Eight Days Left

Eight days from now I will be getting ready to get on plane to go back to the U.S.A. No return ticket. No solid plans to come back to Cambodia or to go to any other foreign country. This is a first for me since graduating college. Since I left the U.S. for Jordan in the summer of 2013, I've never gone back to the States without at least a general plan to leave in a month or so. But now, four years later, I'm going home indefinitely. 

My empty apartment

I moved out of my apartment at the beginning of June. I spent the last two weeks or so of June organizing my things into piles: to MCC, to donate, to sell. Some of the other MCC Service Works came over and claimed some of my belongings, so that it wouldn't all just sit in storage: sheets, spices, cooking utensils, chairs, the refrigerator. The morning of the move, a team of MCCers came over, with some hired help, to move the boxes and furniture. Some things were carried down three treacherous flights of stairs, while others were tied to ropes and hoisted over the balcony. It was an oddly hollow feeling to look around my empty apartment. Evidence of nearly three years of my life, erased from the physical world just like that. I returned a few days later to do a last sweep of the apartment with my landlords, pay my final utilities bill, and return the key. I thanked them for their kindness and everything they've done for me over the years not only in words but by also giving them print of out one of my Khmer style photoshoot pictures. 

Lena and Sumo

Since moving out, I have not been homeless, I have been house and pet sitting for my Reps in their (massive) house. They have a super friendly pitbull, named Lena, who likes nap time, running out of the gate as soon as I open it, and walks, as well as a cat, named Sumo, who likes to cuddle and aggravate my allergies. I've enjoyed having this transition time, and I'm so glad I've had these animals as company because this house is way too big for one person.

Horseback riding on the beach

I've also been lucky enough to get two last trips to the beach in with friends. I did one trip with a friend for a long weekend at the beach, which ended up being cloudy and rainy the whole time but the trip was still exactly what I needed to say goodbye to this friend who has meant so much to me. The second trip I took with two of the SWs and their visiting friend. We spent a couple nights at the beach town of Sihanoukville, where we got massages, went to the beach, and got sunburnt. Their friend and I also went for a trail ride- which was great since I haven't been on a horse in almost two years. We road from the barn to the beach, rode down the beach, then took off the saddles and went swimming with the horses. We walked them out into the water, played a bit, then jumped on and rode around. At one point my poor tiny horse hit a spot that was too deep for him and had to actually swim- our guide did not seem panicked about it so I think it was fine. After we returned the horses to the barn, all four of us jumped on a boat and headed off to Koh Rong Samloem, an island. We stayed on a beautiful white sand beach, with water so clear you could get shoulder deep and still see you feet and your shadow on the ground. There was no internet, so we filled out time with reading, games, and conversations. After dark we waded out into the water and marveled at the bioluminescent plankton- it was so dark you couldn't see your body but ever movement made the water light up and sparkle like stars. This trip will definitely be remembered as one of my favorites. 

Lazy Beach on Koh Rong Samloem

So what am I doing with my last 8 days in Cambodia? Workwise, I'm finishing up a few things with my partner organizations and passing off some of my duties to other staff members. Outside of work, I'm finalizing packing, going on long walks with the dog, spending time with my friends, and getting some last circus classes in. These past three years haven't always been easy, but I wouldn't trade the time or things I've done for anything. While I'm sad that this experience is coming to a close, I look forward to all the adventures to come.

Khmer Photoshoot

Getting my makeup done

A popular activity for foreigners in Phnom Penh is to get traditional Cambodian style makeovers and do a photo shoot. While these shoots are just for fun, they are similar to the photo shoots couples will take for their weddings. I discovered these shoots a while back from posts on Facebook, and have been interested ever since. So this past week when some of the SALTers invited me to join them for a photoshoot I jumped at the chance!

Selection of blouses

On Saturday afternoon, three SALTers, a YAMENer, another Service Worker, and I loaded up into a tuktuk to make our way to a photo studio. We were welcomed and ushered directly back to a room full of beautiful blouses, skirts, and jewelry for our makeovers. Two ladies at a time had their makeup done, while the others looked through the available outfits and picked what they wanted to wear. The makeup while heavy was pretty quick: powder, eye shadow, filled in eyebrows, eyeliner, fake eyelashes, lipstick and blush. After getting our makeup we each put on a blouse, some like mine had to be adjusted to fit. After the shirt came hair styling which consisted on making fake hair pieces and extensions with our natural hair, done without heat, to make fancy updos that pretty much only look good from the front. Then, we were wrapped up in silk skirts that were expertly folded and pinned in traditional styles over our shorts.* And then we were adorned with jewelry: tiaras, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and basically anything else that would make us sparkle.

Non-edited photo with Kaylee

Once we were all dressed, we went to the studio. We did a combination of single, pairs, and group shots. For my individual shots, the photographer posed me very specifically- feet, hands, head, shoulders, hips, the works. Some of the other ladies were given a bit more freedom to pose on their own. We were expected to come up with our group shots, though when we tried for more traditional Cambodian poses one of the staff helped us get our hands in the proper positions.

After we finished with pictures we changed back into our own clothes, and went through an overly complicated process of selecting three photos each to be edited in the Cambodian style, including adding a background, and printed. We were lucky enough to convince them to also give us the unedited copies of all the pictures, but they say they don't normally do that.

All in all the experience, while much longer than I expected, was an absolute blast. I learned a bit about traditional Cambodian fashion and the secret to all those formal hairstyles I see at weddings! (Answer: all the extensions.) I had a great with the ladies, and I now have a fantastic keepsake to give to my Cambodian friends!

Cambodian edited group Photo

*Pro-tip: wear leggings instead of shorts or jeans, less lumps and bulk that way.