Throughout the last week we have been pretty occupied! Morgans birthday was last Friday so we went out for dinner! A couple friends came with us so there was a total of 11 :) it was fun. And to celebrate the 17th, we went gambling! in a club... first time for the three of us (Morgan, Aryn, Moses) haha probably our last time too :P On Saturday we went to Siem Reap! Aryn went to a few temples with Charlene, Melissa, and Toung-eme once we got there, and Morgan went to our hotel with the fam. We went out out for dinner to an ITALIAN PIZZARIA! It was so beautiful. We were all astounded at the glory of pizza. After pizza we went shopping for a couple hours and made a new friend :D her name is Tree. We went for our 4th and a 1/2 ice-cream of the week :P disgusting but delicious. But hey. We're on holidays! When we left the ice-cream shop it was pouring rain and we had already been to all the shops on that street sooo we decided to take a walk. Soon enough we were dancing our hearts out in front of all the street side restaurants! It was awesome. We even had a fan! She got pictures of us and with us and then we kept on dancin! A couple people joined us... then asked if we wanted a tuk tuk :P We just kept on dancin..... After the rain we walked to the night market and shopped some more! At midnight we got a foot massage! But this was no Canadian foot massage. This was fish. Lots of little fishies. Eating. our. feet. yup! It was sooooo tickle-ish at first but totally worth it! highly recommended! The next morning we had a REAL western breakfast and then Janelle taught Toung-eme how to swim! it was really fun! Once we checked out we went for a boat ride through a floating village... basically just like any other village... just on water! It was an amazing story behind it but slightly unbelievable... we'll explain later :) From there on we ate we shopped and we came home!
This week our daily routine started up again meaning Safe Haven 7-8 hours a day! We had so much fun with the kids this week and it feels like we're all family now but today was the last day we get to see about half of them.... We threw a little party for the kids and bought them pop and candy and got pictures of them all :) it was a bittersweet day... Earlier this week we washed their feet and we had a self control lesson with cookies :P they loved it :) It truly feels like we're getting to know them, despite the language barrier and such.... We can't believe our trip is more than half over! We leave for Thailand tomorrow morning for a week vacation. When we get back theres only two weeks left! Crazzzy!!! But we're so excited to see you all! ANNNND btw... If you have any game ideas for the kids it would be much appreciated.. easy games with minimum explanation required? example.. british bull dog, what time is it Mr wolf? you know :P simplicity is bliss :P anywhooo... Love ya lots and if there is internet in Thailand... We'll talk to you soon!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
so much to do so little time!
So we'll start from where we left off! Our trip to Phnom Penh was AWESOME! The 8 hour bus ride... not so great, especially considering it was freezing cold!... Annnd that meant not much sleep for Friday! It made sense to wear our pajamas for the bus ride there because it was through the night.... but that was before we found out our hotel's check-in was at 2:00pm. We arrived in Phnom Penh at 5:30am :D Surprisingly, a LOT of people were up and running! (literally.) Toul Sleng (S-21/ interrogation camp of the Khmer rouge) was our first stop! It was quite the site to see... but words cannot explain the brutality of the torture from one man to another. There were some other people there that had picked a Jack fruit. They were really nice and offerred us some... ha. not the best thing we've ever had. It had really weird seeds that no lie looked like placentas with umbilical cords... not the most appetizing thing at 7 30 in the morning. After Toul Sleng, we went to find breakfast! It was harder than it may sound as we had a non-english speaking driver, and most restaurants were not suitable. We ended up going to a somewhat normal restaurant however, it was quite fancy. We felt right at home with our pj's on :P Our third stop of the day was the killing fields. Again, astounding but heart breaking at the same time. After these adventures it was still not quite 2:00 so we went shopping! It was a success! Annnd hot and sweaty too :) in. our. pajamas. Finally, at 3:30 we were able to leave the market and head for the hotel! We said good-bye to our Pj's and hello to the bathing suits! Yup. our hotel had a pool! It was glorious. For lunch/dinner we had a "western" meal :P but guess what! we're still in cambodia :P so lets just say... it was a good try...
