllables often get dropped in regular conversation. Thus I always call her Lena because she never pronounces the t. While her English is a work in progress, her faith is fluent.

At my Friday class I try to confirm my intent to visit her house church. I don't think we communicate. She has my business card and phone number but I don't know how to contact her. I know she attends the 7:00 AM service at New Life Church, which we have been meaning to visit.

To no surprise, no one in our family accepts my invitation to 7:00 AM worship. I head out on my motorbike with a general idea of where to go. Finding any business is challenging because house numbers aren't always sequential. Low and behold I turn onto the right street (I can't find a street sign) and easily find the church.

I arrive on time but no Lena to be found. At 7:30 she arrives sitting in the same row about ten seats down. We are still singing so she comes over to greet me, bringing her older daughter who speaks better English. I get her phone number and a promise to send someone to the drop in center to escort me to her house. The church she attends is charismatic and the largest Khmer church in town. Quite different than the expat church I attend. This is my first service of the day.

I get home in time to catch the tuk-tuk to ICA, International Christian Assembly. It is probably the most diverse church in town. They attract few Khmer as it is all English with no translation available. Having been to the Mennonite church, which has no English translation, I understand the frustration. This is my second service of the day.

At 3:30 PM I wait outside Bright Spark for my escort. As we drive to Lynat’s house, I gain new respect for her effort to learn English. She takes about a 5 kilometer bike ride to get to class. After a couple dirt roads I pull up to a short gate to her tiny lot, chickens fleeing for cover. She lives in what could be a two room wood house. I realize I am at the edge of town as her security is minimal and her house is one story wood. In Phnom Penh most houses have high concrete walls and steel gates. They surround two and three story post and beam brick houses.

Lynat's yard is full of kids and everyone is happy to see me. She introduces me to her husband. He gives me a little information on his life. He survived Pol Pot and the Vietnam rule in a refugee camp on Thai border. He got funding for some medical education from his church. He is able to support his family and give his children a good education. That does not mean he has a lot of extra money, but they are focused on helping their children, and the neighborhood children as well.

A Logos preschool teacher is my translator for the Bible study. She is Cambodian, but fluent in English. She smiles many times as I tell the story. I think she has some Bible education but does not want to be the teacher here. I teach from the book of Matthew as that is where they have been studying. The lesson is about who really keeps God's laws, the Pharisees or Jesus' disciples who do not practice ceremonial washing before meals. I do my best to explain the historical context of the conflict in the story. After the Bible study we have a prayer time. After everyone shares their prayer requests, we all pray at the same time. I like this style of prayer time. No one is trying to impress anyone with the content of their prayers.

After the prayers Lynat has snacks for everyone, incredible hospitality for such simple people. It is beans and rice with some sugar sprinkled on top. It is good but I feel guilty being treated so well. In addition to being given a snack, she sends a mango home with me. She is “so happy” to have a Bible teacher for her house church.

I recently read someone commenting about how the North American church spends an inordinate amount of money serving and teaching those who know so much, and comparatively so little on those who are new to the Christian faith. I attended three services this Sunday, but Lena's was the church that blessed me. For knowing so little, her life speaks volumes to her neighbors about a loving(generous) God.

Holiday in Thailand

The Beach

We arrived at the beach just in time for supper at the Juniper Tree. The suppers at the guesthouse were all western and the lunches were all Thai. Some meals we had included Mac and Cheese, Thai soup, and Shepherds pie. The guesthouse included a pool (on New Years Eve we stayed up to 12 in the pool), family houses, and two buildings with rooms.

The beach had a very awkward tide system. At low tide it revealed a sandbar, which at full moon was very big. While at high tide a boat that was before the sandbar was at a water level up to my neck. The crabs at the beach came out of their holes and made very small or small sand balls. This beach was a very shelly beach. Some shells had living organisms in them, while others didn’t.

By: Austin Sachs

Edited by: Computer and Mom

More on the Beach...

