Sit, enjoy yourself

As YAGM, under the auspices of the ELCA, we practice a mission model referred to as the model of accompaniment. Accompaniment means

“walking together in solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality”. 

Okay, but those are challenging words. At its heart, accompaniment is about reconciliation. We are a people called to be in relationship and created for community. How is this call articulated in this broken world, where the pronouns “us” and “them” have become normative? There is division, there is injustice, and there is exclusion and objectification of “the other”. In such a world, accompaniment is “a tool to see otherness as God intended: a gift”. It means not just speaking, but listening.

The holistic definition here, as I have come to understand it, is that accompaniment means being present in one's community, forming relationship, and just living in that intersection of my story, their story, and God's story. 

In three words, it's about "being, not doing". 

Now, there's more to say on this topic, and perhaps one day I can elucidate my thoughts further; however, accompaniment is just the framing for the subject matter of this post. So today, I leave you readers with that introduction, and move on. 

គុយលេង

"Koy leng" is a phrase I have heard every day since I moved to Kampot, Cambodia. "Koy leng" is a phrase that encompasses so much of Cambodian culture as I've experienced it. "Koy leng" is a phrase that has a deep, embedded significance.

"Koy leng" literally translated means "sit play". (Koy is short for the word angkoy, which means "to sit".)

"Koy leng," when spoken to you, can be understood as "sit, enjoy yourself".

On first observation, one can see that for Cambodians, sitting is a significant component of culture. Life is much-slower paced. There is a calmness intrinsic to life, where family members will just sit together, chatting or respecting silence. There is a familiarity, where a neighbor can walk up to the corner shop, and after making their purchase, pull up a red plastic chair and visit. There is a hospitality, where a visitor is welcomed, and immediately offered a chair upon which to rest. Family sits together. Friends sit together. Strangers sit together.

That is what "koy leng" means.

This sitting should never be interpreted as laziness, as passivity, or as a meaningless action.

To "sit, enjoy yourself" is intentional. When with someone, it's about intentional togetherness. When alone, it's about intentional relaxation and enjoyment of the moment.

A U.S. American equivalent for this action is visible in coffee dates with friends or a walk to the park and a rest among the shade.

"Sit, enjoy yourself" is a beautiful form of walking in accompaniment, of being not doing, which, in its essence, it truly is. It's a moment of silence. It's a moment of conversation.  It's companionship.

I can sit at the kitchen table and enjoy life with my host sister, as we smile over cute puppies, talk cultural differences, or eat snacks. I can sit in the shop with my host mother, watching our constant stream of visitors (customers), and sharing the moments. I can sit in the yard of a stranger, observing life in the village.

As I sit and enjoy myself, I cannot help but reflect on accompaniment, on building community, and creating relationship.

"Sit, enjoy yourself" is more than just a simple phrase. It's a way of life.

Love to you all. Take a moment to "koy leng" with your friend or your neighbor, share life together, and smile.

Peace,
KMJ

Instagram Roundup part 2

Greetings,

I have a list of a least 5 pending blog posts. I'm going to start it off with another Instagram Roundup, so you can see some of the lovely scenery I've been sharing on that social media medium.

Map of Cambodia

The CamFam departed for their placements on 12 September. I absolutely cannot believe that that was over a month ago!! Before we left, we placed stickies on a map of Cambodia to indicate our placement locations.

Cloudy morning at the riverside

This was originally captioned "Peaceful Saturday at the Riverside". One of my favorite activities here in Kampot is to ride my bike up and down the riverside. This photo is of one of the riverboats. Incidentally, a couple weeks later, I happened to take a sunset river cruise on this exact boat!

Sweetsop farm in the mountain foothills

Original caption: "The beauty of this country is overwhelming. It's omnipresent, found in the landscape and in the friendly, hospitable smiles of every person one meets. I'm in love. Also, I'm ever-grateful for the fact that a simple smile transcends every language barrier."

Secret Lake

Original caption: "This is Secret Lake, a place that I've come to refer to in my mind as where beauty rises from ashes. We sat here one day, waiting out rain, gazing over this beautiful, peaceful lake. Then I heard its tragic story. Secret Lake is man-made; it was dug out through forced labor during the Khmer Rouge occupation. Many people died in its creation. Yet, beauty triumphs. So tragic, yet so beautiful."

Bananas!

Original caption: "Practicing patience. To everything there is a season... These ចេក grow in my backyard! Khmer lesson 101: ចេក is pronounced "jake," and means banana."
My family has an orchard in their yard, practically. I love the fruit in Cambodia and have tried many new varieties... some of which I've yet to find the English translation of what I've eaten!

Sunset on the river!

 Original caption: "Same sun, new sunset, everyday"

Boats!

