i am in transit.

i have been in transit now for 12 hours. and i am not even half way. okay, im real close to being half way. i am sitting in taiwan (delighted that they have free internet) realizing how everything is coming full circle.  five weeks ago, i sat in taiwan and wrote my first "post." not knowing what was in store. not knowing what to expect. and now, i sit here reminiscing on my cambodiAWSOME experience (again, need to drive that blog name home). and real quick side note, EVERYONE needs to travel. you appreciate culture (others and your own) so much more when you are removed from your comfort zone. its an incredible experience. and i am so excited to actually put some pictures up that can just begin to describe my experience. so, buy a ticket, and go, somewhere, anywhere, cambodia!!!

but, working with my team was such a great experience. kathy, quinn, anh (haha), stella, vachika (okay, i have no clue how to spell that), and of course... deb. deb, i have no idea if you will ever read this, but you are awesome. you made my time there so special and you were so encouraging... keep it real girl!!! i will miss my cambodian mansion. i wont miss opening my computer and finding ants all over it, but i will miss dancing in the rain in the front courtyard and watching the rain from the balcony. 

the work, i loved. i mean... props to the girls who are actually running the programs and experience the blessing and benefits and STRESS of it all. i was just a visitor in everything going on... i got to enjoy what these girls have spent months developing. but i loved getting to know the girls in our program and i LOVEDDD working with those kids. i would smell like crap any day to play and teach those kids. and of course, i will miss the laminating machine. i might ask for one for christmas. my fingers are almost sore from laminating so many "learning materials." also, when else will my job consist of coloring and cutting and gluing. 

well, china airways is beginning to announce some boarding calls so i better pack up and pee. america, get ready, im comin home. 

LAST DAY!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I cannot believe it is my last day. My first day here seems SO long ago, but it feels like I just got here. I definitely have some great memories. Well, since its my last day, I need to  get OFF this computer, enjoy siem reap, take pictures along the river while climbing on the cement statues of animals, bargain at the old market for my last few cambodian gifts, eat BOMB indian food, laugh at everything with Deb, get called LADEEEEE, sweat, say "soc sabai tay" for my last few times, get so dirty from all the dust, eat ice cream at blue pumpkin (okay, or lucky mall.. its far cheeper), and for the last time, SOAK it all in. 

Wow, busy day. 

Jup Kania Tanaiii Saiik (goodbye, see you tomorrow!!!) 

Yesterday, I rode my bike through a thunderstorm

It was POURING rain last night. I mean POURING. So the obvious thing to do was to bike home in it. Deb and I mounted our bikes, took off our sandals, waved our team goodbye at the restaurant, and hit the puddles. I was drenched within the first 30 seconds. All the locals cheered us on as we biked through calf deep water. YEAH BARRANGS.

 Well, I have less than one week left. AHHHHHHHH. I have been gone from the states for officially a month. And at 3:30pm tomorrow, I will have been in Cambodia for a full month.

 I cant believe I’m on the home stretch. Its been an incredible journey so far.

 Last week, the pre-school and community center were closed so I did “office work.” I got to make “learning resources.” So actually, I got to color and cut and glue and use a laminating machine. It was kind of awesome. And I got to baby sit a little boy. And I got to design an add for out new nail spa. And I got to make an ice-cream cake. HAHAHAHA. Making an ice-cream cake is much more difficult in Cambodia. 1^st difficulty: no ovens (solution: buying an already made cake without frosting on it. Also a difficulty because those are very hard to find). 2^nd problem: its so hot… that ice cream MELTS. 3^rd difficulty: limited kitchenware. But we did it. So it was still a busy week.

 This week, the community center is up and running. WE just built a new playground and the kids LOVED it. Today was the first day we opened it to all the kids and they were all over it. It was so fun. Except, I smell like pee pee and dirty kids because I they are always just all over you and I had to help the real small kids down the slide. And this slide is not your typical graduale slide, it’s a steel shoot that alsmot has a perpendicular angle wih the ground. My arms are very tired. Good things those kids are really small.

 I also just got done teaching English to a group of our older girls. I feel lightheaded. We just started the alphabet today. A. AHHHH. Apple. B. BAAA. Boy. C. CAAAAAA. Cake. Etc. We got to E. English is hard. Why do A and E have to sound so similar? And why does the G sounds have to be all they way in your throat?

Well, back to laminating.

