HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY KYLE!!!

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to Kyle. Happy birthday to you!!!!

Happy birthday little man. You are getting to be such a big boy. I cannot believe three years have gone by since I held your little 8lb body in my arms when you were just minutes old.

Have you named the fish I gave you for your birthday yet? What else did you get?

Well, know you are one of my favorites and I miss you SO much!!!

LOVE YOU!!!

Safe and Sound

After 20 hours in the air I finally made it to Cambodia! The past few days have been a complete whirlwind! Everything went well, minus few minor hiccups along the way: the agent in Seatac couldn't find my reservation, when she did, she told me my plane was leaving in NINE minutes - thankfully she was wrong and I had just over 1.5 to sit by myself (phoneless) feeling like a complete freak as tears poured down my face at the airport - people probably thought I was nuts, isn't going on vacation suppose to be fun? Not when you just said goodbye to everyone you're closest to knowing you wont see them for a long, long time.
My first layover was in LA where I met 2 others in my program, it was comforting to know there were two people on my international flight that I "knew""! After our 13.5 hour flight to Taipei, we were exhausted and got a little lost in the airport, but atleast we had eachother!
The last leg of the flight (Taipei to Phnom Penh) went really well and met up with many others in our program. Everyone seems really nice!
Language Corps seemed really organized when I was on the other side of the world, but that has completely changed. The 7 of us waited at the airport for pick up not knowing what the heck we just got ourselves into. We were greated by a lady we couldn't understand and were escourted into 2 small tuk tuks. With our bags piled high and on our laps were rode in these tiny motorcycle like things weaving through traffic like we owned the road - thats one thing I will NOT be doing here is driving - I swear there are no rules of the road other than honk and pray you don''t get hit - it's insane! We couldn't help but laugh - whether from exhaustion or realizing we look like complete fools it was rather entertaining!
Turns out the house we were suppose to stay in was too full (this is the biggest group of students they have ever done at one time) so there are about 16-20 of us bunked out at a hostel...not something I thought I'd do just yet in my trip. Let me tell you...I was not prepared for this - my room mimics a tiny jail cell - no windows or anything, thankfully I have ac and a bathroom/shower to myself. The shower is literally is a spout that shoots off the wall - you close the door and basically have to sit/stand on the toilet to wash your hair. What in the world have I gotten myself into I ask numerous times yesterday.
I keep telling myself its all part of the adventure.
Upon arriving to my new pad for the next 2 weeks, I knew I couldn't take a nap - if I did I would not be able to get up, so instead myself and 7 others threw ourselves right into it.
First things first we went to the market to get t.p. don't want to be missing that when the curse of introducing new food hits you at 2:30am. Next we visited a museum and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (aka the killing fields). Sadly, I didn't know much about what happened here and was not mentally prepared for what I was about to see. Both places reflect the most barbarious and cruel crimes committed by the Untra Communist Khmer Rouge Regime from 1975-1979. It broke my heart to see over 8,000 human skills of all sizes (babies to elderly), cracked and with holes in them from the unspeakable crimes that were committed to over 2 million innocent civilians. Its crazy to think this happened only a few decades ago.
After seeing all the bones and clothes still immersing from ground after a rainy day all I wanted to do was cry - it was sickening.
A few hours spent completely depressed, we were all ready to go "home".
I dont know what my expectations were of Phnom Penh, thruthfully I didn't really have any, but the poverty here was not what I expected. Driving through town reminds me so much of my Africa trip. Lets just say I am glad I am only here for two weeks.
On a plus side, things are insanely cheap - I am at an Internet cafe that only cost .25-.75 cents an hour and last night I had the most amazing chicken curry in coconut sauce for $2.50.
Well, my time is up and I am sweating to death so I better get going. Off to breakfast, I think I might have banana pancakes :)
I miss you all SO much already!

Goodbye America, Hello Southeast Asia!

Well my bags (or should I say bag) is packed and in less than 9 hours I will be boarding my one way ticket to Southeast Asia - I can't tell if I am excited, nervous, anxious or all of the above.
For the past 3 years I have thought about teaching overseas and now I am actually doing it!

I arrive in Cambodia at 9:50am Saturday morning and will spend the following 2 weeks there with others training to teach all over Southeast Asia. Once I complete those few weeks in Cambodia I am headed to Pattaya, Thailand for an additional 2 weeks of training. I have no idea what this will be like, but I am excited to find out!

This past month has been great - I've been able to visit friends I haven't seen in a while and spend quality time with my family. I apologize to those I did not get to say goodbye to prior to my departure. I will miss you all SO much! Please keep me updated on your lives via email, blogs, facebook, and Skype!

Here goes nothing!!!

Let The Packing Begin!

You might ask, where does one even start when trying to pack up their life and fit a years worth of stuff into one (possibly two) little suitcase(s)?

Thanks to some great tips from my sister's good friend who taught and lived in Thailand for the past 3 years, I learned to start with the essentials.

So...as you can see in the picture above, that is exactly what I've done.

I've got enough of my favorite face wash to last me a year; "Weather Works 365" shampoo/conditioner/frizz control cream to hopefully help tame my soon to be not straightened everyday hair (tear); rain boots (flash floods+no taxis+open sewer system = yuck); sheets; make-up; earplugs; sunscreen; 2 huge Costco sized boxes of tampons (apparently they don't sell these there!); bug spray; Advil, travel towel (I'm told regular towels don't dry b/c of the humidity and instead just get moldy - yummy); and lastly, everything I need for stomach issues: Imodium AD, Pepto Bismol, Tums (I'm prepared for you Bangkok Belly - bring it!).

Okay, that was easy. Now comes the hard part: clothes and shoes. How am I ever going to decide what to bring, better yet, how in the world I'm going to fit it all?

Any tips or suggestions on what else to bring or how to fit my life into a suitcase would be greatly appreciated!

It's official, I'm a blogger now. Blah.

As if Facebook, Myspace and Twitter don't waste enough of people's time, I've created yet another internet distraction to help you procrastinate from doing whatever it is you should be doing.

After protesting becoming a blogger for years, I've finally caved in and joined - I figure this will be the easiest way to keep people up to date on my travels and adventures while in Thailand.

Happy reading!