Mission to Cambodia 2013
from Taylor Bonds
After crossing day after day on my calendar with my dark green pen, the early morning of May 5th has finally arrived and you can now find me sitting in a damp seat cushion on top of a folded magazine because who knows what the “dampness” could be! Immediately, my mind started to race about what this trip will be like? What the culture will be like? How many children I will fall in love with? If I will want to come back? And, selfishly I wonder what a Cambodian birthday will be like! The whole night last night I watched the clock on my computer go minute by minute so I decided the best problem solver was to stay up all night hoping that I will sleep the entire 14 hours and 32 minutes to South Korea from Dallas!… I guess we will see if my hypothesis is correct in about 3 hours!
We have officially made it to our third plane that departed from Seoul, South Korea with the final destination of Phnomh Penh! I can tell you that my following hypothesis: If, I stay up all night the night before I travel; then, I will be able to sleep on my flight from Dallas to South Korea was accurate. I slept 10 hours and watched two movies for the rest of the incredibly long flight. Once I stepped onto the Korean Airways flight I was overwhelmed with the “Geisha” looking flight attendants, the essential Korean airplane “goodies” (purple Korean blanket, slippers, toothbrush and toothpaste, headphones, and pillow) on the seat, the high ceilings with fluorescent lights, and the long rows with eleven seats in each row. All I could think when I sat down is what is this Wii looking remote below my TV screen. To my surprise it was just like a Wii remote except better with video games you could play like balloon popper, an abundance of music with everything from Korean pop music to Kenny Rodgers new album, movies that I have never had time to watch throughout this crazy last semester but am very excited to finally get the chance to be stuck somewhere where I just “have” to watch them, an interactive map and video camera of our flight, and access to Skyshop that has everything you could ever want. All I can say is that this airplane is a lot different than most.
Once we arrived in South Korea, I was already shocked to find myself the minority among thousands. I felt as if I was in South Coast Plaza, for those of you that do not know South Coast Plaza, it is a mall where you can find an infinite amount of high-end stores. As far as I am concerned, the Seoul airport in South Korea was absolutely no different. The amount of people in Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chloe, Prada, and many more was astonishing to me. It was like people flew into this airport just to walk around and spend their money shopping. As I walked down the aisles of the airport I truly thought I was dreaming, that I was sleeping and some how ended up in airport half way across the world. Then, the familiar sound of classical music brought me back to reality as I came upon a 6 person orchestra playing in the middle of “South Coast Plaza.” It was even more interesting to click on my Instagram to find a whole day’s worth of pictures of people dressed ready for Cinco De Mayo had passed by while I slept and watched movies while we flew over the North Pacific Ocean. Knowing that we left May 4th I checked my phone 3 times to find May 6th as the date, I guess a day had passed as we trekked over the North Pacific Ocean. Finally the time 18:20 came across the screen covered with symbols that I could not understand, and it was time to board the plane.
As much as I wish I could describe the feelings that I have right now I cannot seem to find the words. They are a mixture between a deep stomach ache for the home sickness that has come upon me even before I have arrived in Cambodia, with a mixture of excited butterflies because I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for me on this crazy, long, adventurous trip ahead. Although, I know it will be the experience of a lifetime all I can think about is how great and “convenient” it would be to find myself in Newport Beach, CA sitting on the porch with my family that I miss dearly with everything you need just walking distance away. But, I know that this trip where I am immersed into the unknown and extremely uncomfortable with a culture I do not know will invite the most growth I have ever experienced. There are four more hours left until my final, yet hesitant, destination so Lord let the growing begin.