thoughts of kampuchea

I found out that I prefer:



Palm trees TO skyscrapers



50 cent street food that might not be completely up to modern world sanitation standards but is served with a HUGE, sincere smile TO $12 lunches where everything is perfectly clean and the person serving you doesn’t even look into your eyes much less give you a smile worthy of the Guinness book of world records



Haggling for ten minutes over paying $1.50 for that t-shirt rather than $2 TO paying $20 for the same t-shirt made in the same factory by the same beautiful brown hands



Tiny bathrooms with the shower and the toilet and the sink practically touching and everything getting wet when you shower TO large, ‘clean,’ unfriendly rooms where everything is perfect



Monsoons that cause the streets to flood and leave everyone stranded wherever they are right at that moment (such an adventure) TO all day drizzles



Magical smiles that light up your soul paired with happy ‘Sousdays’ that linger for minutes everywhere you go TO mandatory thin smiles and greetings that are meaningless and forgotten



Strangers offering you directions or anything that you need when they don’t even speak the same language but somehow that mix of broken English, bits of Khmer, and a lot of gestures gets you there TO strangers who do not even make eye contact on the street, the train, or at a restaurant



Rows of endless chaos of fruits, vegetables, smelly meats, breads, grains, insects, and who knows what else TO perfectly organized and labeled aisles crowded with carts overflowing with food, much of which will eventually rot and be wasted



I don’t know, maybe it’s just me

UPDATE...

sorry I am not very good at blogging :)
Just wanted to fill anyone in who doesn't know....
I am now in Melbourne. Not by choice :)
My heart is still 100% in Cambodia and I DID NOT WANT to leave, but it was a necessity. Mary and I are both going to focus on working here for awhile, maybe 6-8 months so that we can support ourselves in Cambodia for longer. Things were more expensive than we had originally anticipated and we did not have sufficient funds to live there unemployed for a year like we were hoping. BUT...we learned a TON, built amazing, life-long relationships, fell in love with the country and the people that make it what it is.
There is no question...I will go back :) I don't have an exact date, but I do have plans, ideas, dreams, and they will happen!
Please keep in touch, I will try to be more diligent about blogging now that we have wifi in the house we are living in. Found an amazing place to live after about a week of wasting money on hotels and hostels... :( It is cozy and the couple we live with are super fun, laid back, rock climbers, very easy to get along with. The ocean is a two minute walk away :) I will post pics soon.
Love you all! Please pray that we will find the perfect jobs soon! So we can get back to Cambodia soon!!! :)