what i'll miss while i'm gone

the rain is letting up and the forecast for the week will be sunny....blah...i'm waiting for my rain boots to arrive in the mail.i hope to put a few miles on them before the sky dries up.

i'm still waiting for my khmer language books...ugh...i wanna start studying already

oh. as i promised, here's the list of things/people/places i will miss.

1. my family
2. my friends
3. annoy ryan by hoarding the food and blankets
4. baking
5. my golden girl dvds
6. my indiana jones dvds
7. my star wars dvds
8. the apple of my eye--the corolla
9. rizza pizza
10. trader joe's
11. my mom's fried rice
    
12. going to the movies
13. visiting target on a whim
14. in&out cheeseburger without onions
15. sur la table
16. ice in my root beer and ginger ale
17. playing board games that take incredibly long
18. getting my hair cut
19. Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations"
    

what the heck, since i'm logged on, here are the list of things that i plan to do before i leave:

1. spend time with my family and friends
   
2. watch harry potter
3. visit san francisco and eat at chez panisse
   
4. visit a couple of friends in the east coast
5. finish painting my room in one solid color
6. go camping
7. sell the corolla
   

list to be continued....

language study

i began looking into studying khmer the other day. you'd think that working in a library, i'd have an abundance of resources, but seeing that not very many universities own khmer language books, i may have to purchase from amazon. but, even amazon has a small selection. well, i'll wait a week to see if my library requests for the books come. crossing my fingers.

i'm trying to remember what khmer sounded like when i was over there just a month ago. i guess i'd say my most vivid memory of hearing khmer came from all the music videos that our bus driver would put on during long haul trips. there was this one male performer who came out in almost every single music video...actually, it was pretty funny.

mom and dad... i have some news

i just told my parents...hmp...

they were A LOT calmer than i expected. i was surprised that my dad knew what the peace corps were. i can tell they are a little nervous. my dad just asked, "so, every 6 months, you'll come home to visit?" my mom is concerned with the money. my dad offered to give me his brand new laptop. i told him it's not necessary and that it'll just get lost. two years is a lot for them...i told them to just come and visit me, if not in cambodia, then in china.

i'm worried that they are worried. my parents are acting pretty cool and collected about the whole going away thing, but i feel the concern lingering in the air. it hurts to see my parents that way. crystal said it'll pass.

well, telling my parents was half the battle of my peace corps experience...

the next time i write, it'll be about all the things i'll miss while i'm gone.

the invitation arrives

back in sept. 2008, i created this blog as a means to keep in contact with my family and friends at home, while i would serve as a volunteer with the peace corps. it wasn't until last night that i finally had a reason to write my first post.

btw, it is raining in los angeles tonight and i love it. anyway, my reflections...

i got home from watching My Bloody Valentine in 3-D with Jessi last night and there it was, on the coffee table--my Peace Corps Invitation Kit! even before i got a chance to open up the package, i called ryan to tell him. drowsily he asked, "so, where you goin'?" CAMBODIA.

i leave in late july 2009 for orientation and training. after nearly a year of waiting for an invitation, i admit my emotions were mixed. while i was happy to finally receive my assignment, i was a bit speechless and apathetic. i dunno--maybe deep inside, i was disappointed that i wasn't assigned to china. or, maybe cambodia lost its novelty when we visited south asia over winter break. nevertheless, i stayed up reading the handbooks in the kit until my eyelids hurt.

anyway, i'm totally over that weird awe-struck feeling now and am in the process of going through the kit. there are still a few items i need to finish reading, but i'm am DEFINITELY going. i'm going to cambodia! i am not going to let inflexibilty or certain expectations get to me. i've been waiting for this opportunity and got it.

i just need to fill out the visa/passport, write an aspiration statement and update my resume (due in 10 days!). i'll call my placement officer on my day off next week to tell him i am accepting the invitation. yay!