Aloha from Cambodia

I have arrived!

The trip was a long one, but surprisingly not bad at all. Our first flight from Honolulu to Incheon, Korea was about 9hrs long, but Korean Air treats it's passengers like royalty. We had the individual screens that played all of the newest movies I watched The Lucky One (I have a soft spot for Nicholas Sparks while traveling), What to Expect When You're Expecting (that one's for you, Paris), and parts of Men in Black III, and that weird Johnny Depp/Tim Burton movie about the vampire. We also got two nice meals, hot towels, and room to spread out. All in all, Korean Air.... highly recommended.

We had a blast during our 3hr layover in Korea, we made ink traditional Korean letters to take home with us, spent $4 on gelato (it's only $1 here in Cambodia), and ate legit pho. Our second flight from Korea to Phnom Penh, Cambodia was about 5hrs long. That one was great too, I just really started to get restless. 

We were quite surprised at how quickly everything went, from checking-in in Honolulu to customs in Phnom Penh. We we out of the airport in no time. After a long 18hrs of traveling we were so happy to be greeted by Botevy, her daughter Yaya, and her little son Rissai (thats how it sounds, not quite sure how they spell it) who ran up and gave us all huge hugs. Botevy is one of the two founders of CICFO, the orphanage that we are helping out at. She has the most amazing story. (I'll write more about that later).

We are staying at Botevy and her family's house. Its super beautiful, located in a higher end neighborhood. One of their families forms of generating income is by renting out rooms to people visiting on trips such as ours. We are seriously living better than we were in Hawaii, we have a fridge in our room, internet, and wait for it... AC! I havent had AC in years (not counting my few week stays at home). Its heavenly after a long hot day!

Our first day here was amazing! We went around the market place (the new market) and bought everything we needed for super cheap. For lunch we ate more pho, they seriously feed me so good here, I felt super bad for not being able to eat more. Every time I would get close to being done with one type of food they would pile more on my plate. They kept saying "Are you full?" and "You're so little." Never had I been looked at funny for having a small appetite.

After lunch we went to buy bikes, they are going to be our main source of transportation during the next few months. But, let me fill you in a little on Cambodia's traffic... its INSANE! There are exactly 2 rules. If you are the driver of a moto (moped) you must wear a helmet (the one to six+ passengers do not... yes we have actually seen 6 people fit on one moped. Note to Kara: We need to beat that) and rule number two, don't run red lights. And that one is pretty much optional. Like I said, insane. 

I will try and add some video footage later to help you get an idea.

So there are cars, bikes, touk touks (those buggies pulled by bikes) and motos, weaving in and out of each other going whatever direction they choose, paying no attention to lines, and only minimal attention to lights. It's crazy but so awesome at the same time. 

Once we bought our bikes, mines bright orange and has a "monster" energy drink sticker on it, we were thrown right into the traffic and had to follow Botevy's car to the orphanage. It was the thrill of a lifetime, not even kidding. I'm surprised we survived.

The kids at the orphanage are even more darling than I imagined. When we got there, they lined up in two rows, much like the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music. One by one they came forward and introduced themselves, Aria and I decided we need to make flash cards in order to learn all their names. I believe there are about 32 children in all, ranging from ages 4 to 18. After the introductions they sang a few primary songs. From the moment I walked in, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. 

Four of the girls showed us a traditional dance, that I call the Neai Neai, (which were the only words I was able to pick up, which aren't even words). Later they taught me a little bit of it, I did not catch on very well. =) But I hope to have it mastered by the time I go home. 

The children do not speak English much at all, there are probably 2 or 3 of them who can communicate with us. But they are all smiles. They taught us how to play Tom and Jerry (English cartoons are big here) using signals and broken English. That is one thing I am not used to, being on the minority side of a language, but I am thankful for every minute of it. 

I don't know if I'm experiencing much culture shock, maybe because I generally think of that as a negative term. I'm more enthralled. I love it here! I love how different it is from any place I've ever been in my life. I love how different I feel here, how there is so much for me to learn. I do miss my family and friends so so so much. But I really wouldn't want to miss this opportunity for the world.