Our Final Days in Siem Reap

Here are a few photos from our last few days in Siem Reap. Enjoy!

Students that I helped teach English to on Monday & Wednesday afternoons-

Sreiliak, Barang, Sreila, & Peroom

Students in my Intermediate 4 English Writing Class-

SreyPove, Sreylin, & Sody

Some of the staff from Common Grounds... and Jude :)

Most of the kids from the Children's Home. Our last day there was a very special one.

A few of the girls...

The Knowles family- Donna, Justin, & Jude

The Martinez family- Caleb, Rachel, Julie

Morgan and Many

Morgan with the night security guard in front of Common Grounds

The sweet people who came to see us off at the airport at 6 in the morning!

In the airport in Siem Reap, waiting to board the plane to head to Singapore.

Hey Ya'll

We got this footage several months ago and somehow forgot to post it. This one goes out to all of our friends and family in Tennessee and Georgia. :)

2 Weeks

I can hardly believe that we are 2 weeks away from leaving Cambodia. Morgan and I have been talking a lot lately about how, at the time of our departure from the U.S. back in September, the idea of being gone for 6 months seemed like a really long time. But with our departure date being exactly 2 weeks from today, we've realized what a short amount of time 6 months really is.

One of my good friends, Jaime Butler, sent me an email about a week ago, and she asked me this question: "How would you sum up your time there so far?" In thinking about a worthy enough response to such a loaded question, this is the best summary I can come up: life-changing. But here's the thing... when I say "life-changing", I don't mean it in this really generic way of saying that because of this trip I am not the same person I was when we got here, etc. I cannot necessarily pinpoint these huge areas of my life that are different now on February 27, 2011, than they were on September 22, 2010 (except that now I actually like rice).

In all seriousness though, I don't think it's that simple. Morgan and I have said several times how we're probably really not going to realize how much we've changed until we go back home. Even then, I think time will only tell how this experience in Cambodia will alter the rest of our lives from this point on.

All I really know for certain is that the relationships that Morgan and I have formed with the people over here will cause us to never be the same. But isn't that how life is wherever we are? We meet people, we form relationships with them, and because of those relationships, our lives are changed, for the better or, in some cases, for the worse.

Wherever we find ourselves in life, let us never forget the power that our day-to-day interactions with people have.

These are a few of our favorite things...

Spending time with the kids.

Playing with our food... ahem, Morgan.

Finding & buying a Good Morning Cambodia t-shirt in the market.

Discovering a flower that smells like a banana. Mmmm...

Having each other on our first Christmas away from home.

Witnessing Peroom's very first Christmas.

Devouring a huge bowl of ice cream with a few of the girls.

Watching Ohio State finally break the SEC bowl game curse. It's. About. Time.

Finding Tostitos in the market. We have never been more excited about chips in our life.

Trying on stuff that we are considering to bring back as souvenirs... this hat just might be yours.

Update on Rosie

Hello everyone! We hope that you all had a great Christmas and a happy new year.

I know some of you have already heard, but I wanted to give you an update on how Rosie is doing and what we are finding out. For those who have not heard, let me catch you up... Last week Rosie had been experiencing pain in her neck and the back of her head. We assumed this was caused by some sinus pressure. Early in the week she was congested and had a sore throat.

Early Sunday morning, around 1:30am, Rosie woke me up saying we needed to get to the hospital. She was experiencing the head/neck ache much worse than usual. She was also experiencing numbness on the left side of her body. We went to the hospital and had several tests made including an EKG, blood work, and a CT scan. Everything came back normal. The doctor attributed the aches and numbness to tension headaches.

We have since seen some friends our friends in Siem Reap who are doctors from the US. Their diagnosis ended up being a little different. It is now believed that the pain she was experiencing was due to an adverse reaction to MSG. We are hoping this is the case. We have been eating more local Khmer food, looking for a change in our routine. MSG is greatly overused in Khmer food. We are going to eat at safer places for the next several weeks and hopefully see a difference in how Rosie's body responds.

Please feel free to contact us if you want more information.

Much love to all!

Merry Christmas!

Still waiting for the snow to fall, doesn't really feel like Christmas at all...

December 22nd

This picture marks 3 months of us being out of the country. We can't believe we are halfway through our six months here in Cambodia. What an adventure we have had together! Embracing the remaining time that we have here, knowing that the second half of our stay will go by even more quickly than the first. Happy holidays, everyone!

"Teacher, can you say...?"

This past Friday, December 3rd, was the last day of my Intermediate 3 English class. Since they had already taken their final exam on Wednesday, all I had to do was return their graded final exams to them. After I went through them and answered any questions they had, we spent the remainder of the class playing "Hangman." None of them had ever played before, but they caught on quick! They had a lot of fun playing it, and it was good practice with their spelling, vocabulary, etc. I had my camera with me that day, so I was able to get a few pictures to document the occasion...

This is SreyPove, one of my students. She was terrific- never missed a single class! Her word was "pineapple."

This is Mlis (pronounced Mil-ee)... her word was "jasmine."

Even Morgan joined us for class this day! He tried to stump them with "Mekong Express" (a local bus company), but they got it. :)

From left to right- Chan Chav, SreyPove, and Mlis. I only had 5 students in my class and two of the boys were not there on that day.

This past Saturday, December 4th, we had a "Recognition Day" for the students who completed their 10-week courses through our Learning Center. It was held in the classroom directly above Common Grounds. Each of the students got a certificate for completing their course. We played a few games, handed out their certificates, shared the meaning of Christmas, sang "Joy to the World", and had some snacks. My camera died half-way through, which was rather disappointing, but here are a few moments captured from the day before my battery went kaput.

This banner was hung at the front of the classroom.

Playing some ice-breaker games...

The students there were from all different class levels: Beginner, Intermediate, & Advanced.

Julie & Ezra sharing with the students about the meaning of Christmas. Ezra had to translate to ensure that the students understood everything that was being said.

These students were awarded a "Certificate of Excellence" for achieving the highest grades in their classes. The boy to my right in the pink shirt is Sody (pronounced Su-dee); he was also one of my students. SreyPove had one of the highest grades in my class as well.

We will not pick up with a new session of classes until January 10th, so we have about a month off until then. I will be teaching Intermediate 4, a writing course, starting in January. I am really looking forward to teaching it because I really enjoy writing, journaling, etc. Until then, my primary responsibilities will be continuing to tutor Caleb and to teach Peroom & Sreileak the ABC's. I will make sure to post pictures of them soon!

A Cambodian Thanksgiving

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." -W.T. Purkiser

Our first Thanksgiving as Mr. & Mrs.! This is us sitting in Common Grounds, where we had our Thanksgiving dinner this year (along with 90+ other people).

First course: Pumpkin soup

Second course: Apple Waldorf salad

Main Course: Turkey & gravy, stuffing, green beans & carrots, corn, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes

Morgan with his pretty plate of Thanksgiving food

Dessert: Sour Cream Apple Pie (delicious!)

The man in-between Morgan and Julie is Bill Charney aka Captain Biff Windsock. We met him the night before Thanksgiving, invited him to have dinner with us, and he delightfully accepted our invitation. He is such a sweet man, and Morgan and I thoroughly enjoyed his company during our Thanksgiving dinner. He is on an adventure around the world in a Staggerwing... learn more about him and what he is doing at www.captainbiff.com.

This past Thanksgiving is one we will always remember. We definitely missed our families and friends, but we were thankful to be able to spend it with a new friend and make a new memory. To our mothers- don't you worry, nothing can ever replace your home-cooked meals, and we will give you plenty of opportunity to make up for lost-cooking when we get back to the states. :)