I realized something last night. Due to so many stinking holidays in May and a Peace Corps training Hal and I were able to be away from site for a week and two days without having take vacation days. This is the longest we've been away from site other than our Scotland vacation. On average we're at site for two weeks in a row and then on the weekend we leave for a day or two into our provincial town or Siem Reap to stock up on food supplies and western goodness. So...we were away for a long time.
This made me finally realize that our village notices when we're gone. When we come back to site we often walk up the road to our house....the downside to hitch hiking is that they won't take you directly to your door. So we see people when we leave site and when we come back. We always get asked "where do you go" and when we come back we get asked "where do you come from" Well, this time was a little different. We didn't see any of the normal people who ask after us on our way out of town, and because it was so hot we took a taxi back to site, and kind of ended up sneaking back into site.
Well the night we came back I rode my bike to my co-teacher's private school to teach my private class (yes, I have it back finally. Yay!) and the question I got asked wasn't the normal "where do you go?" It was, "where do you come from?" I had more than one person ask me where I had come from. It struck me: they noticed I was gone, and now they noticed that I was back.
It's crazy how after living here for over 7 months a place like this really can feel like home. We were gone for just over a week and I was dying to go back to site, be in my own space, and be "home". Even though sometimes it can be maddening living in Cambodia, it really is, as a friend's blog says something like: it's the best country you'll come to love, but it will break your heart. More like the heat will break your heart.
P.s. I'm pretty sure I played chicken with a lady on a moto for about 10 terrifying seconds today.
This made me finally realize that our village notices when we're gone. When we come back to site we often walk up the road to our house....the downside to hitch hiking is that they won't take you directly to your door. So we see people when we leave site and when we come back. We always get asked "where do you go" and when we come back we get asked "where do you come from" Well, this time was a little different. We didn't see any of the normal people who ask after us on our way out of town, and because it was so hot we took a taxi back to site, and kind of ended up sneaking back into site.
Well the night we came back I rode my bike to my co-teacher's private school to teach my private class (yes, I have it back finally. Yay!) and the question I got asked wasn't the normal "where do you go?" It was, "where do you come from?" I had more than one person ask me where I had come from. It struck me: they noticed I was gone, and now they noticed that I was back.
It's crazy how after living here for over 7 months a place like this really can feel like home. We were gone for just over a week and I was dying to go back to site, be in my own space, and be "home". Even though sometimes it can be maddening living in Cambodia, it really is, as a friend's blog says something like: it's the best country you'll come to love, but it will break your heart. More like the heat will break your heart.
P.s. I'm pretty sure I played chicken with a lady on a moto for about 10 terrifying seconds today.
2 comments:
I think it's pretty great that you've come to think of your site as home =-)
I think it says a lot that they notice when you are gone.
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