I just returned to Cambodia after a whirlwind 5 week tour of America. And while the visit was amazing, it didn't feel like home anymore. Strange.
I feel like I was able to see the best of what America had to offer: the mountains in Colorado, the beaches in South Carolina, a baseball game, boozy milkshakes, New York City, Chicago, and the capitol. And it was all wonderful. Catching up with friends I hadn't seen in years, in some cases decades, finally getting in touch with long lost relatives, SHOPPING! But at the same time, I felt like I didn't fit in anymore. And I caught myself saying "Well, in Cambodia..." almost every other sentence. I guess I truly am an expat now. People would ask when I was coming back, and I had no answer for them.
What I do know is that I am ready to try someplace new. Cambodia has been an amazing home for the past 2 years, but I am ready for more. (More money being a huge part of my decision....) So I am making the move to Vietnam. Da Nang specifically. The idea of working less and living by the beach really appeals to me for some reason... The good news is that I will be able to visit fairly frequently to get a new visa, so I will still be able to keep in touch with everyone I have met here, and I will be able to meet a whole new set of people in Nam. (Mostly I am moving there so that I can sit at a bar and say "I just got back from Nam, and you don't know what it was like man, you just don't know..." in a tortured voice...)
So for now I am still in the Bodge, tying up loose ends, purging myself of a lot of stuff, again, and saying good bye to some amazing friends. The hardest part is going to be telling the girls that I won't be working with them anymore, I expect lots of tears on that day. But I am excited for a new chapter and adventure to begin, and will have tons of new fodder for a new blog! Because, let's be honest, there is going to be a bunch of new strange stuff to write about from there. Like the fact that they eat dog...
I feel like I was able to see the best of what America had to offer: the mountains in Colorado, the beaches in South Carolina, a baseball game, boozy milkshakes, New York City, Chicago, and the capitol. And it was all wonderful. Catching up with friends I hadn't seen in years, in some cases decades, finally getting in touch with long lost relatives, SHOPPING! But at the same time, I felt like I didn't fit in anymore. And I caught myself saying "Well, in Cambodia..." almost every other sentence. I guess I truly am an expat now. People would ask when I was coming back, and I had no answer for them.
What I do know is that I am ready to try someplace new. Cambodia has been an amazing home for the past 2 years, but I am ready for more. (More money being a huge part of my decision....) So I am making the move to Vietnam. Da Nang specifically. The idea of working less and living by the beach really appeals to me for some reason... The good news is that I will be able to visit fairly frequently to get a new visa, so I will still be able to keep in touch with everyone I have met here, and I will be able to meet a whole new set of people in Nam. (Mostly I am moving there so that I can sit at a bar and say "I just got back from Nam, and you don't know what it was like man, you just don't know..." in a tortured voice...)
So for now I am still in the Bodge, tying up loose ends, purging myself of a lot of stuff, again, and saying good bye to some amazing friends. The hardest part is going to be telling the girls that I won't be working with them anymore, I expect lots of tears on that day. But I am excited for a new chapter and adventure to begin, and will have tons of new fodder for a new blog! Because, let's be honest, there is going to be a bunch of new strange stuff to write about from there. Like the fact that they eat dog...
