Coming home from Asia 4/24/2001

I'm writing this last, short email from the international airport in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. The trip here has been extremely interesting. We've learned a lot about the Cambodian education system here and how to help out in future projects. We were flown up to the "model" school by a chartered Cambodian Air Force helicopter. Sounds impressive, but, in reality, it was a really run down old Russian chopper with the leaky fuel tank which was stored in the cabin with us. You could see through the cracks on the helicopter floor and a couple entries had no doors. It ended up being a good way to take photographs of the countryside below, thought! This school was in the rural countryside and was interesting. They have computers and a satelight internet connection donated by supporters of a Japanese foundation. We weren't impressed with the organization and therefore probably won't partner with them to build their libraries, but ended up bonding with a couple of the reporters there, one of which, who is the foreign correspondant for The Washington Post, ended up growing up a few miles frommy house and is a Campolindo graduate a few years behind me. We pal'ed around with him even when we returned to Phnom Pehn. He insisted taking us to the FCC, so we could later say we were truely guests of a foreign correspondant at the Foreign Correspondance Club.

Anyway, I'm on my way to Bangkok now, and tomorrow to San Francisco. The pictures will be available to anyone who expresses interest.