One morning we took a ride on a fishing boat to Monkey Island. Monkey Island was fun. When we got there, there were no monkeys on the island. Then our boat driver made a weird monkey sound and they came down from the hills. The driver brought some bananas and we fed them to the monkeys. When the bananas were finished, we skipped rocks for a while, and Dad and I walked along the rocks on the shore. On the ride back home we saw some jumping fish.

On another day, Dad and I went on a kayaking trip. Mommy said that we should go along the shore, but Daddy wanted to go to another island next to Monkey Island. It was a very hard and tiring trip. When we got to the island, we sat in the boat and rested and drank some water. Then we paddled back.

by Acacia

Bangkok

You’ve heard a lot about the beach, but not much about Bangkok. Austin and Acacia’s favorite parts were probably all the western food that we got to eat. But we saw a lot of other stuff too. We took the sky train to many places.

On our first day we went and got tickets for the water taxi. Then we ran, and just caught the boat as it nearly left the dock. We rode it for a while and finally got off at a stop to see an old fort. Right behind the fort was a park. We walked through it and then went to get fruit shakes and iced coffee – yummy! Next we went to a market entirely of fruits and veggies. I’ve never seen sooo much pineapple. There was suppose to be the largest flower market nearby there as well – but we never found it. We stopped at a temple with the world’s largest reclining Buddha and then called it a day. Pizza Hut for supper.

My favorite part of Bangkok was the weekend market, Chatachuk. It was huge. We did some souvenir shopping. They sold tons of stuff there. Plenty of variety, everything from souvenirs to produce to homemade popsicles – which we tried.

We also went and saw a Thai stick puppet show. The puppets are controlled by three people – one has a stick for one arm and hand. Another person has a stick for the other arm and hand, and the head. Another person moves the feet. The people are dressed all in black. They did a few numbers on stage, and then ended up walking around the audience. One really surprised me by grabbing my neck from behind.

The next day we went to the snake farm. It was like a zoo and Acacia enjoyed it. I enjoyed the ride on the long boat in the canals to get there. Then it was time to go back to Phnom Pehn. We caught our flight back and next thing we know we are back in Cambodia.

by Janaya

Teaching English

Teaching English

When we first interviewed with Mennonite Central Committee and they suggested I teach English, both Roseann and I laughed. Being a native speaker of English does not mean one can pass on much if any of what is used. When you take your first foreign language you realize how little you know about language in general. My first foreign language was Koine Greek, a dead or unspoken language. It is a very sophisticated language, but thankfully unspoken. Read, write, translate, were the tasks of the class.

Fast-forward to Cambodia. Now I need only to listen and speak, no reading or writing. Speaking a foreign language is a whole different task. Thankfully I was doing this before I started teaching English. I now share a common frustration with my students, to hear a foreign language and speak it. I never realized how fast native speakers talk.

Teaching began long before I was ready or even understood the enormity of the task before me. So what do you do when you know nothing? Get to know your students and let them get to know you. I was given two partnership assignments. One was with the Council on Agriculture and Rural Development. The other was with the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia's drop in center called Bright Spark in Toul Kork. My work at EFC is more regular and in a setting I am familiar with, youth outreach. It is probably most telling of the state of things in Cambodia.

Public school students in Cambodia attend classes for only half a day, for all grades. I think this is mostly due to lack of funds being used for Education. In parts of the rural provinces there are no High Schools so students who want to continue most move to a city to finish their education. When I went to work at the drop in center I assumed I would be teaching neighborhood kids. With a lack of schools the neighborhoods this drop in center services is all Cambodia. We did introductions and most students were from provinces I had not heard of. I also thought my students would be high school age. Most if not all attend a University or Technical school. They have come to Phnom Penh to get a good education and find a good job.

Most families understand the importance of education in securing a good job. The majority of Cambodia is still rural and agricultural. So, while international trade is not a huge sector of Cambodia's economy, many businesses want employees who are fluent in English, the language of international trade.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia seeks to have an outreach with youth who are working to improve their lives. Most of the students in my class want to work in business and are working hard on learning English. One student wants to be a doctor and I can tell by his fluency he has spent much time studying already. Another student would like to be a translator. She will have many years of study yet to take. One student told me he would like to teach English and laughed. I suggested he teach Khmer to English speakers.

