We're here!

So, we made it to Phnom Penh! After 21 hours of travel, a layover in Tokyo (during which I made it a priority to find some Koala yummies), and an overnight in Bangkok, we've finally made it. We've only been here for a couple of days, and so far everything has been fairly overwhelming, but I can try to give a few general first impressions of Phnom Penh as my jet-lagged brain will allow. Phnom Penh is crowded... There are so many people packed into one place, so naturally there's a lot of trash everywhere, it's noisy, there are mopeds speeding around every corner. But surprisingly, it doesn't smell. The people here are very friendly, especially the tuk-tuk drivers who are eager to be the ones to take you from point A to point B. Things are extremely inexpensive for Westerners; a five minute tuk-tuk ride from our hotel to our training sight costs about a quarter per person. I've enjoyed the Cambodian cuisine I've tried so far, which is a big plus as most of you know I love food! Lots of fresh fruit, including lichee which may possibly be a new favorite of mine.

We had a language assessment today at training, which was funny... My Khmai is limited to three phrases: "joom reap sua" (I'm spelling these phonetically since they aren't really spelled out in anything other than Khmai), which is the formal way to say "hello," "owkun," which means "thank you," and "chewy pong!" which means "help!" I know, fairly impressive. It is such an interesting sounding language... Hard and harsh in a way, but also lyrical and sing-songy in another.

As with any developing country, the contrast between the classes here is pretty striking. The rich are extremely rich, and the poor, extremely poor. The Khmer rouge killed most everyone with a formal education past grade nine, so the country has been in a state of rebuilding, pretty much from nothing, since the late 70s. Those who are rich in Cambodia like to flaunt it. They drive Lexus' which not only have the Lexus logo in small print on the back of the car, but sometimes will have it plastered on the side in large print, in case you might have missed it. We've been told Phnom Penh "isn't really Cambodia" which makes sense to me, since we say in America that New York or L.A. aren't really representative of most places in America. I'm excited to know the real Cambodia.

View from the second to top floor of Central Market, downtown Phnom Penh

Market vendor selling corn

Tomorrow we leave for Takeo province, south of Phnom Penh. We're traveling by bus, on what should be about a three-hour journey, so we'll hopefully be there by mid-afternoon. Then training continues! We move in with our host families four days from now... I am really excited! I hope they have little kids who can help me with my Khmai. :-]

Love and miss you all. Keep me updated on your lives please!