Is it July yet?

When I found out I would be serving in Cambodia I was working at the Writing Center. The Peace Corps sent an email notifying me that an invitation had been sent in the mail, but I still didn't know what country I was assigned to. I wasn't tutoring anyone that afternoon, so I was mindlessly surfing my application website looking for any clues as to where I might be going. Then I saw it. In a little tool bar on the side of the page there was a map of Cambodia. I quickly skimmed the text to confirm the site had, indeed, been updated with information about my new home before running out of the conference room into the hall. I made several calls to family and friends repeating myself over and over again: "Cambodia, Cambodia! I'm going to Cambodia! How awesome is that!?"

Cambodia was easily at the top of my "hopefuls" list of locations. Right next door to Vietnam and Thailand. Crystal blue water. Jungles. Sarongs. Sign me up. Of course, there's also the mine fields left over from the Khmer Rouge's reign during the 70s and 80s, the local specialty of fried tarantulas, and the sweltering humidity to deal with ... but what a country to spend two years in. Given these peoples' sad history, this is a wonderful place to make a difference.

I know I will be leaving around July 20th to teach English, but not much else. With my invitation I received piles of paperwork for my visa, new government passport (that's right -- upgrade!), and finances. I also discovered I needed to write the equivalent of a second application to the Cambodian government about my goals and expectations for the next two years. As I started thinking about what I anticipated service would be like, I realized I had absolutely no clue what I was getting into. So I did what anyone would do ... began facebook stalking.

After looking at some current volunteers' photos, reading their posts about what they thought of our packing lists, what we should really expect, and "meeting" some of the people in my group, I began to get more excited. This is actually happening!! Our orientation and training will be in the port town of Kampong Chhnang west of the Sab river and there are about 40 of us slated to arrive in July.



In the meantime, I have been shopping with my parents for some conservative -- but not totally style deficient -- jungle clothes, struggling with the Khmer language (yeah, that's not French) and riding my bike around the neighborhood to prep for my only means of transportation next year. That and catching up with friends and enjoying my favorite American foods, which I'm sure will be next to impossible to find over there. After all, two years is actually a long time to be away from home, so start packing the care packages with peanut butter and mac and cheese now.