I have between twenty-five and thirty students in my class each day. They come with good attitudes but are very hesitant to speak English in front of their peers. Making mistakes in class is not what they are comfortable with. This greatly inhibits the amount of learning that can take place. To master the lesson one needs to practice verbally. While I point this out every time I ask for volunteers, they all seem happy just to listen.

My class is very popular for a couple of reasons. One is that it is taught by a native English speaker. I know correct pronunciation and intonation. Where their Khmer teachers can explain meanings better because they know Khmer. I speak clear, correct English, at least to their ears. They have begun to pick up that I am not good at spelling. The other big draw is that the class is free. Classes at the University or technical school are expensive and large. Through a grant from Global Family we are able to provide text books as well.

One program sponsored by MCC called IVEP brings Cambodian youth to the USA to learn English by immersion. In such an environment they have to use the language daily. I mentioned this program to my class and they were all interested. Such opportunities for them are extremely rare.

Our textbooks are British and I don't know how they were chosen. Sometimes it takes me several readings to understand the instructions, and I am a native speaker. I teach parts of speech through actual settings students might encounter. This allows for lots of pictures and forming a context for when such language will be used.

By design I speak only English in class. This forces students to realize that to truly understand the language, they have to use it. They have to ask their questions for me in English. This is probably the main reason my class is so quiet. They don't yet have the words to ask the the questions they have. If my Khmer teacher used only Khmer I would have been extremely frustrated, but I started my Khmer class with no language study. My students have all had previous language study. For them to understand me I often write what I am saying on the board. This forces me to slow down and helps the students see the correlation between what they heard and what it looks like in writing. Class goes very slow and we cover very little in one class period but without comprehension nothing is really learned.

After a couple months teaching we are using every seat in the classroom. While this should be encouraging, it makes class more difficult. I have far less time to interact with students one to one. Practice is the foundation of learning. My next task is to equip the classroom. I plan to visit some other english teaching schools to see what is available.

Christmas in Cambodia - 2009

Christmas in Cambodia - 2009

I'm trying to get my kids to blog about our holiday time in Thailand, but they are slow, so I’ll write about our Christmas celebration first. Christmas is not a holiday in this Buddhist country, so while MCC gave us the day off, most people here were working on December 25.

I worked until noon on Christmas Eve – I couldn’t bear doing more than that with the kids home, and the holiday upon us. We spent most of the afternoon and evening playing card games together - something we do often these days. We also went to Ron’s work place – a youth drop in center run by Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia – Kingdom Equipped Youth. They threw a Christmas party for any youth who wanted to drop by. There was a band, several soloists and Ron gave a sermon through an interpreter about the tradition of the Christmas tree and what it means to Christians. Everyone got a number when they arrived, and door prizes were given. My challenge was to hold all five of our numbers and be able to recognize them in Khmer should they be called. (I guess I’m the best with my Khmer numbers…) Well – we didn’t win any prizes – or I didn’t recognize our numbers if they were called! That evening we enjoyed more cards, and managed to put together a plate of three kinds of cookies: no bakes, snickerdoodles and Russian teacakes. No match for Ron’s Mom, but it was a start.

Christmas morning did not see us up bright and early – nothing new there. After breakfast we celebrated our Christmas. Austin accompanied us to the singing of Christmas carols – one chosen by each person (a Kroeker tradition – although it lasts much longer in that context). Ron read the Christmas story and then we opened gifts. Our tree was a live plant, decorated with white LED lights, and cheap stars that we found here. Unable to easily find wrapping paper, Ron put a Cambodian twist on the stocking tradition and basted together Kramas as gift bags. Most everything was in these bags. Acacia received some colored paper, balloons, two play animals and a fish bag from my family (our shopping). Janaya received a fish bag and a silk purse from my family. Austin plans to golf for his gift. Janaya found in her bag a can of Pringos, some Thai candy, a package of Oreo cookies, a gift card for some personal ice cream and had a case of pop / soda under the tree. Austin found in his bag a can of Pringos, some Thai candy, a package of Oreos… Acacia found in her bag a can of Pringos, some Thai candy… You get the picture. Pretty easy Christmas for us. Really, there wasn’t much here that the kids wanted, so this worked out fine. Janaya also got a new set of ear buds, Austin got more pencil lead and pencils, Acacia got a DS game - things they asked for. I got a can of smoked almonds. Ron a jar of blueberry jam. Simple pleasures.

