arrived in Phnom Penh at 740am local time, which is 840am Spore time. In the office now using the computer at 530pm as the power was unstable earlier. They use a generator here.
barely 2 hrs of sleep left me kinda drowsy throughout the morning but upon arrival i forgot my weariness. one of the orphans from Future Light Orphange of Worldmate (FLOW) picked me up from the airport and he was so warm and friendly. in the car he shared with me his simple wishes of going to university, working as an office administrator and visiting his foster parent in Japan, without whom he wouldn't have been able to afford an education. He's 20 and he just graduated from high school. He wants to study 'general management' in university. Upon arrival at FLOW he brought me to my room (which is quite comfortable really and deserves a separate post with pics) and showed me around the compound.
FLO has a separate 2-storey building which houses its guests, a row of classrooms and office, a small library, an open area where the kids practice khmer dance (right now a group of them are performing in Hawaii!, another 2-storey house for the orphans, a dining hall and open spaces for them to play soccer. Most of the areas here are basic, but i can see how they provide the kids and teens a safe shelter from the streets outside. Here they are provided food, learn English, basic computer skills, traditional khmer dance and music, and simply have fun playing with each other. even though my 1st class with them starts only tomorrow, i'm already convinced that i made the right decision choosing this orphanage.
The rest of my morning was spent trying to communicate with 2 khmer housekeepers from FLOW. It was such an experience with tons of gesturing and laughter as we couldn't understand a word of what we each were saying! Out came my trusty lonely planet and they then tried to teach me some khmer phrases :)
Everyone i met here, especially the kids, have been so warm and friendly, often taking the initiative to come up to me to say hi. Tomorrow will be my 1st English class with the kids and I can't wait!
