One week away

Today marks one week until my departure. I'm think I'm about set; I have all my vaccinations, reading materials, Lonely Planet guidebooks and toys/books for the kids. I'm not looking forward to packing, however. I'm one of those people who is content with leaving the house with keys and a few dollars, so the thought of carrying around three months worth of clothes and toiletries troubles me. But I'll deal.

To prepare for my trip, I've been reading a number of blogs about current events in Cambodia. I must mention them, as they've been a valuable resource, and they would be for anyone else interested in the country. Andy Brouwer's blog, Andy's Cambodia, has been incredibly helpful. Also, I've been reading Details Are Sketchy, which tracks news in Cambodia, especially about the political climate and the EEEC proceedings.

Yesterday was the Jeannette K. Watson Launch, which is a "graduation" of sorts for the 2008 Class of Fellows. This year, Fellows will be in five continents, including countries such as Guatemala, China, Hungary, South Africa, Tunisia and India. This will be the first time a Fellow works in Cambodia, as I initiated this internship myself. If all goes well, hopefully it'll be a site for future Fellows to consider. Another fellow and I were voted to represent the third year fellows and speak at this event, which was really very nice. We got a standing ovation afterwards, but it may have been because I cried a bit. In any case, here's the lovely Class of 2008, looking in varied directions:


So, from now until next week, I'll be tying up loose ends and getting everything in order for my trip. I'm trying to learn some basic Khmer so that I don't seem completely disrespectful to their culture. This site has mp3s of Khmer pronunciation, so I'm considering putting some onto my iPod and learning fundamental phrases on the 17 hour flight there. I figure if I can get the hang of hello, goodbye, please, thank you and so on, it may make things easier. Maybe I'll add in "I don't want to eat that" too. I'm also going to make CDs for the children of some American songs, and I'm bringing DVDs so maybe we can do a movie or dance night. I hope they like Spongebob, because I've got the box set!

Until next time...

Getting started

Well, I figure it's about time I start writing in this thing. I've created this blog primarily to keep in touch with friends and family while I live and work in Cambodia for the summer. I will try my best to update often, but I'm really not the best at keeping these sorts of things up to date. Perhaps it'll just consist of pictures at times, but at least it's something.

I suppose I should begin by discussing what I'll be doing in Cambodia and how this trip came about. I'll be leaving New York on June 5 to arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 6. On that Monday, I will begin working at the Palm Tree Orphanage, run by Cambodia's Hope, teaching English and literacy skills to around one hundred Khmer children, ages four to eighteen. I plan to stay there until late August, or so. I hope to do a bit of traveling as well; I am especially excited about seeing Angkor Wat and even some of the temples in the capital. A weekend in Sihanoukville would be nice too, as the beaches look remarkable.

So, how did I come about picking up and heading to Cambodia for a summer? This question led me to name my blog "Why Cambodia?" as that is the question that immediately follows after I describe my plans in conversation. The exchange will usually go, "What are you planning on doing after graduation?", to which I answer, "I'll be living and working in Cambodia." One of two reactions ensue...either the person laughs, thinking I'm joking until I give them the stoneface, or there is a second of confusion which then leads to, "Uh, why Cambodia?" I've had an interest in Cambodia for a couple of years now. I worked with a professor who traveled across Southeast Asia, writing about the sexual exploitation of children in developing areas; this is what initially sparked my interest in the area. Concurrently, I was enrolled in a course that explored the history of human rights. At that point, I was able to study and write about the genocide in Cambodia and, at that point, I began considering traveling to the area to get first hand experience in learning more about their history and culture.

My interest in seeing Cambodia came at a perfect time. In 2006, I was awarded the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship, which is a program for New York City college students that provides paid internships for three consecutive summers. In my first summer, I worked as a legal assistant at the New York State Supreme Court. My work was published in the New York State Bar Association Journal (score). In my second summer, I worked at Echoing Green, which is a fantastic organization. Everyone in the nonprofit world should check them out. For the third and final summer, Fellows are encouraged to work abroad. Just as we began to consider where we'd like to travel, I began studying Cambodia in depth, and everything seemed to click. So, I am very fortunate to have my work this summer sponsored by the Watson Fellowship. This trip would probably not be possible without this assistance, especially since the cost of airfare and vaccines are prohibitively expensive for most recent college graduates.

I will post a bit more later this week, perhaps about how I've prepared for my upcoming trip. Wednesday is a big day for me, as the Watson Fellowship holds an annual launch for all their third year fellows going abroad. Myself and another fellow have been asked to speak and reflect upon our time in the program. It is sure to be an interesting event. I'll write about that too, depending on how my speech goes. :)

Interesting.

"I'd like to repeat the advice I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty."

- a letter from Alex McCandless, as documented by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild.