Beach Saturday
On Saturday I went to the beach with 2 busloads of people from the Khmer church I attend. It was a 9 hour return trip for 5 hours at the sea. A couple of years ago I would have thought- crazy idea! I grew up in coastal suburbs where the nearest beach was 1km away and there were about 20 to choose from within a 30 minute drive. Spoilt, really. But by Friday night I was excited!
We woke at 4:45 am to pack spare clothes and food for the picnic lunch. The buses left at 6am and we began our journey past dozens of markets- busy and muddy with morning trade. At 8:30 we stopped for breakfast. One of the men in our group seemed a little surprised that many of the young women I live with ordered coffee with their rice or noodles for breakfast. He said to one, “Oh, you’re drinking coffee. Is it delicious?” She replied with her honest evaluation of what I thought was a rather average brew, “No.” (Hmmm….some Khmer coffee drinkers are one thing, but have I created a coffee snob?)
Our main purpose for the trip was to witness the baptism of 14 new Christians. After the service we ate our rice, fried pork, boiled duck eggs and ginger stir fry. Then it was time for a couple of hours of swimming. We played tip in the shallows. We floated out clutching an inner-tube. I body-surfed some tiny waves as they broke on the shore. We stood chatting chest-deep in warm water as the early monsoon pelted us from above.
On the way home the usual bus games, corporate singing, special items and joke telling continued. It was good to have a better grasp of the language to understand more of what was going on. This skill was especially useful for the bible quiz questions. I answered a few myself then started telling others around me the answers so that our back section of the bus could accumulate a good share of the edible rewards. As 12-year-old as it sounds, it felt good to win!
We were home by 8pm. By 10pm I was climbing into bed. It was a cool tropical night with the rain still beating steadily on the roof. The ceiling fan was on low just to keep the air moving and the mosquitoes away. I pulled the sheet up to my chin and plunged into a deep sleep.
We woke at 4:45 am to pack spare clothes and food for the picnic lunch. The buses left at 6am and we began our journey past dozens of markets- busy and muddy with morning trade. At 8:30 we stopped for breakfast. One of the men in our group seemed a little surprised that many of the young women I live with ordered coffee with their rice or noodles for breakfast. He said to one, “Oh, you’re drinking coffee. Is it delicious?” She replied with her honest evaluation of what I thought was a rather average brew, “No.” (Hmmm….some Khmer coffee drinkers are one thing, but have I created a coffee snob?)
Our main purpose for the trip was to witness the baptism of 14 new Christians. After the service we ate our rice, fried pork, boiled duck eggs and ginger stir fry. Then it was time for a couple of hours of swimming. We played tip in the shallows. We floated out clutching an inner-tube. I body-surfed some tiny waves as they broke on the shore. We stood chatting chest-deep in warm water as the early monsoon pelted us from above.
On the way home the usual bus games, corporate singing, special items and joke telling continued. It was good to have a better grasp of the language to understand more of what was going on. This skill was especially useful for the bible quiz questions. I answered a few myself then started telling others around me the answers so that our back section of the bus could accumulate a good share of the edible rewards. As 12-year-old as it sounds, it felt good to win!
We were home by 8pm. By 10pm I was climbing into bed. It was a cool tropical night with the rain still beating steadily on the roof. The ceiling fan was on low just to keep the air moving and the mosquitoes away. I pulled the sheet up to my chin and plunged into a deep sleep.
posted by pip @ 11:08 am
2 Comments:
At 5:54 am ,
Anonymous said...
i set the picture with the cows as my background on my computer at work. :D
-kira
At 4:10 pm ,
Anonymous said...
It was so happy together, swim, drawn, and play games. And I got a sentence from you for my life. Thanks.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home