From there we went to our church for a Christmas service. This was the only service on Christmas day in town so many people were there. We came home from church and prepared our Christmas dinner: duck (the New Year’s tradition from the Sachs family – although these were really small ducks), fresh green beans in garlic and mashed potatoes. We also had pumpkin pie and more cookies! First Christmas meal we have eaten together in shorts and bare feet – every one of us. Later that afternoon Ron through a Christmas party for his English class – since it was a normal day for most of them.

We did have a good Christmas together. Later, we skyped with both some of my family, and Ron’s parents – we missed seeing them in person this year. But we didn’t miss the snowy cross-country drive. A different, and simple Christmas this year – celebrating our Lord’s birth.

Christmas Letter 2009

Warm and humid greetings from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. As you read this letter we are nearing the midpoint of our stay here. Our observations are a bit more seasoned with each passing month. Each of us has unique experiences from our time here. A Christmas overseas is in itself unique and special.

The Christmas story is itself the beginning of God's out of country experience. Jesus left his home in heaven to live among us. Ours is much shorter and hopefully less wrought with trials and temptations. As we celebrated Christmas this winter we needed to summon the inner Christmas reality because the outer trimmings are far too sparse to kindle our hearts. Hopefully the lessons of this year abroad will make Christmas be about “Joy to the World” and not snow, lights, and fancy wrapping paper.

A lot of wonderful things came together to make this trip a reality. Since this is our second sabbatical trip we are much more seasoned and our expectations lower. Packing up a house of belongings went very smoothly, although it is an awful lot of work, and Roseann welcomed the chance to rid us of much accumulated junk. Having a barn on the property made storage economical and simple. Except for our cars, everything stored in the barn was mouse proof. All the furnishings and clothes not mouse proof ended up in our finished attic playroom. I found a design for a mouse proof fence to put up around the cars. In six months I’ll find out if it truly worked.

Acacia had some serious knee issues in the spring. After many trips to many doctors we got the help and answers needed to feel safe about coming here for a year. We feared it was arthritis for quite a while, or maybe Lyme, but it seems it was a serious growing pain issue, not so uncommon in girls.

Our church helped with our going by setting up an account to fund our kid’s school cost, and throwing a fund raising dinner at church on our last Sunday in the US. MCC could not afford the cost and neither could we on a sabbatical salary. Thanks to the many friends and family who contributed to that. The children are attending Logos International School, started by Asian Hope. It is a Christian K-12 school that educates some Cambodian orphans along with other Cambodian and international students.

Renting out your house is a lot like selling except you have to fix it up twice. I did all the repairs to make it rentable and will repair it again when we move back. A good friend from church is managing our rental agreement all year. Thanks to Craigslist, the advertising was free. Having a renter was the final step to being able to go. Sadly we were still putting the final details of our move together as MCC orientation began. Meeting all the people who were going out for service work was impressive. With the global economic downturn we knew fewer people would be able to go. It was like we made the cut to be on the team. As we learned where others were going, we considered our assignment one of the safer ones.

Being overseas is everything they tell you it will be. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. We have found this to be very true as our hearts keeps remembering the treasures we have in the US, both material and relational. Everything eastern is quite cheap here. Western imports, if available, are expensive. Breakfast at the neighborhood café for $0.75 and coffee for $0.50 are probably some of the better bargains. The highlight of my (Ron) year is getting to drive motorcycle. For a brief while I contemplated getting one when we returned, but as carpel tunnel started affecting my one good hand, I’ve had second thoughts. Traffic is impossible to describe. To survive I keep telling myself I am in no hurry, take no risks, brakes are safer than the accelerator. The majority of people drive motorcycle so I go with the swarm and shield myself from uncivil auto drivers. I have seen my neighbors laugh as I wait at a red light with no opposing traffic. For some reason, my neighbors think such behavior is funny. I teach English five days a week at a Christian drop in center two blocks from our apartment. The young adults I teach are eager to learn as it improves the possibility of employment. Class proceeds very slowly and the teacher talks way to fast. I had a great volunteer last week, Janaya. She needs service hours for school. I speak very slow compared to her. We are having a party on Christmas day…something no teacher would try in the U.S. Since it is a normal workday, I thought why not. One more day to try to explain the significance of the holiday.