Original caption: "We casually stopped by this unofficial port to purchase some crabs for lunch. Crab = ក្តាម (kdam)"

Sunset

Edited caption: "You know there's a gorgeous sunset happening behind those clouds."..."Sunset = ថ្ងៃលិច (tnai lake)"

Lovely river

Original caption: "The river is gorgeous, what can I say? View of the river FROM the river. We took a riverboat sunset cruise... At night, the fireflies lit up the trees like Christmas lights. Khmer: firefly = អំពិលអំពែក (ahm-pell ahm-pike, where ahm rhymes with bomb)

Puppies!!!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm rather obsessed with dogs. One of my host dogs just had two puppies a week and a day ago. They are absolutely adorable. Also, I had the fascinating experience of watching one of them be born.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Kampot! More photos to come (once I take them), and more posts to come, as well.

Cheers,
KMJ

Thankfulness

Greetings!

As some of you know, I recently celebrated another successful revolution around our dear, light-giving sun. It was a quiet, pleasant day. 

Sometime during the afternoon, while I was sitting outside studying Khmer, my host sister looks at me and says, "Oh, you're eating dinner out with my father and I tonight." Oh, I am, am I? Then later it was a simple, "We go now." So off I go, riding on the back of Vandy's moto, with her friend driving alongside of us. After a detour, stopping at a quaint shop, we cross the railroad tracks and drive down the road to one of the omnipresent bamboo hut restaurants.  

A bamboo hut, similar to where we ate

Vandy, her friend, and I joined my host father and a co-worker who were already waiting. We ate a delicious dinner; they ordered for me, a Khmer crepe called បាញ់ឆែវ (banh chow), which happens to be one of my favorite Cambodian meals thus far. THEN they surprised me with a lovely cake. 

Matt, my country coordinator, asked how my day was, in just six words, so I said, "a quiet celebration with good cake."

Elephant Gift
ដំរី (damrei) means elephant

I am just constantly overwhelmed with thankfulness for this host family of mine. I'm thankful for their care and concern for my well-being, their provision, and my host'-mother's fabulous cooking skills. I'm thankful that they're one of the sweetest, open-heart families that I have ever had the privilege and pleasure of meeting. They have much to teach me of compassion, of generosity, of love...

Responsive art project
អរគុណ (a-koon) means "thank you"

Cheers, and love to all back home,
KMJ

Discernment

So. I wrote this poem back in April. I wrote it as I was waiting, sitting outside the room where momentarily I would be having my interview for the Cambodia country program.
----------------------------------------
It is
swirling thoughts
and drumming heart
with a thousand worries
and a thousand joys
in one brief moment
lifetimes long.
It is
groaning sighs
and whispered pleas
and falling onto battered knees.
Is it
rushing wind
or still small voice?
Listen.
Listen to the silence.
Find the calm within the storm.
----------------------------------------

Companionship

companionship (n):
          the good feeling that comes from being with someone else *

Yesterday before dinner, I walked to the riverside with my host mother. On our journey back, night had already fallen, so we walked under a blanket of darkness. We walked in silence. It was a comfortable silence, a peaceful silence, but it was a silence that waited to be broken. It was a silence that was holding its breath, opening its mouth to speak but not finding the words, and subsiding again.

I was out walking alongside this beautiful woman, one who holds my hand as we cross the street to ensure our togetherness, who points out "tuhk" (water) so that I don't walk through the mud, and who congenially performs charades to tell me the wind is chilly or that we were to go on this walk.

You see, my host mother does not speak English, and lamentably, I do not speak [intelligible] Khmer. So on this walk, we walked in silence, and we walked in peace. I eagerly await the moment when I can chat with her about my day, when this walk is filled with words and laughter.

But for yesterday, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of companionship and of comfort. I was comfortable walking alongside this woman, sharing this experience with her.

Yet, I was struck by how different our experience could be. While I was walking, I was thinking about how dark the street was, how nice the temperature was, how glad I was that we were together... in English. I was thinking in English. Perhaps my host mother was thinking about how dark the street was, how nice the temperature was, how glad she was that we were together... in Khmer. Perhaps those were not her thoughts, but perhaps she thought something similar. Regardless, my stream of consciousness was running in English while hers was running in Khmer. Our experiences would be described differently by our contrasting languages. The same, yet different. Intertwined, yet distinct.

It was a lovely moment, that walk, that shared experience. I felt that good feeling that comes from being with someone else.

While I walked, I thought about what I could say in Khmer to be understood, and I have a feeling that she was thinking the same thought, too. We lacked the words to acknowledge the moment.

So we smiled.


(*definition from Merriam-Webster online)

Biding Your Time

Hi all,

So I'm still settling into Kampot...  and still establishing a means of regular internet connection.

First things first, Cambodia is a beautiful country, filled with beautiful people. As I struggle with language acquisition, I am ever-grateful that a simple smile transcends any language barrier. Life has been wonderful; life has been challenging; life has had ups; life has had downs. I've had moments of humbling experiences. I've had moments of joy.

I anticipate the day when I begin to tell my story of my journey in Cambodia. For now, I'm still searching for the words, for the way to encapsulate my experience in a blog post, or a newsletter, or an email... For now, I'm witnessing life, and taking a few pictures along the way.

