Two week mark

Hey everyone, 

So I'm about to pass the two week mark for my time in Cambodia and it has been a whirlwind of excitement, emotion, and exhaustion. I am finally adjusting to the humidity and time difference. The first couple of days here were really hard. I was so homesick and hated the heat and just exhausted. While I had initially planned to stay with a host family during my time here, I made the decision to switch to the volunteer guesthouse. The host family accommodations were not what I was expecting and hated not having air conditioning. But ever since I have moved to the guesthouse, my experience has been so much better. I feel like I am getting to know the other volunteers really well and just feel more comfortable here. I have met to many cool people. Now I have friends from Denmark, England, France, Germany, Canada, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, and even some Americans. Super awesome.

I am enjoying my volunteer placement as well. COLT has done an amazing job with working with volunteers and really making you feel like you are making a difference. The kids I teach are wonderful. The younger kids I teach in the morning are 17 and 14. Both are very very bright and speak relatively good English. The older kids I teach in the afternoon are 18-24 and are so eager to learn English and learn about the western culture. Haha I really like what I am doing with each class and spending time with the kids. 

This weekend me and some of the other volunteers (Ella, Ditte, Audrey, and Pernille) traveled to Battambang to see the bamboo train which was super cool. And then we took a bus to Siem Reap. Siem Reap is super fun, but really touristy. Really really touristy. At one point I am pretty sure we were seeing more westerners than actual Cambodians. Haha but it was fun. We saw so many temples and saw Angkor Wat at sunrise! Absolutely stunning!!!!! Definitely a must see at some point in your life. But I am all templed out at this point. Too many stairs and not enough shade. But overall it was a pretty fantastic weekend. I will post pictures of this weekend very soon, but I just wanted to let you guys know how I am doing and how Cambodia is. I really am enjoying myself and having so many great experiences. But I miss you all so much back home!!! Hope all is going well and I will post again soon!!!

Lots of love,

Emma