Well, i finally made it Vietnam after a week of vigorous training, and two long days of flying!
What’s it like you ask? Hot and humid! But i’m so glad to be here.
I got all settled in my little room yesterday. I’m staying in a little hotel with five other girls on my team. We each have our own room with a bathroom and they all open out onto a balcony that overlooks the inner courtyard of the hotel. We’re about a couple minutes walk from the main street with all the shops and markets.
There’s so much to tell even after only a few days of being here, so i’ll just hit some of the highlights.
- Traffic here is INSANE. Traffic rules don’t seem to apply. I crossed the street for the first time last night and thought that I was going to die.
- I’m starting classes on Saturday and will be teaching one teen class and two adult classes. I’ll be teaching tues, thurs, and sat. We got our curriculum just a few hours ago, so i’m excited to look over that!
- I had Pho for breakfast this morning at a little shop on the street. Soup for breakfast will take some getting used too! But i’m getting better at chopsticks!
- There’s so many people here! On the streets, driving, selling things, and just talking. Even though it seems so busy here, the culture is very relaxed and people oriented. I like it.
- I had coconut milk yesterday still in the coconut with a straw inside. My new favorite drink!
- I had vanilla ice-cream yesterday made with coconut milk…loved it!
- There’s so much to tell, but i think those are the highlights

[First They Killed My Father], which is a bestseller, even in America, was written by a girl who was 5 years old in 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took over. It has been really eye-opening, as what happened is told from her perspective, and I see how quickly it happened, how unfair it was, and what some of the different hardships were that families endured. People who could potentially start a revolt or were educated were killed, as well as people who were soldiers previously. The family this book follows survives the first few months by keeping their identity secret, acting as an uneducated peasant family, submitting to any of the new soldiers’ demands. This is all very real to me, as I see the effects of the Khmer Rouge here in Phnom Penh, in the diversity of buildings, the poverty, and the age of the population. Most people here are 20 years or younger, and anyone who is 30 or older survived the Khmer Rouge.

There are 4 modes of transportation here in Cambodia: cars, bicycles, motos, and tuk-tuks (motos with a carriage on the back, kind of like a taxi service). It is strange – we definitely stand out because we walk places! People just don’t walk places, because they have one of the above, or because they live where they “work”. Cars are pretty new here, so the streets have rules that are more like guidelines. Cars drive wherever is convenient, regardless of what side of the road it is on even! For example, to cross a busy street, all we do is walk out into it, and cars just drive around us rather than stop. To get gas, motos and tuk-tuks stop at places on the side of the road where people sell gas in coke liter bottles. They funnel it into the moto and off we go! Also, it is difficult to drive as an American, because the police know you have money. The corruption is pretty bad, so you can just pay off the police here. If you get pulled over, you normally have to pay about 5 to 10 dollars, and then they just let you go. Yesterday, we got pulled over for going through a street that was apparently “1-way for vehicles” but not for motos or tuk-tuks. After some bargaining, we drove off having paid 5 dollars.

Szia!

Amidst the mild chaos of life here at the Bicske camp I find little segments of time when the internet room is open and I’m not engulfed with lesson planning or negotiating with the camp administration. The times are rare, usually involving a 40+ email blitz with Facebook and blog comments galore. It’s an even rarer occurrence that I respond to these emails with enough time to do a blog update, but this is one of those times, and I’m very excited to give you a small account of some of the many good things that have been happening here.

About a week ago I was sitting on my favorite bench in the camp with one of our team’s most loved refugees, Muhammed, a 20 year-old Somali with an amazing soccer game who must be the kindest, most respectful, hard-working person here. We were discussing America and different ways of getting there to work. A few minutes after the conversation had died down he looked over at me and said in a low voice “Pierce, I am going to America next July, but don’t let the cat out of the bag.” We both began to laugh because that was one of the idioms that our advanced class has been learning. It was encouraging for Val and Austin to hear that he had used it. They are making very good progress with their class.

