Donating Plasma

The other night Hal and I were talking about an event this weekend. Ernst & Young has rented out Sundance Ski Resort for everyone in Hal's program, and this converstion happened:

"I don't have any snow pants. I can't snow shoe in jeans."
-"No, your pants will get all wet. Wait, don't I have some gaiters?"
"Didn't you buy them like a month ago with your plasma money?"
-"Yeah, I have no idea where they are."
"Well that was a useful $30"
-"I'm going to donate plasma all my life to buy things I want."
"But once you're done with school we'll make more money."
-"We'll be saving for a house and real stuff though. I need this to get things I want."

It was an adjustment coming home from Cambodia and having access to so much again. It was hard not to spend our savings away, especially because we relied on that the first month we were back home.

Now that we're living on one income, money can be really really tight. So I made a deal with Hal to save our savings. Donate plasma (or do anything else on the side to make money) and you can use the money for whatever you want.

I loved this post where Jamie from The CP talked about how no one "donates" plasma. Students sell their plasma to afford live. True That
Originally he started donating to save up for the gun he really wanted. Now I know how much he really wanted that gun since he hasn't put any of his money aside for it. Sometimes he buys things when he's in the chair for an hour donating the plasma. I may think some of his purchases are dumb, but I don't question them because it's his money to spend on whatever. (I was real glad he returned that holster though)
But guys, guess what. Hal's really sweet with his plasma money and has bought me little presents with it so I can have new things too. Did your heart just melt? Because mine did when he pulled my most recent present from underneath his shirt (nice wrapping, huh?).

He's been donating for a few months now, and just works it into his schedule to donate twice a week. After getting sick the first time he figured out you have to eat a lot of protien before and after donating to keep your body healthy. Honestly, even though it's not for me, I'm so grateful that he takes the time out of his crazy busy schedule to donate his plasma because it allows him to have fun with what he buys which makes me happy, and plasma is used for research and to make medicines which makes the world happy.

So thanks babe, thanks for being so dedicated and saving our savings.

Did you have to donate during your college years? What are your thoughts on donating plasma?

6 Months Back Home

Hal and I have been home from Cambodia for almost exactly 6 months now. Hard to believe we've been home that long.

In the 6 months we've been home we've gone from this:

To This:

We have had the snowiest winter here in Utah that anyone can remember. I've been feeling really cooped up with all of this snow, so last weekeend when we had a big snow storm come through and it literally didn't stop snowing for about 10 hours straight and dumped over a foot I decided to just enjoy it.

Hal's parents were coming home from a cruise so we decided to be nice and shovel their driveway and sidewalks for them, with just a bit of playing in the snow.

Above is the fresh snow on the driveway, and below is the piled up snow that hasn't melted away.

One of the biggest adjustments has definitely been the weather. Hal has been bundling up with thermals while I've been toughing it out, trying to get my body to readjust to the cold.

As much as I hated the humditiy and the heat while I lived in Cambodia. It's days like these, filled with endless cold and inversion that I miss that heat for half a second before I remember the lack of AC and endless sweating.

I think I'll take the snow.

Where is Your Sense of Adventure?

In my last post I said one of my favorite things about my time in Cambodia was the sense of adventure that we, and all of the other volunteers had. Oh it's going to take us about 15 hours and at least 2 buses, a taxi ride, and a tuk tuk ride to get to the beach? Count me in! Bike 32k to your site because you're making salsa? I'm there!

We would constantly go out of our way to see each other and to plan events so keep ourselves motivated when we were in a lull at our sites.

I didn't write about it in the post, but last week when I went to the Cambodian documentary at Sundance I went alone.

I didn't really want to go alone. I asked 6 people if they wanted to go with me. 6. I know people have lives and plans and things go wrong all the time, but 6 people? Honestly, I was really upset about it.  It made me feel like the biggest loser in the world who couldn't get friends, family, or even her husband to go with her. Maybe it shouldn't have made me fell that way, but it did. It made me think about how my friends in Cambodia would have gone with me in a heartbeat.

