Motos--A Way of Life

In Cambodia, just about every family has at least one motorcycle.  Here, it’s like the family car.  Everyone refers to motorcycles as “motos”.  The current record I’ve seen is seven people on a moto at one time. People here have amazing balance and strong core muscles due to them riding motos all over the country.  I remember a time when my Dad drove me to a school parking lot and tried to teach me how to ride a motorcycle. I failed miserably that day. I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of the clutch and gearshift.  Well, all that is in the past.  This past week, I rode a moto here in Cambodia and loved it!  There’s just something about putting on a helmet, tilting the visor down, and hitting the road on two wheels. I don’t think you’ll see me on a moto carrying 100 chickens or 2 adult pigs (a common scene here), but I will definitely ride a moto any chance I get.  Dad, if you’re reading this, you should know that the lesson you gave me 15 years ago has finally paid off.

--Alan

Angelina

Cambodia seems to have significantly impacted Angelina Jolie.  One of her adopted children, Maddox, is from Cambodia.  The actress has filmed several movies in Cambodia as well, and her time here surely has encouraged her desire to do humanitarian work.  Angelina also seems to have impacted Cambodia.  One day here, I met a young woman and her newborn baby.  I asked the woman what her baby girl’s name was, and she responded “Jolie.”  Confused as this was not a Cambodian name I had heard before, I asked her the name again.  She then explained that she had named her daughter after Angelina Jolie.  A few months ago when we were looking for an apartment, one of the landlords told us that she was also the landlord of Jolie’s orphanage in Cambodia.  The orphanage was within walking distance from the apartment, so the landlord took us on a tour.  Unfortunately, for all of you star struck folks, we opted for a different apartment.  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt also have started the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, an organization that initiates community development projects in Cambodia.  The office of the MJP Foundation is just a few doors down from our organization’s café-bakery where we are working this month, and many of its volunteers enjoy coming here for a meal.  Perhaps Angelina might come here as well sometime soon to enjoy some fish tacos or a piece of carrot cake. J

--Katy

Book Recommendations

This past year, we have been reading through the devotional: Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, compiled by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro.  It has been a great way to start each day, and we both would encourage others to go through it.  It is a refreshing combination of ancient and new.

We also both recently completed the book Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger.  This book tells the true story of a missionary woman who worked with gang members in the slums of Hong Kong.  It is an incredible page-turning story that shows how the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer transformed an entire community.  If you need to be reminded of God’s might and ability to change lives, this is a great read.

--Katy

Road Construction

About a month ago we noticed concrete cylinders standing on end, lining our dirt road. We had heard rumors that our dirt road was going to be paved one day but no one knew when the construction would start. I had tried to ask our neighbors several times but conversations always ended with an “I don’t know”.    The next weekend an official looking man in uniform came down our road and was talking with our neighbors. Again I tried to ask if they knew when the construction would start. Still no one could tell me.

A few weeks ago on a Tuesday morning Katy and I started to get into our car when our neighbor tells us that we can’t get through because construction has started. I walked down the road to find a backhoe digging up the center of our road. Our car was trapped for a little over a week while they installed the new sewer drain for our road. We are currently waiting for our dirt road to be paved, but I don’t have the slightest idea of when that will happen…

Enjoy,

Alan

Water Buffalo

This post is mostly for our niece and nephew.  Evidentally, Larry the Cucumber wasn't completely wrong.  It seems that in rural Cambodia, everybody really does "got a water buffalo."

If you're totally confused, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltG37Bbx1qk

--Katy

Good Reads

I recently finished 2 books. One is Half the Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. This book explains how empowering women in impoverished countries will effect change. There are lots of ideas and resources in the book for ways people from the “1^stworld” can help. The book is filled with stories about real people in real situations. Some of the topics it discusses are human trafficking, education, microloans, and medical treatment.

The 2^nd book is A Billion Bootstraps Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman. This book suggests using business principles as a way to end poverty. It provides examples of how microcredit and microloans have helped to end the cycle of poverty. This book is helpful for people who are interested in the details of microcredit, whether someone is wanting to start their own microloan or is wanting to give to one. 

--Alan

The Bamboo Train

If you’ve ever been to Cedar Point, Indiana Beach, or any other amusement park with wooden roller coasters you have had a similar experience to riding on the Bamboo train in Cambodia. The Bamboo train is a platform made of bamboo, a small engine, and two barbell axles that make for a fun trip down an old railway. An interesting note… there are multiple bamboo trains on one set of tracks. When another Bamboo train is heading in the opposite direction of the one you’re riding, you simply both stop. One of the bamboo trains is lifted off the tracks, and the other one goes hurling down the track. Bamboo trains are light weight but can carry up to 3 tons!

Enjoy this video.

-Alan