Hello everyone!
I am writing from an internet shop that is within walking distance from my house. The internet shops here are basically a room full of single cubicles each with its own Dell computer; it only costs 1000 riel (25 cents) to use a computer for an hour. I am starting to adapt to the lifestyle here and am really enjoying getting to know my Cambodian roommates. Two nights ago, I was able to experience dancing at the Olympic Stadium- basically like a football stadium only contructed out of cement steps. Hundreds of Cambodians walk around the top oval of the stadium, and there are various speakers and "dance instructors" stationed around playing many types of both classic and popular music. Everyone gets into rows and tries to follow the moves of the leader for a 25 cent fee. Very fun atmosphere! I wish we had something like this in the U.S. As usual, I received many stares as I was the only foreigner.

Yesterday I was able to visit the National Museum. This is a beautiful place that houses many of the ancient artifacts and artwork from the 6th-13th centuries, mainly sandstone statues of Hindu gods. Today, I visited the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. This visit was unsettling and completely opened my eyes to the horrendous events of the Khmer Rouge, which was a modern-day holocaust that occurred only 31 years ago. The museum is located in the Toul Sleng Prison, which was a high school that was converted into a prison by the Kampuchea Democratic Party to torture and kill people during the Khmer Rouge. While visiting this site, the torture rooms and prison cells are left as they were, along with photos of the many victims that lost their lives there. I encourage all of you to Google the Khmer Rouge- it is a tragic event in our history that most of us ( at least myself) are unaware of. Estimates of civilians killed during this period range from 1 to 3 million people. Sadly, many of the leaders and soldiers of the Khmer Rouge have gone unpunished and are still living freely in Cambodia today.

On a lighter note, I have decided to take the volunteer teaching position with the program Chances for Cambodia. I start tomorrow! I will have a class of 20 university students and will teach Monday through Friday from 11-2. I am a little nervous because I do not know the student's level of English, so I am just planning a variety of activities that I will be able to use depending on what I find! I chose to pursue this opportunity over the paid position because I can stop anytime in June when I wish to travel around the rest of the country.

Now that I feel comfortable getting to the internet shop on my own, I will try to keep recent updates. I really appreciate your comments, as they remind me of home. Ah khon! (Thank you).