the past month has been quite exciting and also adventurous (as the title says). As some may know, I was in Cambodia for 2 weeks and in Vietnam for 1 week and in the following there will be many pictures (and a few stories) that will hopefully give you a small picture of how my time was.
Cambodia:
The Program:
I went to Cambodia with the organisation I'm working for (and if you don't know which organisation that is, shame on you...it's Metamorphic...check it out: www.metamorphic.org.au).
Our program there trained 24 local pastors in 4 different categories: churchplanting, community development, business development and personal development. These programs are basically the reason Metamorphic exists, they are the main thing we do. All the admin stuff I've been doing in the past months is basically to facilitate those programs. So it was really cool to be able finally see the result of all my work. (Not that I have really directly been working towards the programs, but more indirectly).
After being part of the program I can only say again that the work that Metamorphic is doing is really amazing and is really changing the world.
This is the first program where we're using our revised and revamped curriculum. This had one day where the goal was to challenge the students, push them outside of their comfort zone and open their eyes to creativity. These all being very important things if they want to be effective leaders in their communities. This was the second day of the program and my first full day in Cambodia. And their first assignment was to go out in 2 groups and film different random things (i.e. get someone to act like a chicken). I went out with one of the groups that had the only english speaking student and it was heaps of fun. Also slightly overwhelming, since it was hot and humid and I had basically just gotten there. Not to mention that they mostly spoke Kmai so I didn't understand a word. However it was a great opportunity to see a lot of Siem Reap and get a bit immersed in the culture.
Most of the Meta team was there, however not for the whole time. Linds (the CEO of Metamorphic) was there only for 1,5 days. Dan (the person I mostly work with) was there for a bit over a week. And Marty and I were there for the whole program. Then there were also our two Kmai staff members, Ra and Phealy. I got along really well with them and hope that I will make it back to Cambodia some time in the next few years.
Anything else:
Since I was in Siem Reap I of course had to visit Angkor Wat. It was cool. However I don't know if it was the masses of tourists, the heat, or the combination of both, but somehow I just wasn't so impressed by it. I know, I know, it's on the Unesco World Heritage List, but somehow it just failed to impress me. Maybe my expectation were too high.
All in all my time in Cambodia was great (minus me feeling sick to my stomach the whole time) and I definitely would like to go back there some time.
Oh and I love tuk-tuks.
Here are some pictures:
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| In a tuk-tuk with Marty and Ra |
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| In the church with Phealy |
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| The class |
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| Some cute kids that were often at the church, they got aggressive though once I stopped taking pictures of them...barely made it out alive |
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| The rainy season just started when we were there |
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| Angkor Wat |
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| And more of Angor Wat |
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| And more...I think you will be able to guess what the following pictures are from even without a caption |
Vietnam:
In Vietnam I visited a friend of mine. And I also had a really great time. The first two day I had a bit of a culture shock. I'm not really sure why, but I think a few factors were me feeling horridly sick to my stomach and me being in a very busy, big city like as well as me not staying in as nice as an area as I did in Siem Reap. However after I recovered from my slight shock I also really enjoyed Vietnam.
The people there are just amazing. They are so friendly and welcoming.
On Wednesday evening I went out with 3 other Vietnamese girls to a bar that had live music. In the beginning I was the only foreigner and since I was also in the front row I immediately was picked out by the singer (who I think was also a foreigner, however she's been in Vietnam long enough to be able to speak a little bit). She asked me a few questions in between songs and in the end that led to me going up front and singing "Set fire to the rain" with her. I'm not going to lie, I kind of hoped that I would be able to sing with her on the stage from the very beginning. However I never thought that she would let me. It was awesome :D
Now I know the quality of the video isn't so good, but I thought I'd still post it just to give you guys a feeling of what it was like.
Vietnam from Susan DeTroy on Vimeo.
On Thursday morning the same girl that had invited me also showed me around the city a bit and we had a great time. It really is quite exciting riding on the back of a moto in a busy asian city. There are two simple rules:
1. Trust the driver with your life, because, lets face it, you basically have to
2. Don't pay attention to the traffic, cause if you do, you'll notice that there are 20000 situations where an accident could happen and you'll freak out
If you keep to those 2 rules you'll have a great time :)
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| This was on a trip to the Meikong river the day after I had arrived. It suffices to say that I felt horrid the whole day and did not really enjoy the time |
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| At the War Museum |
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| Oldest church in Ho Chi Minh City |
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| Out at the bar with some girls I met there |
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| At an Elderly Home. The woman I'm sitting next to spoke a mix out of English, French and Vietnamese. |
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| One girl that I had just met a few days ago spent most of Thursday showing me around and doing all kids of touristy things :) |
Back home:
As much fun as I did have abroad, I am very happy to be back in Australia. I'm happy that I don't have to worry about getting sick, or getting my stuff stolen anymore. And I'm happy I can brush my teeth with tap water again :D
The only downside about being back is that it's quite cold in Australia (especially in comparison with the 90% humidity and 35 degrees celsius in Cambodia and Vietnam).
However I finally have a space heater, a angora sweater and rubber boots. So I'm outfitted for the weather now :)
My time in Australia is coming to an end, slowly but surely. Just have a bit over 8 weeks left and I know those will pass quickly. So to all my Aussie readers: I'm leaving soon, so you better be nice to me in the last few weeks. And to all my German readers: see you soon
(And to everyone else: have a nice day)
Cheers,
Susan
