Cambodia Bound

Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog- it isn't much yet because I created it in about two minutes, but I'll work on that as I go ;)

I know I wrote travelogues throughout Semester at Sea, and thank you to everyone who read them! I decided to do a blog for Cambodia since I think it will be a bit easier for me to keep up with.

I leave for Cambodia in a few hours with a couple outfits, stuff for the kids that everyone donated (thanks guys!!), and a quart of bug spray (literally). Right now I'm feeling fairly optimistic about the trip- that tends to change every hour when I realize something is missing, remember that I don't speak a word of Khmer, or think about the fact that I don't know what address I'll be living at. But the best trips are the ones that are relatively spontaneous, and I'm trying not to develop too many expectations before I arrive. I am definitely looking forward to exploring Palm Tree!

To give you a little background, Palm Tree Orphanage is located in the heart of Phnom Penh (I'll give you a physical address when I have one haha). There are 93 kids at their site in Phnom Penh and 33 full time staff members (according to their website, but this may have changed). There are also going to be other volunteers this summer- two of them have already arrived and one gets in the same day as I do. If you want to learn more about Palm Tree, visit their website at http://www.cambodiashope.org/projects/orphanage_overview.php

My flight gets in at 9:20 a.m. Tuesday June 9th Phnom Penh time. With these few paragraphs, I'm going to get back to getting ready. I'll update this blog throughout my trip, and I hope you all enjoy it :)

Love,
Monica