It made me wonder, when people stopped going after adventure? Is it better to have to drive home late at night, or have a wonderful experience? What's worth it? Since being back I've noticed how most Americans have no sense of adventure. It's all about the ease of the way and convenience.

That. Is. Lame.

I went alone. I didn't have tickets, I stood in the wait line. I met the sweetest Japanese and Vietnamese women. I also met a really nice guy behind me in line. Everyone in the wait line got tickets and there were seats left over. I happened to sit next to a nice guy and his Vietnamese girlfriend. They were super nice and we talked all about Vietnam and Cambodia and traffic accidents and the weather. I was so lucky to sit behind some Cambodian women. I heard them speaking Khmer and turned around and just asked her in Khmer if she speaks Khmer. She ended up being from MY province. She knew the PC volunteer in her town!

I met the director and got information from her to help PC volunteers back in Cambodia. She was so nice and sweet.

Now I didn't get home until after midnight and I had to drive down the canyon late at night. I had to get up and go to work the next day. Would I take the sleep and not having to drive over the experience?

NEVER.

Honestly, it's not always easy. Sometimes you just want to go home, because you deserve a relaxing night of "me" time. But next time, think about that person who asked you to go. Think about me and how I had no one to go with, and share that amazing experience with. That's how relationships grow, through shared experiences.

So, are you going to take comfort over adventure? Is the experience worth the sacrifice? Are you going to seek out adventure?



Let me tell you something though, it's always worth it. Always.

Since We've Been Back

Since we've been back...

• We've indulged in Ikea a little too much. The downfall of living close, but our house is finally furnished.
• We finally have our own place.
• Hal started his grueling program and I became an "accounting program widow," as they call us.
• I started my new job
• We bought our first ever nice tv (Hal justified it as a school expense since he can use it as another computer monitor)
• We used a dishwasher for the first time in a year and a half
• We dried our clothes for the first time in a year and a half
• We celebrated 4 years of Marriage
• We had an amazing getaway for our anniversary
• We went on a beautiful fall hike
• I went to see our newest tiny baby niece in Colorado
• I went to Mesa Verde National Park and saw ancient cliff dwellings (More on that soon)
• We drove in snow for the first time in what seems like forever
• Oh, we drove a car for the first time in what seems like forever
• We oggled over clothes and furniture and gadgets and lots of expensive things we can't afford, but still love to oggle at since we haven't seen them to oggle over in a long time.
• We endlessly say "This costs how much? I Cambodia I could get that for $2!"
• Hal had to finally put on clothes and stop wearing his kroma around the house, because it got too cold.
• We use our kitty as a heater when our apartment gets cold.
• We've relished living in the land of plenty
• We've missed Cambodia
• I've started dreaming in Khmer

Things we've eaten:

• Acorn squash quesadillas
• Spaghetti squash as spaghetti with homemade sauce and turkey meatballs
• Tomato Basil Bisque
• Parson's (My favorite bakery) sugar cookies
• Kneader's raspberry bread pudding
• Homemade cinnamon rolls
• Yummy Pesto Chicken
• Homemade Tacos for days
• Lots of Halloween candy
• Pop that doesn't taste as good with all that nasty crap they only put in it, in America
• Homemade tortillas MMMMMMM

I think we're finally adjusted to living back in America. I think the final signal is when you stop caring about food as much. As a PCV food involves so much of your life. Making something yourself so you don't have to eat their icky icky food, gagging down some fishy fishness with plain rice while endlessly day dreaming of western food, and gorging yourself when you go into town. Food in town, and food received in packages is a big deal. When coming home you forget for a bit that you're kind of going to have an endless supply of anything you want, so you gorge yourself and you stock up, and you race to your favorite restaurants, or to make your favorite meals. Letting go of that food obsession is what finally signaled to me that we're real Americans again, and we're here to stay.

Why is Working Out So Hard?

Does anyone actually enjoy working out? Those people, who claim they're addicted to working out, are they just big, non fat liars?

I've never been someone who loves to work out. I get all excited for a minute and then I think, wait that means I have to stop watching 30 Rock and get off the couch? That's a deal breaker ladies. I'll do it tomorrow.

