"My favorite Raider moment was a little over a year ago and nearly 8,000 miles away. I was on holiday in Southeast Asia coming from Indonesia trekking back to my then home of Cambodia.
"On my way back, I stopped over in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When I finally got off the plane, to my very pleasant and bewildered surprise my eyes met another AirAsia plane only this one was cloaked in full Raider regalia. My heart nearly skipped a beat, and I literally began jumping up and down and screaming.
"Being a foreigner in a foreign land for such an extended time as I was when I lived in Cambodia can sometimes get so isolating that any ounce of familiarity would make me head over heels. This experience was by any means no exception. I was the only American on that flight, and befriended some passengers from Bangladesh who were sitting next to me. I can only laugh now when I reminisce about their response to my reaction to seeing what, to them, was a mere airplane. They repeatedly asked me if I was okay, but assured them that I was actually really happy.
"At that moment, I was resplendent with layers upon layers of pride, passion, and victory! Sitting boldly right in front of me was the sport not only from my country, but also my hometown team, at that! I couldn’t wait to get back to my students in Cambodia to share another part of my culture with them. I could now make more sense of ‘American football’ and introduce some new English terms in a fun way."
- Raiderette Jalina