Welcome Home

Hello, hello! It has been a couple of weeks since my last post, and while not a whole lot has happened in that time, actually a whole lot has, so I felt I should write to update you all.

First of all, you may be wondering (or not): what the heck have you been up to since India, giiiirrrrll? (italics stylistic choice of author). Well, let me tell you.

Garrett and I got back on Thursday, the 18^th of April, as I am sure all of you remember since I know you marked it on your calendars with big block letters and hearts and THANK GOD underlined three times next to it. I planned to stay in Phnom Penh through the weekend to regain my senses a bit and slowly acculturate back into life in Cambodia, but alas: the stars had other plans. It all began on the fated day of April 19th, 2013, at around 9:30 in the morning...

My boyfriend (that would be Garrett) left for work and after farting around on the Internet for a while, I decided to venture out and take care of some errands. I stopped by the PC office to do a few things, and then went on my merry way to buy a few groceries, whistling as I went and remarking on the lovely morning sunshine and the carefree song of the birds, chirping and trilling as they carelessly flitted from tree to tree... 

I was riding my bike on Preah Sihanouk- one of the main streets in Phnom Penh- when the newly constructed and sleek-looking bakery, Tous Les Jours caught my eye and I thought, Hey! I’ll get some bread for Garrett and me to try later, congratulating myself for my quick thinking and observant eye. I crossed to the other side of the street and continued towards the bakery, my mouth watering greedily as I fantasized about the warm, fluffy piece of heaven that was about to come into my possession. This day could not get any better, I thought. Well let me tell you: it couldn’t.

All of the sudden, WAM: a man sitting in a parked car just in front and to the right of me threw open his door without checking to see if anyone was behind him (read: me), thereby crushing the top of my foot with the bottom edge of the door as I slammed full force into it, still riding my bike at top speed.

Instantly I stood up, fuming and throwing around curse words like they were candy: What the hell did he think he was doing, throwing open his car door without checking to see if anyone was behind him?? What, does he think he owns the road, just because he has a Lexus?! Who the fuck (sorry, grandma) did this guy think he was? And, perhaps most importantly, DID HE REALIZE HE JUST CAME BETWEEN ME AND FRESH BREAD?!

I sputtered and heaved, furious at the injustice of it all (the birds had stopped their song at this point and I began to notice the sweat concentrating on my upper lip) and then looked down at my foot. And saw the pool of blood surrounding it. And quickly found myself kneeling on the ground encircled by a throng of onlookers, wailing for help, tears burning at the corners of my eyes as the guy from the car rushed over, wide-eyed and trying to help any way he knew how...

Now. Something you should know about accidents in Cambodia is that they are very common, and so reactions to them typically aren't very expedient; people stand around and watch when moto accidents occur, the "diffusion of responsibility" taking full effect as everyone gazes around at each other, waiting for someone else to make the first move. This was not what happened in my case, and I was very lucky for that. There were multiple people who jumped to action, doing what they could to staunch the blood (I'll leave it at that) and quickly finding a way to get me to a nearby clinic. I was impressed with how swiftly people moved, and felt something like "communal responsibility" take hold of those around me (whether or not this was simply a product of my being delirious is still up for debate).

I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that I needed stitches (six of ‘em), and was unable to go back to site at the end of the weekend as I had planned. I actually ended up staying in Phnom Penh for the next three weeks, going to the Peace Corps office daily to have Joanne- Peace Corps’ medical officer- clean my foot, check it for infection, and change the bandages.

As you can imagine, I was not thrilled with this turn of events. Don’t get me wrong: I greatly reveled in being powerless to do anything for myself, perhaps a little too much; week three looked something like this: L- I guess I can help you with breakfast… G- Are you sure? You don’t have to, if you want to sleep longer… L- Yeah, I guess you’re right. I should probably just stay here. I'm still in pain… (rolls over and snuggles back under the covers). G- *narrows eyes at L*). However, at the end of three weeks, I was ready to get back to site and catch up with people I'd missed: my family, Ohn. At this point it had been about two months since I’d seen them. It was a little hard to see Banya (the baby you’ve seen pictures of in this blog over the course of the past year), look like he’d grown twice the size of when I'd last seen him with twice as many teeth, a huge mop of hair, and now able to say “ba!” or touch! when my mom sticks him on her hip to bounce over to the posters of animals where he can touch a picture of an elephant or unicorn (a real animal in Cambodia, apparently) and proudly pronounce his new word with a big ol' toothy smile.

Anyway, I will wrap this up here since I’ve already gotten a little wordy (sorry about that- I can’t seem to consolidate my words/stories when I write… You should talk to me in person and then you’ll feel lucky). I promise to update very soon with a full report of the progress of my library (will it ever end? You know as well as I do the answer to that one), and other adventures/happenings at site, plus a discussion of my FEELINGS (oh no ruuunnn) regarding approaching the end of my service (July 7^th is likely when I will fly out). Stay tuned and I look forward to writing to you/hearing from you soon. Don’t forget to comment, or if you’re too shy to do that, send me an e-mail! leah.mortenson@gmail.com. I’d love to hear what all of you are up to. :)

And now for the good stuff:

Frayyyynnnndddss. The night before my very good friend Amie (far left) headed back to America, and a few days before the start of the COS (close of service) conference for PCVs finishing up services in the next few months.

Taro ice cream with Oreos, half a Reeses Easter bunny, rainbow sprinkles, and a candle just for funzies. This is why I shouldn’t be allowed to not exercise for two months.

Mango picking with my Khman friend Sopia. I’m pretty sure he was bit by about a million fat red ants while climbing the tree to collect mangoes.

Rice fields in May.

I love Khmenglish

Getting my hair and make-up did for Khmer wedding photos. Pictures to come.

War wound.