Final Days in Cambodia (and a few hours in Seoul)

Hey you guys. It's me again. FROM AMERICA. (What??) How is this possible?? you are wondering to yourselves. We thought she just existed in Cambodia. Well. So did I. But here I am: eating veggie corn dogs for breakfast and staying up reeeealll late watching lifetime movies with my sister. It's glorious.

So, for this post I thought I'd sum up my final days in Cambodia as one final look into that part of my life (for now). Inevitably, you will have to deal with hearing about my feelings and reflections about my experience as time goes on (sorry) and I am able to process it more fully. For now, I'll stick to the facts and the most immediately memorable moments.

Library Project

As a final summation of my library project, I thought I'd share this very special picture, taken on one of my last days of working in the library.

Nothing says "reading" like a soccer ball in a bowl.

In fact, the library project did end on a very good note. The students had ample use of the library every day of the final month of my service, and as I've mentioned before- the hope is that the new volunteer whose placed at my site will take over the project. Time will tell.

My librarian and I also ended with a positive vibe between us. Remember how he shot down every good idea I had in the beginning? Remember how he was the biggest naysayer? Remember how is name was (and is) "No"? Well, we made it and I think the two of us even managed to retain the slightest scrap of respect for each other in the end. A big thanks to all of you whose donations made this project possible. It would never have had a chance to succeed without your help!

... Next up on our journey through my last days: Final Visit to my Market

Of course before I could go I had to say goodbye to the people who feed me (second to my host mom), namely my fruit lady- Ee Bo- and Ohn.

I stopped by to see my fruit lady first. She's so happy! Bo gave me lots of free fruit over my two years in Cambodia, always making sure to throw in a couple of extra rambutan or sapodilla despite my protests.

Next, I went and saw Ohn. She asked me if I wanted an iced coffee and knowing this could be one of the last sickly sweet, tooth rotting, disgustingly delicious ones of these I could get, I said yes and we made our way over to the new coffee shop, owned by this shirtless guy:

This really funny moment ensued, which I will just narrate as it goes along. All you need to know is the shirtless guy is trying to get Ohn to get closer to him cause he wants it to look like they're engaged (which, he seems to think they are).

Shirtless guy: Do we look in love? Ohn: ...

Shirtless guy: Come on, baby... Ohn: OMG

Next up is family. I spent a good amount of time with my host family in my final days, hanging out around the kitchen table talking when the power would go out (which was about 5-6 hours every day towards the end of my service) or laying on grays, wooden beds inside the house- me sprawled out and fanning myself in vain as Tona, the older of my host mom's grandkids, periodically opened the refrigerator to peer in and take in some of the residual cold.

Deck of cards. Cell phone. Empty metal box. Leah's beanie baby. Who needs anything else?

This became one of Banya's favorite toys. Right below the water bucket and the name card for the coffee I drink with the elephant logo.

And what do we have heeeeerre...

This picture makes me really happy. Tona (front) liked me approximately three times throughout my service, usually only when it involved me giving him Oreos or toys. This was one of those rare occasions in which I didn't have to bribe him to give me a smile.

Safety first.

That concludes my time in Cambodia (for now!). We are now entering into layover territory in Seoul, where I spent nine hours on my way back to America. My flight got in to Seoul at 7:00 AM, having left Cambodia at midnight. What do you think the first thing on my mind was when I got there? I'll give you three guesses.

If you said exercising, you were wrong. If you said food, you were right. I ran around the massive Incheon airport and stopped at the first Dunkin' Donuts I found, devouring a kimchi burrito (recommendation courtesy of Garrett), and a mango cream-filled donut, along with a large iced Americano. That done, I found my way OUT of the massive airport, and searched around for public transport into Seoul. I'd put my stuff in a locker for the day so I'd be burdenless for 'splorin. Found a bus for $10 and made my way into Seoul, periodically taking in the scenery and napping from a donut- induced coma.