Last weekend after our last class on Thursday and playing soccer with the guys at the camp, we attended a birthday party of one of our dear friends, Emra. Turning 12, his family had set up two tables and a colorful banner in front of their apartment. The party was said to begin at 7:00, but really didn’t get underway until 8:30, at which point they lit the candles on a cake and sang the Afghani version of the Happy Birthday Song. Set up on the table was a posh layout, relative to the normal standards of the camp, with fruit, nuts, cookies, and two traditional Afghani cakes baked by a wonderful lady who almost forced it on us (and I’m glad she did.) Emra and his younger sister danced to a song that I believe was Moroccan, while everyone clapped in unison in a circle around them. The time was sweet as the team experienced Afghani hospitality at its finest. Afterwards, the ladies (Val and Jenny included) went into another private room for an after party, which apparently consisted of belly dancing, while Austin and I hung out with a group of 15 Afghani boys in the parking lot. We were struck by how much fun these guys were having, dancing in a circle to music blaring from their cell phones. By the end of the time, Habib, the group’s ringleader, had coerced us into the middle of the circle with Shun, our Japanese friend, to perform a traditional Afghani dance, of which I’m sure I made a disgrace.

Friday morning, with all of the refugees leaving to go to Budapest, our team decided to do the same and took the 10:45 train to the Budapest Deli train station. From there, Jenny broke off from the team to go to Debrecen to see the other teachers. Austin, Val, and I stayed in Pest. We went to Gellert thermal baths for the afternoon, then to Margaret Island later in the evening to attend an outdoor opera, Aida, at the beautiful Budpaest Summer Opera venue under the Water Tower. We did feel a little underdressed (I forgot to pack my tux), but we had a great time. Val and Austin left at intermission in an attempt to catch a train back to Bicske for the night.  I decided to stay and bet on an even later train. After the opera ended at 12:15 I made my way towards the train station. About midway through my walk in a busy area of the city, who should I stumble across but Val and Austin coming back from the station. They had missed the last train by twenty minutes and the next one was going to leave at 4:30. Of course this meant that the night was spent at a disco on Margaret Island, none of us being willing to put up the cash for a hotel room for four hours. Saturday was spent back at Bickse sleeping to an intense storm that lasted most of the day.

One of our class cut-ups is a 16 or 17 year-old Afghani kid who sports a faux hawk and a gold chain. The first day he came to class he introduced himself as James Bond. The real names are difficult enough to remember so I decided to roll with it and call him James Bond from now on. The whole team now knows him as such. Whenever I see him I yell ”James Bond!” and start singing the theme song.

Last night walking home from dinner I had a great conversation with one of my Muslim friends here. The sky was packed with bright stars from horizon to horizon and I said “My friend, look at these beautiful stars. It reminds me of when God promised Abraham this many sons and daughters. Do you know this story?” “Ah, yes, my friend.” he said “Very well, very well.” He may be the most devout Muslim in the camp, making the hour-long trip to the Budapest Mosque at least once every day. I hope to have increased conversation with him.

Your prayers are appreciated. Keep praying for effectiveness in teaching, and for opportunity and boldness to make Christ look great!

Koszonom!

Grocery Shopping:
We have been to two different grocery stores: one is considered a “supermarket” (like Sams) and the other is a local “market” (like a small Kroger or Save-a-Lot). I like the smaller store better because it isn’t crowded and we can still find the items we need. They do not have ground hamburger meat in the stores. Only fish, sausages, pork, and whole chickens. We were lucky to find a few chicken breasts already cut and trimmed. Pasta, rice, bread, and vegetables are easy and quick to cook, so we have been eating a lot of these foods. Having pasta for lunch and dinner every day for 2 weeks is getting a bit old. We are hoping to get invited to homes for dinner, but no such luck, yet. I am very glad I bought peanut butter before I left America because there is none in Russia. Russians have never even heard of it! We are going to make some good American peanut butter cookies soon!!

Restaurants:
There are no fast food restaurants in Novgorod, only small cafes. The Russian people only eat out on special occasions or if they have guests. Since we are guests in this country, some people have invited us out to eat. First course is usually a cold salad (not a green/lettuce salad, though): chicken salad, tomatoes and cucumbers, or mix of cold canned vegetables. Next is the main entree: “surprise” meat (usually pork and beef mix or chicken) and vegetables (green beans, peas, corn). Third is usually fruit or a dessert of some kind. It was good, but not comparable to restaurants back home.

