This last month was unlike any others. Obviously– we were in a different country. But since the beginning I decided I was going to love Cambodia. I had fun despite the sweat constantly rolling down my body.
Sometimes life is intense, you meet people who tug at your heartstrings, who push you farther than you thought you could go and other times you just enjoy life and if you happen to teach Cambodian university students what baseball is, who celebrities are, and what “cut the cheese” means, so be it.
This month was one where I was able to experience life in a way I never had before. Despite the lost underwear bump in the road, life was good.
We’d hop into a tok tok every morning and laugh as Robin and Aubrey got super excited about seeing monks walking, monks on a motorcycle, monks catching them taking pictures. We’d take turns teaching 
the basic English stuff we teach, along with slang, which is what our students had asked for at the beginning.
the basic English stuff we teach, along with slang, which is what our students had asked for at the beginning. We’d take a lunch break at the nearby Starbucks knockoff called The Terrace and sit in air conditioning for a while. Then we’d head back and teach some more English, both regular classroom style and then an hour of conversation as we broke up into groups.
I don’t have many powerful, “holy smokes, did that really just happen?” stories, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. I had some great this is between God and me lessons, but mostly I enjoyed life, I enjoyed God and I enjoyed life in Cambodia.
So here are some highlights:
When we first arrived to Phnom Penh, I roomed with Hope, Emily and Aubrey. Hope and Emily were on my first team and Aubrey is on my current team. As I fell asleep one night to Hope and Emily whispering, I realized how comforting their whispering was. And I remembered how back in Romania, month 2, I’d blare my music so I could drown them out. And now I love it. Redemption.
The second room I had at our base was hot. Really hot. It was nicknamed the hot box. I slept on a mattress on the floor, but only made it a night. When I found out a bed downstairs was open, I jumped at the opportunity and landed on the best bed ever (even though it was broken and I was always afraid of falling on Ashlee, who was sleeping below me.) It was right by a window so when I couldn’t sleep at night I just looked out at the stars over Phnom Penh. Amazing.
Our team took a family vacation to Siem Reap-home of Angkor Wat- one weekend. We found a Mexican food restaurant, which was not even close to being good, but was comforting. Next door was a dance club. We decided to go in and danced in our World Race clothes. The best part was when we all circled up and did the Mambo Sawa Sawa, a dance the kids in Tanzania would do. We laughed and danced as people looked at us as if we were crazy. Unforgettable.
Iced mochas. Cheap and cold. Delicious.
Somewhere along the way I found out that I was going to be team leader for the last month. I will be leading the women from my team, along with the women of Team Olur (Ashlee, Katie, Kendra and Shannon.) We’re calling ourselves Team Ragamuffin. Exciting.
We found out that Cambodians aren’t into baseball. Matt and I came up with a great plan to teach these students about the greatest 
sport known to man. One of our best students, Chamran, bursted our bubble when he interrupted us by saying, “This is not interesting.” Crazy.
And last, but CERTAINLY not least, I found my underwear! It’s amazing what you find when you pack up. They were in my backpack the entire time. Oopsie.
