The first few days have been pretty rough for us in all honesty. Talk about culture shock! We have been thoroughly overwhelmed by our surroundings and on more than one occasion have fought the desire to book the next plane home. James however seems to be doing much better than the two of us!
We headed to the Sunshine Cambodia centre on Tuesday and were met by some beautiful children. They were all surprised to see James and he was just so happy to see kids! When we took him upstairs to the offices to do some paperwork he just kept asking for the kids. After the kids ate their lunch James enjoyed playing in the courtyard with them running around and chasing and being chased. He giggled as he was surrounded by kids and only got a little nervous if one of them tried to pick him up. There were lots of surprised giggles from the kids as they pointed out James' nappy (He is toilet trained but just unsure at the moment about the toilets here) - the kids thought he was 5 years old! Why would a 5yr old wear nappies? No, we told them - he is 2! James is as tall and sometimes taller than the 5yr olds at the centre!
Our bedroom
The view from our balcony to the front courtyard where the employees of Prison Fellowship Cambodia park their moto's while they are working in the offices downstairs during the day.
We don't have our job descriptions for what we will be doing at the centre yet and are not due to start until Tuesday. So we are relaxing and slowly getting used to the heat, smells, food and language. James so far knows one phrase in Khmer and brings laughs and excitement to all who hear it - he puts his little hands together just under his chin in a prayer action and says "aw kun" (thank you) which is how everyone here seems to say it. So cute! Will try and get a video of him doing it as it just makes me laugh each time!
Last night we headed down to the river-front and dined at our favourite restaurant - the Kiwi Bakery. We sat on the upper level right on the balcony and enjoyed the cool breeze and the sights of the beautiful clean promenade and all the families walking along it as the sun set. Afterwards we took a walk along ourselves and stifled laughs as we saw a large group of Cambodian women doing what seemed to be a country line dance right there on the promenade. The trip home in the tuk tuk with a sleepy James showed us more families enjoying the early evening along the parks near the independent monument, playing hacky sack, soccer and yet more line dancers. Family seems such an important part of life here and it is just beautiful seeing all the families out together.
Nick enjoyed the much anticipated cold coconut... Mmmmm
The promenade
Tomorrow we hope to go to an expat playgroup and meet some fellow westerners and get some tips about how to adjust to life here in Cambodia. Where to shop, what to eat, where to take James, what to do/not do.... It should make for an interesting day :)
Eating crackers and watching the world go by from the back of a tuk tuk.
We are so thankful to all our supporters, particularly those who are praying for us at the moment. We need your prayers. Please pray that we find our place here in Cambodia. Pray for strength and courage as we face the unknown. Amen.
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