Girls Rule! I mean, Girls' Rules

Once upon a time, when I was but a wee freshman at university, I attended a series of talks by four different women on their roles in their respective religions.  I will always remember the Muslim woman commenting on the fact that many outside the religion see the hijab as restricting women's rights, but, for her, and many Muslim women she knew in the United States, it was freeing.  The conservative nature of dress meant one did not have to deal with being objectified by men, harassed, catcalled, or any of the other regular occurrences within our culture of male-female relations. This comment has always stuck with me and let me tell you, at times I have been ready to put on a burka. 

What does this have to do with Cambodia?  I will get there.  They tell us in training, there will be times in your mission experience that things just drive you nuts.  Cultural norms that cannot be changed and within which you must learn to work.  Those who know me, will know I very strongly believe in adapting to the receiving culture but that does not mean it is easy or without wanting to slap a few people (so far actual slapping has not occurred... too many times).  Please read with the caveat, I could write an even longer post about all the things I find challenging within the USA paradigm, there is a reason I leave every few years, keeps my frustration down to a manageable state but I write so 1) you don't get it in your head that my life is all sunshine and rainbows; 2) because I think it is important for us to think about how far our culture has come and recognize the challenges that still exist in some places; 3) for those of you who have lived this reality, give me pointers, Baby!

Let's go back a few hundred years, when some poems called the Chbab (law/rule) Srey (girl) and Chbab Proh (Boy) were first released, there was a huge book signing and people hashtagged the heck out of that #Chbabthat.  Wait, no, that isn't right.  The world was different a few hundred years ago.  Well, these fine documents basically laid out the rules of how boys and girls should behave.  At an early teen age, girls were locked in a hut and instructed on these books while being 'prepared' to enter the world as a woman (the better looking she was, after all sorts of gunk was applied to her skin for the months she was in the hut etc, the richer a husband she would capture).  When the woman emerged, the parents of prospective husbands would come calling to the parents of the beauty, arrangements were made, she was married, and they all lived happily ever after...ish...

Well, these fine poems still exist today.  From my sources, I have learned they were still taught in schools until recently and hundreds of years of cultural norms are hard to change.  Some of the great bits of woman wisdom include women should never argue with her husband (he is always right), should never talk to others of problems with husband (hello, huge opening for domestic abuse), she should not laugh loudly, should always speak softly, should not question her husband, should not sleep with her back to her husband, and should serve her husband (to name a few of my personal favorites).  My jaw literally dropped as I was reading this.  There are many studies showing the links of this 'education' to domestic violence, low levels of self-worth in women, and the employment gender differences, if you would like to read.  But, how does this affect me?

In a couple of ways, I feel this challenge (again, keep in mind who is writing this; I am not a girlie-girl; I believe in comfort and functionality before 'style;' I have a brain and intend to use it; I don't take crap from men or women well; I believe in self-expression; I believe we should all judge less but if we are judging, judge by the quality of character not the way a person chooses to 'package' themselves; etc).  First, when it comes to making friends here.  I think relationships with Khmer women will only be able to go so far.  From their side it seems, there is often little understanding that we may have different perspectives or even a thought to question such sexist norms that are limiting their potential (in my opinion). Such comments have been made as "You look 100% girl today" (I was wearing a women's cut shirt and jeans) "Are you a girl or not?" (When I referenced fixing my own bike instead of paying to take it somewhere) "We have to teach you to be proper" (for waving to a boy) "You shouldn't talk so loud, laugh so loud..." "When you walk, walk toe to heal, otherwise it is loud and not proper." Paraphrase: we are not supposed to argue with our husbands, if we do our mother always sides with him.  Just about a week of examples...

Second, and why I am ready for a Burka.  I have lost count of the number of times men have made culturally inappropriate advances (such as saying hi pretty lady, giving me their phone number, asking if I would marry a Khmer man, saying they don't understand why I don't have a husband, making comments about if they were my boyfriend, etc.).  My culture advisers have told me all of these things are SO inappropriate for men to do to women here.  There theory is that it may come from general disrespect for women or from seeing this done on TV and thinking it is how it works with foreigners or may come from foreigners who travel with the intent to hook-up with people in other countries - seriously folks, you are making the world difficult for all of us buy casually hooking up with nationals.  Luckily, they have all been tame advances but I also avoid putting myself in situations that would allow for other advances.*  But, these are the norms and my ignore face has gotten pretty good, as have my looking confused and responding in Spanish and pretending to not understand their Khmer.  The facts I am Khmer size, 'blonde,' pasty white, and young apparently work to my disadvantage.  The facts I have a naturally intimidating presence, am a naturally (and here more so) conservative dresser, and don't respond work to my advantage.

