January 1, noon in Seoul.

January 1, noon in Seoul.

First off, Korean Air rocks the house. Bibimbap (with directions) for dinner, steaming hot washcloths in the morning, and incredible attention to detail every moment in between (for instance, they gave the parents of little ones little bassinets and blankies).

 We arrived in Seoul at 6 AM to 22 degrees and snow, not that we will be going outside.

If you have to be in an airport for 12 hours (after a 12 hour flight) Seoul is the place to be.  I am travelling to Cambodia with three other Missoula women: Olivia the activist, Tammy the educator, and Gwen the attorney. Here are our favorite things about the Seoul experience so far.

Gwen: "The classy stewardesses on Korean Air who looked fantastic in their pale blue and cream silk uniforms the entire 13 hours as we sank into the depths of grunginess."

Tammy: "The musical lilt of the language over the intercom  - it's beautiful. And the gentle kindness of all the women."

Olivia: "The airport shower (it's free). The ability to take a shower and feel like you can be a whole person over a layover."

And me: "Love the live flowers in the airport  bathrooms. And that there are places you can lie down and rest, and lounges where you can eat and drink and work without having to be a member of some exclusive skyclub."

Half a day more here, then one final 6 hour flight to Cambodia.

12/30/12 Cambodia calls...

December 30, 2012

In about an hour, I'm starting a two day journey to Cambodia. If all goes as scheduled, I'll be celebrating the new year in flight and arrive in Phnom Penh Tuesday evening for two weeks visiting community development programs in Cambodia.

In June, I received an invitation to serve as a fellowship partner to a Cambodian woman coming to Missoula for a 5 week fellowship through the U.S. Department of State. Pen Bopha spent much of October with our crew at NCBI, and it was an incredible honor to have her with us.

Bopha's first day with NCBI.

Bopha is currently a training manager for H.E.D.C. International, whose mission is "to transform Cambodia into a peaceful and prosperous nation by empowering and building the capacity of people at all levels of society to effectively lead and efficiently manage their local and national development." Bopha was selected to be a fellow through a highly competitive process that identified emerging women leaders in S.E. Asia. The fellowship program aims to equip participants with concrete tools to advance development efforts in their own community, as well as to strengthen ties between people and countries.

It was a gift to see my work, community and country through Bopha's eyes. I appreciated her astute observations about political and social interactions in the U.S., and was moved every day by her absolute joy in discovering so many new things - from pine trees (Amie! It's a Christmas tree!) to carving pumpkins to her first snow. 

It is now my honor to be hosted by Bopha in her country, in what will be my fist visit to S.E. Asia, and my first time in a country where I speak nothing of the local language. I am excited about many aspects of this adventure, but most of all looking forward to seeing my friend again!