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.

Circus Fun

I was never an athletic child. I did gymnastics for a few months in elementary school, and I joined my 8th grade field hockey team for part of a season. That's pretty much all the sports I did. My mom spent most of high school trying to convince me to join a sports team, field hockey, tennis, cheerleading, anything. She thought it would be good for me, though she always framed it as something that would be good for my college applications. I didn't really like sports though. I was tiny, skinny, and weak. I didn't have good hand-eye coordination, I couldn't run fast or for long distances, and when I tried I always felt like my ankles were giving out.

It wasn't until I was sixteen that I found a sport I enjoyed. Several of my friends owned horses, so once we were able to drive ourselves places, they started teaching me how to horseback ride. Horseback riding was frustrating and tiring, and it didn't come naturally to me, but I loved it. The more frustrated I was, the more I was determined to learn it and do it well. Luckily for me, my college offered discounted riding lessons through the equestrian club. I took lessons all four years, and I still can't really canter, but I loved every minute of it. I tried out dance classes, yoga, and pilates during college too, but riding was always my favorite.

In the normal world though, anything equestrian related is expensive- lessons, gear, horses, you name it, it probably costs an arm and a leg. This is especially true when you technically don't have an income. I tried to make myself go to the gym, but I wasn't good at going regularly, so I sought out a fun, interesting, inexpensive fitness classes in Phnom Penh- mostly to not feel like a lazy bum who went from sitting in front of a computer at work to sitting in front of computer at home, but also to give myself something fun to do outside of work (and you know that health thing).

What I found was the circus and aerial arts classes offered by the National Circus School of Cambodia. The school opened in 1980, mainly teaching students who had lost their parents during the Khmer Rouge Regime, and helped to resurrect traditional Khmer circus art. The Cambodian run school teaches young Cambodians both full time and part time, features performances at their own big top (these performances are sadly currently on hiatus because of storm damage to the tent), sponsors a competitive troupe, and offers drop in classes for locals and foreigners.

Since November, I've had the joy of attending tumbling and flexibility/contortion classes with two of the professional circus artists and teachers at the school (one of whom was a competitor on the show Cambodia's Got Talent). These classes are always both a challenge and some of the most fun parts of my week. It's been amazing to see how much I've improved in the past few months. When I first started I couldn't quite do a split with my right leg forward or hold myself in a bridge for very long, but now both are comfortable positions I can hold for some time. I'm still working on doing a full split with my left leg forward- hopefully I'll get there soon. I often wake up so sore that I contemplate calling in sick after tumbling, but for the first time in my life I revel in the feeling. Last week I attended my first aerial silks class (basically you do tricks while hanging from two pieces of cloth suspended from the ceiling)- at one point during the class I had a flashback to being a weakling elementary schooler who couldn't do any tricks on the monkey bars, which made me even prouder when I achieved the moves and poses. While the regular silks class does not fit into my schedule at the moment, I look forward to joining the classes in the near future.

Who knows, maybe I've finally found my athletic side?