Week Two

Our first weekend in Cambodia took us to a coastal town called Kep, which was interesting because it’s where the mountain meets the sea. They did not have white sand and clear water, but rather dirt beaches and murky water. The view was still amazing and even though the beaches were not what we had expected, there was a zen feeling from the environment. We stayed at a beach house owned by the Secretary General himself and the view from his backyard by the pool out towards the sea was pretty amazing. It’s definitely a place I would like to spend more time after tennis is over. Then Saturday came and we all headed out towards Rabbit Island which was 15 minutes out from his place. Rabbit Island is definitely the place you want hang out and chill if you’re ever near Kep. Kenny, Pun, and Rithi (Secretary General) took his boat out and I got to take a jet ski! My first time was pretty interesting because after awhile my right arm got pretty tired and I started swerving to the right, but it was still a blast. Rabbit Island is what you would imagine if you were thinking about a tropical getaway with white sand and clear ocean water. The lack of cords to download pictures from our camera is holding us back from sharing these great moments and places on this trip, but I’ve been snapping pictures here and there from my phone.

The last day in Kep we went to visit the local orphanage/school to hang out with the kids, hit some tennis, and give them school supplies. The tennis courts were just concrete slab made for basketball with faded boundary lines and two decent nets for two mini courts. The racquets they had were not even half as good as the first racquet I owned when I started tennis. This was a pretty deep moment for me, seeing what little that had to work with. We grab some of the racquets laying on ground that was in poor condition and starting rallying with the kids. You would not believe the talent some of these kids possess! Given the opportunity, there is no doubt in my mind that they will one day represent Cambodia. Pun and I are not just here to play tennis, we’re here to help this federation grow and let people know this country is serious about this sport. If we’re able to do this I think that grants, sponsors, and donations will come in and hopefully give kids at orphanages all around an opportunity through tennis like we we’re given growing up. We got done hitting with the kids, handed them out school supplies. Some thanked us in French some in Cambodia. When we get back, Pun and I are definitely going to look into getting tennis equipment for those aspiring talented tennis players and school supplies for those smart children.

Training is every day, morning and afternoon. Conditioning on the track is two times a week. So the start of the week rolls through and we started off on the track at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. The stadium is a pretty cool and historic site in the city to visit. Our first day was not tough; we just had our 2 miles timed. Pun cruised through his 2 miles pretty quickly in 12 minutes and me in 13 minutes, which was pretty good for someone to does not like to run.  Other exercise at the stadium that we’ve done is running up and down the step around the stadium. If you haven’t seen the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh you can google it to get a better picture. We head back to the training center where we are staying and rest or a couple hours and then the afternoon we have hitting practice. We do a lot of agility and footwork drills on the court that are really intense but beneficial. We’ve been learning new hitting drills here as well that are really tough, especially in the heat and humidity. It’s been tough adjusting to the conditions here but Pun and I feel we are getting better every day.

As for coping with daily life here, things are going good. Traffic is still an adventure every time we leave the training center. We get the minor stomach aches from the food and head ache from the heat after practice, but they have a pharmacy here on site which is very helpful. Pun and I have our own dirty laundry corner! We were running out of clothes to wear after our first week so we asked the front desk at the resort where they wash and dry clothes, only to find out that they only use washers here and that clothes are dried outside. Still a lot to learn here! It’s tough when you want to see a lot of things and just relax, but we’re here to play tennis so we don’t get a lot of free time. We do get Sundays off so I’m hoping for an adventure of some sort. That pretty much sums up week 2 for us here, nothing too exciting going on. Hope all is going well back home!