10 Thoughts on Cambodia

It's a for sure thing now...I am going to Cambodia. When I first posted about my mission, I knew very little about the trip besides that I was part of the team and we were going for two weeks in January. I now have more information and a few thoughts to share. In my mind, I struggled with how to write this post and make it cohesive and flow, so I gave up all together. I have decided to write this "list style", and name it 10 Thoughts on Cambodia. Here it is:

1. I leave Jan 1st and return Jan 15th. What a way to start the year.

2. We fly into Phnom Penh, the capital. It is pronounced P'nom Pen. On my favorite show, The Amazing Race, one of the teams didn't know how to pronounce Phnom Penh, so they just called it Sean Penn. I am really excited to fly into Sean Penn, Cambodia. We will then do some training there, then head to the Banteay Meanchey Province. I will fly out of the second largest city, Siem Reap.



3. I have to go get my "Traveling to a Third World and Hope to Not Catch a Funky Jungle Bug" shots tomorrow. I expected to have to get a whole gamut of shots. I don't. Just Typhoid and anti-Malaria pills.

4. We will be working out of the Ou Ambel Church Orphan Home where we will be serving the dental needs of 3-4 orphanages. On the site it says (don't read this part, mom) Malaria, landmines, childbirth complications, along with poor health care contribute to the large orphan population in this area. An average of two people per day become casualties of landmines in Cambodia, and this is one of the most heavily mined regions in the country.

5. I received the list of my teammates in the mail. By matching last names and/or addresses, I concluded that the 8 other people are actually 4 couples. Uh! was my first thought. I'll be the odd man out! I won't have a travel buddy! Then I decided I am just going to put my big girl britches on and go make friends.

6. The night I got the list of my teammates' names, I had a dream. It must have really bothered me that I won't have a travel buddy, because in my dream, I did have one. And it was (naturally) James Taylor. But not present-day James Taylor, but James Taylor from the 70's. Long hair and guitar and all.

7. I have been thinking about what I can bring for the kids. It had to be small and easy to pack. I have decided on stickers and ribbons (for the girls' hair).

8. I counted the days on the calendar and much to my delight I discovered that my "monthly friend" won't be along for the trip. Yes!! Because who knows what the conditions will be where we are staying, and that is a burden even when conditions are good, and considering we'll be there for two weeks, I had a 50/50 chance- Wait a second. Am I really talking about my menstrual cycle on my blog? Boundaries, Jess...boundaries.

9. I am planning on buying a laptop so I can blog and post pictures at the end of each day, but...

10. I am dying to know, but I can't manage to find the nerve to ask the mission coordinator if I will have Internet access. It's like Hey, I realize these kids are orphans, and there is poverty, disease, and landmines in an area who's not-too-distant history consisted of genocide and the loss of 50% of the population, but will I be able to get online? Really, I am afraid it will make me sound so selfish and high maintenance.