Around 10:00 AM, I got dropped off at Gyeongbokgung palace. This place is beautiful. And huge. I don't really know any of the history and don't feel like looking it up (sorry), but if you want to, you should read about it! And even better, go see it!

When I first got there, a changing of the guards ceremony was going on. Click here to see a video. Skip to 0:45  if you don't want to wait for them to get closer.

Next it started pouring really badly so I got stuck under this portico with this nice lady from Brazil named Paola.

As it turned out, Paola didn't have an agenda like me, so we decided to team up and  take on the little bit of Seoul we could see before I had to head back to the airport together. We walked around in the rain and window shopped, stopping to eat at a tea shop at one point.

Paola let me share her umbrella. I swear, who lives in Cambodia for two years and doesn't learn to bring a rain jacket?? (this girl, apparently)

At about 1:30 PM I found a bus back to the airport (actually called an "airport limousine," although it is very clearly a public bus), and arrived with ample time to catch up on some e-mails and wander around until I found the FREE SHOWERS available to anyone in the Seoul airport with a longish layover.

I will refrain from posting pictures (I did take them, let's be honest), but suffice it to say that I was amazed and felt so refreshed and ready for my fifteen hour flight and just loved everybody. So, thanks Incheon.

I will leave you with a final picture (for now!) from Cambodia, and the first picture I took upon my reentrance in the Dallas airport.

Final image of Cambodia. I will never understand these shoes, but I will also never fail to be amazed and impressed by them when I see this picture.

America!!

That's all for now. I've got leftover Mexican food in the fridge and an entire night to dedicate to Lifetime movies so if you'll excuse me...

Heading Home

Hi all,

So, I leave today... For America. What? How did this happen? How has two years passed already?

As for now, I don't have too many words, as I am trying to just "be here" for my final day (I leave at midnight tonight). You can rest assured that I will update you on my last few weeks in Cambodia when I am stateside, however, and have time at home in the plentiful air conditioning and with easy (perhaps too easy) access to refrigerated drinks and snacks...

Thank you all for staying with me on the ride these past two years and I look forward to updating you from the same continent!

Love,

Leah

G.L.O.W., Library Opening, and Kep

Hi again! It has been a while since I properly updated you on what's going on at site and with my life in Cambodia, so I thought I would write to let you know the news here.

Alright, well one of my more recent adventures was getting wedding photos taken with my very good friend Diana and Garrett. This is a sort of ritual amongst some volunteers before going back to the States- getting dressed up in glitzy Khmer wedding outfits and standing solemnly in strange and awkward poses in front of a green screen while wondering detachedly if you'll collapse under the combined weight of the caked-on makeup currently melting off of your face and the jewelry draped around your neck like a noose. Really though, it's a blast!

Getting ready

Samples of the final product

We were given almost no direction which really just made the outcome that much more authentic.

Ok, next up on the update: Camp G.L.O.W.! My provincial mates and I had been in the process of organizing this event for quite some time (extra props to Diana and Sam for handling the brunt of that responsibility), and it finally happened. We brought 50 girls together from five villages to spend two days and one night together in Prey Veng town, learning about leadership, women's health, the factors of a healthy relationship, as well as discussing opportunities and resources specific to Khmer girls and women. G.L.O.W. stands for "Girls Leading Our World" and our hope with this two day camp was to provide the girls the time and space for them to be able to express themselves freely, instead of deferring to the boys/men of society to provide the answers, as is typical in Cambodia.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Names of each of our villages (Peareang is me! [actually spelled "Pearaing" but they were close]) as well as the names of the different volunteer organizations which gave presentations at the camp.

Note the backwards "y" in Prey Veng. Classic.

First speaker at the camp

He must have been pretty riveting as Diana's students used this time to create a wand made of markers which they would periodically wave malevolently in his direction.









The girls made collages with pictures representing something about themselves they liked, and then forming some kind of physical feature (most people did faces, one girl did a hand).

