May 15, 2007
Dear friends and partners,
Miriam and I have returned from our month long journey through Canada. Both of us are recovering from jet lag and culture shock. Our first 3 weeks in Canada were a shock as each morning we woke to a carpet of snow on the ground. April is not supposed to be like that. We ate and ate – everyone brought out their best and we enjoyed each morsel. We traveled far, talked with many and made new friends. Best of all was reuniting with family – a family reunion on the only warm day we had – 110 relatives and close friends. As Miriam says, it was our amazing day.
So what about culture shock? One of my nephews announced his engagement to his fiancée – a girl he has known for a number of years – a girl whom he loves and she loves him. When we returned to Cambodia we were met by Nary and Tuit – our nanny. Tuit's big news is that she got engaged. She didn't get engaged because she loves him – she got engaged because her grandmother told her to. My nephew's engagement was received with joy and thanksgiving – Tuit's engagement was met with disbelief and sorrow. My nephew chose to get married – Tuit was ordered to get married. The engagement was done in secret – not even her mother knew. I reel from it all – Tuit knows that her life will not be easy – her fiancé is an American Khmer – new culture, new ways – and no one to share her life with except for the man she chose to marry. We talk of loneliness, of hardships, we talk of having babies – Tuit's response tends to frightens me most – she will do it because grandma wants her to.
The culture shock continues – hockey was a big part of our experience in Canada – Miriam knows who the Ottawa Senators are - she watched several games with her auntie and uncle – she knows who's the best player and who is the worst – she knows that the Senators always come close to the Stanley Cup but never quite make it. We come to Cambodia and no one knows about hockey or about the Senators – we talk about rugby and the All Blacks – Miriam is a bit miffed as no one shares her new found passion for a sport called hockey.
The culture shock continues – we lived well in Canada – the house we stayed at was very nice, the food, the best, the toilets – well, they were a bit cold. As we drive through the city each morning and the rain falls around us, Miriam sees some little ones huddled under a plastic sheet. Is that all they have mom, she asks with tears in her eyes. Why mom, why?
The culture shock continues – In Canada we met so many people – they surrounded us and were delighted that we were there. They asked the questions – why – why are people so poor. And they had answers – too many too count – why don't they work, why don't they borrow, why, why, why. In Cambodia we walk through one of our communities that we work in – people come out and greet us – we are surrounded by people – they are delighted to see us – they point to what they have achieved – some new clothes, a new roof, a cow, a pig, a new baby – they laugh as I slip in the mud – they shower me with laughter and joy that I had come to share a few moments of their lives. They are thrilled with so little. And I ask myself why.
It is so very good to go – to renew relationships and make new ones. It is so very good to be back – to renew relationships and to make new ones.
Thank you to each of you for your faithfulness to Miriam and I – whether we are here or whether we are there. I thank my God for culture shock; I thank my God for each of you.
Janne |
