New Year's in Sihanoukville

New Year's 2012

New Years in Sihanouk was an experience I will not soon forget. Located on the Gulf of Thailand, this beach haven is known to tourists for its white, pristine beaches, awesome night life, and of course, that traditional Khmer hospitality for which Cambodia is famous.

On Friday, after a 6 ½ hour bus ride from my village to Kampong Sam, I met up with PCVs Heather (who lives in Sihanouk), Amelia, and Amie. We caught up over dinner and beer, sharing stories from site after being apart for so long. It was refreshing to talk with them- to gain some perspective by hearing what other people have been up to- and share accomplishments and frustrations. I think I most make sense of my own experiences when I talk them over with other people. After we’d essentially closed out the restaurant, we headed down to the beach for a while to breathe in that sweet, salty air and dig our toes in the sand…

The next morning, I went for a brief run along the ocean. There was a festival going on for New Year’s, which included a race, so for the first time in all of the five months I’ve been here, I saw Khmer people willingly running… That was definitely a first. For once, I didn’t feel totally out of place and gawked at as I ran by in my running garb.

Amelia, Amie, Heather, and I went to breakfast at a place called “Sister’s” a restaurant I’ve mentioned in a previous post because there’s another one located in Kampot, the Oceanside city I went to during training. Run by a woman who grew up in an orphanage in Sihanouk and learned to cook from an American who volunteered there, she vowed to open up a restaurant someday and employ kids from the local orphanage, teaching them skills that will open up opportunities for them to have better futures than they otherwise might. She now has restaurants in Sihanouk, Kampot, and Phnom Penh, and has helped dozens of girls improve their livelihoods.

Around 11 we headed down to the beach. Can I just say how excited I was at this point?? There have been I don’t know how many times where I’ve thought to myself “I wonder if I were to just hang out for a while in the bath basin, what my family might think…” Here was my chance. I didn’t waste time. Dumped my stuff on a nearby lounge chair and ran in, reveling in the salty, cool water. It was heaven. For most of the morning, we didn’t do too much. Mainly just laid around, limbs hanging off of those comfy padded chairs, jumping in the water when needed.

What’s truly amazing to me about this trip is I actually got to feel anonymous for a while: something I took for granted and even resented in the states. Living in a small, rural village for a while has taught me to appreciate a good dose of anonymity, though. Responding to every “HELLO!” screamed desperately across the street as I ride my bike through town or putting up with neighbors coming over for the sole purpose of watching me eat can be a little taxing sometimes. So it goes without saying that I enjoyed getting lost in the crowd. But I did blow my cover at one point when my dad called me and I started speaking Khmer, much to the surprise of every Khmer person in the near vicinity.

Needless to say after two days of beaching and taking in the cultural offerings of Sihanouk- both daytime and nighttime- we were all pretty spent and anyway, had to face the inevitability of heading back to reality, but now with a restored energy.