Bye

i am thankful.

its amazing what a change in your environment will do for your thoughts. i think a part of it is that life in cambodia is slower--there is more time to think. usually i do my thinking on my bike rides around town... contemplating life as i profusely sweat and ask why its so freaking  hot. but, another part of it is how I experience completely different worlds, sometimes just hours, minutes, seconds apart. 

i work in a very poor community. the children wear the same outfits for a week and the only time they wash (may) be at our pre-school. but, they are also very happy and loving and affectionate. and (obviously as you can tell from my other posts) they are just so great. but, i see this poverty and then i leave. i bike for 5 min and I'm back at my safe haven.

i live in our teams wonderful house and as I write this, i'm sitting in a five star hotel's lobby (its pretty legit... you can come and use the internet for free). 

this paradox just makes me think. could i go and work with the poor communities... living with them... or do i need my comforts? do i need my bed? do i need my coffee? (i actually really think i need that one...)

well, needless of what the answers are, i feel very blessed to be able to experience both worlds. i am very thankful that i ate a wonderful breakfast today and that i slept in a mosquito net last night (btw: my mosquito count varies, but my max has been 35 bites at once... 20 just on my left leg. i think i was attacked by a swarm....). i am very thankful that i can wear a different outfit each day and that i can do laundry every monday and thursday (i smell like pee after work... so this is a blessing that pays forward). i am thankful that i have a computer so i can email family and friends and (lets be honest) i am thankful that i can go on facebook. i am thankful.

i am thankful that i continue to learn on this adventure and that i continue to see how blessed i am. i am thankful that these experiences challenge me to think outside my box and that they challenge me to really understand what Jesus meant by saying, "it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick."

i am thankful.

Can I take a small child home with me?

 The children here are incredible. They are SO cute. I really want to take a Khmer child back with me… roommates, we could fit a small child in our house, yeah? There is this one little boy who is fascinated with my leg hair. Obviously, I don’t shave every day, so I have little prickles. And the kids are so amused by it. The one boy literally just rubs my leg, looks at me, smiles, and then tells is friend to feel it. Bahahaha.

 Yesterday, during play time at the pre-school, one of the little girls was nursing a bear. She literally was lifting up her shirt and nursing it. After the bear was fed, she and the bear took a nap... she first made sure the bear was perfectly comfortable, giving it a pillow of other stuffed animals. It was so cute!

 I am really loving me time here. The people I work with are great and the Vietnamese and Khmer people are wonderful as well. I would love to come back and continue to do this type of work. I love engaging with the different people and seeing God’s heart for the world. He made every person and every culture so unique. Of course, there are aspects of the world that are broken, but how exciting that God wants to use us to help heal, restore, and rebuild the world. 

Well, I will put up some pictures soon. Hopefully.  Probably.

GOODBYE!

11 and counting.

I have 11 bug bites right now (mainly mozzies but some ants). 5 on my left leg. 3 on my face (awful yes). 3 on my right leg. They ich. The mozzies (my new Australian friend introduced me to that term) usually come out at night, but the ants are everywhere all the time.

Well, its Saturday here. I feel like I have experienced a lot for only being here three days. My role with VOICE is a “floater.” Most the volunteers are here for 6 months to a year so they have specific roles; since I am only here for 5 weeks, I float. But, I will mainly be working at VOICE’s community center. I help out with the pre-school, outreach, and tutoring.  The kids are SO cute. I cant communicate with them very well since they only speak Khmer and Vietnamese, but I smile, point, tickle them, and let them cling to me. Yesterday we were looking through kids books so I just made all the noises that matched each animal. Animal noises are pretty universal. I have learned some Khmer. I can count to ten, say “no,” “pretty,” “stop,” and “thank you.” I use those words as much as I can. I am really hoping to pick up a few more words, but these languages are SO different then English.

 In the few days that I have been here, I have seen how much there is a need for people to just come and love on the community. They are such friendly people and very welcoming (wait, quick story. Yesterday at the pre-school, a little Vietnamese boy came for his first time. He was about 3 yrs. He took one good look at me and BURST into tears. Literally was sobbing. All the kids were just pointing at me and he just kept crying and crying and crying. I think I might have been the first white person he ever saw… I had to leave the area. Oh gosh. I was so confused, but definitely laughed it off). Anyhow, God really is growing my heart for these people and I am excited to see what four more weeks will do!!! 

today, i rode on the back of a scooter.

Oh hello again. I am in Cambodia. After 30 hours of being in airports and in the air, I made it. I was originally kind of excited about doing this by myself. But, by the time I got to Bangkok, I felt the pressure of being all alone and being the only American. Literally, I heard ZERO English in the airport. But, I made it to Siem Reap and am again so excited. I am working with 6 other women and they are great. We are all close in age and 4 of us are from California. We live in this big, old, renovated motel. Its very Cambodian. But, because of safely and bugs… my room is very similar to a cell. And it is HUMID. I will be showering EVERY day. Big step. Last night I went to bed at 8pm Cambodian time (6am US time), but woke up, wide awake at 3:30am. My body is WACK.
Well, today starts my first official day… Im not really sure what’s happening. But I am excited (I think I use that word like 50 times a day) to see how I can help!

Goodbye! Joob Kaneer! (That’s Khmer…Im already learning!)