And along came Tevy

During the mid semester break we visited Mondulkiri. It is in the far north east of Cambodia. We stayed in a simple cabin at the Nature lodge, with an outdoor shower and toilet. We took along with us a young christian girl called Tevy (21), who is a classroom assistant at Hope School. Tevy is also my Khmer language teacher.
Khmer life revolves around one's family / extended family. Young girls cannot go on trips with their girl friends as it is not considered safe, however their extended families are so large that it is not affordable to spend money or work time to go on holidays as a family. Needless to say, when we invited Tevy to come away with us she was very excited and pleased that her parents gave her permission.
For those who are unaware, Cambodia is pretty well flat. There are no hills to speak of in most of the country. Instead there are just long stretches of rice-paddy filled floodplains with palm trees and small timber or straw houses on stilts, baking in the suns heat. Mondulkiri is different, it is about 800m above sea level with grassy hills, tall trees, thick vines and creeks flowing through the jungle. The cool air at this time of year requires trousers , jackets, and more than just a sheet to sleep under.
So Tevy enjoyed many first-time experiences in Mondulkiri: grass plains and hills, water falls, 4WDriving, cold weather, sleeping with a blanket and sitting around a camp fire. We also introduced her to Burrito wraps, a pool table,"ten green bottles hanging on the wall" and taught her to coo-ee. We visited the Thompson family, who are CMS missionaries from Australia, they also introduced Tevy to pumpkin soup, dessicated coconut, home made bread and flat Indian bread. We spent quite some time with the Thompsons learning about their work in the region, sharing food, a picnic and playing cards together after dinner.
Tevy fitted into our group seamlessly, she enjoyed being silly with us and mucking around with Naomi and Nathan. She bargained for us in Khmer wherever we went. Since Khmer rates are cheaper than foreigner rates when purchasing this proved to be quite beneficial.
During the visit I came to appreciate in much greater depth the culture of the Khmer and about jungle tribes. Khmer and tribal people are so very supersititious, trapped in the associated fear they are not free to tackle many of the major problems which face them. It was also evident that many subsistance and minimal impact practices have been lost and replaced by non sustainable and ecologically destructive de-forestation and exploitation.