Simplicity

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my internet days. I teach one period in the morning and by the time it's over there is about an hour and a half til break time, so we usually try to visit the internet cafe, just down the street from the school. It's air conditioned and costs about $0.50 for an hour..not too bad! The internet at the school is bi-polar..sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Due to the recent rain, the power has also been pretty tempermental as well! Yesterday, we lost power randomly and it wasn't even raining. Fortunately, the school has a generator which kicks in about 15 minutes after the power goes out. Good thing, because a room full of seldom bathed Cambodian children with no air flow from the fans..just doesn't end up very well.

Today marks one month since my arrival here in Cambodia, and boy..has it been an interesting month! When I left America on the 9th of May, I had no idea that it would be nearly 10 weeks before I would be back. At times, I do miss a lot about America--Starbucks, the best burrito's in the world from Chipotle, and my beloved Chick-fil-A! I've learned how to live so simply here in Cambodia, and I love it. Life is better lived simply..you really have no need for accessory items that we need so much in America..such as hair straighteners or a closet full of shoes.

Being here has really changed my outlook on what I spend my time doing, and how I spend my money. I try to be pretty frugal at home, but I've learned how to be even more frugal here. There isn't much to buy except for food, drinks, internet and a phone card here and there. And if I do need to spend money, I'd much rather spend it on the kids, taking them out to ice cream, then on myself. The kids live so simply here and when you really think about it, that's how life should be. One of the biggest reasons I love being here is that I am not surrounded by materialism. That is such a big thing in America--always needing this, buying that, ect. You don't need much more than a few clothes, food, a roof over your head and Jesus. I love this simple way of life and I want to keep this attitude with me when I arrive back at home.

This is short and my thoughts seem quite scattered. It's hard to write when you don't have pictures to accompany your thoughts! Hopefully soon I will be able to upload photos and then you can actually see what I do on a day to day basis, instead of me trying to explain it all.