by Jennifer Ekedal on March 29th, 2010 |
Whew. I feel as though I hardly have a second to breathe. Things have gone from busy to insane. But it is exciting as the store is unofficially open. It is presentable, but there is still so much to be done. As busy as it has been lately, it has been so, so exciting to see progress here. Sometimes there were days where they simply redo what has been done, so to have the store transform before my eyes this week was very exciting! I will try to post updated photos of the store when I get more time.
I was also excited to see that Niki, the girl I first met here, will be working in the shop. There will be three girls total in charge of the front shop area. They worked their first day Thursday of this week. It was so fun to have them in the store. I will be training them in the coming weeks about visual merchandising and working with them a little more. I am so excited to get to spend more time with these girls! Pray that I would have some great opportunities with them. Especially Niki as her English is the best. From what I have heard through her testimony and just by looking into her face, it is evident she knows God. There is a joy there you don't see on most of the girls' faces. The exciting thing is that she can share with so many of them that I am unable to because of the language. More than anything Daughters' needs girls like that stepping up that can share their healing with the others. I see that promise in Niki.
So amid all the craziness, when I stop and think, I have realized that Cambodia has captured my heart. I catch myself blissfully happy just walking down a street or hanging on a moto. I love that when you smile at people here, they smile back. The little kids yell “hello” as you walk down the street. Traffic is crazy not just with driving, but with the loads people pile up on the back of their vehicle. I felt very Khmer this last week as I found myself on a moto: three people and two mannequins. Somehow we managed to fit, although I am still not quite sure how. I also love when it gets cool at night here. Something about blazing hot temperatures in the day make you appreciate what feels like 70 degree weather at night. (Granted it is still probably in the 90’s) Every day is an adventure here, and I never get bored. My flight is coming too soon...or at least that is how I feel. I can't believe I am more than halfway done with my time here.
by Jennifer Ekedal on March 8th, 2010 |
The days are quickly turning into weeks, and the newness is
quickly turning into rhythm…well, sort of. But even though I am still without a
set schedule, I think it is safe to say that I have moved past my first
impressions of Cambodia. Now it is all about going deeper…to really experience
LIFE here.
I feel happier and more thankful than any other point in my
life. Not that it is easy here…actually quite the opposite. Battling 103 degree
heat with no air conditioning, not being able to communicate with others, and
tying to feel at home are all things I am confronted with daily. But the verse
where it talks about when you lose your life for Christ’s sake, you find it. I
feel like for the first time, in a physical sense, I have found my life. I
never, ever pictured myself living here and working with an NGO. Yet, as I am
here, I can’t even explain how this fits me so much better than my plans a year
ago. I felt this way before I left, but it is even more apparent living it
rather than just planning it.
As to making Cambodia home, I never realized how
much of a
“nester” I was until this trip. I cringe to think how bad I will be
nesting
when pregnant someday. But I moved into my new place this last week,
and couldn’t unpack fast enough. It was so nice to finally unload my
suitcases and
set up home. Already, I have been hard at work scouring the market for
the
needed essentials for my new place. One of the more difficult aspects
of living
here is finding things. This is especially true for opening the shop.
It takes
three times as long as I think it should just to pick out a paint
color. And
the same has held true for setting up my apartment this week. But I am
almost
there! To give you an example of what I mean- it took me at least half
an hour wandering
around the market close to my house just to find notebook paper. So
simple, but
somehow not at all…especially when you have a long list.
So to help you understand my life here a little better, I
will try to describe a typical day. Since every day is different, this is
difficult, but I will do my best…
Waking up early here is so much easier. I usually get up
around 6 or 7 with no alarm. (For those that know me, I know…shocking!) Once
up, I spend some time reading my Bible and praying. This is so essential for me
here. I cannot be here on my own strength and I am plainly aware of this. I am also
excited as I put up a hammock on the roof today so I can start going up there
in the mornings when it is nice and cool.
After eating breakfast, I head outside the gate in search of
a moto, because whatever I am doing, I have to find transportation. Three weeks
in and I actually feel like I can direct someone where I need to go. I am
honestly shocked I don’t feel lost anymore, but it has been fun to learn a new
city. Last week, I was especially excited as I directed a moto only in Khmer
for the first time…and I actually arrived at my desired location. Sadam,
chawang, trong, and chop. Those are the most important words in my vocabulary.
