Live Curiously

While I was listening to the radio the other day, a 101 year old woman gave the advice, "live curiously." A good reminder to try new things and push the limits of my comfort zone.

It seems quite surreal that almost exactly a year ago, I began the process of applying for Peace Corps (PC) before my Senior year. At that time I was not convinced that PC was something that I wanted to do, and I was exploring a variety of options for post-grad. Then everything started falling into place and before I knew it, it was February and I was accepting a position as a Community Health Education Extension Agent (say that 5 times fast!) and 27 months of service in Cambodia. 

 
Cambodia (green) in relation to the rest of Southeast Asia.
population: 14.8 million people (65th most populous country)
area: 181,035 square km or 69,898 sq mi (88th) or roughly the size of Missouri
   
Basic map of Cambodia's major tourist sites, cities, and provinces.

Fast forward to now. In less than 12 hours I will be checking in for pre-orientation ("Staging") in Washington, DC and 24 hours later boarding a flight with a final destination of Phnom Penh (Cambodia's capital). I leave the US on Friday the 13th and arrive in Cambodia on Sunday the 15th - 11 hours ahead of Eastern Time (ET) and over 9,000 miles from home.

At a Thai restaurant called Indochine in Wrightsville, NC a few weeks ago. 

I will arrive in Cambodia for the rainy season (hot & humid!) with 57 other Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) at my side -about  half in Community Health Education (CHE), half in English Teaching and Teacher Training (ETTT). We are the 6th PC group going to Cambodia so we are known as K6. After a few days in Phnom Penh (PP) we will head to our Pre-Service Training (PST) site for 8 weeks of training. If all goes well, I will receive my post and be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) in early September. I don't know how much internet access I will have during PST, - and at my post for that matter! - but I will update this blog (and respond to emails) as often as I can.


Mail may take a couple of weeks,but if you love snail mail as much as I do... feel free to write to: 

Meghan Henshall

Peace Corps/Cambodia 

P.O. Box 2453
US Embassy
Phnom Penh 3
CAMBODIA
Asia

So here I go. Moving forward with excitement and curiosity. Thanks for all the love and support.