and then i was revisiting our life a year ago.

topher and i are thirteen days from our one year anniversary of arrival in country.

today, in america, the new groups of peace corps cambodia almost-trainees are descending upon the district (of columbzzz!) to begin their staging- their pre-plane ride info extravaganza!

these past few weeks, they were probably doing the same things that el hubs and i were this time last year.

mainly, i hope, EATING AS MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD AS POSSIBLE. preferably with family members.

saying tearful goodbyes to their said family members and such.

topher and i attended our staging in san francisco.  this was the absolutely farthest west chris had ever been in america.  prior to that, his first time west of the mississip? 

visiting yours truly in the ye olde grande idaho.

after the seven hour staging (read: orientation) in san fran, chris and i enjoyed our final meal in america:

can we just agree that the hot food/cold food/salad bar/bakery at whole foods is pretty much the best grocery food bar of all the grocery food bars?

back when chris and i used to look like this:

we would visit the WF pretty frequently, even if just for their cookies.  it was just a short university shuttle ride away, and right next to the video rental store (which is, sadly but not quite surprisingly, no longer in business), and a bit more gourmet than our other option of swedish fish and reeses from the cvs around the corner.

(the fish and the chocolate, being more within a college students' budget range, we enjoyed even more frequently.)

our final night in america was spent battling the san francisco wind to reap the spoils of the whole foods food bar.

and what spoils they were.

yes those are three desserts and a spoon/fork.*  

we are the type of people that can remember to buy three kinds of dessert- chocolate, berry and cheesecake- but forget to grab utensils.

priorities.

*chris would like to maintain that his steel spoon/fork is a spork.  now, we know that it's not. a spork inherently shares the same base/bowl and allows the spoon to gently swoop into the tines of the fork.  but, he's adamant. and wrong. but we love him anyway.