a spoon full of discipline

the baptisms yesterday were a massive result. we went to logos school in toul kok which is a international christian school with a nice big pool and dunked a bunch of people. it was great to hear my friend sothy give his testimony and hear from some of the other khmer who had recently been added to the church. what a great time.

ive re evaluated the marathon idea...they have a 10k run which is more managable and i ran about 3k the other day before i started to feel tired, so i recon with a spoon full of discipline i could do 10k. plus how cool would it be to say i did a 10k run round angkor wat. result.

tonight is charlie and steve's engagement party they booked a boat on the riverside to go out on. apparently they invited like over 60 people so it should be a right bash. throughly looking forward to it.

its time to give, its time to go.
Ben.

sunburnt and twisted

lots to say today.

its been a really hectic week and to be honest ive been really stressed. im still not sleeping well and have a load of stuff on my mind, so its been a really testing week.
i read in the paper about a half marathon at angkor wat in december and ive decided to give it a go. well im going to check out the web site now! i ran three times round the northbridge football fields...which is quite a distance. i recon i ran 2 miles before i started to feel tired. so i have a way to go before i could run 13. im going to see if my american friend dave wants to give it a go. should be a laugh.
we played expat football on tuesday night which was great. a whole mix of people from all over the world. its mainly westerners and its with a full size ball on a small concrete parking lot it was really competative, im going to make sure i get there every week. its a really good work out and ive met a bunch of good people.

went out with sothy yesterday (pronounced so-tea) he wanted to introduce me to his friends at university so we first went and walked up the riverfront and watched the boats getting ready for the river festival next week, then we had a coffee and went up to the uni. unfortunately i wasnt allowed into the university , the guard said it was because they were having classes, which i understood but then i thought that seems weird because surely they are always having classes. anyway sothy reconed he wanted a bribe to let me in and i didnt have any money on me so we left. it was good to relax together and see each other to build our friendship. it is good having someone of that age that i can talk to about stuff. he was telling me all about his girlfriend and showed me a picture of her. none of the men get married untill they are 30 and have a decent job. sothy seemed to think that if you get married in your 20's you are destined to get a divorce. i think that is one of those cultural things that i will never understand.

im going to get a licence and a motobike soon. the reason i want to do this is because it allows you so much more freedom and the amount of money im spending on transport at the moment is quite alot. so by the end of my year here im sure i will save money by getting one...plus their so cool. there are thousands of them on the roads here.

i was chatting to mum on the phone earlier i cant believe its been 8 weeks since ive been here. which means only 8 months to go! she was please to remind me that i will be coming home...love you mum. cant wait to hear about all their adventures in india.

im a little sunburnt today which is the first time that has happened but my skin is slowly going a browny gold colour. im not sure if this is because of the sun or the dirt either way i still stand out a mile from the khmer.

livin it up.
ben.

now or never, forever?

I booked a bunch of language lessons this week. which should be good. ive been pretty impressed by myself and even steve commented that some of the khmer songs are sounding really good. im glad i went and got it sorted because now i have to make an effort. for me its quite a big financial commitment. so its now or never.

good to recieve your emails.

if you want to send something the postal address is
steve smith
po box 538
phnom penh
cambodia

Toul Sleng Genocide Museum

a cell...most dont even have windows
you can see the gallows on the right.
faces of the victims.

I dont have any words to say about this place. One thing is for sure I will never go back there as long as I live. seeing torture and death in movies is pretty bad but standing under gallows where thousands of people were hung and strung up is an aweful experience. the walls of faces will haunt me.

lets go fly a kite

this is the village the night after a big storm. you can see all the sewage water the kids play in. its all very unpleasant. i think i was well prepared for it so i wasnt too shocked but i think it was too overwhelming for Mary who didnt know what to expect.

these pictures were uploaded on a decent dell laptop which is by far the best ive used since being here. so they load up quicker, if i get the chance in the next few days i will try to add some more to the blog. i can imagine how hard it is to picture what things are like here by just reading my blogs. i can honestly say that this first month has been excelent and has blow away any expectations i had. i didnt really know what to expect before coming here but i feel very comfortable and at home.
these are a bunch of kids from stung men chay village.
this is harry buying a kite at independance monument a few sundays ago.

