playing tourist

rabbit rabbit!

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in every place, there is the opportunity to be a tourist.

growing up in idaho, school trips included visits to the craters of the moon and remnants of the oregon trail.

it wasn't until i moved far away from the rocky mountain west that i realized how rare and significant my home was.

living in DC, i frequently played tourist in my first two years of college, soaking up americana at my favorite smithsonian, or losing myself in a myriad of flowers, and even paddle boating in front of the jefferson memorial.  

those touristy trips lessened though in the last two years, as i promised myself i could always do it next summer, or in the years to come, as i planned on living in DC as long as possible.

and then when i lived in baltimore? ha. teaching left no time for enjoyment of the harbor, neighboring wineries, or the like.

and so.

it was marvelous to spend a summer playing tourist in our new home country: navigating the waters of customs, using my legs to walk, walk and walk some more, pausing only to take in the CAMBODIAN!NATIONAL!LIBRARY!,

and doing fantastically dorky things like take pictures of myself on empty streets outside the royal palace (see first photo), and feed the terrifying, disease-carrying pigeons by the riverside.

i'm grateful i got the chance to see cambodia through fresh eyes again, and do all those things that you can often feel silly doing after living somewhere for a year.

have you played tourist in your town?