a day in the life....so far

hello everyone! i can't believe it's already august

i''m starting to feel as if i'm starting to communicate with my host family. it's great! every night at dinner i read off the new words i learn and they help me with my pronounciation. i think they try to use the same words that i tell them i know so we can have more of a conversation. they are awesome.

my days are long and exhausting. i starting running and i think that is going to be my saving grace for my sanity. i usually start to wake up at about 4:30 am when the roosters are crowing and my grandma starts blasting a khmer music tape. then i doze in and out of sleep until 5:15 when i get up, empty my chamber pot, spray the bathroom for bugs and then head out for my run. i run for about 30 minuutes and people think i'm crazy. this morning it was pouring down rain but i ran anyways. it was wonderful. it was the first time i wasn't hot in the country.

my host mom is such a good good that she has a restaurant on the side of the road. my language teacher's house is only a 2 minute walk from my house so my language classmates come over for breakfast everymorning and then we walk to class together. right next to my language teacher's house there is a coffee stand so we all get an iced coffee to go....which is a little bit of coffee and a lot of ice in a plasitc bag with a straw.

language class goes from 7:30am-11:30. my language group is awesome so it makes it bareable. my teacher is laid back and likes to take lots of breaks. we pretty much just deliriously laugh at eachother once the heat starts to get to us at about 10pm.

after lunch we usually have to head to the wat (temple), high school, or market for lessons on khmer ceremonies, gender discussions, classroom observations, or health information. this typcially goes from 1-5. then i bike home, take a shower, and have dinner with my family. after dinner i fight them to try to do the dishes, then they make some excuse and send me off to bed. then i crawl into my mosquito net where i feel very safe with my headlamp and read or do homework until i pass out. (haha i usually pass out about 8pm).

in other news...for those who were worried about me losing weight...fear no more! during meal time my host mother produces huge amounts of food in front of me...and every bite is delicious....

also, the fruits in cambodia are amazzzzzing!!! mangosteen, lychees, dragonfruits, and rambutens galore....i always try to save room for fruit (which is always eaten after a meal) but it's hard when all the food is so delicious.

well, all for now. i have to hurry home for lunch. i miss everyone and am loving your comments! please keep them coming!