A day in the life of a normal girl, trying to be anything but normal.

"Hate ends not with more hate but with love.

And from that we take hope. 

Without love and hope our lives would be empty.

Happiness is something we cannot keep, unless we give it away."

quote from a Khmer mother after her life had been uprooted, her loved ones murdered, and her country torn apart by her very own people.

Whew, back to the day...

The day where I get to meet and BE influenced by these incredibly strong, capable, beautiful, and kind people. These people who have had so much taken away and have responded with smiles through their tears. All I pray is that I learn from them and that in some small way I am able to help carry just a tiny piece of this massive, unfathomable burden that they have had for so many years. This will be the ultimate blessing to me, me who was born with EVERYTHING. If you are reading this, thank you for being in my life.

• Most people around here take 3 showers a day… the high temp right now is 88 or 89 I think, but with 100% humidity it is said to feel like high 90’s.  Either way, feels hot to me!  And I love three cool showers in a day!
• Still on the job hunt!  I have three websites I keep up on everyday.  Have applied for some positions, mostly teaching.  Have heard back on a couple, but I am waiting for just the right thing! Hopefully something that leaves time for volunteering and spending time with friends from school where I worked last year and enjoying this earth that the good Lord created to be enjoyed. 
• Another part of the daily routine is CLEANING!  I sweep the place everyday, mop often, take the trash out everyday and ALWAYS wash all of the dishes and keep food in the fridge or tightly sealed!  There are always bugs anywhere you go, and of course it’s also dusty! 
• Psar Toul Tom Pong (Russian Market) is a favorite stop of mine!  I love getting ‘Phnom Penh’s Best Iced Coffee’ from a very sweet man who always has multiple Sampeah’s (Khmer way of greeting, showing respect, saying thank you, etc! always a good thing) for you and his beautiful niece is always there as well.  These people are there 7 days a week, all day.  Never heard of sick days or vacation days J  Have met some super nice people just hanging out drinking coffee (two glasses of the best iced coffee in Phnom Penh for $1).  Today I met Michelle from Mayo, Ireland and Alex from D.C.  They are here for the summer working as law interns for an NGO, had a great time chatting with them!  Also you can find anything you want or need at the markets here, any kind of clothing or a tailor if you want your clothing made.  You can buy all of your food, bathroom and cleaning supplies, office supplies, things for a car or moto including tires and other parts, you can eat lunch, run into people from every country in the world, find any piece of jewelry, books, any cd, dvd, battery, camera part, lol I will stop but you get the point!
• Met a lovely Pakistani woman today named Maria!  She has the cutest son ever! Her husband is here working for Mobitel.  She has been here since May but has to head back home in a couple days.  I got her email though in case I even want to go visit. She lives in Peshawar and could NOT believe that I don’t have Facebook, ha-ha!
• Saw a white woman on a moto with TWO kids in front of her. Both of them had helmets, yea!  So wish I got a picture of that, funny sight and not so common! Six Khmer=fine, Three foreigners(including two kids)=not such a common sight!
• Today I got some groceries (you tend to buy more often and need to use more quickly groceries here because of the heat) and also some dvd’s.   The sun sets at 6 and I usually try to be inside by then, the evenings can get lonely so I usually read but with the TV on. Decided to get some new movies, let me know if anyone has recommendations (you can get any movie that is out, or haha in the theatre).  Anyhow…I guess it pays off hanging out in one place for an hour letting the employees practice their English on you and asking them all about their families, houses, distance to work, how they like their jobs, etc.!  Got six dvd’s for $7.50!  They are usually $1.50 or $2 each (at this high-quality place), even for Khmer ha-ha! Super sweet employee, Dany (English nickname) gave me her phone number.  Last time Mar and I found it is better to receive phone numbers than to give yours ha-ha. As it would not be uncommon for someone to call you ten times a day, even someone you just met! Mar remember Menghorng ahhhhhhh!!!  :)
• Ohhh the monsoons… I usually hide inside in the afternoon either at home or somewhere else.  So anytime between 1 and 4 it usually RAINS like crazy for an hour or two.  And these storms are not just crazy rain; they include extremely high wind, and amazing lightning.  Not so amazing is the fact that more than 90 people have been killed this year. LMore people die in Cambodia from lightning than in any other country, and it’s still early in the wet season. 

Sorry if this is boring, just trying to explain a typical day!  And actually I typed a huge thing and then i somehow lost it, so this is the second time around and not as well written because I got frustated haha.

Much Love! And many Sampeahs!