Cambodia Collage of Fun

Layovers and Airports and Plane Food, oh my!

Atlanta, USA to Seoul, Korea   --- 3 hour layover ---
Seoul, Korea to Bangkok, Thailand   --- 9 hour layover ---
Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia   JET LAG.

Some highlights from our flights and layovers include:

• Eating Seaweed-flavoured Pringles in the Bangkok airport
• Watching Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (a German movie) - I definitely recommend this movie
• Spending the night on a bench in the Bangkok airport
• Eating "Bibimbap" (a Korean dish) and needing a pamphlet on how to assemble it
• Flying over Alaska and Russia... seeing the breathtaking snow-covered mountain ranges
• Free wi-fi in the Incheon (Korean) airport   :)

Leaving for Cambodia...

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for Cambodia with Katie and Jacob. We're flying to Seoul, South Korea, and then spending the night in Bangkok, Thailand. The next morning we'll fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I'm really excited! Please pray for safe travels for us! =)

Nyepi -- Balinese New Year

Today is Nyepi – the Balinese equivalent to our New Years Eve, except with fasting, meditation, and silence. Celebrated from 6am today (Tues) until 6am tomorrow (Wed), this national day of silence is taken very seriously by the locals. The Hindus abide by rituals such as "no working, no self-entertainment, no traveling, no eating, and no fire/light" – all for the purpose of self-reflection. All airports, stores, beaches, and streets are closed to both locals and visitors. 
Nyepi traditionally falls on the day following the dark moon of the spring equinox, opening a new year of the Saka Hindu era which began in 78 A.D.

The day after Nyepi, known as Ngembak Geni, is when social activity picks up again quickly. Families and friends gather to ask forgiveness from one another, and to perform certain religious rituals together. Parades are held in the streets. =)

Hello, Spring Break

Yum, yum yum.

There's just something so refreshing about spending a Friday night with Kristin Mueller, eating sushi (which I have just recently started doing), sipping a margarita, and watching a movie. Spring Break, here we come! Even though I have to work 40 hours in the next few days at Merck (for POM) and CAPS, I will have fun. Dang it, I will have LOTS of fun.

In other news, I have a strong desire to drop out of school and travel the world. Call it a case of the infamous "senioritis", this feeling of restlessness is probably due to my new all-time low of 3hrs sleep a night.Thank you, business classes. The good news is that my amazing new boss, Darla, gave me one of her coffee makers, so I can finally brew some blessed café every morning when I get up at 5.

If you're in the mood for an interesting video, click here. It's less than 2 mins and is really interesting. =)

Makes Me Smile...

Just as I was losing all faith in humanity, I witnessed an act of kindness that left me smiling long after the encounter ended. After hearing that a Lee student had worked over 52 hours in one week -- in addition to school -- a middle-aged man handed the student $40 with the instruction: "Go do something fun".  

It's the little things we do for each other that make the most impact. 

{Even on bystanders.}

Crosby...

An Olympic Gold medal represents an incredible team effort... I am so proud of our Men's Olympic Hockey Team. Way to press on and show us what real determination is. Like one of my American friends said, the Canadians really had to earn this gold (after losing to the US the first time it was hard to imagine making the finals!). That being said, I want to reaffirm my admiration for Sidney Crosby. He scored the game-winning goal on Sunday afternoon and saved us from the horror of being beaten by the Americans at our national sport. In Alyssa Shumaker's words, "Hallelu!" (I guess this will be my formal shout-out to Alyssa, who is spending the semester studying in Cambridge, UK. We miss you!!)