The first week is almost over! I still can’t sleep in for the life of me so I am up at about 6 am each day. I usually go across the street to skype with my parents, check my email and drink coffee. At about 8 am, Richard (my driver) comes to get me and we make the 15 min ride to the hospital. He takes me on a motor bike (sorry mom and dad), which sounds more dangerous than it actually is. The streets are full of moto drivers and it is chaos. All of the traffic makes for a pretty slow ride to the hospital so any accident would be more comparable to bumper cars instead of an actual accident!

Once I get to the hospital, I just head up to the general surgery floor and wait for one of the surgeons. Nina, the Scottish girl that does medicine with me, and I usually just observe consults and rounds until a surgery is scheduled. On Tuesday, we saw a cholecystectomy. On Wednesday, there wasn’t a surgery scheduled so I was able to come home at noon and relax. On Thursday, a total gastrectomy was scheduled but once the surgeon was able to open him up, he noticed that the cancer had spread beyond the stomach and it was inoperable. We were also able to head into the next OR after the gastrectomy patient was closed up and see a little bit of a brain tumor removal. The hospital has been a great experience and each day is different, which is great! The doctor that I met on the first day asked me where I am from in the US and I told him Nebraska. Since Cambodians aren’t familiar with this, I just say that I lived in Texas for a bit. They know that one!! Now, this doctor refers to me as a cowboy and says I am “Leslie, with the big hat, boots and guns”. Silly man!

Since I am usually only at the hospital until about 1 each day, I get to do a lot of exploring in the afternoons and evenings. On Tuesday, I went to the Russian market to buy surgical caps and then Steph and I went to riverside to hang out before we came home for dinner. On Wednesday night, we went to a spa here called “ONE”. It is a really nice and more expensive salon here in Phnom Penh. By the way, “expensive” means $12 for a 90 min massage and $10 for a 60 min pedicure. Usually, a manicure and pedicure adds up to be a whole $2! ONE is a spa that trains young girls on various spa treatments and keeps them employed. The girls all live together in an apartment. We read each of their stories and they all come from very rough, poverty-stricken backgrounds (like many Cambodians). I read a variety of stories including one being abandoned at a young age and starting to work as a housekeeper at 9 years old. Another woman was married at 19 but then went to school outside of Phnom Penh. She came back a year later to find that her husband had married her cousin! She ran into her husband (with her cousin) in a club about 2 years later where he beat her with a board. She suffered many internal injuries and spent the next year in the hospital—the same amount of time he spent in jail. The stories go on and on. It was really interesting to spend some time with these amazing women, learn about their past and then sit with them and just observe how far they have come!

On Thursday, I was done at the hospital at around 12:30 so I came back for lunch and then spent the afternoon with Steph and Amy at their orphanage. The orphanage has about 20-30 kids ranging from an itty bitty baby to a 21 year old. I had so much fun holding the little babies, playing soccer with the young boys and helping Steph use lice shampoo on the kiddos. The stories of these kids also have a wide range. Some of the kids were found by the river or in a dumpster while some of them still have parents, but the parents don’t have enough money to take care of them so they live at the orphanage. Nonetheless, they are all just full of joy and are wonderful to spend time with! After the orphanage, some of us went to meditation at the temple and it was exactly how you would imagine it! Bald monks walking around with their orange, draped clothing while people silently sat Indian-style on cushions. It was a really interesting experience and I plan on going each Thursday. I am not really great at the whole “thinking about nothing” idea they have…but it is a wonderful time to just reflect on my time in Cambodia and be thankful for the opportunity to be here. They gave me a little book on meditation to coach me through my first time there and it talks about “loving-kindness” and its importance in our lives. It was really great to read so I thought I would share it with you guys! It explained how it is important to practice loving-kindness towards others and ourselves. This includes forgiving ourselves for certain things and forgiving others. It also includes just loving ourselves while we love others. We can’t practice loving-kindness towards others without practicing it towards ourselves and vice versa. We were supposed to think about this and the people, things and experiences in our lives. I couldn’t help but think about everyone at home when I read “May all beings in this world be well, happy and peaceful”. So I hope everyone is well back in America and I think about you all often! Until next time!