i forgot to tell you about my bike ride the other day i basically cycled all afternoon round a bunch of places id never have ended up in if i hadnt gone exploring. i did the british thing of never stopping to turn around or admit i was lost. just keep nodding and smiling. i ended up miles from anywhere safe and litterally nearly died sevral times. but the whole experience was good. i was dripping with sweat and my legs were cramping all over.

tumbleweed

this week has been great.
wednesday night a guy called dave from the usa came round for dinner. he works for some charity but is quite involved with the elim church and youth programe. they play football at least 3 times a week. so straight after dinner i jumped on his moto and we went to young life centre which is basically a youth centre where they do a bunch of outreach. they have about 60 regular khmer people coming to young life. so we played football in their yard which is slightly smaller than a tennis court. 3 a side. with this small wicker ball that looks abit like tumbleweed and is really bouncy. then play the winner stays on. it was the most fun ive had sinse being here. not only did i lose my bodyweight in sweat but it was real aggressive male bonding. plus there were a bunch of white expats my age there.
i met this guy jonny who is from northern ireland and is here for 3 months before going to kosovo. then two more kiwis called mark and justin. i couldnt believe it but these guys were the best out of all of us...and their from new zealand. apparently new zealand were in the world cup once but didnt score any goals. (at the end of the game this big fat khmer guy called sopy took of his shirt and wringed it out on the floor...there was litterally a pool of sweat. it was flowing like milk and honey. ughhh...)
...as you can imagine this was a really great thing to do (the football). ive had alot of independance since moving out and im really glad i did. plus haveing bob and mary with us has been fantastic, they are soo wise and full of knowledge about different weather patterns....long story.

my language is getting better. im going to start taking weekly lessons at this school near the market hopefully. these only cost about $3/4 for an hour so its well worth it. steve was quite impressed today when i sang one of the khmer songs at the practice. i could be alot more disciplined about it though so im really going to knuckle down.

i havent heard from the family in india yet. although mum sent a text saying their taxi driver had a death wish. i cant wait for them to see the traffic here.

another great thing about being with kerry is her tuk-tuk. she said she would show me how to work it then i can borrow it whenever i want. so if abyone comes to visit i might pick them up in the tuk-tuk. its pretty cool. i wish you could get one and take it back to england. although apparently they started a tuk-tuk service in brighton...

so life here is good. for the first time this week i actually realised that i could live here permantely and would be happy. but im not sure if that is what is going to happen so dont place any bets yet.

living in a pool of sweat.
Ben.

pace maker

wow what a crazy few days. Bob and Mary Cheesman from New Zealand have come over for a month. they are british but have lived in christchurch for 5 years. Both are in their 60's. and were amazed at the roads and traffic. i only realised after hearing them talk about it that i must have sounded the same a month ago...
Bob has a pace maker and is deaf in one ear. he is quite a pace maker himself he used to be the organisation manager for stonleigh bible week, which means he was overlooking all the medical, catering and security staff. mary is a little deaf in both ears and has hearing aids...bless them. they are a great couple. bob is going to be preaching on daniel for the next four weeks.
because of them coming to help with the home schooling and the fact that its their first time in asia they are staying with the smiths and i have been evicted! its actually good. i have landed on my feet. not only do i now have a bigger room. but it has an en-suite bathroom and a lockable door. so at least i can get some privacy. im staying with kerry a really nice american woman who used to come to the church but for whatever reason doesnt come any more. she has a bunch of kids one thai three khmer and one yank. they are all younger than Sam and jordan.

i get to do a bunch of tourist stuff this week with B&M which is good. we are going to toul sleng genocide museum which i havent been to yet and then to the royal palace.

today we went to (stung men chay) the village. it was my first time there and i actually really enjoyed it. i got to practice soe of my khmer phrases on the kids who just stood there and laughed at a white man speaking khmer! there was a massive thunderstorm last night so alot of the city is flooded today particularly down at the village which is by a small sewage river which bursts its banks in the wet season. this basically means that the whole place was ankle deep in sewage. the kids are all playing in it then they come and hug you. its all abit too much to do every week.

