I've been back in the U.S. for a few days now. And it's fairly strange being back actually. For the past month I haven't written much (sorry about that!) because I've been finishing up classes with students, independent work projects, and trying to organize some things for the wedding too... you know all the fun stuff - printing wedding invitations, finding a location to actually reserve for the wedding (I guess most people start planning those kinds of things WELL BEYOND 3 months before the wedding. Who would've thought! ;) So we're jumping on board & trying to make up for lost time.
I'm happy to say that we were able to print all the invitations & reserve a wedding venue before we left Cambodia, so now we can officially start inviting our beloved crew to a wedding that can exist somewhere other than on the side of the road (Hey! They do it all the time in Phnom Penh by the way! How convenient is that? No need to rent out a facility for way too much money - just throw up a tent in the middle of the street and you're good! Worried about blocking off the entrances to people's homes? Don't be! They can just walk through your tented wedding party to get home - everyone works around it ;)
In Cambodian spirit, I have considered where I might possibly put up a tent on my street to invite everyone to huddle under for an E. Chestnut Street wedding, but I do recall us trying to make-shift a fire pit in our backyard a few years ago to have a barbeque and for some reason the neighbors (and police) didn't like that so much. Too many regulations & protocalls around here... so, unfortunately, the firepit and tent blocking off the street just won't be embraced here in the States as they are in other countries. Hmmm. There goes that idea.
We have chosen a lovely place to have the wedding though. I won't spoil it for you ahead of time ;) Wear your sandals & outdoor attire - it might be a little warm out there!
So yes, things like this have kept me a little busy during my last moments in Cambodia. Plus saying goodbye to students, and that's never any fun... especially when my little 8 & 9 year old bunch are asking me, "do you think any of your other students are as SAD as we are?" And then when it's time for me to leave they come and stand out in the street to continue waving to me as I drive off with Mr. Dat in my tuk tuk. It kind of felt surreal actually, like a scene from a movie. And then after saying goodbye to students, there's our friends we're leaving behind in town (sorry to leave you there Tommie & James! Enjoy the rainy season coming up while you're walking down the street knee-high in water to get to work! I'll be thinking of you guys ;)
Mr. Seng helped us pack up the tuk tuk which would have seemed to be MUCH beyond its capacity to an outsider, but for those of us in Phnom Penh who are continually amazed at the amounts of people & stuff a little tuk tuk can hold, it wasn't entirely surprising. Then Noman, Seng, and I headed off to the airport with ridiculous amounts of luggage in tow - HOW did we acquire all this stuff? That's all I want to know... HOW? How is it possible? What on earth did we bring back with us?
Folks at the Phnom Penh airport let us get by with more than other countries would have I'm sure - in terms of weight/amount of carry on bags, etc. But we made it through, about 30-ish hours back home via South Korea and Washington, D.C.
I sat by an elderly Cambodian woman on the long flight from Korea to the U.S. and she chatted with me in Khmer (of which I understood about 5%, but I'm very good at smiling and listening anyway) and I helped her fill out her customs forms since she didn't speak or read any English. She even gave me a little jasmine flower wreath which she carefully wrapped up and watered before we got off the plane :) And she wanted me to pay particular attention to something about THREE... Of course, since I don't speak Khmer, I left it to my imagination. The jasmine wreath will stay alive for 3 weeks? 3 months? I should water it 3 times a day? I'm not really sure, but I did understand the THREE part - so that's good ;)
All the flights went smoothly. The questioning in customs went relatively smoothly as well - we only spent a couple of hours more than everyone else undergoing background checks, etc.
And voila! I'm back in Charlotte before I know it. The 45 minute ride from the airport to my house was a little jarring since I haven't been in a car for 6 months and am not used to travelling over 5 mph in my tuk tuk. I was literally holding onto the door handle bracing myself as we drove around the curvy, mountain roads back to Stanley.
And OF COURSE we had to stop and grab a biscuit on the way home! :) Ahhhh, biscuits!!! I've missed you biscuits. And cheese. And bagels. And stoves with more than 1 burner. And toasters! I toasted a piece of bread in about 1 minute and a half yesterday and was almost giddy ;) Toasters are fantastic!
I've actually eaten SO MUCH since I got back that my stomach is completely messed up. I'm not used to the food here, which is pretty surprising! I didn't think I'd have to RE-adjust back to American food. So my stomach is currently taking a beating on that. Nonetheless, I still haven't slowed down on putting away any food though. Noman's mom made pertis (I have no clue how to spell that, but they are like little heavenly samosa type things) and I was so entranced with eating them ALL as quickly as possible that I kind of forgot to socialize during the meal. When you have a plate of pertis all to yourself, you've just got to eat them as fast as you can! I'm pretty sure that's a golden rule.
And my mom and sister made mashed potatoes, and my dad made me the BIGGEST strawberry shortcake I've ever seen in my entire life! And I ate the whole thing with just mounds of whipped cream (Sorry stomach! I HAD to!).
So farewell Cambodia.
I will miss you tuk tuk.
I will miss you street 136.
I will (not) miss you scorching hot, humid, sweating every second, weather.
I will miss your smiling faces and waves and laid back style.
I will miss you geccos everywhere sneaking into my apartment.
I will miss you Europe Guesthouse.
I will miss you Blue Pumpkin.
But you never know... I may make it back before you know it ;)