But, of all my frustrations, this one tops the list.  How do I present an alternative to women without being culturally insensitive?  How do I avoid smashing my Klean Kanteen into the face of the next bloke who decides patronizing me is a good idea? (just kidding!  Sort of...) How do I not end up a man-hater (as may have occurred after working with survivors of domestic violence for a year)? How have other women living in incredibly male-centric cultures managed this?  Your thoughts are appreciated!

*Disclaimer to my actual mother and all mother-like-figures, I have never felt my person or safety was threatened in any of these situations, so please do not worry.  I have just been greatly annoyed.

And, another thing for boys...



Boys can eat these:

 

This is the language school director's son, aka cutest kid in Cambodia! 

 

WAIT!  Stop the Presses!

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Girls can, too! 

 

Legs first they said!

 

Reminded me of kale chips... All you taste is oil and salt.  And, crunch...  Lots of crunch.

 

Comfort Zone

 

My friend Vandy and I traded shoes

This whole adjusting to a new culture involves a fair amount of trying to walk in another human's shoes.  Perhaps, this means walking paths outside my normal comfort zone, but for me, it is amazing how quickly one can adapt.  I recently have been contemplating a lot about how we all often say in our daily life, "Oh, I don't know how to do that."  Or "I can't do that."  What would happen if we instead said, "I can learn to do that."  or "I will figure out how to make that work"  It would be amazing what we can learn and accomplish.  For those who know me well, you will know I am a VERY fearful person.  I like back-up plans and escape routes and do not like being out of control of "the plan."  I always tell friends, I can plan to have no plan and then it is ok :)  But, I also strongly believe in expanding my comfort zone and am addicted to transition, so enjoy pushing those boundaries.

One example of boundary pushing, that recently happened relates to language.  I can remember just six short months ago, being completely lost language wise.  At times it has been frustrating.  I remember thinking, I will never get these sounds, I will never remember all these letters, I can't write except in phonetics, writing two sentences takes me 30 minutes or more because I have to look up every word BUT, amazingly, I have reached all of these milestones.  I insisted on learning the letters, and started teaching myself until my teachers decided it was ok to teach them to me, trying always to push myself even if there was an easier way, or my teachers didn't require me to push myself, or at times said, "that is too hard for you right now."  Funny, now, though I am nowhere near fluent and will have to continue to push myself, things that even a month ago I wouldn't have thought I could remember, I now have down.

Another comfort zone push for me has been buying fruit/veggies daily.   There is a market within spitting distance of my house.  If I want to eat a kilo of mangosteen, not that I do that every day or anything, all I have to do it walk 60 seconds and I can get my Kilo of Mangosteen.  I always said I wanted to be a regular somewhere, Cheers-style.  Well, I can't say they know my name but they see me coming and start selecting the best Mangosteens from the pile and put them in a bag - and they are always glad I came.  If another customer happens to be there, my saleslady and her son, explain that I buy them every day (as the other customers can't understand why we don't even have to speak).  This process though, of going to the market, was initially overwhelming.  I would be afraid I couldn't communicate, what if I couldn't make a decision, what if I made a fool of myself, what if????  Go figure, all those "what ifs" were for not.  I always end up with the food I want and have yet to do something completely foolish (I always check to make sure I am wearing pants before leaving the house!)  Again, expanding my normal (not the checking for pants, the going to market... maybe I should quit while I am ahead).

I guess, all this is to say, any of us can do this in our daily life.  I don't think one needs to move half-way around the world.  It is just a matter of picking one thing and saying I want this to be a part of who I am and doing it.  Could be going to bed earlier, could be talking to people on the bus (don't try that one in DC ;)), could be biking to the grocery store, could be reading the newspaper.  With all the time we spend making excuses as to why it can't be done, we could be half way to mastery and a much larger comfort zone.  Then, when that becomes our normal, pick another and slowly, we all grow as human beings.  That must be good for all of us, right?

**** If though, you think visiting half-way around the world is a good way to expand your comfort zone, I have an opportunity for you!  I have mentioned before MKLM leads Friends Across Borders trips to the various regions where MKLM works and there is one coming to 'Bodia in February of next year!  If anyone is interested, you can find more information here (or just ask).

Number one selling point for coming on this trip...

