I'm Back, Now What?

As of yesterday, I've been back in the states for a month! Its such a weird feeling. Everything is exactly how I remember it, but a little different. For example, my house is exactly the same except for the kitten running around the house and play fighting with my Rufus. One of my littles started walking! Another one is now talking in complete sentences. There have been so many people saying, "I'm so glad you're back!" This statement is generally followed by, "So, what are you doing now?" I'm actually doing a lot! There has been a copious amount of hugging. A certain family is so excited that I'm back that they have had me over to babysit at least once a week. I'm back shelving books at that library and singing in two different choirs. My Awana girls are thrilled that I'm back working with them, to the extent of arguing over which group gets to recite their Bible verses to me. I'm starting college this semester! My mom and I are planning another trip to New York, and this time I get to treat her, instead of the other way around.

I know that I've changed too, but not in ways that I can put into words. I'm definitely more confidant,  and I appreciate things that I used to take for granted, such as not having a lizard living in my room.

Even though I am happy to be back, those little ones have not been able to get out of my heart (not that I want them to). They started school back up last Monday and apparently there were tears because "Mu Fah" wasn't there. I miss debating Gothic Lit with Kayla. I even sort of miss the heat! Cold isn't my favorite thing under any circumstances, but coming from where it was in the upper 90s has been torture. However, it is nice to jump in a steaming shower whenever I want and to brush my teeth over a sink!

Surprise! I'm Home!

Normally, I'm pretty bad at naming blog posts, but for this one I came up with several- The 36 Hour Friday, Goodby Cambodia, Hello America!, and Look! The Water Here Won't Kill Me! 

You can probably guess from the above titles that I am home! Its wonderful to be back in the states again! Here is a recap of my last days in Cambodia and my 36 hour long travel day.

 I was kept pretty busy up until the day I left with teaching, cleaning, worship band, Leah duty, and whatever else needed to be done. Below is a video of Strey Hang, myself, Kayla, and Seth leading worship at the last small group I attended.  Seth kept telling me not to, "Sing so frilly." I can't help it that I'm a legit singer! We only had one rehearsal, so don't expect anything too amazing.

Then I had to pack. I'm not very good at remembering to pack important things like my glasses, so I was pleasantly surprised when everything came home with me! The red rolling duffel was something that I found at the market. I haggled the most on it and managed to get the lady down from $30 to $20. Haggling is something that I miss.

All packed!

One last load of laundry drying on the roof.

My flight wasn't until late, so there was time for one last game of Settlers before it was time to head to the airport. Boo, our amazing tuk tuk driver, was sad to see me go.

Boo and I after my last tuk tuk ride.

I was at the airport two hours early and there was no line for anything so I had a lot of free time on my hands. I was 2/3 of the way through The Great Gatsby before I boarded. The plane lifted off at 11:50 and suddenly, I was on my way home! This started what I like to call, "The 36 Hour Friday". Because I crossed the International Dateline, December 12 was 36 hours long instead of 24.

Goodby Cambodia!

Curled up in my seat. It felt like I had my own reading nook!

The obligatory passport and ticket picture.

After a 5 hour flight, I landed in Seoul for a 4 hour layover. They really knew how to do security! There were about 100 people in line ahead of me and I was through in 5 minutes. everyone there was wearing boots and scarves. I even saw some puffy coats! Being in the tropics for so long, I had forgotten what cold felt like. The airport was freezing, so I huddled under my blanket and ignored the stares from everyone around me.

My blanket sure did come in handy!

Finally, it was time to board the plane that would take me home!

Get ready, America! I'm coming back!

The flight could not have gone more perfectly. Between the two flights, I somehow managed to get 7 hours of sleep as well as watch two movies and three Doctor Who episodes and read several more Sherlock Holmes short stories. We even landed 35 minutes early!

I found these chocolate biscuits things for $.80. They were pretty good!

There was no line at customs and my bags were the first to come out. They were too heavy for me to lift, so this very nice man got them onto my very squeaky cart for me. My mom and brother were there to pick me up and it was wonderful to see them in person again! After a two hour car ride I was home!

I'm back!

Trying to keep warm. My kitties missed me!

Of course, I couldn't stay home for long. I was there for about a half hour before I was asking if we could go see my littles. I had arranged beforehand with their mom to surprise them on the day I came back. As you can see, they were very excited that I was home.

Two of my very awesome friends decided to spend and hour in the freezing cold decorating my car. I've never felt more loved than I have this week coming home and realizing how many people missed me. I don't think that they realized how much I missed them!

Bob looked amazing!

My personal favorite window. You can definitely tell who wrote it!

I haven't been jet lagged at all (Thanks, God!), but I'm using it as an excuse not to unpack. All of the gifts were take out and my personal stuff has been consolidated into one suitcase which is currently sitting in the living room and is being used as a cat toy.

Making a mess in the living room.

I've been pretty busy since I've gotten back with hugging my friends, babysitting, and getting rehired at the library- I start tomorrow! It's wonderful to be home, but I'm going to miss Cambodia and the friends that I made there. Thank you all for following this blog, and supporting me through this journey. To see more of what I did in Cambodia or to stay updated on my latest adventures, feel free to friend me on Facebook if we aren't already friends. Thank you!

It's Asia- who cares?

A list of things that no one cares about because it's Asia, compiled by Tiffony and Faith.

There is a lizard crawling on the kitchen wall. 
I spilled water on my shirt.
I have sweat running down my back.
I haven't shaved in a week.
I'm wearing my pajamas on the street.
I don't have a bathroom sink, or shower for that matter.
I have to flush my toilet with a bucket.
There are mosquitoes in my shower.
I don't have air conditioning.
I may be eating pigs blood in my soup.
I eat the same thing my rabbit does.
I wash my face with a hose.
The sweat on my shirt looks like Mickey Mouse.
There are weevils in the oats and ants in my mango.
I have a near death experience coming back from church every Sunday night.

But it's Asia, who cares?

I'm out of toilet paper but there is this hose here. . .  Wait. I do care about that!

Injuries and Thanksgiving

As you are probably aware, we celebrated Thanksgiving this past week. Even here in Cambodia we could not let the fourth Thursday of November pass without a large meal and turkey decorations. However, turkeys are very expensive here, so I made one out of vegetables and named it Adelbert.

My awesome turkey, Adelbert.

We had a delicious meal of smoked ham and turkey and the leftovers have fed us continuously for the past few days.

The next day, Tiffony, Kayla, and I took the older Bykota kids to go play soccer. This was the first time that they let girls play, which made us feel pretty special. We did find out later that they only let us play because we were paying, but you take what you can get. Tiffony was smart and decided to become our official photographer. The kids play barefoot and must have very tough feet since Kayla and I both suffered injuries. Kayla split a toenail and my ankle had a collision with Ratanak's foot. Its been swollen for the past couple of days and has been particularity painful. Thankfully, Kayla's toe has been doing much better.The kids enjoyed it, which is the main thing. I seem to be very injury prone.