My interview was at the end of my working day. I hadn’t thought much of it.

At about 4pm I asked my kids in the centre to look at the radio interview request email so they could explain to me where exactly the station was. Four of them read the email and then looked me up and down and laughed.

“You can’t go dressed like that”

“Why not? It is radio, no one can see me”

“Don’t you know who Soma Norodom is?”

“Ummm, the lady who is interviewing me?”

“Think about it. What’s the name of the main road here, the really big one”

“Norodom”

Oh shit! She is Princess Soma Norodom.

Panic as I start running around the centre knowing I don’t have time to go home and change. I wash my face and take a clean ‘Tiny Toones’ work t-shirt. It’s the best I can do. I wasn’t nervous before. Now I am terrified. The segment is ‘Emerging Female Leaders in Cambodia. The Princess wants to interview me?

An hour passes of banter back and forth between Soma and I (yes we are on first name basis now) and we totally forget we are live until question time and people call in – and they did. We had an absolute blast. We discussed everything from ex-pat life in Cambodia, learning Khmer language, working with street kids, children’s rights and my upcoming TEDx talk. She is my age and one very cool and very smart lady. She is also nicknamed ‘The Rebel Princess.’

Later the same year I was asked to interview Soma for WuPP (What’s up Phnom Penh) magazine. She still tells people it was her favourite interview.