Blogging at naptime.

My husband and I made our way back into Phnom Penh today after being out with our first team this past week. It was a wonderful way to start the experience of taking teams out to the provinces to do work on our orphan homes here. We had a group of 13 come in from Malaysia. It consisted of a husband and wife, their 2 children, and a group of college students. They had great attitudes amidst 7 hour rides in the back of a truck on bumpy roads, incredible heat, busses traveling for hours on even bumpier roads with no air conditioning, and the much loved squatty potties scattered through the land :) We did a painting project at one of the orphan homes in a province called Bantamanchey. We got to interact with a bunch of kids, some who live in the home, and some who come from the community to learn English. I found that it was quite easy to find myself surrounded by an audience, even if I was doing the most simple of tasks, and even if I couldn't really communicate beyond the brief sente

I've had some questions come my way about what life looks like for me in Cambodia at this point in time. I figured I'd field them here instead of in multiple e-mails :) The first question is, do I have to cook? The answer is, no :) Although Josh and I have a wild evening in planned tonight after work to make nachos (we splurged and bought $7 cheese today...a pricey indulgence here) and watch Seinfeld. So some food preparation will be involved there. But when we're here in the office we eat breakfast on our own (we also splurged and bought some milk and cereal today) and then the office provides lunch and dinner on the weekdays. I have yet to try some of the more exciting foods (tarantula, duck egg, and the ever popular "dog.") I'm sure that day will soon come. The weather is pretty hot and humid (right around 85-90 degrees). I don't really mind it (so far). I'd rather be hot than cold :) It's coming up on the rainy season (haven't seen a whole

Successful spontaneity involves buying plane tickets for Thailand the day you plan to go, securing those tickets, having 30 minutes to pack, remembering everything you need, and getting into Bangkok at 9:30pm with no hotel reservation, yet easily finding a place to stay. Unsuccessful spontaneity involves writing in a journal (which I am taking this entry from) to commemorate an hour and a half (and counting) cab ride to a bus station with tickets you've acquired earlier that day for a departure time you will most definitely miss due to the stop lights in Bangkok. What they don't tell you in the travel books (as far as I know) is that at the height of traffic in Bangkok it takes 15 minutes (not an exaggeration) to make it through the majority of the stop lights... I am tempted at this point (in my journaling) to hitch a ride on one of the motorcycles weaving effortlessly through the frozen traffic. The one plus of continually stopping in traffic is that it is conducive to writin

I have to say that my new husband (along with Emily and Tabea who work with the organization here) did a great job of prepping me for life in Cambodia. In my limited experience of being here I would say that my favorite way to see Cambodia (or at least Phnom Penh) so far is through the scope of a "tuk tuk" (a covered bicycle taxi basically). We took one coming back from the bus station and it was quite the ride, weaving in and out of traffic, the passengers at eye level with life happening all around us...street vendors, pedestrians, cars, bicycles, motorcycles, busses, and the occasional farm animal. This is traffic in Cambodia. There are rules and there is even a semblance of order to the seeming chaos of it all as cars pass each other by entering the opposite lane (no mind about oncoming traffic...surely they'll know to move..) and honking to let the passee know that a car is moving by. Honking and flashing head lights take on a whole new meaning in Cambodia. Josh has

We began our honeymoon adventure by hopping on a bus to Sihanoukville , Cambodia. We stayed at a beautiful resort called the Sokha which brought with it the exact ingredients that paradise requires; over sized swimming pool, tropical beach, and swim-up bar. Perfect :)

As we were waiting to catch a cab in Bangkok to the bus station, Josh and I wandered into a bookstore and I went out on a limb by spending $11 on "The Kite Runner." I tend to be a sucker for books that were made into movies (not my fault) and I thought it might be a good diversion for the plane and bus rides in my near future. I was not disappointed. I flipped open the first few pages and was immediately drawn in, not only to the story itself (which is quite riveting), but also to the way it inspired me to write. I appreciate books like that (and songs). I think good art doesn't only seek to be appreciated, but seeks to inspire. That is what this book did. I journaled more than I might normally be prone to because of this book and found myself capturing moments throughout each day of the past week and a half. Josh and I had been married a full 3 days before stepping on the plane that would take us to Taipei and onto our home in Phnom Penh. We are now living in a house th

In lieu of updating my normal xanga web log ( www.xanga.com/my_photo_blog ), I decided to start fresh with this "blog spot" to chronicle some of my SE Asia experiences and adventures. I never would have dreamed that I would be sitting at a desk next to my husband in Phnom Penh writing back home to friends and family to keep them updated on life and ministry overseas. But this is where I currently find myself, and I am quite grateful in the midst of it all. To catch anyone up who may have missed the last year of my life.... Due to the organizational planning of my lovely friend Brenda (though she would never take credit for such things), I was introduced to a young man a year ago in March and my life changed considerably from that day on. Josh and I talk about writing a book to advise people on how to have the most unconventional, unpredictable, seemingly impossible relationship two people could imagine. Somehow we found ourselves living out all of these descriptives for the p