Cambodia - 17

im going to take a moment to write about neshica. right now she is in her room -...with her best friend spending the night for the first time.

theyve spent the evening giggling away...sharing little sentences here and there....all in khmer.

its not long ago that these two girls would make up little melodies and sing those as they played their games as a fantastic substitute to talking.

now neshica understands and knows enough khmer to gleen more and more nuggets about her favorite friend srei-net.

one of the reasons neshicas khmer is really coming along is that she wakes up really early in the morning and walks two doors down to the breakfast shack.

she tries to get there as close to 6am as possible...and then stays till 8am serving noodle soup and pork with rice. she absolutely loves it and Any tells me that everyday she

comes home with new words that she wants translated.

the past couple of days levi and neshica have transformed the little structure out the back that was intended as a chicken coop i think....to their own little cubby. complete

with a straw floor...hammock...fabric wall hangings...and some sort of ingenious plumbing system. i just love it when they get into the zone like this..and spend hours working away on it.

today while levi has been sick neshica has been out there with srei-net hammering new boards in place...coming in every so often for a drink and a mango...with a dirt smudged face and beaming as she

talks about the new additions.

with both guys away at the moment...neshica wanted to know if she could invite srei-net over for a sleep over.

something that is so common back home feels so foreign over here..... or maybe its not so foreign...but soo...exposing.

tonight is the first night that srei-net has ever had a shower. and it was a warm one.

its also the first night she has slept on a mattress. and it has a sheet.

she does have a pillow..but one that she takes turns using with her mother and sister.

our house has running water. electricity...which means that we dont have to go to sleep once the sun sets.

tomorrow morning srei-net can use an indoor toilet...instead of the bushes behind her little shack.

its hard to explain...but having her here makes my modern comforts...uncomfortable.

i wonder where neshicas and srei-nets friendship will go. what impact will they have on eachothers life?

a not so thought out wish i have is that neshica will want to start going to the local school so that srei-net will be encouraged to go back to her studies.

like so many 12-year olds here srei-net doesnt see the need for anymore schooling. i had a little chat to her about it...and i think it mainly boils down to embarrassment.

she still cant read or write. she cant afford the uniform. she doesnt have a father...

oh man...as much as i want to swoop down and make everything 'right' in her life...i have to remind myself that the friendship that is taking place right now deserves to unfold in its own way...

all that to say..im so happy for neshica right now. she was the one that took the longest to settle into our life here....and honestly...she really has never been happier.