I'm Home.

What will I remember from a trip like this? What experience will make the biggest impact? What stories will I be telling my friends and family when I get home? What things will I miss the most once it’s gone?

I really can’t think of anything better than feeling a sense of “belonging” from people that embrace you in their culture. For me, the social aspect of any trip always seems to be the best part of the trip – they are always the memories I look back fondly on. Living in Pursat has been absolutely incredible – but what make this experience perfect is the people.

From laughing over organic wine and chicken stomach with the guards at night to road trips out to rural districts, from dining out with the SC staff to playing cards with the students – I am blessed to meet so many kind, smart, generous, and passionate people. Each person has stories to tell, we just have to find the time and opportunity to stop and listen.

It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day work; I’m in the office Monday through Friday, sometimes 10 hours a day. What is remarkable is that even in the office where I am surrounded by all of SC staff, I get so involved in my own little world on my laptop. It’s only when I walk outside and get stopped by a student eager to practice their English, or a staff member stopping by the volunteer office to pop in to say hello that I am reminded of where I am.

I’m in Cambodia. I'm working WITH ambitious, smart, wonderful Cambodian people. I'm home.

Sure, there are cultural and language barriers that can be a struggle, but I’ve been lucky enough to feel as though I am home – even if I have weird freckles or pale skin.