Cambodia Bound

Hello Friends and Family!!

This is officially my first blog entry for my time in Cambodia and Southeast Asia! It is 2:30 am on the day I am leaving for Cambodia. I am both excited and nervous. Excited because I will be in another country in the next 48 hours and nervous because my bags just might be overweight and I have a 20 hour flight ahead of me...yikes! Mom is here with me! She has helped me pack up my room and try to pack efficiently for this trip! I do not know what I would have done if she wasn't here to help me especially since all of my roommates have already left town! I leave Atlanta today, Tuesday, May 12 at 1:00 pm and will arrive in Phnom Penh at 10:00 PM on May 13, it is a 12 hour time difference to Dallas! I can't believe I have moved out of my house and am on my way to Cambodia all in the same week! It's kept me occupied that's for sure! I don't know what to expect when I arrive in Cambodia, but I will find out soon enough and keep you posted. I do know that I have only heard the most amazing things about Cambodia and its people. Cambodians have been described as kind, generous and magical by a number of people who have visited the underdeveloped country. I am traveling to Cambodia with one of my professors, Dr. Lewis, and 6 other students. All I know is that we are teaching English and art lessons to street children of Cambodia, who earn a living my collecting trash from the dump. The organization we are working with is a local non-profit organization called People Improvement Organization (PIO) and the executive director Phymean Noun, was awarded as being one of CNN's heroes for the meaningful work she does in Cambodia.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/12/02/heroes.noun.speech.cnn

Above is a link to a video that was shown at the CNN awards ceremony. It describes the place in which I will be working! To view this video, click on Phymean Noun's speech. It is very inspiring and impressive to watch. Phymean Noun really made a differnce with this organization and I can't wait to meet the children! I am in anticipation of their huge smiles and eagerness to learn! Next time you hear from me it will be from the Kingdom of Cambodia!

Until next time!!!!

Lots of Love,
Rosie