I'm a big fan of accidentally working out. In Peace Corps I had to ride my bike or walk everywhere. We were too poor to pay for that transportation stuff all the time. I rode my bike pretty much every day. My legs were starting to look awesome thanks to that uphill ride to school. In my job before Peace Corps I had a lot of accidental exercise. I ran errands and carried heavy things and did a ton of walking.

Well now that I have a desk job I'm not getting much accidental exercise. And food here is fattening and delicious, unlike food in Cambodia. Since I've been back I've noticed a bit more junk in the trunk. But seriously, my butt has soaked up everything I've been eating. I looked up exercises for my derriere, but (pun not intended) I still butt(...ok, pun intended) up against my lack of motivation.

So my question...

How in the world do you get yourself motivated enough to work out, by yourself?

I'm too poor for a gym membership and I hate running (side question...how does one start to like running instead of finding it excruciatingly boring?)

I've always loved yoga and used it to it all the time, but then we went to a hot sweaty place where it would have been like doing bikram yoga all the time, so that just didn't happen.

How do you get back into the swing of things?

I need some advice. I need some motivation. I need my pants to fit normal again.

Adjusting Back to America

Coming home is definitively an adjustment. Seeing all of these people you love, but aren't used to seeing; and not seeing all the people you've come to love and are used to seeing is a weird feeling. It was weird to come back and immediately have to get back to life. Hal started school less than 2 weeks after we got home, and that meant I had to find a job. It was hard to have to face such big things right away, they had seemed so far away while we were in Cambodia.

There are some things that are really hard about adjusting back to the life of luxury and wonderousness that America seems when you're living in a third world country. One thing that's hard to overcome is a sense of entitlement. When you're living in poverty in a tiny village you know you're going to go without things and you dream about all of the things you can have when you get back to America. So it's hard not to expect to just have everything your heart desires once your back. It's hard not to want everything when you see all of this amazingness you haven't had access to for so long.You forget that you still have to sacrifice, especially for the sake of your budget.

When we were first home it was totally over whelming there were so many people to see and things to do, and places to see. There was just so much stuff everywhere. Stuff in the stores, in the houses, in the closets, in the car. There were just so many options it was hard to choose. Sticker shock was intense. I'm sure people got tired of hearing "In Cambodia I could get this for $1!"

It's hard when people ask you about serving in the Peace Corps. Either you say it's good and that's the end, or you'll end up talking their ear off forever. I guess I'm kind of reserved about talking about it in real life because I feel like people will get bored of my stories from Cambodia. It's just hard to explain to someone in any way for them to understand what Cambodia and Peace Corps was like.

We have our own place for the first time in a year, and it made me realize how much I value having my own space. Many thanks to our amazing friends and family who gave us so many things and helped us get settled into our own place. Without all of you our apartment would pretty much be empty and it would be a sad place to come home to. Many thanks to our readjustment allowance which paid for our rent until I got a job, and which furnished our house thanks to ikea and craigslist. It is such a wonderful place to come home to, and that's my favorite part of being back.

I think it will still take time for it to feel like we're here in America permanently, but we're slowly getting used to life back in the states. Hopefully we've brought the good of our experiences back with us. As Hal said, he brought the "Buddhist Zen" back with him, especially on the freeway. That's one of the hardest parts, letting go of the funny things you say and do in Cambodia, but are rather inappropriate in America. It's hard to let go of those things, because it feels like you're losing parts of Cambodia. I guess it's really all about just finding that balance of taking the best of both countries and mushing them into what you love best.

Saying Goodbye Is Hard To Do

After our party we had a busy last day at site. We said goodbye to our friendlies who came to the party. My girls had their community teaching after Camp GLOW. That was a pretty big deal. They taught for like two and a half hours and they did amazing. They taught another session the next day, after I was gone.

And then they all exchanged pictures from the party and followed me to our wat (buddhist temple). We finally had to say goodbye for real.

I went home and we made sure everything was packed up and we had dinner with our host family. Our host mom had made some of our favorites. MMM she can make some good chicken.