(Right, left, straight, and stop) Well, that and thank you (ah-gwhoon) which
was the first word I learned. I figured I should keep up my polite, Southern
upbringing.
Most days I head to the shop and have to navigate there
since most motos don’t know where it is and also don’t read maps. Searching for
that bright pink exterior, I tell the guy to stop and then hop off. Once at the
store, I begin the challenge of trying to check things off my master to-do list
(which is about 5 pages long). We are definitely in the overwhelming, middle of
a project stage right now. I am just hoping and praying it will all come
together soon. Some days I just don’t know. I am also realizing my leadership
skills need some work. Add to that culture and gender issues and I definitely
have my work cut out for me.
But work is work. Although, design here is also full of
challenges I wouldn’t face at home…like switching to centimeters instead of
inches or working with very, very unstable structure. I have to be inventive in
my approach due to budget, time, structure, and also finding things in the
city. They want this shop open as soon as possible. Some of the top things on
my list this week are: working with some shops to create two custom bamboo
mannequins, finalizing some signage to take to the printers, and trying to find
a hardware store. I know my dad may be shocked, but of all the stores back home
I wish we had a Home Depot here the most.
My work day wraps up between 5 and 6 and I typically try to
have dinner with someone here or do something fun and social. Although,
something different about this culture is women typically don’t go out at
night. So I try to keep my nights early (like 10 at the latest) but I am pretty
sure that still doesn’t count. Compromise though, right? Eating is definitely
the social activity of choice here…which I love, especially as I have been
pleasantly surprised by the wide selection of food in the city. I have even
eaten Italian food while I have been here. I never would have hoped, but that
made me SO happy! I definitely can’t complain about the food. Plus, I really
love traditional Khmer food too. Lok lak and fish amok are both amazing! Also, finding pools here is another fun thing to do. Today is a holiday for Women's Day and I have the day off. (Cambodia has more holidays than any other place!) I have spent it lounging by a pool with a new friend here in the city. She works for Nomi Network and basically has my dream job. It has been so fun learning more about what she does and how she works together with organizations like Daughters.
Anyways, I always seem to miss the memo for the purpose of
these trips. My last cross-cultural experience to the Philippines ended up with
a focus on building relationships with the girls at the home where I stayed. I
went there thinking they would put me to work only to find out that wasn’t at
all what they needed. Thinking I had learned from my last trip, I figured this
one would be full of great stories of these girls as I got to spend time with
them. Yet, I arrive and they put me to work, clear across the city from the
center. Sometimes it is difficult knowing that I am missing precious time with
these girls as I work, but it could not be clearer that I am exactly the type
of person they need right now to get this store open. This trip just seems to
be more about the big picture.
And that is…what this store will mean to ALL these girls.
Not only will it help their individual lives and
their business,
but they will gain so much confidence from seeing firsthand people
admire and
buy their own work. I feel like I got such a small taste of this before
coming
as I started knitting and sold scarves to raise some money for this
trip. Having just experienced that, I know
how important opening this shop will be for them. And the exciting
thing is that I won't just be helping one girl here, but every single
girl at Daughters!
Also, I am being reminded constantly that God doesn’t just
work on an individual level. He absolutely does that, but also sometimes so
much more. He changes nations. He feeds the multitudes. Sometimes I just see
him as the God that has changed my life…and stop there. Yet that
is only the beginning. He has changed some of the girls’ lives at Daughters. I
have seen glimpses of that. Yet he is also working against human trafficking at
a much greater level too. So I am starting to think differently than I normally
do. Why not think huge?!
I
know that my time here is a small part of what is happening. I arrive
exactly at the right time to help them open the store. A few weeks
later and it would have been too late. Also a few months ago, a cook
came to teach the girls how to make different recipes. Perfect as they
are now opening a cafe above the shop. The way that people come in and
out at the perfect time cannot just be written off as coincidence.
There is just no way! These connections have been happening the whole
time, and I see them as pieces of the big picture. I can't wait to
discover more of what God is doing here in Cambodia on a large
scale...and I am so humbled that I get to be a part of it!