Our Apartment:
In Europe, apartments are called “flats.” Our flat is on the first floor, so we only had to drag our luggage up a few stairs. It is VERY nice compared to Russian standards. Actually, it is very nice compared to American standards, as well. It has two bedrooms, a shower room, toilet room, kitchen, and living room. We have a flat screen TV, in which we only receive Russian channels, but occasionally we will find a cartoon on Nickelodeon or a movie that we recognize. There is no air conditioner, but really we have no need for it. The weather has been very nice and temperatures range from mid-60s to mid-70s.

Transportation:
The bus system in Novgorod is the major mode of transportation, though more people are starting to drive cars. We take the bus to and from the university every day. The administrator of the university’s summer English program provided us with a bus pass for the duration of our stay. The more we ride the bus, the easier it is to get around. Even though I can’t read the street names, I have memorized things by landmarks.

People:
Most Russians we have met are very friendly and hospitable. Our students have bent over backwards to help us get adjusted to living here. One of our adult students drove us to the larger grocery store so we wouldn’t have to carry our bags home on the bus. I have felt very welcome since arriving in Novgorod. It really does feel like home.

We have had our first full week of teaching, and it went really well.  Kelly is teaching PE and drama, Rachel is teaching art and science projects, Megan is teaching geography and international culture studies, Lacy is teaching painting styles, Bethany is teaching photography, Kamaya is teaching 1st and 2nd grade, and I am teaching creative writing.  The students really enjoy the wide variety, and the other Logos teachers were impressed with the fun lessons we have been doing.
Every morning we all gather together at 8am to pray for the day and for our teaching.  We ask that the Lord be with us and that we are able to shine and radiate his light through our teaching and through our relationships with our students and with each other.
My 8th grade class is very small: only 7 students.  Six of them are from Cambodia, and one of them is from Malaysia.  They are all very sweet.  One thing that my teammates and I have noticed is how long the students take on assignments.  My students at home just try to rush through their work, but here they take their time and want to do well!  (it’s just so refreshing!)

One hilarious similarity though: the fascination and obsession with Twilight and Harry Potter series.  I asked them to write a story using the elements we had brainstormed together as a class.  We had generated a list of their favorite characters, settings, conflicts, and resolutions from stories and they had to mix them up to create a new story.  The girl group wrote a story featuring Bella and Edward Cullen, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, where they were extras in a Japanese film.  It was hilarious!  The boy group wrote a story about Cinderella taken prisoner from Pizza the Hut, and Harry Potter tried to rescue her, but she was already eaten by Pizza.  Also hilarious!  So there you go all you people who laughed at me for liking both of those series: they are loved all over the world!

Devotion

We do get to teach a devotion time every morning with our students for 15 minutes.  This past week we talked about Joy and Faith.  We talked about what it meant to have real joy, and the difference between happiness and joy.  Cambodians are very happy, pleasant people so the happiness question is not really an issue.  But, talking about joy and what that means was interesting, but I feel like they all understood.  We also talked about faith and placing your faith and trust in Him.  My favorite day though was Friday.  The students had requested that we sing songs, so I put together a playlist of worship songs and we all sang – it was glorious!

Field Trip:

This weekend we took a field trip to the Tuol Sleng genocide museum and the Killing Fields.  Not for the faint of heart, this museum shows pictures and honors the souls of the skulls of the thousands of people who lost their lives at the torture center of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.  I went there last year, so I didn’t walk through all of the musuem, but it is a very depressing day.  When prisoners first arrived at the torture center, they had their picture taken – these photos were displayed and it really showed just how many people lost their lives there.  Looking into their faces, I could only imagine what they must  have been thinking when they first arrived at this place: confusion, anger, pride, emptiness, hopelessness.  And then I mourned for their lost souls.  Genocide does happen, every generation has a time when people needlessly try to wipe out another people group.  But what gets to me is the fact that humankind is capable of these things, and will continue to do so unless they know the love of Christ.