... You get to spend Valentine's Day 2015 with the lovely lady on the left.  Frosting not included.

And, the winner is...

And, the winner is... (or loser, depending on how you feel about having me as an employee)

I know you have all been waiting to find out what I will actually being doing here, since right now everyone thinks I am on vacation ;)  I wrap up language school in two weeks, there is nothing left for them to teach me. JUST KIDDING (I will continue to study a couple of hours/week with a tutor)!

Starting on Aug. 4, 2014, I will be working at the Deaf Development Project (described here in a previous blog).  The day-to-day tasks are still being determined, but you will know when I do :)  There will probably be some communications work, as that is some of my background.  Starting in August, I will be learning another language - Khmer Sign Language.  Let's hope all those years of American Sign Language pay-off.  I am very excited for this next step, as I do enjoy working - contrary to popular belief.  It will be nice to have that structure in my life again (almost 1-year since I left my last job at the American Wind Energy Association).

So, although you now know I will not be working at any of these fine places, I wanted to share with you a couple more locations where my groupmates are working and give you a bit more insight into Cambodian life...

A few years back, in a poor shantytown type area of Phnom Penh, there was a huge fire destroying the homes of many.  Luckily, there was a plot of land a long way outside the city all ready, even with individual plots drawn-out, to which these folks could move.  A huge casino was built on the location of their previous home, conveniently timed accidental fire, mind you.  Two of my groupmates work in this resettlement area.  They provide scholarships for the children to study, academic support, trainings for people going to work overseas (in hopes of keeping them from ending up in a trafficked situation), support to the elderly that have no family, support to a women's co-op, among other things.  This visit, for me, was eye opening for three reasons.  One, it makes you question when NGOs step in so a government doesn't have to help its own people.  For example, because this fire was 'an accident' all these NGOs rushed into help relocate people, build homes, provide food, help with education, etc.  This area didn't have 'roads' (did I mention it is in a swamp area, so rainy season, it floods... remember, sanitation ie toilets are rare here...) until an NGO helped install them. 

Two, the contrast of those with money and those without was fairly clear.  Unlike in the USA where we like to separate such things with roads or train tracks, here, in some areas, the contrast is your next door neighbors. 

Three, I saw "Special Meat" Grilling for the first time...

 

Seedling of Hope is another one of the Maryknoll Cambodia projects.  This one works with those suffering from HIV/AIDS or because of HIV/AIDS.  They provide support to children who have lost their parents, small loans to those trying to make it, and medical support.  Thanks to many of the new HIV drugs available, this organization is no longer about hospice type care, it is now about helping those with HIV/AIDS to get the medical treatment they need and to be re-integrated into mainstream society.  One thing which particularly impressed me is the focus of Seedlings to get children re-integrated with family.  In Cambodia, there is a huge 'orphanage issue.'  People send their kids to orphanages because they cannot afford to raise them.   Certain exploitation can arise as these places draw in foreigners, who go figure, give lots of money to 'poor orphans.'  Some of these locations even coach their kids on what to say to white people.  In an environment, where this kind of set-up is the norm, Seedlings does the opposite as they try to find the extended family of children who have lost parents to AIDS and then they provide the support to re-integrate them (if a positive situation is available) - recognizing, from a psycho-social perspective, being a part of a family unit holds some importance.  Again, great to be associated with an organization which shares my values!

Now, as a reward for finishing this incredibly long post (note, this is why I should not go two months without blogging), I give you more photos from my time in the village.

 

My kitty cat (can't remember the name our French visitors gave her, may be Calais).  She liked to sleep in my moto helmet, I think she felt safe :)

 

With about 1/3 of the youth from the parish.  So excited to return next month and run English Camp for some of these folks!

 

Yet another reason I should not be left alone with children ;)  This was the kids' favorite pictures to re-look at.  Probably because is is not 'proper' 

Plate and Toilet... Same Difference?

“One time, someone asked for the toilet and I brought them a plate.” This is everyone's favorite story to tell me here in my village of an English misunderstanding. Oh, the joys of English. Suddenly, I find myself teaching English. As I have said, multiple times, I am super unqualified for such things. I can learn languages. On a good day, I can speak English. BUT, to teach it?!?!? How do I explain why asking do you have a fan uses “a” and Do you have toilet paper does not? That is just the way you say it. The implication of 'some' in regard to toilet paper, thus it is plural (ish) and you can't use “a” makes sense in my head but I don't know the rule for this and for people who haven't studied letters, words like plural and singular are a bit vague... And, I of course don't know them in Khmer. Plus, the Khmer language does not have this structure (unlike the romance languages I have studied, thus the concept is bizarre). Really should have become certified to teach English before coming. Best part of this English-teaching endeavor. For which, I wish I had a photo. After my adult class, they specifically want to learn tourist/receiving guest vocab, the kiddos come...


