Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Two weeks and counting
Not much news on the homefront except the countdown, which is today at two weeks. I test packed my carry on bag today and it's going to be really heavy. I'm afraid of two things as far as packing is concerned: being overweight and/or not having enough room. I will be packing Monday and Tuesday, only time will tell.
A week from Friday is the last day of classes (the 24th), and Naomi is coming from Singapore! Saturday morning we're going to go down to Sihanoukville for some R & R before I go back home. We'll be sitting on the beach Saturday afternoon, and Sunday. Sunday Lee and Michelle are coming down also. Monday and Tuesday we're going to do some adventuring on islands or a nearby National Park, and then Wednesday morning we're taking the first bus back to Phnom Penh. We'll go out to lunch and then I'll come back to the house, say goodbye to Alice and then I'm off to the airport. As I write this, that's two weeks from now, unbelievable.
I've been here almost 80 days. Here are some things I've learned:
- How to ride sidesaddle on a motorcycle with a skirt on, but without a helmet.
- How to sweat more than humanly possible.
- How to calculate when it will rain, and plan my laundry doing accordingly.
- How to see an ant in my food and decide "meh, it's unavoidable, and it has extra protein." and keep on eating.
- How to eat rice everyday, AND LOVE IT. (I love rice. Rice, rice, rice. No, seriously. Someone get me a rice cooker - ahem Scott Horowitz who gives them out free at Commerce.)
- How to catch mosquitos in my hand.
- How to use the stand up hole in the ground "toilets".
- How to bargain like my mother.
- How to understand even the most broken English.
Here is what I will gain a new appreciation for when I get back:
Cheerios + 2% milk = heaven.
Rutgers Club food. I will never complain again (not that I did much to begin with). Until we're dumping it at the end of the night, that will SERIOUSLY bother me now.
JEWISH PEOPLE. JEWISH FOOD. ANYTHING JEWISH. PLEASE.
Driving in cars.
Not having to wear a surgical mask outside because of the pollution.
Hot showers. Like whoa.
Mattresses thicker than 2 inches.
Fast internet available where I sleep.
Things I will miss:
Spending less than $5 on any given item anywhere.
Having so much time on my hands, able to read or watch movies at my leisure.
The people. My housemates: Alice, Jess, and Michelle. And also my AMAZING students.
The rain, it washes everything and it cools everything down 10 degrees.
The total lawlessness of Phnom Penh. I can do and get away with almost anything as a brang (foreigner).
Having food made for me 3x a day.
The Russian Market: the clothes I make and buy, the fresh squeezed orange juice, the DVDs for $1.50, the heat inside midday, the way all the shopkeepers make me feel like a celebrity ("Miss! Miss! You want scarves? You need pillows?")
Feeling like I'm living in the Wild West.
Looking down on tourists who spend too much on things that I can get for half of what they do.
A week from Friday is the last day of classes (the 24th), and Naomi is coming from Singapore! Saturday morning we're going to go down to Sihanoukville for some R & R before I go back home. We'll be sitting on the beach Saturday afternoon, and Sunday. Sunday Lee and Michelle are coming down also. Monday and Tuesday we're going to do some adventuring on islands or a nearby National Park, and then Wednesday morning we're taking the first bus back to Phnom Penh. We'll go out to lunch and then I'll come back to the house, say goodbye to Alice and then I'm off to the airport. As I write this, that's two weeks from now, unbelievable.
I've been here almost 80 days. Here are some things I've learned:
- How to ride sidesaddle on a motorcycle with a skirt on, but without a helmet.
- How to sweat more than humanly possible.
- How to calculate when it will rain, and plan my laundry doing accordingly.
- How to see an ant in my food and decide "meh, it's unavoidable, and it has extra protein." and keep on eating.
- How to eat rice everyday, AND LOVE IT. (I love rice. Rice, rice, rice. No, seriously. Someone get me a rice cooker - ahem Scott Horowitz who gives them out free at Commerce.)
- How to catch mosquitos in my hand.
- How to use the stand up hole in the ground "toilets".
- How to bargain like my mother.
- How to understand even the most broken English.
Here is what I will gain a new appreciation for when I get back:
Cheerios + 2% milk = heaven.
Rutgers Club food. I will never complain again (not that I did much to begin with). Until we're dumping it at the end of the night, that will SERIOUSLY bother me now.
JEWISH PEOPLE. JEWISH FOOD. ANYTHING JEWISH. PLEASE.
Driving in cars.
Not having to wear a surgical mask outside because of the pollution.
Hot showers. Like whoa.
Mattresses thicker than 2 inches.
Fast internet available where I sleep.
Things I will miss:
Spending less than $5 on any given item anywhere.
Having so much time on my hands, able to read or watch movies at my leisure.
The people. My housemates: Alice, Jess, and Michelle. And also my AMAZING students.
The rain, it washes everything and it cools everything down 10 degrees.
The total lawlessness of Phnom Penh. I can do and get away with almost anything as a brang (foreigner).
Having food made for me 3x a day.
The Russian Market: the clothes I make and buy, the fresh squeezed orange juice, the DVDs for $1.50, the heat inside midday, the way all the shopkeepers make me feel like a celebrity ("Miss! Miss! You want scarves? You need pillows?")
Feeling like I'm living in the Wild West.
Looking down on tourists who spend too much on things that I can get for half of what they do.
# posted by Bethany @ 3:09 AM 
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
