Thunder and Lightening in Cambo, Oh my!

I've never heard anything like this before in my life! I was washing dishes and listening to music in my apartment, getting ready to head out to Skype with a friend for the first time (Sari Bear!) and when I turned off the faucet, I honestly thought someone was on my roof dropping rocks! Now you might think, why on earth would I think someone would be on my roof? AND dropping rocks? But given the fact that there is construction going on across the street at completely random times on any given day (or not), and the fact that I have tin over my actual roof, this would in fact be a logical thought process! I went out to my patio to learn that it was just a down pour! I quickly grabbed my camera to take a video of the noise and also the lightening that was occurring more often than I've ever seen. It's not even monsoon season yet and this has now happened 2 nights in a row. Supposedly, the call it 'mango rain' as it helps ripen the mango's. April is the best month to get them!

After living here for a month now, I've realized how large the expat community is in Phnom Penh. I've met many individuals from all over the world (America, India, Denmark, Philippines, UK, Finland, Canada, etc.) that are here volunteering for some cause or another. It is great to see people joining together to assist this country in sectors such as health, education and livelihoods. It also makes you realize how small the world is when getting deep into conversation. A few nights ago I went with some friends to a new acquaintance's for dinner. They were volunteering with another organization and a majority of them were from the states. They made homemade Tacos! And yes I did eat meat (well chicken) that night :) It was so tasty. Further in to conversations I realized that one of the girls was actually born and raised in my college town, San Luis Obispo! We had some mutual friends and was reminiscing about good ole SLO. I miss that town.

I bought a flight for Vietnam today!! It will be my first "trip" since living in Asia. I am taking a bus for $12 from PP to Ho Chi Minh city, staying one night there and then flying to Hanoi for $60. We will be spending 8 days to work our way down the coast of Vietnam. No set plans as of yet, but we have some spots that we want to see. I look forward to sharing stories and pictures of my travels!