Janaya turned fifteen this year and is a freshman at Logos. She enjoys being in a small Christian school. It would be easy to learn everyone’s name, if the names weren’t so unfamiliar! The majority of the students at Logos are Asian: Cambodia, Phillipino and Korean. Her most challenging class is Khmer. She enjoys the markets, the warm weather, and the food in Cambodia. Her favorite Cambodian dish is ginger chicken. She misses her friends very much. And as many of you know, she ended up in a Bangkok hospital for surgery and two weeks of recovery for a bacterial infection in her knee in mid September. That was a challenging time. It took a lot of mom and daughter physical therapy, but her range of motion has all returned. Still a little weak in that leg, however.

Austin is in the 7^th grade. Logos has given him some great opportunities as well: a chance to play basketball on a middle school team, and to learn trumpet for the band. Instruments were borrowed from here and there, and there wasn’t a French horn available. But Austin had already been asking to learn trumpet in the US! There school moved this last week to a larger facility and Austin was asked to help move and set up the new computer labs. Another great opportunity – of course there was pizza for lunch, and sodas during the day – things we don’t have too often here! His favorite snack after school is fresh watermelon – and it seems we will have those all year long! He also likes the sugar cane chunks sold on the street and fried bananas.

Acacia’s school year (4^th grade) has been the most challenging, as she ended up with a very strict teacher. However, things are much better now than they were for the first couple months. She has two good American friends at school. She will tell you that not having a big yard, and pets to play with is the hardest thing for her in Cambodia. We have tried the pet thing twice for her – a guinea pig, and a small rabbit – but they both died within a month. We don’t know what is going on there. She likes to ride on Dad’s motorcycle and in a tuk-tuk. She also loves the cold, fresh coconut drinks. She likes the markets as well, and can find her way out of the maze in the Russian Market much better than the rest of us. We were able to put her in a Saturday morning soccer program, and while it is weak compared to US standards, that chance to run around on a grass field has made a big difference in her life. She is, I think, also the star at her age level.

I (now Roseann) am working in chemistry at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. I am working to build up the capacity of the faculty by helping them develop new laboratory experiments, new curriculum, and new research projects, especially in the area of green chemistry. I have enjoyed teaching the department (faculty and students) how to use one of their brand new state-of-the art instruments, but on other days, I can’t find a simple piece of filter paper, or a beaker! I had been so happy to find in the lab the chemical that I needed to start my research project, only to eventually determine (and have the chair confirm) that it was actually something else in the bottle! Now everything is coming from Vietnam. Really, every day is fascinating. There are many foreigners that work at the university for short, and long periods of time – all in different areas. We have coffee every morning, and then eat lunch together as well. I’ve learned much about Cambodia and the world from them. It has been so encouraging to be part of that diverse team. I do bike to work – not entirely enjoyable in this traffic, but between the ride and the 125 steps up to my office – I stay in shape. I’ve also had the opportunity to accompany a community choir this year, and lead worship singing at our church as well. Other than the challenges of keeping my family healthy with all the new bugs here, I have really enjoyed Phnom Penh. (But of course, we haven’t gotten to hot season yet!)

Well, you know – since we aren’t printing this letter this year, we can afford to write more. Hope you are not getting bored.