Food:

Lunch is provided for us at the school, where all the faculty and staff eat.  It’s nice sharing a meal with the year round faculty and staff.  We have gotten great tips from them on Cambodian culture and what we should experience. We have dinner at Asian Faith, the girls’ orphanage home, and we all love eating with them..  These girls are so fun to be around and willing to help us any way they can.  Their guardians are from the Philippines, so they all got a great laugh knowing that I am part filipino, but don’t know how to speak it, so they are teaching me a few words.

Ordering food.  On the weekends we are on our own for dinner, so we have now learned how to order takeout and delivery from restaurants.  It has really been a lesson on communication, how to speak and listen carefully.  Saturday night after our depressing day, we ordered pizza from the Pizza Company, and it was some of the most delicious pizza.  Megan and I shared a large pizza and later, we noticed on the menu that it normally served 6-8 people, so we felt like gluttonous Americans.  Sunday night we ordered from Java Cafe, and it was hard understanding what the man was asking – apparently he was asking what kind of cheese we wanted on the chicken burger, but it sounded like it was saying chicken over and over again.
The Grocery store.  Going to the grocery store, or really anywhere with food is always a great lesson on the country.  We have gone to several different stores to buy food, and we even went to one that caters to foreigners.  At Lucky Market in the Soriya mall, there are familiar items thrown in like cereal.  This is a strange thing to see because Cambodians do not eat cereal (they eat a hot breakfast), therefore it is VERY expensive.  Though I did find my favorite cereal: raisin bran crunch, I am not about to pay $6.50 for a box.  I’ll just keep eating tangerines, and pb&j sandwiches for breakfast, thank you.  The gas stove makes the kitchen unbearably hot, so none of us like cooking in the morning.

Overall, we have been having a great time experiencing Cambodia.  We have been going out trying to find new things and more local experiences and attractions.  This week we’re planning on going to the market, to the dump, and to the river front.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.  Awkun Cheran!

I must say, I didn’t expect the huge hole in my heart that these students would leave. We made so many close friendships, which is really neat, because that was my prayer to God from the moment I decided to come to China. My love for the Chinese people is so deep that it could only come from God.

After saying goodbye, our whole team went to a restaurant for a farewell dinner and to talk about our time here. Some of our team left this morning, (Monday), so this would be the last time we would be all together. We started our time together in quarantine because of the H1N1 virus scare. It was a classic God thing! As with what happened to Joseph, what the Evil One hoped would destroy our team, God used for good and for His glory. We counted the isolation time as such a great time of bonding and relationship building that really wouldn’t have happened if not for the Chinese government being paranoid.

Well, we have a few more days left in China. Though it has been long and difficult at times, I will truly miss the wonderful people I met here in T.I.P. We have had many opportunities to share the love of Christ! And about 6 or 8 people accepted Christ as their Savior!! And many more heard the good news! And be encouraged! The church is thriving here! What glorious news! But…the fields are still white with harvest. So think about coming and falling in love with these most precious people!

Good evening! It’s 6:30pm here, but probably only 11:30am to most people back home. We have all been extremely busy the past few weeks teaching our men, women, children, and staff classes basic English.

In the past couple weeks we’ve had opportunities to get to know the refugees on a more personal level. We’ve been able to invite some of the refugees down to the center square in town to have ice cream, dinner, or just to sit and talk by the fountain.

Here are some things we’ve been busy with since the last update:

VIENNA

We traveled to Vienna, Austria by train two weekends ago and met up with the two other teams teaching in Hungarian Refugee Camps. We all saw why Vienna is ranked as the world’s #1 best place to live. We stayed in a hostel overlooking the city with an amazing view. It was a great time to relax, regroup, and re-energize before the week of teaching again. It was great to share stories with the other teams of our camp adventures. We left feeling encouraged and that God gave us a renewed strength and positive outlook for the week ahead.

TEACHING

Our first few days of classes were hectic, exhausting, and very spontaneous. We came in not knowing what to expect – from how many would actually show up for class, if they would listen to us, or if they would understand anything we were trying to teach them, or if we could even know how to teach. God really taught us how to rely on Him and speak through us and to show Christ’s love in all of our actions.