There ended up being a slight disagreement due to out "unsuitable" money. It had a wee tear in it. It concluded with us relocating the next morning. That was okay though because we enjoyed the second hotel a lot better! and! it was cheaper! Before we left the first hotel though.. we had a strange breakfast to say the least. Another one of those "western" attempts... the pancakes and... the jam.... and the bread... and the "who knows".... yeah... they said something was fruit but we think it was rice bread.... and the sad part is that was the best part. but thank you God for food anyway! We moved on to the second hotel which had a total of 7 rooms... we took 3! Our room ended up being on the top floor with a balcony! :D it was great! For lunch we went to a restaurant that is an NGO called friends. All their profits go to keeping women and children off the streets. They also have a couple stores where they recycle garbage and elephant poop to make different products. It really cool! We went shopping for pretty much the rest of the day and then ate at the hotel. and this time. it was good "western" food. We all split our own ways and then the two of us talked for a couple hours (maybe like 5...sis talk ya know? :P) on the balcony :) it was a grand ol' time. It was as long and beautiful day with approx. 2and1/2 hours following. We jollily got up at 5 30 and joined "our" parents for a stroll by the waterfront. During our walk there were many sights to see! There was: excercise groups, yoga, hip-hop, volley ball with the feet, badminton, annnnnnd an elephant! On our way back we stopped at the "Blue Pumpkin Cafe" It had all sorts of different pastries and such with homemade icecream too! We had to try some :) We bought some treats for the road and some ice cream to go! Nothin' like ice cream at 6 30 in the mornin :) After breakfast at the hotel... it was delightful... we loaded up and headed for the door. of Phnom Penh. Our bus was late and we ended up transfering along the way to a "bus" that was shaped quite like a car if you ask us. This "bus" had brown and yellow stains on the seats. Mud was smeared all over the interior, it was... just... beautiful. Thankfully we only had to endure that for an hour. When we got back "home" Melissa (Morgans cousin) and Charlene ( White family friend) had arrived... along with our lovely neighborhood friends! ANTS. In. Our. Peanut butter. We could have died. Now. Lets just put this in perspective. This peanut butter traveled halfway around the world to find us. it was shoved and bumped and pushed thrown around and it made it here all the way from Canada. We were in longing for this stuff when we came home. Its the only peanut butter and not to mention the most home-like resource of our time here. We even locked it up so the maids wouldn't steal it. so you can imagine our repulsion to find it had been invaded by ants. but its safe and sound now! We couldn't just throw it out cause we were only 3 weeks into our trip and this was supposed to last us the entire time! We persevered and conserved as much PB as possible. This process involved scooping out every last ant and wiping it down and watching the PB go to waste one spoonful at a time. We almost cried.
But other than that everything in our lives is pretty normal! This week wasn't to elaborate. I (aryn) went to some villages on monday and got sick tuesday and morgan has been at safe haven all week! All of us kids decided that last night was in need of some excitement so rather than picking up bread from the market we got Ice cream! And surprisingly it actually tasted like icecream! and chocolate! It was to die for. It definitely won't be the last time we go :)
This weekend will be pretty chill... Morgans Birthday tomorrow!!! Yeah 17!... crazy. We might possibly go to Siem Reap to see the temples this weekend... but its up in the air at the moment!
anywho.... Know you're missed and we can't wait to see you all when we get back... and food parties anyone? we need some real "western" food :P
love ya!
