Ok, surviving is a bit of a strong word. More like knocking out as much of the things I need to in the first week while dealing with jet lag, and getting used to the city and surroundings.
Let’s start with the plane ride. I had to ditch a lot of things at the airport and send it back with my parents, including my guitar…. So currently I am instrumentless and starting to get a little bit twitchy because of it. But once I got through security, it was reasonably smooth. The flight was delayed an hour or so because of a sick passenger, so we were late to San Fransisco. I had to go back through security there, and got to the gate right as boarding started. I was in the middle row on the aisle, with only one other person in my row! No one climbing over me was nice. The 13 and a half hour flight though…. Went on forever… Shanghai was probably the fastest I’ve ever got back through security on a transfer though.
I landed in Siem Reap around 10pm Friday night. Passport control took a while, but eventually, I got through and made it out and to the hotel (Shout out to Shannon for coming and setting me up with a tuk-tuk. Check out Shannon and Vikki’s blog at https://thebobbs.myadventures.org/). On Saturday I got set up with my phone and a new sim card. I got an apartment on Monday, moved in on Tuesday. It’s a great spot with security, a/c, wifi, and a furnished kitchen (a big plus. No dishes to buy! Woohoo!). I signed up for language class on Wednesday. I’ll start on Tuesday. They will also help me get a one year student visa! Praise God for that! I just need to go an hour a day five days per week. And the final big thing of the week was I bought a Moto on Thursday! A 125cc Honda Dream.
Next up on the to do docket – mapping out the city and learning where everything is, finding a good Khmer church to attend Sunday mornings, and learning language.
Prayer requests – no hiccups in getting a visa, desire and drive to dive in head first into language learning, an health (there has been quite a few cases of dengue fever, not a fatal thing, but incredibly unpleasant. You can treat symptoms, but the disease has to run its course).
Thanks for your prayers!! They really meant a lot to me the past week, knowing there are so many people behind me supporting me. It really served to remind me that this is where God needs me to be.
