Day 3 in country

So it is the beginning of Day 3.  I'm up earlier than I would like, but it gives me time to reflect on Day 2.  I had a great post for you guys, pictures, witty comments, all that good stuff.  Then I somehow lost/accidentally deleted it.  My bad!  


Yesterday started with me moving rooms.  My key hated the lock, or the lock hated the key, but either way they refused to work together.  The hotel's solution: new room.  Whatever works I guess.  But I was excited, because the view is so much better in the new room!

Old view.  Not too bad, but...

Here's the new view!  Beautiful wat, palm trees, much better!  Until this morning.  But more on that later.
After my room switch, I went out to explore.  I tried to check in at the Embassy, but apparently you have to make an appointment, so I never made it inside.  After that failed attempt, it was off to the Central Market.




It was one of the coolest places I have ever been, and I don't mean the temperature.  It was hot as balls in there, but everywhere you looked, there was stuff, just tons and tons of stuff.  I will have to do a whole separate post on it, I was too amazed to take any good pictures.  I had to steal this one of the outside, thanks Phnom Penh Hotels!  But I did manage to get: an alarm clock, a surge protector, head phones, speakers for my computer, hangers, 20 Valium, a beautiful dragon fruit, and an orange, all for $30.  The Valium was for my shoulder, shooting that machine gun banged it up really good, I have a bruise and everything!

Then Peter, my tuk tuk driver for the day took me out to lunch by the Tongle Sap River.  We tried to go to Friends, a restaurant that takes the street kids and teaches them how to cook, but it was closed for the holiday.  No one can explain what holiday it is, but it's a big one, because a lot of the city is closed down because of it.  After lunch, we drove around, and I was able to see more of my new home.  I really do love it here.  From the constant meep meep of the moto horns, the monks I see almost everywhere, and I saw an elephant today!

So far, except for the chanting of the monks that woke me up at 530am, I love it here.  And it just feels like this is where I am supposed to be.  (Feel free to remind me of that when I am homesick, and doubting my decision.)

It seems that the chanting is over, so I am going to try and get a few more hours of sleep...

I just shot a machine gun

It's 4 pm here in Phnom Pehn.  I have been here for almost 5 hours now, and I love it.  Instead of waxing poetic about the beauty and the sorrow, I'm just going to show you some of my pictures from my first day.  Then after things settle, I'll explain more.  But I really did just shoot a machine gun.

Waving goodbye to Taipei.

There has been massive flooding in Cambodia due to the monsoons.  Some of the wats (Buddhist temples) up by Angkor have has to be evacuated.

My first tuk tuk ride, and my new best friend here, Taran.

There are IKEAs everywhere, but somehow I think this one is different from the Denver mega store...

Yep, my entire bathroom is a shower.  Think of the multitasking!!

Flat screen baby! Can someone explain how I got a better TV by moving to a third world country...

On my way to the Killing Fields Museum

Pretty sure this is a cemetery

German technology, Cambodian brewed.  I wonder if they do tours like the Coors factory.

The Killing Fields.

First Cambodian beer

First Cambodian meal

First monsoon storm.

First time shooting a gun, ever.

And that was just day one...

Kinda halfway there...

So I've made it to LA.  I was actually pretty proud of myself, I waited til I was on the plane to start crying.  Thankfully, I had Mr. with me, he really is a great therapy dog, and a very calming influence.  Got especially teary as we passed over Denver, I'm really going to miss the people and the city.

I love window seats when I fly.  I like to look out, imagine what people are doing in the towns I pass over.  We passed over the Grand Canyon, and it was just so lovely.  And huge, but mostly lovely.  And it made me cry again (i cried a lot today, I don't even know why I bothered to put any makeup on.)  I realized I wouldn't see landscape like it for a long time.  I wouldn't see mountains, or huge canyons, or deserts.  But then I thought about what I would see.  Beautiful temples, rice fields, beaches, and a whole new continent.  But I will miss views like this.

(Someone really should have cleaned my window.  I mean really!!)
So now I am hanging out in Santa Monica, dreading saying good bye to Mr.  Apparently he doesn't want to say goodbye either...

He did give me a present.  He hid one of his bones in my suitcase.  It made me cry, again.  Sweet baby Jesus, I am going to miss that little guy!  I really hope that Eva knows she is going to have to teach him how to Skype....

How did I get here?

It's 8:30 in the morning, September 26th.  Today is the day I leave everything I know behind, and move to Cambodia.  And right now, I have that Talking Heads song running through my head, ignoring the part about my beautiful wife, because that doesn't really apply to me, but focusing on the How did I get here.  The answer: Starbucks. Let me explain.

It was about a year and half ago, and I was working at the Body Shop.  Mostly for the discount, because anyone can tell you I spent way more than I ever made there.  I was on my way into work, and stopped at the Colfax Starbucks drive through.  I was already in a fairly bad mood, pretty common back then, when the car in front of me decided it wasn't close enough to the speaker, so it backed up.  To clarify, it reversed in 5th gear, and almost hit me.  Almost.  And that was enough to really piss me off and ruin my day.  I mean really, how rude??  And that was my mood when I headed into work that day.  Stupid car in front of me, stupid $5 coffee drink doesn't taste as good, stupid mall, just stupid everything.  And then I met the girls.

The Body Shop is working with ECPAT and the Somaly Mam foundation to help end human trafficking for women and minors.  We sell lotion, portions of the profits go to these groups.  This day, this super horrible, no good, rotten day (at least in my mind,) 7 of the survivors came into the store to say thank you.  And it changed my life.  Here were these amazing women, who had been through hell and back, saying thank you.  And it made me cry.  When I taught Geography, we had done a unit on human trafficking, so I knew a little of what they had been through, even though I am pretty sure my inkling of their experience was probably their best day.  And here I am, bawling, and they hugged me, told me it was ok, and not to cry sister, which made it worse really, and something just clicked.  Here I am, upset about someone ALMOST hitting my car in the Starbucks drive thru, letting it ruin my day really, when there are some really horrible things happening in the rest of the world.  So I started thinking, and looking around, and evaluating my life.  I didn't really like what I saw.

I wasn't happy, I didn't like either of my dead end jobs, going back to teaching wasn't looking good with all the layoffs and budget cutbacks.  I wasn't fulfilled, was making a ton of bad decisions, and really just existing, not living.  So I decided, why not go help people who need it, while I figure my own shit out.  I don't have kids, a car or house payment, both dead end jobs will be there when I come back, why not? Which brings us to today.

And I am scared shitless.  Ready for the adventure, but scared shitless.  In the past few weeks, I have watched a lifetime of crap go away.  Old lessons for textbooks that don't exist anymore, clothes I haven't worn for years, crappy fake jewelry, just a lot of crap.  And it felt great to purge, realize it was just unnecessary crap, but at the same time, it was my crap, and now I don't have it.  I now can fit everything I own into two suitcases and a steamer trunk.  And I am moving to Cambodia.  Alone.  I am scared, excited, terrified, worried.  I know once the journey begins, it will be amazing, and more than I could have ever hoped for, but right now, I am in the what the hell was I thinking, and how come none of you people really tried to stop me???

And with that, I am going to get ready, go to breakfast with a friend, say goodbye to Denver, and get on a plane.