Yesterday, one munchkin asked to study. So, we learned some words together. He was enthusiastic and I made things up as I went. He asked today what time, so I gave him a time. He asked if he should bring a writing book and pencil, I said yes. Exactly an hour and a half before I told him to come, he comes proudly marching through the gate with his book and pencil in a little bag. With another 10 kiddos proudly walking behind, each with their pencil and book in bag. I was literally laughing my face off. It was the cutest thing I have seen in a long time, needless to say, I again, had to fly by the seat of my pants and make something up that worked for eleven kids. With another four to five floating in and out and some running through our space with a soccer ball. Oh, did I mention these kids span probably around five years to 10 or 11 years old... And, cover five grade levels. I have a white board, two different colored markers and far too little imagination :) Though, I will consider it a miracle I got them to sit (ish) and pay attention (maybe) for an hour (let's just go with happy no one hit anyone else hard enough to draw blood, these kids smack to communicate with each other). Now, I just need to learn to read books in Khmer so we can have story time...

Leaving Phnom Penh

That's right, folks!  I am leaving Phnom Penh!

This picture is where I will be living for the next month. To the Campo I go! For some reason, that Spanish word describes it best. With Maryknoll Lay Missioners, we are encouraged to do a language immersion in our first six months here. The purpose of this is to be completely surrounded by Khmer and come back speaking like a native... errr... to be able to understand more... to not contract a parasite? :) Yes, we are meant to immerse ourselves in the culture and language of our new home. For those who know me well, you will not be surprised that I am super excited for this opportunity. My Khmer is coming along. I can usually communicate what I want to say to Khmer, though, my teachers understand my terrible accent better than the average person on the road.


I will be living at a parish in Kampong Cham (a province about three hours northeast of where I currently live, or around 160 km – divide by five multiple by three - 96 miles????) You can learn a thing or two about the roads based on that... But, I digress. So, this parish has been there for about 20 years. It is in a small village call Koroka (my spelling, not their's). This village got electricity two years ago. They have about 60-80 youth that regularly participate in activities with the church (small portion are Catholic). There are a few small-ish fields on the property which are farmed, I would say maybe an acre and a half. They grow ground nuts (peanuts), corn, and various other vegetables. The folks who work on the farm are able to work there for 2-3 years and are typically folks that are struggling (one was recently widowed before she started working there). The time limit helps to keep from creating a dependency relationship but gives folks the ability to keep going through a tough time.  The parish also own a rice field near by their main location.


Everyone keeps asking what exactly I will be doing... Not sure :) I will hopefully be able to help with the day-to-day farming tasks. Maybe will learn a bit about growing rice. The youth have a dance group, so, maybe will learn some traditional dance. Basically, it will be a time to practice langauge and learn more about the average lives of Khmer folks. Being rural, internet will also be a less regular occurance, so I will be a bit off the grid until July - great for future discernment, language study, and being fully present to this Cambodian Adventure!

Until July (most likely), I leave you with these photos of my new neighborhood!

 

This is at the church in the city 10 minutes or so from my village.  This is inculturation, Jesus in typical Buddha sitting position.

 

Cambodian Creche at the same church

 

Guest Hut.  There are about five of these on the property for visitors. I stayed here while visiting but will be blessed with a bed for my month long stay.

  

Mosquito net over the mat on the floor aka bed in the hut.

 

Shower!  That is called a Piung.  It holds water.  There is a little scoop bucket to scoop and pour.

 

Jesus sitting on the church property.  NOTE THE TREES! :)

 

This is their Jesus outdoor chapel/shrine.  Great mural!

 

View from behind the property.  This whole area is flood plains so this may all be under water in my time there.  I will have to walk over and check the water levels each day!   I believe, we decided this was currently planted with peanuts...

 

The Mighty Mekong River.  Short walk from my new home.  This will definitely rise in my time there.

 

Mekong

 

A man moving his cows to graze in a different area.  This will probably also be under water.

Open a bakery

If my future as a weaver doesn't work, maybe I will open a bakery...Today , I had the privilege of teaching my language teacher how to make a cake and cookies. Folks here don't have ovens, many don't have indoor stoves but use charcoal to cook, so these are new concepts. And, the no-bake cookies were especially designed for such situations!  Yahoo for new vocabulary!