Then we gave out the last of our gifts to our host family. To my host brother we gave him DVDs of cartoons we thought he'd like. I told him he needed to listen to them to help learn more English. To my host sister and host mom I gave makeup and nail polish, and to the family we gave them pictures we took with them over our time there. They really got a kick out of looking at the pictures. Then we surprised them with some of our Cambodian Wedding photos they didn't know we had taken.

I was real sly and asked my host sister to do my nails one last time..with her new nail polish, that I had just given her, real sly. She happily obliged, and after arguing with my host mom over the most beautiful color combination, I ended up with the most fabulous Khmer nails I could have asked for. Colored tips, glitter, and stickers? What more could a girl ask for?

 It was great hanging out with just our host family for one last night. Just the 5 of us as it was most of the time. We were off to bed for our last night in the village. I don't think either of us slept really well that night, we were too full of nervous energy.

 We were up bright and early the next morning with the taxi there to take us away from what had been our home for what seemed like a lifetime, but in fact was only 10 months. Our one toothed Yay came to say goodbye to us. She is just the quintessential Khmer grandmother and I liked her so much. I finally got her to smile and show a bit of that one tooth, the way we recognized her when we first moved there.

Our host sister came with us for the trip to Phnom Penh. She had only been there once, when she was a little girl. She had just graduated and was off to the big city. I thought it was pretty cool that our host parents trusted us enough to bring her down there, and make sure she got there safely.

Our last goodbyes were to the volunteers who came to Phnom Penh to say goodbye to us. It takes a few days to process you when you choose to leave Peace Corps, so we had two nights to visit our favorite restaurants, stock up on the last things we wanted to bring back, and to see the sweet volunteers who came to see us off.

While it was so hard to say goodbye to all of our family and friends, it was probably the most hard to say goodbye to Cambodia. Really, to say goodbye to the experience of Peace Corps and living in Cambodia. It just wiggled it's way into our hearts, and I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye yet. So instead I said I'll see you again.

Parties Are the Way to Say Goodbye

I hate goodbyes. Like seriously hate them. I kind of just keep saying oh I'll see you again before I leave, sometimes knowing I probably won't, just to avoid goodbyes. I wanted a good way to say goodbye to my village and my family, friends, and students there. What's a better way than throwing a party? We threw a party for ourselves because we wanted to introduce our family and my students to some westernness. We invited quite a few people and had a great turnout. Thanks muchly to our three closest volunteer buddies who came and partied and helped out.

We bought the a #10 can of spaghetti sauce and added some spices and cooked up some garlic bread thanks to our #10 can of powdered butter my in laws sent us. Ah the life of trying to make western food in a non western country. They don't really eat with forks much in Cambodia, so we rolled Asian style and everyone ate the spaghetti with chopsticks. Our host mom even let us pull out the fancy chopsticks we brought them from China.
I had recently bought two copies of Harry Potter #1 in Khmer. There aren't a lot of story books in Khmer, so kids don't love reading there. My girls devoured Harry Potter. They spent most of the party watching the first movie, and made sure to get the rest of the movies from me before I left. One of my presents to my co-teacher was some books to start a library at her school. I made sure to include Harry Potter #2 in Khmer.

After eating, we had to of course, take about a thousand pictures.

 I wanted to do something special for them before going away. What means special to me? Dessert. Dessert they've never had before. Cakes in Cambodia are not nearly as tasty as cake like we think of. So I made them a funfetti cake and some delicious cream cheese frosting. Man, it was the first real cake I'd had in a year and it was freaking delicious.

Then my students made me feel so loved. They showered me with gifts. The day before the party some of them asked me if I had a weight limit for the airplane, because they had a gift for me. I kept hearing them say 15 pounds. I was wondering what the heck they had bought, that was that heavy. They didn't buy something that heavy, they were just all amazing and all bought me gifts. Seriously, a teacher couldn't ask for more amazing loving students.

 And then we do only as we know how to do. We danced the night away. My girls from Camp GLOW taught everyone else how to do the macarena. It was pretty ballin.