About Me

This is just a little introduction to me, detailing what I’m doing, what I’ve done, and what I hope to do in the future!

Growing up in a tiny village in Devon, UK, saw me lead a relatively sheltered, if adventurous, childhood. Traveling with my family from a young age quickly ensured my fascination with other cultures, fuelling my desires to see more of the world and experience some new things. At the age of 24, I have visited every continent besides South America and Antarctica, and spent a total of a year living in Cambodia.

After completing my Masters by Research at the University of Warwick, UK, in History, I have now moved out to Cambodia. This is my fifth visit to this wonderful country and I intend it to be the longest. I have been passionate about Cambodia and it’s people since 2006 when I first visited on a school trip. The subject of my Masters thesis was gender roles during the Khmer Rouge, allowing me to gain a more thorough understanding of this country’s recent, tragic history. The research necessary for this project saw me journeying to Yale University, New Haven, USA where I was allowed full access to a fantastic oral history archive called Khmer Legacies.

My love of the country developed intensely in 2009 during a seven month volunteer programme through Outreach International , a small British agency with whom I have twice come to Cambodia to volunteer. Now I am back at the orphanage where I worked in 2009 and have a one year contract as an English teacher at the school within the orphanage compound.

When I’m back in the UK I enjoy cycling, horse riding, surfing, and dancing. In fact I enjoy cycling so much that I’ve cycled the length of the UK …. twice! I daren’t brave the roads in Cambodia on a high speed bike, horses here are seen as work animals, the coastline lacks sufficient swell, and my previously loved dance lessons do not fit into my teaching schedule this time. Looks like I’ll have to find some more appropriate South East Asian hobbies.