So far...

Well, I'm here at the Indy Airport waiting at my gate.  Button Cat is here with me (not that she is pleased about her situation hogtied to the back of my backpack) and I must say, things seem fine so far...  Many thanks to my great friend Staci who came to pick me up around 6 this morning to get me to the airport 3 hours before my first flight.  I was just slightly worried about all the various accoutrements stuffed in my backpack but I got through security in less than five minutes (just another reason why Indy rocks) and here I am at the gate.  

Button Cat is telling me to tell you all about my flight path because it is very cool.  First we go to Chicago, then at 11:20 am we hop on our first LONG flight to...South Korea!  I'm in seat 45H for that flight.  I'm not sure what that means, but it must be an enormous plane.  The Renaissance Man (hereafter referred to as TRM) has asked for a South Korean trinket and I will probably pick one up for myself as well.  I wish I could get my passport stamped, but that would be utterly ridiculous, so, no worries parents!  There will be no South Korean shenanigans.  I'll wait until I get to the Bod.  From Seoul I head to Phnom Pehn where TRM will be waiting for me at the airport.  When I asked him where to meet he said "I'll find you."  Well, this wasn't good enough at all for me...I could just imagine myself wondering around the Phnom Pehn airport looking for an American among a sea of travelers and general busyness.  When I pressed him for a meeting place, TRM said, "Suzanne.  The airport is smaller than your house."  He has never been to my house and so I'm sure he is operating under the false assumption that I live in something larger than 500 square feet, but nonetheless, I did look at the airport online and yes.  It is small.  Only three gates.  It will be the smallest airport I have ever been in, even smaller than the one in Florida that you fly to to go to The Dad's condo.  Also, from reading TRM's own blog, I can see that he is easy to pick out in any crowd in Cambodia.  He will be the tallest and the whitest in every picture.  

Thanks also to my sister, The Kid Doctor, who lent me her keyboard to go with my iPad so that I can type much faster than tapping it out on the dreaded tablet.  Mama Mia also lent me a passport belt which is strangely comfortable and will be a more constant traveling companion than even Button Cat, I am sure.  The Sister with the Kids also lent me something awesome...her big backpack from when she when to England in college.  This is amazing and has been checked to Phnom Pehn.  It also makes me think of all the crazy things she said when she got back from England, primarily, Rock On!  *high five*

So, TRM is an American living in Cambodia for the time being and doing a library-esque internship.  When I decided to come visit, he asked for a few things from America to make his stay more comfortable.  Not one to deny anyone the comforts of American coffee (except for F2H1...make your own damn coffee), I have agreed and (with some assistance from The Maine Mom) have brought the following items in two backpacks for TRM...I share this with you all just so you can appreciate the cleverness of my packing...this is not an exhaustive list...just a brief overview.  We must have some surprises, after all. 

The List:

French Press Coffee Maker

Coffee

Frying Pan

A Veritable Library of Literature for All Ages (some of which will be handed out to locals)

Chocolate (from Seattle, from Indianapolis, from Mars)

Pumpkin Flavored Clif bars to help with our Thanksgiving Celebration

Sunflower Seeds

Tea.  Over one hundred bags of tea.  Yes.  I can see the irony.  

Really I just wanted to tell you all that I'm packing a frying pan.  Cause that's cool.

What else, what else, what else...Oh!  I made one rather large purchase in preparation for this trip...I bought my first pair of trekking sandles!  These are rather difficult to find in Indianapolis in November, and I found these in the kid section of my local Dick's Sporting Goods.  If you go shopping at Dick's in November be prepared for the many MANY burly men in flannel getting hunting supplies to shoot Bambi.  Because they will be there.  In force.  But back to my shoes.  Thank goodness for my childish feet.  I couldn't have gotten these without them:

Don't you just love the bumper toes?  And I only brought one other pair of shoes (and those only a dinky pair of flip-flops).   Please take a moment to appreciate the lightness of my packing.  No running shoes, you ask?  Nope.  The Angkor Wat Half Marathon has been bagged because of my damn knees that are still sore from the full marathon I ran on November 2nd (you didn't think I'd get through this whole post without talking about my marathon, did you?).  But, we will be going to a book festival, and possibly a photography festival, and we will be going to Siem Reap FIRST THING once I get there.  

If you don't know what Angkor Wat is, look it up.  That will be my first major site in the Bod.

Okay guys!  This is The Woman and Button Cat signing off!