Within the blink of an eye, I am back in Phnom Penh, back at Logos and back at work Monday morning. It was a really short trip to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam but it was worth it. Though the bus ride both ways were a bit torturous, it was pleasent and very nice to get out of PP. When we arrived in HCM, I was quite shocked at the amount of street lights and the amount of night life they have instilled. Though, of course, it is not a fully developed place… it was still pretty impressive.

Unfortunately, I only ate local Vietnamese food the morning before we left but despite that, we had some good American food from bars and a tournament dinner at Pepperonis. There were a lot of restaurants and small local stalls where I could’ve ate at, if only I could eat all day and not get fat!

Saturday afternoon, we played 7 games against teams from Hanoi, HCMH and Bangkok. We all had a good time and in the words of the immortal Jack Gibson, Played Hard, Done Good. We finished on top of the table, undefeated after the round robin games, won the semi and came second in the final. By the time Finals came along, 80% of our team was injured, sitting on the floor resting ice on our many different injuries.

Tournaments are always tough, having to play games back to back, having to preservere through the hardships and not give up as worn out as we all were. We met different atheletes from all over, chatted, laughed and enjoyed each others company. One thing I enjoyed the most was being able to be with a group of people with the same passion for Rugby and Sports as myself. To be able to sit in a bar, watch a game, laugh and discuss the games. (Not letting our tire-ness drag us back to our hotel room….) After watching Six Nation games past Midnight on Saturday, we got home early morning Sunday for a few hours of sleep.

Sunday was a long day with the combination of traveling, the lack of sleep and for some, the aftermath of alochol. Nonetheless, traveling to Saigon, Vietnam for Touch Rugby tournament was something I did not imagine myself doing during my year here. With that being said, I would like to go back to Saigon to see the city, to have the time to walk around and admire the city when I am not rushed for time.

Another year has come and gone, who would’ve thought I’d be in Vietnam for valentines day this year? V-day is over rated, with the amount of flowers and chocolate given to our special someone, and the ridiculous price you pay to buy those things! But it is also a great day to show someone you love just how much you care.

Not only to your special someone, but to friends in general. It represents love. When I think of Love, I think of nothing but the Love Christ have given us. No one can love us as much as God does and because of that, the love He is given us flows through us onto others.

This years valentine should be special, and no, not because I will be spending it with a guy, but because I am in Saigon… Vietnam and I will be playing a touch rugby tournament in the afternoon followed by a after party/dinner at night with the players. We play 5 games, and if we get into the finals… in total 6 games. each game is 20 minutes long, so it will be pretty tiring.

I’ll keep you updated when it’s all done and finished!

Nonetheless, life has been pretty exciting and the next few months will be great and sad at the same time as I think about coming closer to the day I leave Cambodia. But hey, life’s too short to think too much into the future.

Cheers,

I went with a friend to a local Cambodian work out gym yesterday in which we had to pay only a few dollars as a foreigner. It was quite an experience, let me tell you why.

I put on my shoes, went in and went for the treadmill. I was stretching getting ready to start the treadmill to run and I see a guy standing next to me staring at me. With my lack of communication and the help of my friends, I realized I had to pay 25 Cent USD to use the treadmill for 10 minutes. Not bad, so I started running and increased the speed to about 10 mph. After about five minutes, the treadmill started glitching and automatically stopping and going, I didn’t think much about it (but I did hold on tight in case I was going to fall). Shortly after, the guy in charge came over and decreased my speed 7.5 mph. It worked just fine after that. On the other hand, I could not help but laugh… I guess I ran a little too fast for the treadmill.

On the treadmills around me, there were girls from 7 years old to women over 40 walking on the treadmill. I guess that’s the exercise! It’s better than nothing I assume. They were all looking at me like it was very unusual to run on treadmills, though.

Later on, I went to lift some weights and that was an odd experience. First of all, around the weights area was all of the male species. I slowly made my way and managed to grab some weights, then I went to sit on a bench to do some arm lifts. I looked in the mirror and at least 5 or 6 guys were staring at me through the mirror with a very confused and shocked look on their face. It was as if they’ve never seen a girl lift weights in their entire life. Which according to my khmer friend, could very well be true.

Though it was an odd experience, it was good to see that people of all ages were exercising in this gym. Well, walking on the treadmill is exercise for them. That’s different from what we are use to, but it’s all about the process of learning the culture!

Cheers,

Jeremiah 1:4-10 (New International Version)

The Call of Jeremiah

4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew ^[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

6 “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”

7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

no matter how hard you try on your own strength, no matter how much gas you let out for the things you have to do, it will run out and you will be exhausted. I have been reminded this past week that my own strength is not enough. and frankly, it is quite frightening living life on my own. I need God’s strength and wisdom to direct my path.

It has been a long week, thank goodness for weeekends!

This weekend has been pretty incredible. I don’t think I have done this much exercise in one weekend (not including tournaments abroad) ever, let alone in Cambodia! I started off my Saturday with a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at school. I was in a team with two high schoolers and played a total of four games. We won twice and lost twice, ended up in 2nd place within 4 teams. Nonetheless, it was great to be in a tournament setting again. Immediately after basketball, I had about 30 minutes of rest then I had to head to the stadium for a Rugby game with the Lycee team (French school).

Though I was pretty exhausted by then, I was pumped for Rugby. Right when I saw the field, saw the ball, saw the tackles made on the field, I gained loads of energy back and knew that I was going to make some good tackles despite winning or losing. And that’s what I did. I stayed at the stadium for another hour or two after the game to watch the rest of the tournament games, it was very satisfying sitting in the stands hearing the crowds cheer for the teams. Makes me sad I won’t be able to attend the Sevens this year.

By the time I got home it was just before 6.
I rested and spent time with a few friends the rest of the evening.

Sunday morning, I woke up and decided I should write my newsletter because if I didn’t write it then, I would probably put it off for another week especially with my work out schedule these days. Spent a few hours working on it, finished it then decided maybe I should get some exercise for the day- even though I am very sore… everywhere. I met up with a friend and played some basketball at a local high school. It reminded me of  “Victoria Park”, except unlike HK with 6 courts next to each other… this was one basketball court with trees and fountains around the court… how nice!!

After basketball… volleyball time! We went to another area with a few fields for soccer, a basketball court, two sand volleyball courts and concrete area for people to play soccer or badminton. It was pretty incredible, but there was still grass around the area! Anyhow, there were about 12 people so we played 6 a side volleyball and it was quite a blast. I am not much of a volleyball player but I would definitely go play on a weekly basis.

Perhaps this might sound weird, but I am really loving all these sports and exercising I am getting.

Also had a great dinner at a colleague’s house to top off the weekend!