ERIKA’S BIRTHDAY

Erika’s 22nd birthday was on Tuesday, July 14th. We were teaching all day and exhausted after the camp, but managed to get ready for a nice dinner at Palma’s – one of Debrecen’s nicest and oldest restaurants. We were blessed with great food and a light-hearted mood. After, we surprised her with a cake which we frosted with Nutella (the chocolate-peanut butter like topping) and candles in the shape of “22” which burned our hands as we tried to carry it in on a paper towel It’s been a quick year since we celebrated our birthday’s together last summer with a joint party back home.

COMPANY

Our friends from the other refugee camps came and stayed the weekend with us in Debrecen. We have extra beds in our dorms, so it worked out nicely. We met with our advisors from Budapest, Joe and Kathy Angi, and all had dinner together. It was wonderful to see them and talk with them about our experiences at the camp. They have been working with refugees in Hungary for 8 years now and know all the in’s and out’s.
View Company in Debrecen
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23 YEARS OLD

My 23rd birthday was on Saturday, July 18th. We planned on going to a castle, but had some miscommunication at the train station and ended up staying in Debrecen. So we went to a movie that was in English with Hungarian subtitles – Public Enemy with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale We went for dinner later at a beautiful restaurant in the park that the refugee camp staff had recommended. Guled, our friend from camp from Somalia, met us and ate dinner with us. He never ceases to amaze us – as a deaf man walked up to our table and was selling little animal keychains, Guled secretly bought one from the man and gave it to me for a birthday present.

THIS WEEK

We’ve been slowly but surely rationing out all of the stickers and supplies we brought over with us and we plan on showering the kids with gifts all next week. We’ve been teaching them very important topics such as: the birthday song, the hokey pokey, the “head-shoulders-knees-and toes” song, the “go bananas” cheer from high school football cheerleading, duck-duck goose, and thumbs up 7 up. We’ve somehow managed to squeeze in a few lessons on body parts, emotions, the weather, days of the week, months, colors, fruit, animals, and sports. Class time has been a great opportunity to encourage the kids and show interest in each one, as many are very neglected – this can be seen from their appearance (no shoes/shirts/sometimes even no pants), to their lack of self-esteem, to the way they deal with conflict by spitting, hitting, and swearing. God has given us a great challenge in our patience levels and how to maintain order and discipline in a Christ-like way. The kids excitement and continual enthusiasm makes up for every bad moment we experience. They still run up to us every day screaming all of our names and hugging and kissing us, while fighting over who gets to hold our hands. They are so in need of love and it is clear that the reason God put us here is solely to show Christ’s love to these neglected and mistreated people. We spend our Friday’s playing with the kids and not teaching, so that we can just spend time with them. That is what we will do tomorrow again.

Susan – I’ve been fascinated with your trip and your mission and following it since you first went last summer! I would love to hear MORE! Did you have people who could not overcome their hesitance to speak out? What were the people like? What grade level or age did most of the teachers teach? Is almost everyone learning English there? Or how common is it to learn English in school there? At what age does common education cease? Do the people really eat all those weird things that they’ve been showing on tv? What did you eat when you were there? – Barbara O.

Ohhh, I love questions Barbara!

First of all, everyone in the program had some level of English. Many of the teachers were sent by their district and had no choice, but most of them were delighted to improve their English and become better teachers. We also had teachers that didn’t actually teach English, but were just trying to improve themselves. Also in that category were university students, business people and a few even as young as middle school students. Our youngest was a 12 year old girl who came with her mother. She was put into a separate class from her mom and was amazing! I’m not aware of anyone who didn’t overcome their initial hesitation — on the other hand, they had no choice but to speak at least sometimes. It would be pretty hard to keep your mouth shut for the entire time. They were given citations for speaking Chinese, and if they were caught speaking Chinese more than four times, they were sent home! (No one has ever been terminated for that reason.) At the end of the session, everyone had to recite a 15 minute speech they had written and memorized in order to get their University of Peking certificate. As far as I know, no one failed to get a certificate for not doing their speech.