We are not on vacation this year, so with work, church and school obligations, we have not traveled a whole lot yet. We try to find something fun to do every weekend, whether it be swimming, a local attraction, or a walk along the riverside. We don’t have a car, so any family outing requires a ride in a tuk-tuk. We all enjoy getting together with other MCC team members, whether it be for lunch on the roof at MCC on Fridays, a staff meeting, or a holiday gathering. Another great group of people we have gotten a chance to know this year! Most evenings we are all in the house by 6:00 – when it gets dark. So when there isn’t too much homework, we play games. In late August, we went to the beach for a short weekend. In late October, my parents visited, and we took a trip to Siem Reap – a smaller town in the northern part of the country that is the gateway to the famous ancient temple ruins – Angkor Wat. It was SO good to have my parents here. We had a chance to show them our lives here and the visit was just what we needed, coming just a few weeks after Janaya returned home from the hospital. We’ve taken a couple trips into the country – which is refreshing. The city is always busy. Today, Sunday the 20^th – we had a joint English service that included Anglican, Catholic, Assemblies of God and an interdenominational congregation. It was encouraging to look around and see so many Christian people working in Phnom Penh, gathered in one place. After that, we tried Korean food for the first time with friends from Logos, and then had a walk along the riverside. While many of you were getting snow again, we were grateful for the clouds that made the day bearable for a walk!

We will spend one week in Thailand over Christmas break, seeing Janaya’s surgeons for a follow up appointment, and staying at Christian guesthouses in both Bangkok and on the beach. We leave on the 27^th and are all looking forward to it! We have been blessed to experience many new things this year. While the work that Ron and I do is important, I am always so glad that my children will have had such an eye-opening experience, and hope that they will always see the world differently than before.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers on our behalf this year. We appreciate your continued prayers for safety and good health, and rewarding work and school. We will be home (in PA) again next July, but the date is not yet set. As we celebrate Christmas in a very different way this year, we also wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ron, Roseann, Janaya, Austin and Acacia

Recent Birthdays

Three girls in this house have recently celebrated birthdays so I thought I’d tell you a little about them. Traditionally, Cambodians have not celebrated birthdays, as many of them do not even know when their birthdays are. However, that is changing, especially in the city. Wealthy families are known to celebrate with quite elaborate parties. A few weeks ago we knew there was a party in our neighborhood when we heard the western birthday song being played.

Acacia had a big birthday in October. She moved into double digits. There weren’t many things here that she really wanted, so we got a number of small things, and hid them around the house, made clues, and had a scavenger hunt. She always liked that, even in Pennsylvania. Good for us too – we don’t know yet where to buy wrapping paper! She followed clues to find several plastic animals, a hackey-sack like toy that Cambodians play with, a pack of six chocolate milk boxes, her own carton of chocolate ice cream in the freezer, a certificate for an elephant ride at Wat Phnom, and a certificate for her own Facebook account (much to Janaya and Austin’s frustration.) She chose egg rolls for her birthday meal here at home. Later she chose a German restaurant we have found within walking distance of our house. Now, she didn’t choose the place for the food, but for the cats that the owner has walking about. But as it turned out - one of the cats had just had kittens, and it wouldn’t even come out and see us. But the cucumber salad there is just like both of her Grandmas make, and it is wonderful. And she had a brat and fried potatoes (no rice!).

Next came my birthday. I turned 29 (again). It was on a work day. I had planned to go to MCC for lunch on the roof, but alas, it was cancelled. So, I decided to work through lunch to use equipment that later had to be used in a teaching lab. I ended up eating alone, deciding to try a “new” dish at the canteen for my birthday – sweet and sour pork. The meat looked great, but once you got past the breading, it was mostly fat, AND bone. Cambodians eat all of this, but not me. You know, I think sweet and sour pork as we know it is an American dish. Ron got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers – like the ones that would be used at a wedding or funeral here. I also got an orchid, and a certificate for a massage, which I cashed in on today (International Human Rights Day – a national holiday). I’ve never had a massage before, but they are cheap here. I didn’t go for the traditional Thai or Khmer version. I’ve heard they can be pretty rough. We haven’t found a chance to go out yet for my birthday, but I’m going to choose some ethnic food that we haven’t yet tried, maybe Lebanese, or Japanese.