 

Raneth learning to cream butter and sugar

 

Just the two of us in our matching aprons!

 

I learned how to say mix so it doesn't burn.  Then, I forgot the word for burn...  At least five times...  I still don't remember! (Darn those multiple syllable words)

 

Reason number 200 I love this country, you sit around on the floor to make food.  For those who have eaten my food (stop reading), I have a tendency to do this anyway so I fit right in! (And, the food is never directly on the floor just the pan)

 

Learning to make butter cream frosting.  Though, I am going to give up on such things soon because the butter here all has a funny taste, as does the milk, so it is just not the same.

 

Filling the cake with cashew butter cream frosting.

 

Drawing on the cake!  Everyone can embrace their inner-child for cake decorating!

 

Finished product!  The one with both of us didn't turn out :(  But, she is prettier any way!  Next, time on baking with Karen, we will make the chocolate cake with almond frosting that is my fav cake my mama makes!

Ok, really, the point of this is to share more of my future job options and more of the work of Maryknoll Lay Missioners here in Cambodia (I am not opening a baker or weaving). To clarify, as last post confused folks, I am just sharing all the places I have visited chronological, any are options for my future ministry placement.


Karol and Setha, which is an acronym for Knowledge and Reflection On Life and SExuality Through a Holistic Approach, works with predominantly youth around healthy relationships. They lead popular education style workshops and examine everything from gender roles to sex work. Cambodia is in an interesting place that it is 'old-fashioned' in the sense that the male is definitely the one in charge, especially of sexual relationships. Communication between the genders is not the norm, even now. For example, at weddings, often all the men will sit at one table and the wives will sit at another because then the men can drink and joke around, which apparently can't occur as freely if the women are there. Women also can't go out in the evening, unless married/with their husband or with family or they are thought of as bad girls while men can be out until all hours of the night. There are huge gender gaps, I am sure beyond what I have even thus far observed. That being said, this generation has much more global exposure and thus they are more 'progressive' which not only leads to conflicts within parent/child relationships, youth receive no real training on healthy relationships and communication. Karol and Setha attempts to fill that void. One of the most poignant examples I have heard is that women just accept that men go to massage parlors or other locations for "special services" because they believe men need to have sex like they need to eat food and drink water. Funny how when men control the truth the absolutely ridiculous things that work to their 'advantage' become the norm. Now, I am sure some of you are saying, "They are so messed up!" But, please try to remember, it is a cultural difference I share not so we can pass judgement but see that things are definitely different.  And, in someways it is not so different than we were 60 years ago in the states


Another site, which is the second home, aka workplace, to three Maryknoll folks, is the Boeung Tun Pun (BTP) Project. Boeng is the word for lake and this area is right by the lake/in the lake. Well, it is a lake for a little while longer. They are actively filling it in with sand to build a large shopping center among other things (Civil Engineers, feel free to express what a wise idea it is to build large structures on top of lakes that were filled in with sand, especially when there seems to be no plan as to where the water will go that usually floods into that lake for five months a year). So, this project doesn't deal with the infrastructure challenges, it works with the incredibly economically poor and marginalized folks that live in that area. Many folks come from the provinces to live there and seek work in Phnom Penh, they are now being relocated. This is an area where some folks have one pair of clothing, no shoes, and homes constructed of whatever they can find at times. Needless to say, basic needs are a challenge. The program runs a number of early education centers (pre-school/daycare), school support programs, scholarships of uniforms and backpacks for kids, health outreach, transportation to the hospital, assistance with prescriptions, small loans, basically, most of your very BASIC needs services (you know those guaranteed human rights according to the UN). As many of you know, I have a love of first graders, one of the classes at BTP is for first graders who can't seem to learn to read. Some of them will repeat this class multiple times with no ability to make it past the equivalent of abc for us. There are no resources in the public school system for educationally delayed students and they honestly don't even know if it is a form of dyslexia, malnutrition, or other issue inhibiting these children's ability to succeed.  Thus, NGOs such as BTP are working to fill this gap.

What do I want to be when I grow up...

What do I want to be when I grow up?  That seems to be a constant question I face.  At this point, four, going on five, months into my time here, it is time to start figuring out what I will do for ministry.  For those that are not aware of this process, basically, we spend six months learning the language (because how do you plan to serve alongside people when you cannot communicate).  During this time, new missioners visit existing missioners' work sites, as well as any other non-profit organization in which they have an interest.  After much contemplation, we pick one in which to work (with the invitation of the organization of course).  So, I am in that searching stage for what I will do when I grow up... in two months...