The people were delightful. I absolutely LOVE the Chinese people! This is coming from someone who was interested in “helping people” but with no special interest or concern with China before going. They were very caring, loving, helpful, courteous, giving, and just about any other good thing you want to mention. They were beyond grateful that we left our homes and came to China to help them. In fact, they could hardly believe that we would do such a thing! This was the best testimony we could have to begin with. It opened up dozens of opportunities to discuss WHY we would want to do this. The other major witnessing tool was praying before a meal. We ate three meals with the students most days and they always took note of prayer. We also found that our students were very open to talk about spiritual things…and freely expressed their genuine beliefs. In the US many people will say they are Christians, but it isn’t necessarily based on genuine belief. In China, people will tell you honestly whether or not they are a Christian and then start asking questions about your faith. Direct evangelism is forbidden, of course, but there is no law against answering questions and discussion when it is Chinese initiated. There were a number of students who were Christians, and they were often very active in sharing their faith with their fellow students.

As far as grade level, we had all levels from pre-kindergarten to senior school. The methods we used were based on how children learn…by fun, games and natural conversation. Some of the senior school teachers felt it was too simplistic for their classrooms, but they still learned and improved their English. The biggest problem that hinders English learning is the rote memorization that is used in many areas of education. They “teach to the test” — sound familiar? Students learn the vocabulary and grammar rules, but don’t learn how to carry on a real conversation. They were from all over China and many rarely encounter native speakers.

Yes Barbara, I think just about everyone in school studies English. As poorly as some of the teachers speak it though, you can guess how much their students learn. Normal Chinese education lasts until the 12th grade. Then they are under HUGE pressure to pass entrance exams for the best universities (if they take a test for U of Peking and don’t get in…they are finished. They can’t go anywhere else…at least that year.) Their success in getting into a “good” university affects the rest of their lives.

Finally, YES at least SOME people really eat those weird things you saw on TV. We were at the same street market where you saw the scorpions and EVERY part of an animal’s body was available to be cooked before your eyes. I’m not convinced many people beside tourists trying to prove something actually eat those scorpions though — none of the Chinese I talked to would actually do it. However, I have pictures of some of my team mates and other tourists eating them. At the left is teammate Sarah enjoying her snack. YUCK! On the other hand, I ate the duck feet that came with the Peking duck. The method of service is to present the perfectly roasted duck and have the chef carve the slices to be served. Then the remainder of the duck is sent back to the kitchen and part of it is made into soup, while the rest of it — the bones, etc is deep fried. I can assure you that deep fried duck feet is crunchy and chewy, but has no taste whatsoever! We didn’t do the Hot Pot this year…but the restaurant shown on NBC was in Chang Ping, the section of Beijing where we stayed, and a number of our teammates ate there. I think you order what you want to have cooked in the hot pot…and it doesn’t have to be intestines! We had Hot Pot last year, and it was mainly mutton. Speaking of mutton, that is my new favorite Chinese food! Apparently, mutton is a popular Muslim food and BBQ mutton sticks are amazing! The meat is cut into thin strips and skewered like shish kabob, then seasoned and grilled over coals. They do the same thing with thick bread slices and they both are delicious. I wonder if it’s possible to get them here? Yummmmm! This picture is of our last meal in the village before coming home. I think we ordered about 100 mutton sticks for about eight people.

Actually, we mostly ate in the school cafeteria — which every student said was bad. There were a few things that were good, but by the end the things *I* would eat were pretty limited. If I couldn’t identify the concoctions in the pans, I would stick with fried rice and hard boiled eggs. Brown chicken eggs…not to be confused with green duck eggs! They also had bags of yogurt and nutrition drinks based on yogurt, which were very good. Red date yogurt and red bean ice cream were wonderful, believe it or not! Bottled green tea and milk tea were my favorite drinks. We drank gallons of bottled water too.

BTW, when I came back last year, I announced that Chinese people don’t eat sweets. WRONG! There was an amazing bakery next to the church we attended that did the most exquisite desserts which was very popular. Also, candy and ice cream were in abundance — even chocolate. It was not served with meals, however.