While I'm busy collecting my thoughts (and finding the opportunity to connect to the internet and publish said thoughts), I encourage you to read blog posts from my fellow YAGM in Cambodia, as well as the blog post by our country coordinators, Jen and Matt. You can find links to their blogs on the sidebar of my main page.

Amanda, Kurt, Rachel, and Savannah serve with Life with Dignity
Ashley, Lindsay, and Mallory serve with the Lutheran Church in Cambodia
Jen and Matt live in Phnom Penh


In future posts, I'll share more about these lovely individuals and the partner organizations OR perhaps I can get one or two to guest-post and tell you about it themselves! Meanwhile, please peruse their blogs.

I wish peace, blessings, and love to you all. When you smile today, remember it's more than a reflex or coordinated muscular movement; remember, and recognize, the power it holds to brighten someone's life and the power it has, especially when words fail.

Love,
KMJ

Instagram Roundup

Greetings, Readers/Followers/Supporters/Everyone Else!

Today is Day 17 (what!) of life in Cambodia. Orientation is drawing to a close... Tomorrow morning, I leave Phnom Penh for Kampot! Tomorrow, I leave for my placement. Tomorrow, I meet my host family.

Orientation has been a complete whirlwind. We've had conversations about logistics, fears and expectations, how to communicate our stories; we've taken trips to the markets, taken a Khmer cooking class, visited the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and Wat Phnom, and took audio tours at the genocide memorials; we've had Cambodian history lessons, church history discussions, and Khmer language lessons... It's been full, and it's been intense.

I'm still processing, so I haven't completed any blog posts or newsletter articles. Those are pending, but TBD when they'll be published. In the meantime, here is a roundup of photos that I've posted to Instagram. I've included modified captions for each of the photos, but this should give a glimpse of my Cambodian journey thus far.

Banana Flower Chicken

I had the joyful experience of an hour of anticipation waiting for our order of chicken seasoned with banana flower. When they say whole chicken, they mean whole chicken...

Lion statues can be seen all around Phnom Penh

We explored the Royal Palace and the "Silver Pagoda" (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), learning more about the rich history of Cambodia. The lion- symbolizing protection- stands guard outside the throne room of the King.

Tofu A Mok with Dessert

The CamFam took a Khmer cooking class! We took a trip to the market to learn more about the ingredients typical to Khmer cuisine, and then we made Green Mango Salad, A Mok (chicken, fish, or tofu), and Chek Ktis (a coconut cream, tapioca, and banana dessert). It was a delicious, educational experience.

Ice cream

Who would have thought that a "rainbow" paddle pop would have "toffee and butter caramel" flavor?? So confusing.

View from the balcony of Casa Bishquist
(our country coordinator's apartment)

"Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3 ... I took a moment to be still and enjoy the cool, refreshing rain that swept through the city today. It reminded me of this verse (and LCM Atlanta).

A notes page of transliterated Khmer

Su'suh'dei! Khmer is a beautiful language. It is also unlike any language I have attempted to learn thus far, because I don't know the script, so I must attempt to write the words as they sound... A positive to this language is we don't have to conjugate verbs! My vocabulary is growing, but unless it's asking names, asking "what is this?", or ordering fried noodles, conversation doesn't get too far. At least there's room for growth...

Homecooked meals!

Cooking food with the CamFam has been one of my favorite activities during orientation. We've gone to market(s) to select our ingredients and brought them "home" to la Casa Bishquist, creating some stellar meals. The first meal was spaghetti with garlic toast and fresh spring rolls (the latter was lovingly given by a community partner). The second meal was a variation on a delicious Khmer Crepe we ate at a restaurant one day. The third was chicken kabobs with corn and watermelon. And the fourth was fried rice with chicken and fried egg (and Hoisin sauce). Definitely some fantastic bonding time while we braved shopping and new cooking experiences.

Genocide Memorials

I have a painful heart. (Warning: this Instagram synopsis does not do justice to the tragedy that occurred.) By 1975, Cambodia had already been suffering from a tumultuous period of civil war AND carpet bombing by the U.S... In 1975 the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, establishing a 4-year regime where the policies and atrocities resulted in genocide and the deaths of an estimated 30% of the population. We visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, and here are some photos of the memorials. (L) preserved remains of victims, (Top) Choeung Ek's Memorial Stupa, (Bottom) Fourteen Graves, on the grounds of Tuol Sleng

Friendly silk worm

I held a silk warm! We road a boat up the Mekong River to visit a Silk Village. We learn all about how silk is made, from butterfly to fabric. The women working the looms were so impressive with their dexterity and their memory for the patterns.

Rachel and Amanda

We celebrated September birthdays with some festive purple and green, coconut and lemon cake; that was such an experiment for the taste buds.

If you stuck with me through all those photos, I hope you enjoyed viewing them!

Cheers! -KMJ