Janaya turned 15 at the end of November, another big birthday. Her gifts were wrapped in the prescription gift bag that we got from the hospital in Bangkok! She asked for art supplies: colored pencils, colored paper and pastels, something to do when there is no TV and someone else is on the computer! Actually, she picked everything out herself. She also got two body sprays from the Khmer store near us, and again, her own tub of chocolate fudge ice cream. Her birthday was on a Sunday and I think the best part of it for her was the two hours she spent Skyping with all her girlfriends from Slate Hill. They had recently sent a package and Janaya opened it in front of them! Later that day, we took a trip out to see the new Logos campus, and then we went to church. She chose Indian food for her birthday, and we tried out a new restaurant downtown. Indian food is so good. We are beginning to wonder what restaurants we will find interesting after we move back to central Pennsylvania! Later that week, Janaya chose ginger pork for her special meal at home. That is one of her favorites. Her birthday will conclude with a Mom and daughter shopping trip for clothes, once end of the semester finals are over. There are 3 indoor shopping malls in town now, but we think we are going to try the new Golden Soriya. It is an outdoor mall, but new and spacious – as compared to the traditional markets – and it has a lot of little clothes shops!

-Roseann

Getting Chemicals in Phnom Penh

As I have written before, the research project I am working on this year involves the use of whole plant parts as reagents in organic synthesis. It is a great project for a place like Cambodia as one can explore the use of a variety of vegetables, bought at the local market, as reagents. Last time I looked, there hadn't been any research of this sort published out of Asia. It is also ideal in that as a green chemistry project, the reaction solvent is water, and there really are no other expensive reagents. The solvent used at the end of the reaction can be recycled and used again. All I needed to start this project was some interesting reagents from a chemical storeroom that could either by oxidized, reduced or hydrolyzed, a couple solvents and the vegetables. (Those will be the only chemistry words in this post.) The project was designed for a place like Phnom Penh!

I had been told there were a lot of old chemicals (Russian era) around the department at RUPP. Well, turns out, most of these are inorganic chemicals, and not useful in my work. Actually, for most of these, there are probably 50 bottles of exactly the same thing - something that was at one time donated or very cheap! In reality, there are very few organic chemicals here. But I did find the one I wanted to use most - the one reagent that would get me started and keep me going for quite some time.

However, I have spent the last several weeks trying to figure out if the reagent really is what the bottle says it is. I've got one new, very useful instrument here that has helped me conclude that this is not the case. I've tried several methods of purification, but none have worked as they should have. With additional interpretation from Anne, back at Messiah College, I have now decided to order new.

Meanwhile, I had ordered a few unique chemicals for my work that would take me further. Here in chemistry, the faculty take a couple trips a year by bus to HoChiMinh City to purchase supplies and chemicals. They went this fall, but alas, I never knew about the trip until the day they brought their "treasures" home. A Dutch colleague of mine ordered his research chemicals through a Vietnamese man in town, and I decided to go that route.

Placing the order was easy. Getting the chemicals picked up has been another. I was given a house and street number for a trucking company here in town. Last week I took a moto ride to this street twice, and looked for the house. (I do not yet find moto rides pleasurable.) The house numbers stopped one below the number I had been given! And best I could tell from the map, this wasn't a very long street. So, even if the numbers were not in order, I should have found it. I walked the whole thing twice!

I even gave my phone to my motodup driver, and he called the place. He wasn't able to communicate with them.

So I asked my Dutch friend again. Sure enough I had been given the wrong street number. And yes, I have no language skills with which to communicate with them. They only speak Vietnamese - no English or Khmer.

Today I got a call on my phone. I recognized the number. The Trucking Company. The only word that was spoken to me was "Vietnam." I'm hoping my chemicals are in. I'll soon be off with one of the national MCC staff, this time in the truck, to pick them up - hopefully to the correct street this time.

Nothing is simple here. Thank goodness for the arrival of my second care package from Messiah College chemistry yesterday! Better than candy and food. They are supplying me with many other things that have turned out to be hard to find in chemistry at RUPP, but not chemicals. Opening the box will be like an early Christmas for me!

- Roseann