chris...a kiwi in the church got denge fever last week and had to be taken to bangkok for treatment there. its not a serious virus and the body treats its self 80% of the time. so its just a matter of enduring the pain for a few weeks. there are alot of sick people in the church here which you can understand when you see the condition some people live in.

i have been eaten alive by mossies.
forever young
ben.

headless chickens

thanks for all post matt. im looking forward to lost and newday...in that order! i havent preordered newday so it would make a much appreciated gift.
things here are really productive... yesterdday me and Steve spent 4 hours driving around the city trying to find somewhere that sells plastic so we could get a guy to build us a drum screne. on the plus side i got to see abit more of the city that i hadent been to yet. the north looks alot like bangkok with its high rise apartment buildings and seedy back streets which are always filled with people running around like headless chickens.
there are soo many odd things that happen here that you would never imagine ever happening on the streets of worthing. i saw a guy with a pig strapped to the back of his moto...not that weird but the pig had been gutted so all its insides were going on the road...there is still blood stains ! i cant remember if i already told that story. the incident with the rat seems to have died. not sure what happened the trap never went off and the mysterious rat screams stopped.

things here are well. keep reading and posting....i love all the banter.
long live 'lost'.
Ben.

cool aid acid test

ive been trying to upload some pictures but i fear it wont cope. we had a power cut at the office today and so there was no fans and no lights. this basically meant i was sweating in the dark. thankyou for you letters i had more than the smiths!
i was wide awake this morning at 5 am. there was a rat in the ceiling above my bed that was screaming and running around, so with a torch in one hand and a can of mossie repelant in the other i was armed and ready.
shadow (the cat) is proving to be a good rodent killer. i saw him kill and eat a mouse the other day. it sounds cool but it was actually quite disturbing. he pretty much swallowed the thing whole but stopped to crunch on its skull, which i recon you could hear a few streets away.

Bob and Mary are coming on tuesday for a month from new zealand. to take some of the preaching burden from steve and allow some time for language study. which will be good. they are english and im told Bob had led several churches in england so im keen to spend some time with him. it should be a good time.

i realised i havent told you anything about the country. probably because i havent seen much of it. some of the ladies in the church took the long ride to the beach for a few days this week and came back fully refreshed. im hoping to get down there for a few days before christmas.

im still not sleeping well, because of rats and other things, so i seem to be plagued with a never ending fatigue which has crippled me physically to the point of complete exhaustion. despite not actually being too busy.

i never thought id say it and so soon but i do miss everyone in england. however, i do feel like this is my 'cool aid acid test' it has helped me to realise that my relationship with god was heavily based on my relationships with my friends and the church. which is not altogether a bad thing but im learning to be more reliant in god alone and build something lasting. so far it has been a really positive experience.

we went kite flying on sunday afternoon down by independance monument (the only open space in the city centre big enough to pursue this pastime) it was good. although we saw some dilomat drive by with a police escort one of the police men asked glynn if he could have one of his children. this was altogether quite an upsetting experience for me more than anyone. the kids just shrug it off.

midge has the second part of a painful root canal operation today so i must rush home and stay with the boys when they go to the dentist.

long but not lost.
Ben.

Bob+Harry

06/10/2006
da neak jol jay plah bomb tay?
Do you like apples?
Baah, kynom jol jay plah bomb
Yes, I like apples

The word for cucumber is hard to pronounce. You have to roll your tongue on the ‘dt’
Dtrong sot
There is a silent‘t’ on the ‘sot’

Tay, kynom men jol jay dtrong sot
No, I don’t like cucumber.

Maysien has been teaching me and Jordan Khmer. He has spent the last three years resisting but he has no excuse now. If he is annoying me I speak to him in Khmer and he soon shuts up. He knows if mum or dad hears the conversation they will make him answer me. If he pronounces something wrong he has to keep going till he gets it right. I try to repeat this exercise a few times everyday. Not only does it help my language but it’s also very funny.

soo much has happened its hard to tell all.
however....
The best joke I’ve heard since being here…and I’ve heard a lot!

