4 Jonahs

I feel that it is impossible to describe the street where we live.  I think on an urban street of comparable length in the U.S., there might be 30 homes.  A suburban street would have even fewer homes.  Lets be generous and say that on this urban American street there are 5 people living in each house.  This means that about 150 people live on the street.  I honestly think that on our street in Cambodia about 150 people live just at our end of the street.  There is so much housing on our street; there must be hundreds of people that I could call neighbors.  With so many people living on our street, it is no surprise that I meet someone new almost daily.  After Jonah was born, we started being more aware that our street was teeming with children.  We were surprised to find that the name Jonah is actually a pretty common name on our street.  There is a boys’ home a few doors down from us, and one of the boys there is named the Khmer version of Jonah “Yuu-nah”.  A few months ago, I met a German family that had recently moved to our street, and one of their sons is named the German version of Jonah “Yo-nah.”  Then a new multi-generational family moved in right next to us a few months ago.  The family is fairly large, and I still haven’t figured out how everyone is related.  They have opened a small store/restaurant, so there are often different people hanging out there, and I’m honestly still trying to understand who actually lives there.  All this to be said, until recently, I somehow forgot to ask them the name of the one-year-old boy who lives there.  So last week, I asked their son’s name.  They answered: “Yuu-nah.” Confused, thinking that maybe I had asked them if they knew the name of my son, I asked again.  I got the same answer: “Yuu-nah.” The confused look on my face pushed them to give further explanation: “You know like in the Bible, the big fish.”  I laughed and said that I definitely knew that story since my son also is named Jonah.  As I go out on the street, I expect to meet a lot of Pisets, Samnangs, or Sopieps (more common Khmer names), but I never expected that there would be 4 Jonahs living on our street!  Maybe there are even more whom I haven’t met yet!

-Katy

Anointed for Burial

We both just finished reading this incredible book by Tom and DeAnn Burke.  Anointed for Burial is a personal account of their time serving in Cambodia right before the Khmer Rouge took over.  There are so many books written about these horrifying years in Cambodia, but this book speaks of God’s power, miracles, and goodness.  If you’ve ever wondered where God was during this time, this book will show you.  This book reads quickly because it is so exciting.  It encouraged both of us to continue praying and to be confident that God wants to work in the lives of the people of Cambodia.

--Katy

What's in a Name?

Do you spend hours pondering what your name would be in Cambodia?  Well, today is your lucky day!  I will take you through a step by step process to figure out your Cambodian name.  To figure out your “last” name or family name, identify and write down your paternal grandfather’s first name.  For me the name is ‘Charles’ because my dad’s dad was named Charles.  In Cambodia, the family name actually goes first instead of last.  After this name, write your first name.  Okay, that’s it!  You’re done! It’s very simple. Just 2 names.  This is your name for your entire life whether you get married or not.  Your name does not change.

So my name in Cambodia would be: “Charles Katy”

It’s interesting how in the U.S. we put so much emphasis on first and last names.  People might refer to us there as “The Beringer Family.”  However, in Cambodia Alan, Jonah, and I would all have different family names (well, actually that’s not entirely true since Alan’s grandfather and father both have the same first name).  When we signed our lease for our apartment, our landlord got a little weird that we had the same last name until it was explained that we weren’t brother and sister but that I had changed my name when I got married! Family names aren’t used as frequently in Cambodia as they are in the U.S.  Instead of calling your teacher “Mr. Smith,” you would just call him “Teacher.”  Instead of calling my parents’ friends “Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so,” I would call them “Aunt and Uncle” and not use their names—just “Aunt and Uncle.”  I have also noticed something interesting about Cambodian nicknames.  I’ve observed that in English, we tend to drop the end of the name to create a nickname, so “Katy” would be “Kate,” and “Alan” would be “Al.”  In Cambodia people tend to drop the beginning, so I guess my nickname could be “Tea,” and Alan’s could be “An.”  No one calls us that though.  Our names are already complicated enough.  A few children who know that we go together but can’t remember who is who just call us “AlanKaty.”

-Katy

WWF

Since our son was born, I’ve had this conversation with a few Cambodian men:

Man: What’s your son’s name?

