Blogging at naptime.

I think I may be developing a slight paranoia in regards to mosquitoes buzzing around me... I catch myself gazing off to my right or left side intermittently while in our room if I hear what might be the nearly undetectable low hum of one of these potentially disease carrying minuscule insects. Josh and I will stand, like hunters silently awaiting the first glimpse of their prey, racket zapper in hand ( http://www.biconet.com/flies/racketZapper.html ) ready to quickly (and understandably enjoyably) dispose of any intruders. And this, along with some chips, salsa and our first viewing of “The Dark Knight,” comprised last Friday evening's activities... Aside from my new found hunting skills, I've been realizing lately that even within the adventure of relocating for the first time in my life to a foreign country, the foreign things can still become somewhat "commonplace," regardless of the fact that they might not fit on any previous plane with experiences in my own cu...

I drive through the city of Phnom Penh on a regular basis, my husband and I in our Kia Sportage (which starts now after 3 tries) weaving through the (generally) efficient chaos of motos, tuk-tuk’s, and an assortment of cars slowly making their way to their destination (the exception being the large Lexus SUV’s proudly displaying their signature over sized “Lexus” sticker and aiming directly for you with flashing headlights should they decide to utilize your lane as well as their own for maximum effectiveness of time and space). We find ourselves venturing into town to retrieve pizza, groceries, or teams from a local guest house. Phnom Penh is a pretty small city that can take unpredictable amounts of time to navigate courtesy of the traffic. Within the confines of a city block we drive past a young woman in tattered clothing who carries a pained expression on her face and a baby in her arms. We drive further and I glance inside a jewelry store window where another woman, exquisitely d...

Josh and I are sitting at the King Café in Siem Reap taking advantage of free wireless and the sweet sounds of Mariah Carey, Fastball, and currently a seventeen minute (and counting) Christmas music instrumental medley. A Christmas miracle indeed. We flew into Siem Reap yesterday with a team of 13 from Medical Teams International who came from Oregon to serve for a week at one of our orphan homes in the Svay Rieng province. They put on a dental clinic that saw over 100 kids from 5 surrounding orphan homes. Leading the team was a dentist named Dale Canfield who has been to Cambodia several times now to offer his time and skill and then return home to recruit others who might come and do the same. He is a phenomenal leader both in his professional and personal demeanor and it has been wonderful to see the benefits of this for a team comprised mostly of people who hadn’t known each other prior to coming. Josh and I added our own skill and professionalism in the area of “sterilization.” I...