La Sonya

I go to bed without running through a million scenarios in my head about school board meetings, teachers meetings, parents, students, lesson plans or any other million things. I have HEAPS of free time on Sunday and by HEAPS I mean all day. I don't have to go to the school, write lesson plans, grade papers or brainstorm ways to recruit more students.  I go into work at 8:15 am everyday. I leave work at 5 pm everyday. I am not having to "be on" all the time.  I don't have to wear a million different hats. I don't feel terribly inadequate, overwhelmed, stuck or like a fake.  I still get to teach, brainstorm ways to teach concepts and ideas to students. I bicycle to and from work most days (motor bike on days when I go to the village). I don't have to shmooze or woo people to donate, volunteer, like me, like the school, or even care about anything when I am at church. But mainly I have so much free time on Sunday. Time to ex...

I found myself looking for all my extra courage today. I've graduated from the little moped bike to the one Kerry has been using. It's a manual bike. It's roughly the same size as the black moped bike, only it rides much different. I have to pay attention to the gears and shift up and down with my left foot. I have to break with my right food as well as my right hand all the while remembering the throttle in the same hand. I have to look around for drivers, pot holes and landmarks to know where to turn. The thing is, it's hard. I enjoy being pushed to grow and learn. I often volunteer for new things. I like learning languages, leading groups of people and being the first to try something. This however is pushing me a lot. I want to stay in my comfortable zone of push bike. It's hard going out to the village on my own. I have a great coach here in Phnom Penh but he can't do it for me, he can't ride me out there. I am having to summon up all my courage and...