There ended up being a slight disagreement due to out "unsuitable" money. It had a wee tear in it. It concluded with us relocating the next morning. That was okay though because we enjoyed the second hotel a lot better! and! it was cheaper! Before we left the first hotel though.. we had a strange breakfast to say the least. Another one of those "western" attempts... the pancakes and... the jam.... and the bread... and the "who knows".... yeah... they said something was fruit but we think it was rice bread.... and the sad part is that was the best part. but thank you God for food anyway! We moved on to the second hotel which had a total of 7 rooms... we took 3! Our room ended up being on the top floor with a balcony! :D it was great! For lunch we went to a restaurant that is an NGO called friends. All their profits go to keeping women and children off the streets. They also have a couple stores where they recycle garbage and elephant poop to make different products. It really cool! We went shopping for pretty much the rest of the day and then ate at the hotel. and this time. it was good "western" food. We all split our own ways and then the two of us talked for a couple hours (maybe like 5...sis talk ya know? :P) on the balcony :) it was a grand ol' time. It was as long and beautiful day with approx. 2and1/2 hours following. We jollily got up at 5 30 and joined "our" parents for a stroll by the waterfront. During our walk there were many sights to see! There was: excercise groups, yoga, hip-hop, volley ball with the feet, badminton, annnnnnd an elephant! On our way back we stopped at the "Blue Pumpkin Cafe" It had all sorts of different pastries and such with homemade icecream too! We had to try some :) We bought some treats for the road and some ice cream to go! Nothin' like ice cream at 6 30 in the mornin :) After breakfast at the hotel... it was delightful... we loaded up and headed for the door. of Phnom Penh. Our bus was late and we ended up transfering along the way to a "bus" that was shaped quite like a car if you ask us. This "bus" had brown and yellow stains on the seats. Mud was smeared all over the interior, it was... just... beautiful. Thankfully we only had to endure that for an hour. When we got back "home" Melissa (Morgans cousin) and Charlene ( White family friend) had arrived... along with our lovely neighborhood friends! ANTS. In. Our. Peanut butter. We could have died. Now. Lets just put this in perspective. This peanut butter traveled halfway around the world to find us. it was shoved and bumped and pushed thrown around and it made it here all the way from Canada. We were in longing for this stuff when we came home. Its the only peanut butter and not to mention the most home-like resource of our time here. We even locked it up so the maids wouldn't steal it. so you can imagine our repulsion to find it had been invaded by ants. but its safe and sound now! We couldn't just throw it out cause we were only 3 weeks into our trip and this was supposed to last us the entire time! We persevered and conserved as much PB as possible. This process involved scooping out every last ant and wiping it down and watching the PB go to waste one spoonful at a time. We almost cried.
But other than that everything in our lives is pretty normal! This week wasn't to elaborate. I (aryn) went to some villages on monday and got sick tuesday and morgan has been at safe haven all week! All of us kids decided that last night was in need of some excitement so rather than picking up bread from the market we got Ice cream! And surprisingly it actually tasted like icecream! and chocolate! It was to die for. It definitely won't be the last time we go :)
This weekend will be pretty chill... Morgans Birthday tomorrow!!! Yeah 17!... crazy. We might possibly go to Siem Reap to see the temples this weekend... but its up in the air at the moment!
anywho.... Know you're missed and we can't wait to see you all when we get back... and food parties anyone? we need some real "western" food :P
love ya!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Joy, joy, joy and more joy!
Hello again!
Sorry its been so long once again! Since our last post, ''our'' dad has arrived and it's rained...one and a half times. :) So for a few days we didn't do a whole lot.....routines were confusing, our schedules were mixed up, and our brains were stressed out...but it's mostly resolved! We went to a village this week with our ''cam fam'' and prayed for some people. 4 out of the 5 were healed! That was pretty cool. It was nice to see village life and to have a change of routine. We were asked to start teaching English at Safe Haven, but due to much confusion and miscommunication we were unsure of the schedule...and after much debate with the Tearfund team, it was decided that this week they would teach English and we would continue with Bible. Yesterday and today have been our best days yet!! We are now staying at Safe Haven from 9:15 till about 4ish....give or take. They're long days but they're great! We find there's a lot more time to spend with the kids, and that's what we were hoping for. :) The kids are getting more and more open/friendly with us and yesterday we were sent off with hugs and kisses all around! Our goodbyes have evolved from smiles to words to handshakes to high-fives to hugs to kisses.....to all the above! Today was super fun....we are currently working through the fruit of the Spirit, and today our lesson was on joy. For the activity today we taught them the English song, "I've got the joy" it was fun the first time, fantastic the second time and floppy the third time as the cameras came out and my dad came in! But it's all about the joy! And the kids loved it! We are headed off to Phnom Penh tonight, and we will be gone the whole weekend. So talk to you monday!.......or tuesday.......or whenever we feel like it!