KOICA volunteer (basically the Korean Peace Corps) leading a session. We were chopped liver after this K-Pop star entered the scene.

Streeeeeeetching

Sometimes, I like to doodle. Author's note: Diana gets credit for the outline of the creature. And possibly the teeth, but that's up for debate.

That night we volunteers took a load off at the local TELA (air conditioned gas station), had some beers and ate these gross dried fish snacks, which- lucky for us- held the sole virtue of reducing the risk of lard.

The gang, minus Kirk who took the picture.

The next day we did a session on abuse within relationships, discussing what constitutes a healthy relationship and what doesn't. We had the girls write down on post-its what they thought "love is" and what they thought "love is not." Some of the answers were really good: love is respect. Love is not control. Some of them were confusing: Love is candy. Or the even more mysterious: Love is not candy.

Then Kirk and Mark led a session on exercise, which was funny.

We did a recycled fashion show.

And then we took group pictures in our new hot pink t-shirts.

There you have it! That was Camp G.L.O.W. I think my girls had a great time and I'm really glad I participated in this. :)

Next up: Library opening!!!!! You never thought you'd see the day, did you? Well, neither did I. After a full year since the initiation of this project, my library has finally opened to students. That's right: they can now actually use the library, but not before repeated protests from my librarian that it still "wasn't ready" and we had more preparation to do. Give or take a few, my words in response to this were: "excuse me but I'm leaving in a month and would really like to see the students benefit from this resource I've so painstakingly dedicated my life to for the past twelve months" and he conceded. So, two weeks ago, after some intense cleaning followed by a frenzied fight with a rainstorm that massively flooded the library immediately after said cleaning (think Mickey in Fantasia: brooms desperately sweeping the water out the door,  frantically running around looking for spare buckets and bowls to shove under leaky spots, etc.), we finally OPENED.

Before the monsters arrived.

And after.

I actually had to turn students away at one point, telling them to come back in an hour because the library was getting too full. It was thrilling.

The library is now open a few days a week, from 9 to 11 in the morning. My hope is that if I get this routine established before I leave, perhaps the trend will continue after. Luckily, there will be another volunteer replacing me after I leave, so hopefully they will take my fledgling project into their hands and help it to grow and flourish.


Finally, a few pictures from a recent weekend in Kep (beach town in the south) spent with Garrett- a relaxing few days we took to pat ourselves on the back for accomplishing some recent goals (Garrett getting an "A" in his Stats class, me not killing myself after the stress of this project- the important things in life).

Enjoy!

We think our hotel room used to be a sauna. Here is the massive and slightly creepy bathroom.

Pretty Sunset. Photo props to Garrett. #photomajor

Pretty Sunset Pt. II

This is why Peace Corps volunteers should never be let loose at a breakfast buffet. Note: all of those plates are Garrett's.

Yeah, I ate that.

Rainbooooowwwww

Garrepp and I had a great time.

Feet feat. new scar

That's all. :) Hope you enjoyed!

Playlist

Hey! I made you (and future me) a playlist. This compilation consists of songs that were meaningful to me at some point during these two years, or that I became obsessed with for a time. There are songs on here that will forever remind me of Cambodia for one reason or another (PSY's Gangnam Style, for example, will never fail to bring me back to Cambodia circa November 2012 when this song blew up here: every teenager sporting a cartoon PSY t-shirt, moments of hearing this song blast for the sixth time at a nearby wedding at 11 o clock at night as I lay in bed, scowling at my ceiling and trying in vain to sleep). Other songs make me think of more private moments had while I've been here. Others just put me in a good mood while walking to a grocery store in Phnom Penh (Taylor Swift- Red).

Any way you view it, these songs have been important to me over the past two years, and will forever remind me of this very unique time when I hear them in the future. I hope you (and future me!) will enjoy and feel free to leave your comments if and when you listen to it. (Leah, this playlist blows is not acceptable).

Love,

Leah

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.