THE BLOG IS BACK!

Heyo! Sorry for such a lengthy hiatus. I truly didn't mean to be gone for so long. In China I had every intention of blogging, however I found that my little blog had been fire-walled. I don't know if I was more annoyed or honored that the Chinese government found my wee site to be of any consequence. But at any rate, entries are resuming. Horray! Thankfully the government of Cambodia is more benevolent than that of China.

I have jotted down notes over the last few months of my life; so much has happened. But rather than go back first I'd rather paint you a picture of where I am now and later deal with chronological regression. I arrived in Phnom Penh after a very messy plane journey. Getting on the plane from Hong Kong to Bangkok involved sweat, tears, snot and a serious chunk of change. Not a fun trip. However getting to the dorm yesterday was something of a treat. I was dropped at my room after a brief run-down by my new manager, unpacked and holed myself up in a coffee shop for a while. Later I tuk tuk-ed back to the dorm and made a real effort to get to know my new wards. They are all very sweet girls but it was a rather awkward situation with  them bustling about or chilling and my having just arrived. So I parked myself in a conspicuous place to read a magazine so that I could be available but not pushy. No sooner had I finished an interview with Rihanna when a young woman plopped herself down next to me. Her English is pretty great though not perfect and we chatted aimlessly about our lives. It was then that my surroundings really started to take hold. Twilight had crept past us and though darkness had fallen it was easy to see the heavy, pregnant clouds that hung above us as heat lightening brightened the sky. The girl told me she was a rice farmer's daughter and echos of Southern lightening and coal miner's daughters lit up my mind. This young woman wasn't as different as most would think. Humble beginnings, great motivation and a thirst for education had driven her out of a countryside devoid of opportunity. Not so unlike my grandparents or those of many people of my generation. As we chatted I glanced at the bottom floor two flights below us. In the shadows I glimpsed a kitten. I was overcome with excitement to have a furry friend about the dorm; it would be nice to have a resident cat. However, when another furball came to join the first, I realized that the kittens weren't kittens at all but rats. Guess you can't win them all. They crept into the night and soon it was time for the dorm meeting. I arrived early intent on making friends and arrived to a riot of laughter. The scene that met me was the girls making fun of each other's boobs, dancing wildly and jokingly trying to control their friends with a television remote. Not far off an American college dorm really. After the meeting the young woman who had most recently done my new job swung by and we chatted for hours. Then, content with my new lot in life, I slipped into a sweet, sweaty slumber.