toodles!
ps. here's our memory verse from today: "Ä happy heart makes a cheerful face." Proverbs 15:13
Sorry its been so long once again! Since our last post, ''our'' dad has arrived and it's rained...one and a half times. :) So for a few days we didn't do a whole lot.....routines were confusing, our schedules were mixed up, and our brains were stressed out...but it's mostly resolved! We went to a village this week with our ''cam fam'' and prayed for some people. 4 out of the 5 were healed! That was pretty cool. It was nice to see village life and to have a change of routine. We were asked to start teaching English at Safe Haven, but due to much confusion and miscommunication we were unsure of the schedule...and after much debate with the Tearfund team, it was decided that this week they would teach English and we would continue with Bible. Yesterday and today have been our best days yet!! We are now staying at Safe Haven from 9:15 till about 4ish....give or take. They're long days but they're great! We find there's a lot more time to spend with the kids, and that's what we were hoping for. :) The kids are getting more and more open/friendly with us and yesterday we were sent off with hugs and kisses all around! Our goodbyes have evolved from smiles to words to handshakes to high-fives to hugs to kisses.....to all the above! Today was super fun....we are currently working through the fruit of the Spirit, and today our lesson was on joy. For the activity today we taught them the English song, "I've got the joy" it was fun the first time, fantastic the second time and floppy the third time as the cameras came out and my dad came in! But it's all about the joy! And the kids loved it! We are headed off to Phnom Penh tonight, and we will be gone the whole weekend. So talk to you monday!.......or tuesday.......or whenever we feel like it!
toodles!
ps. here's our memory verse from today: "Ä happy heart makes a cheerful face." Proverbs 15:13
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Bit by Bit
Hey there
sorry we haven't blogged in a while... its been quite busy over here! We've started teaching the youth leader and two others English in the mornings as well being in a Khmer lesson every evening . That plus devotions, meals, teaching bible and planning lessons has kept us occupied alllll day! We are exhausted. And lacking energy. But having fun none the less :D It almost feels like we haven't left school, in fact we are doing more than during school! It has been fun getting up at 6 and pedal to the metal 'til 11 30ish, aren't you jealous? The last teams that were here have gone now but a new team from the UK arrived on Friday! There are 11 of them and they will be here for a month. We haven't spent a lot of time with them yet but are hoping to get to know them better! Due to the distance from healthy cows and lack of re-fridgerator's... We are going on a milk with drawl and have concluded that a milk party will be necessary upon our return. Can't wait!
Missin' you!
sorry we haven't blogged in a while... its been quite busy over here! We've started teaching the youth leader and two others English in the mornings as well being in a Khmer lesson every evening . That plus devotions, meals, teaching bible and planning lessons has kept us occupied alllll day! We are exhausted. And lacking energy. But having fun none the less :D It almost feels like we haven't left school, in fact we are doing more than during school! It has been fun getting up at 6 and pedal to the metal 'til 11 30ish, aren't you jealous? The last teams that were here have gone now but a new team from the UK arrived on Friday! There are 11 of them and they will be here for a month. We haven't spent a lot of time with them yet but are hoping to get to know them better! Due to the distance from healthy cows and lack of re-fridgerator's... We are going on a milk with drawl and have concluded that a milk party will be necessary upon our return. Can't wait!
Missin' you!
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