A travelling faith healer stops at this town and prepares for an evening meeting. The crowds soon gather. He shouts at the top of his voice: ‘do you believe?’ they shout back ‘we believe’ he calls again ‘do you believe’ they shout even louder ‘yes, we believe’
He then calls into the audience for sick people to come and receive healing. A man called Harry comes onto the stage with clutches. The faith healer says ‘what’s wrong?’ Harry says ‘I want to walk again’ so the healer says ‘ok Harry wait behind this curtain.’
A second man walks onto the stage, his name is Bob. The healer says to him ‘what’s wrong?’ he says ‘I-I-I-I-I want to s-s-s-s-s-speak without a s-s-s-s-s-stammer’ so he says ‘ok Bob go behind this curtain.’
The faith healer then says

‘by the power given me I pronounce you healed.’
‘Harry drop your clutches and come out.’
‘Bob say something’

Bob replies ‘h-h-h-h-h-h-harrys fallen over’

(This had me laughing for hours)
Ben.

daylight robbery

Alex - No i will not bring an AK47 home. i dont think i would get it in my bag before someone tried to offer me their children for it. also i think the police would have something to say about the matter...probably a pat on the back for my courage and an outstretched hand for a big bribe...no joke.

Joe - I hope you were joking when you said you've dropped my guitar 7 times already? we didnt discuss the conditions of the loan but i want her back in one piece. plus...i though everyone named their guitars after girls? oh well the cat is out of the bag.

Luke - you can buy Lost season 1&2 for about 3 pounds each at the market...brilliant. if you have no conscience (like us) you can get some real bargains.

everyone else:

i paid $5 for 2 shirts yesterday aparently i was ripped off. i thought it was daylight robbery but apparently you can get 3/4 for $5. i need to work on my 'thats unfair just because im white i pay extra' face.

seeing as my occupation is basically baby sitter/guitar teacher i thought id kill two birds with one stone. im putting the finishing touches on the ultimate beginners guitar booklet. it has everything you could ever need to know...or in other words everything i know. by the end of lesson 10 a competent and hard working student will be able to play 'amazing grace' standing upside down whilst being poked with a giant stick. this is more fun than it sounds trying to convince children that this is the way everyone playes guitar. ahhhh ignorant children.

so apart from getting my kicks from confusing innocent children, it is very quiet here, i have a lot of time. yet i have a lot to do and always seem to be on my feet.

highlight of the week:
someone said 'you look very dappy today' apparently it means smart and well dressed. how very british.

over and out.
Ben.

dead chuffed...

Sunday 1st October

Another Sunday rolls by. This one was great. Although completely exhausting.
I met soti today. I’ve been waiting to meet someone like him since I arrived. He is basically a really gentle 20 year old Khmer guy. After about 5 minutes talking with him he said in broken English ‘I think you and I be friends long time’ he offered to take me out whenever I have free time to see more of the city and meet some more Khmer students. He told me all about traditions and cultural practices of the Khmer, what is rude and what is acceptable. I’m so happy to have this new friend. He is a man. My age and he speaks English. The first I have seen in three weeks.
Although he and his sister are Christians he faces a lot of pressure from his family. This is a very common problem amongst this young generation. Their parents spend a lot of time and money putting through school and university with the understanding that they will help the family and support them. There is a lot of other stuff I’m ignorant about.

We spent last night having dinner at Chris and dale’s new house. These guys are kiwi’s and have been here for about 2 years. They’re really nice people.

The actual morning meeting is good. Sopiri one of the Khmer girls gave her life to Christ this morning! This is real New Testament, Acts chapter 2 church.
I’ve played for the last three weeks but am off next week. I’m preaching in about a month at a family service which I’m looking forward to. I’ve done a few talks now in Worthing with the same sort of size crowd so I’m not worried. In fact I’m dead chuffed Steve was so willing to let me do it. So it should be good. I think I’m going to talk about Joshua and Caleb returning from Canaan with faith that Israel can take the Promised Land. What a story.

Steve is flying to Sydney this week for a men’s conference. So, I’m in charge…
It will be good to have to fend for myself. Get my own transport and buy food at the market on my own. Although I’ve been to the market on my own the only time I talked to anyone Steve or maysien was there with me. So I’m going to be bold and practice me Khmer on some poor, unsuspecting old woman who is trying to sell me ‘levis’…

Everything is good.

Ben.