Geo: 3.12433, 101.684 Here I am again at the Kuala Lumpur airport, sitting in one of their comfortable chairs with leg extensions, looking out at the jungle that grows in an outside courtyard but is surrounded by the inside airport. When I first saw this I was very excited because of three reasons: 1. It is absolutely gorgeous, as all wild green places are; 2. I love being able to walk outside while still being considered within the airport; and 3. Now I can count Malaysia as one of the countries I've visited because I've walked outdoors! This adding up countries matters because someday I want to join --or at least quality for-- the Century Club. Their only stipulation is that a potential member has travelled to 100 different countries. I'm not quite halfway eligible yet, ... read more

Geo: 12.5657, 104.991 Except for the Spring Guest House in Phnom Penh, connecting to the internet here in Cambodia has been a daily lesson in patience. I was able to connect through Wayne's phone for awhile, but it took, on average, an hour and a half to do twenty minutes worth of work, a frustrating experience unless one used the time waiting to open or send or simply connect creatively: to chat with others, or to knit or crochet or sew or mend something, or to write-- by hand-- a new blog entry. After awhile even the phone connection didn't work, so now I use a modem, which continues the daily lessons in patience unless one arises at 4AM, when the connection can be quite good. The most important words in that sentence are "can be" ... read more

Geo: 12.5657, 104.991 What are the daily sounds I hear while living in rural Cambodia ? Birdsong is constant; it is the backdrop for every other sound. It is so constant I especially notice it when it is absent: at night. But at night (unless the wedding or funeral music is blaring) I hear the insects, and this is one of the sounds that I find enormously pleasing. Ever since childhood I have loved hearing the insects and frogs sing in summer; they ARE the sound of summer to me. One evening when I was nine years old, I remember taking a walk with my dad. He held my hand, and I was happy; with three brothers and one sister I never had time alone with my father. After awhile he stopped at a house I ... read more

Geo: 12.5657, 104.991 Yesterday the children all received new clothes, donated by volunteers and their families, organizations, and good-hearted people. The clothing is organized into plastic bins, based on sex and size. The children's sizes are roughly guessed at since these active Cambodians run wiry, strong, and small. Ten year old boys fit size 4 underwear; one 17 year old girl is so tiny she wore a size 18 month dress as a top. The exchanging of clothing is very festive; the children throwing old, outgrown, dirty pants and shirts in the discard pile and looking through bins and bins of exciting new clothing reminded me of shoppers at Filene's Basement, a discount store in Boston where clothing is jumbled together in large piles, and people root through, looking for hidden treasures, even wedding gowns. Someone ... read more

Geo: 12.5657, 104.991 Monks are chanting in the near distance, the sun is already shining hot, the children are in school, and we volunteers have some free time on weekends. This morning the loud Khmer wedding music began again before 4AM, but I have learned to sleep through much of it. While the others went to breakfast, I stayed and accomplished quite a lot already: I have swept and cleaned my room and part of the porch, washed my laundry (by hand) and hung it up to dry, I have comforted and fed a small creature (the resident kitty, Momo, who does not like being alone and keeps getting attacked and bitten by larger, local, aggressive cats), and saved a small frog (from our resident kitty). While I was sweeping my room a little green frog ... read more