Me: Jonah

Man: Oh, like “Jon-Si-Naa”

Me: Who is “Jon-Si-Naa”?

Man: You don’t know who “Jon-Si-Naa” is?  He is from the United States.

Me: What does he do?

Man:  He is a wrestler.

Somewhere in one of those conversations, WWF came up, so I got curious and did a little internet research.  I discovered that there is a WWF wrestler named John Cena.  Here is a picture:

 

Apparently there is a media scandal going around that John Cena died, but don’t worry it isn’t true.  He’s still alive.

 Also, technically he is a WWE wrestler as the name was changed from World Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment.  But I will be honest, I haven’t thought much about professional wrestling since I used to watch the Hulk Hogan cartoon on Saturday mornings, so I still think of it as WWF.

It’s amazing what I learn about American culture by living overseas.

 

--Katy

 

Relief

A couple days ago some fairly heavy rains came down.  I had just gotten home, so I stood on the balcony and enjoyed the cool breeze.  The rain was quite a relief as it has been in the 100’s the last few weeks (and I don’t even want to go into the heat index and humidity levels!).  It’s hot season here in Cambodia, so rain, for me, is precious.  As I stood and looked at the rain falling from my sturdy concrete apartment, I started to feel a little guilty about being happy about the rain.  Most Cambodians dread the rain.  It makes riding motorcycles and bikes much more difficult.  It comes in through the cracks in their roofs and floods quickly, sometimes dumping raw sewage into their homes.  As I thought about this, I found myself singing the song from my childhood about the story Jesus told of the wise man and foolish man:

The wise man built his house upon the rock.
The wise man built his house upon the rock.
The wise man built his house upon the rock.
And the rains came a tumbling down.

The rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
And the rains came a tumbling down.

The rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
And the house on the sand went splat!

I know this song is metaphorical, but I found myself asking, but what about Cambodians who want to have sturdy and safe housing but can’t afford it?  They aren’t foolish.  They just don’t have the resources.  And then I remembered something Martin Luther King Jr. had said,

“For you will never be what you ought to be until they (your fellow humans) are what they ought to be.”

I’ve always liked that quote.  What a good reminder that we are only as good the weakest person, that justice for others not only helps them but helps me, and injustice for others not only hurts them, it hurts me.  It is easy for me in my safe, concrete apartment to watch the rain and think of myself as wise, but I guess I really can’t consider myself wise until everyone else on Earth has the resources they need. 

This reminds me of something else Jesus said:

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  --1 Corinthians 1:27

I am humbled.

--Katy

 

Confession to an addiction

While we were in Thailand waiting for our son Jonah to be born, I was introduced to Thai Iced Tea   “Cha-yen”. I was instantly addicted to this tea as it’s available at every street vendor and even in the 7-Eleven stores, which are everywhere.

This tea consists of sugar, Thai Black tea, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. It has to be the sweetest tea I have ever had, and of course it became my new favorite tea.

You would think that Cambodia would have this tea since it borders Thailand, but sadly I have not found the exact same thing. Cambodia has a similar tea, but it isn’t the same. “Same Same But Different” is the saying here.

Thai Black Tea

Luckily I have been able to find all the ingredients in Cambodia so I can now make my own Cha-yen Tea. Please don’t tell my dentist. I’m sure that 10 out of10 dentists don’t recommend anyone drinking this type of tea.

If you’re interested in trying the tea, here's the recipe:

Mix together
1-2 Tbsp sugar
2-3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
5-6 oz of hot brewed Thai Black Tea
Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Fill one large glass with ice.
Add 1 Tbsp evaporated milk.
Add mixture from above.
Add 1 Tbsp evaporated milk.
Enjoy yummy sweet goodness. This takes sweet tea to a whole new level.

-Alan

Some Punny Pictures

Jonah recently had 2 cute little teeth come in. Each new stage for Jonah brings new Khmer vocabulary for me. I just learned that 'to brush one's teeth' and 'to have one's teeth come in' are homophones (same sound different spelling) in Khmer. So, here are my punny pictures. I'm not sure anyone else will think it's funny, but I do. --Katy