Arriving by Dragon...

Hello Everyone,

Life just is so exciting.  Finally after the fiasco before I left with my flight from Kelowna being cancelled due to fog,then an all night ride to Vancouver with a total stranger, I finally got off the ground 2 days later than scheduled.  Sitting in the middle seat for my 13 hour flight was very, very, uncomfortable but I was fortunate to have the company of two lovely gentlemen, a Sikh from Malaysia who was so kind., and a Vietnamese Canadian who was a refugee 30 years ago.  It really was fascinating learning about their stories and heart-warming to see how excited these 2 men in their 50's were about going home to see their mothers. The last 2 1/2 hours was on Dragon Air which had a beautiful dragon painted on the aircraft. Fitting for the Year of the Dragon don't you think.

Arriving in Phnom Penh was without a hitch and the immigration seemed quite unconcerned about the fact that my visa had a different passport number on it.  The rest was smooth sailing as I was greeted by a VSO staff member who was expert at negotiating the chaotic traffic complete with motos coming from every direction. After sleeping most of Sunday, I feel more or less in sync with the time zone.  The bonus is the wonderful hot sunny weather.  It is such a treat to walk around in sandals and short sleeves all the time.  I have to say that I love it so far.

We had our first training session today but I started yesterday with a new cell phone.  Who would ever have imagined that I would put my radiation phobia behind me, at least temporarily!  So, I am now learning all the ins and outs of the world of cell phoning.  It was pretty cheap, $20 for phone and $5 worth of credit costing 3 cents a text, 10 cents overseas.  Watch out all you folks with cell phones...once I get your numbers...

Well, I will try to get some picture up and more information by the weekend.  I must get some sleep.  Food is great, people delightful, and I'm loving the idea that I will be here for 2 years.  Just remind me of that when the monsoons hit okay?  See you in my next blog.

Lots of love and thoughts,
Andrea