I thought I would share with you some of the projects I have visited, and the awesome things my groupmates are doing.  One other note, I will probably not have many pictures in these descriptions.  I struggle with this, as I know many of you will never be to Cambodia and I want to show you what I see.  Having been trained as a fundraiser, I also know that kids and puppies are what tug on heart strings (put a 'poor' kid with a 'poor' dog on your site and donations rise, people keep reading, etc).  I, personally, find much of this exploitative so will be trying to tread lightly with photos.  How would I feel if someone was taking a picture of me in my home because it was different or of my kid because he hadn't yet taken a bath that day?  Let's be honest, cops would be called :)  So, I will be trying to only provide you with pictures when the parties involved give permission or individuals are not pictured.

So, following that disclosure, projects I have visited...  The first one I went to see was the Deaf Development Project (DDP).  The DDP is the place of work to two of my groupmates.  This organization provides an education to adults that are deaf.  The students, age 15 and up, have never met another deaf person before coming to DDP, in general.  They are unable to attend school and have no way to communicate.  They are completely isolated, except for whatever interaction their family provides which is often not positive.  DDP teaches these adults to use their 'voice' by giving them language.  They gain community by being with others who are deaf.  They also receive vocational training so they can, hopefully, find employment upon completion of the program.  As a person who is very community motivated, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it would be to be unable to communicate but that is the reality of many here in Cambodia.  DDP is currently working with the children's school for the deaf and they are together developing what will be THE Cambodian Sign Language.  Currently, American Sign Language is largely used with the children so they are trying to universalize - obviously, this is essential for building a sustainable Deaf Community in the country.  My past experience with the Deaf Community within the US specifically triggered my interest in this project and it is fascinating to see how much overlap there is with signs (at least the ones I remember in ASL).  The DDP recently released a documentary about their work. it is short only six minutes, if you want to learn more.  (It is an AWESOME Film, I think).

The second missioner with whom I talked was James.  He works at Love146.  On organization that works around human trafficking issues.  His specific research focus is on  the demand side of sex trafficking.  The studies on which he works strive to understand the motives of those who will buy another human being for sex.  Some of the stories which he has heard and learned are horrendous.  Unfortunately, here in Cambodia, trafficking is very common.  And, not just into the sex industry.  People in search of better jobs will be taken overseas and imprisoned for low wages and in horrendous work condition.  Men in particular may be 'employed' on fishing boats that head out to sea and don't dock for YEARS, one recent story I heard was of a man who was on a ship for four years.  If these men protest, they are simply thrown overboard and new ones are brought on board.  I was very interested in what he had to share as I have studied Human Trafficking a fair amount independently and it seems like so many people focus on the victims.  I have always felt until we focus on the 'demand' side, there will always be more tricked into the 'supply,.' so it was interesting to see what that looked like here.  I also had to opportunity to get a tour of the red light district with this ministry and learn all sorts of fun facts, like the fact that the sex industry really picked up when the UN came to Cambodia.  Love146 also has a video here about their work.

I will leave you with some more happy thoughts.  Recently, my friend Ingrid with whom I studied at UP came to visit Cambodia at the end of her backpacking adventures. 

On one of the first days she was here, we attempted to find silk island.  That failed.  But, we still found a place that made silk and had fun doing it!

 

Lexy and Ingrid (Lexy is here with another mission group from Venezuela)

 

Mariana and Eslendy in the tuktuk on the way to our adventure. With the same group from Venezuela.  Yes, there are moments when riding through Cambodia, in a tuktuk, speaking Spanish you have to say, 'isn't life funny?'

 

Small white specks are silk worms.

 

Showing us the silk eggs hatching to silk worms.

 

These are the silk cocoons (yellow)  They are heated and then spun into rough thread.  That is further processed and spun in the smooth thread we recognize as silk.

 

Learning to use the loom.

 

I couldn't imagine sitting and doing this eight hours/day

 

Feet are involved as well.

 

This was a simple pattern.  The more advanced multi-color, not just stripe patterns, can take one week just to set up the loom.  It is mesmerizing to watch! Well, when a professional does it.  When I was doing it, it was probably more like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

 

 

And, last but not least, these beauties are on my front porch.  As long as I keep them watered, they seem to bloom every month to every other month :)