So I arrived in Phnom Penh six and a half weeks ago...........

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On the 23rd of November I arrived in Phnom Penh after a mammoth 25 hours travelling!!

On arrival at the airport you step into the airport and the heat hits you like a tidal wave after being on a freezing cold flight for the last 2 and a half hours from Hong Kong, then the smell intoxicates you, its a combination of incense and sticky bodies, and the chaos of airport staff and travellers buzzing around is like watching a ballet, all these people waiting to get their visas and go through passport control just looks to an outsider like no one has a clue what is going on and the process is so slow although you see all these very regal looking immigration police in their uniforms which are similar to the red army officer uniforms we have back home, they are flying back and forth then one whizzes past me with the monk who was on your flight in a wheelchair no checks for him, monks have a pretty easy life over here which I will talk about another time, he was the kinda man you would imagine to be a monk a lot like the one from the movie the hangover two!



So we met Erin outside the tiny airport where he had two tuk tuks waiting for us what a ride they were along the dodgy streets of Phnom Penh where you see all sorts I was just in aw at the craziness of the city! a mum dad and two tiny kids passed us all on a scooter then a truck had 30 people standing up in the back all like sardines! we pasted the most random of places and the most eary of places.

The heat is mental its half 11 at night as I wrote this it was 30 degrees outside. We arrive at the house I say we as I had been chatting to three girls from the uk that were also going on the trip and I managed to get on the same flight as two of them Vicky from Newcastle and Leanne from Newport in Wales, we arrived all shattered and brain dead and nervous with the thought of WTF are we doing, we drive along this dark street and pull up outside this massive gated house that looks a bit shabby, in we go through the locked gates to a yard where all the shoes have been discarded we look in through the big open doors to a long banquet table where there are a few people just sitting around staring at us, we meet Abbie who we had all been talking to so say hey to her and say hi to the other blank faces, I am thinking at this point oh no I have to live with these people an they dont seem very friendly, then Rich from Hull offers us a cuppa good old British folk!!

We are shown around the house and to our rooms I am up on the top floor where there is a massive balcony which is pretty cool, we go outside to meet more volunteers some guys sitting out they seem friendly. My roommate is from Norway but hasnt arrived yet and when she does arrive its the worst introduction I have ever had as I have just stepped out the bathroom in my towel when Vilde walks in so its a very awkward hello!!! AAHHH!!!

On the first night it hits me what I have done, I gave up my amazing job sold my gorgeous flat and am now here in Cambodia where it is roasting and am about to spend three months living in a house with strangers and sharing a bedroom with an 19 year old! I actually wanted to cry!! I thought I may have made the biggest mistake of my life on a whim whilst I was broken hearted, thankfully for me it turned out alright, six weeks in the guys are great! my students are amazing the heat is still a killer but Im smiling and having the time of my life! Will update more from my journal soon!
L xxx

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