ten days home and all you get are these awesome iphone pics

What have you been up to this September so far? Drinking lots of pumpkin spice lattes? Enjoying cooler weather? Mourning summer? Smiling at the school buses and kids as they traipse home each afternoon, their backpacks bigger than 2/3 of their bodies?

Or is that just me?

These past ten days home have been...fantastic. Truly. The perfect balance of a social calendar and chill time.  A good avoidance of the boxes I need to unpack with all of my clothes (I'm going to do it tomorrow, I swear!) (I say this to myself every.single.night without fail.) Some time bumming around Washington, D.C., not enough time in Baltimore (yet!), a re-immersion into the U.S. retail world.  A good number of (unsuccessful) attempts to capture a new LinkedIn picture so that people who will work with me/want to hire me will actually recognize me.

Which brings me to this: coming home to fall is exactly what I would have picked if you would have asked me.  If I could just come home to America in the autumn, always, I will die happy.  Something about the chilly crispness in the air brightens my soul and sharpens my senses.  

It definitely has to do with back to school season, and all the joy that brings.  Back to school shopping was, quite possibly, my favorite part of my childhood.  Scouring the stores for the perfect new outfits.  Choosing a new schoolbag, to be used just for that year.  New notebooks, new pens, new pencils, a whole new set of markers and a whole new chance to organize and arrange and label and begin.

Many say that spring is the season of renewal.  Yet I say, for me, it's autumn which will always be the time of birth, of beginning, of beauty.

Perhaps it's the markedness of this fall that makes it especially poignant, as I feel like I too am shifting colors like the leaves and letting go of built-up frustrations, concerns, baggage like the trees let go of the dead and dying foliage each day, with each gust of wind.

On a lighter note, I am also chilled to the core.  I refuse to admit that I am cold, but I am.  I am cold. I said it.  I love fall, but these 70 degree days...man!

P.S. My new computer makes one picture out of several (see above) and it amazes me. These pictures were all magically uploaded via my phone which I can access on my computer for this blog and it amazes me. I am amazed.

today and a few weeks ago

Today I said goodbye (until Monday, for a hot minute) to the trainees that I have taught for the last two years.  The school had a lovely graduation lunch for them, wherein I got to sit with eight men I didn't know, and Topher.  ;)  But it was fun to see them all so excited and celebrating.

Tonight, we gave our family a series of farewell gifts.  We had so many little things that we put them in a basket and had a great thirty minutes watching the kids exclaim over pages of stickers, a chocolate bar just for them, and lots of other little things.  And then our host mother started to cry and it was just too much.  It feels inauthentic to just say we're going to miss them.  They truly welcomed us to this country and gave us a literal and figurative home.

Tomorrow, Chris and I are headed to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat for the third and last time.  (Though it may seem like we were just there according to these photos, that's all an illusion. An illusion, I tell you!)

A few weeks back, Chris and I took part in something that's quickly becoming a tradition amongst PCVs here: we took Khmer wedding photos.

This one above is quite the most traditional; it's very rare to see smiles in these kinds of photos. As much as we tried to fight it, you can't keep the smiling American down for too long.

The process from going from everyday to THIS was quite intense.  It took three hours for the two outfit and hair changes, application of makeup and general posing. Three hours!  Luckily, the studio was air conditioned, so it was quite pleasant.

Well, except for those eyebrows. They were drawn so intensely that Chris kept telling me to stop scowling at me.

I wasn't.

Though 'funny' photos aren't typical for Cambodians, the studio we went to had seen enough PCVs that after we took a few normal ones, the photographer asked us if we wanted to pose for some funny ones.  Who are we to say no?

This last one is our host nieces' and nephew's favorite.  We printed a copy just for them.  Never seen a smile so big.

****

Huge thank you to my real and online friends who took a moment to respond to yesterday's post!  When I re-read the post, it got very close to a pity party, but it still means a lot that so many of you shared how you've been with me throughout this experience, and more importantly, enjoyed it.  So thank you. A lot.

reflection, transition: staying to move forward

As I waded through a deeper period of reflection this past week, I realized how authentically I needed to define what's next to go to truly be able to process and discuss what living and working in Cambodia has been like, has meant to me.

Which is to say, I was reminded of the fact that I like to have a plan, and a goal, and next step ready to go before I transition.

I knew what I was doing after college by November of my senior year. Two years later, I had a job in January before my job as a teacher ended in June. Two years after that, I knew for a full five months that I was moving to Cambodia (as did my amazing place of work I was distraught to leave) before my last day of work occurred.

And in true form, I recently cemented a plan for my time immediately after my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) ends.

The day after I become a Returned PCV, I become a [short-term, contracted] member of Peace Corps staff.

It would be very inauthentic for me to continue to extrapolate on my reflecting and transitioning and what I was feeling and thinking this past week, without writing that down, here.  For you, whoever you are, and, mostly, for me.

So, I'll be living and working in Cambodia through the end of August/beginning September doing something I love: training and developing teachers for a challenging, but ridiculously enriching, role.

True to form, I created many a pro/con list during the stages of deciding to apply, and then deciding to accept once offered the position.  Thoughts of jobs I'd be foregoing in America that would begin in the perfect mid-July (after I'd returned and settled back into the U.S.) time frame, thoughts of being here, alone, without Topher, while he returned, alone, to face the somewhat intimidating home and world that needs re-organizing in Maryland, and thoughts of complexities and opportunities and challenges swirled around this head for a solid while before it became official quite recently.

Which is all to say, yes, Chris, I will in fact be far cooler than you for the rest of our life because I get to tell our future kids that mama lived in Cambodia for two more months than daddy, which makes her far more legit and awesome, overall.

Plus, mama bakes you cookies and daddy is the one giving you all those noogies.

So there's that.

the ocean: where everyone should go when visiting thailand

You really need to go to Thailand.  I mean, only if you like ridiculously good food, amazing beaches, and general merriment.  So, go now, yeah?

And you should most especially take time to go the Similan Islands, in southern Thailand.  A series of islands (nine, I believe) that are protected as a National Park, with the clearest, most pristine water I have ever seen in my life.  White beaches with sand so fine it is literally (LITERALLY (not metaphorically)) the same texture as sifted white flour.

Chris and I had the chance to visit the Similan Islands as a part of a two week vacation we took earlier this month.  Much like last year (when we went to Vietnam), we took advantage of the break that our schools have in April to venture elsewhere.  This year, however, we left a bit earlier so that we could return in time to experience the whole reason for the season- Khmer New Year celebrations with our host family.

 

We left on a jet plane on Easter Sunday.  After a bumpy beginning to our vacation (nearly two flights missed, in a row), we ended up on the island of Phuket for a night, and then, here:

Khao Lak, Thailand.  Our hotel/bungalows had a little beach and inlet just for them, and it boasted beautiful blue waters, and a monitor lizard or two, too.

We hated it.

We spent an evening soaking in the sunset...

And the next day, boarded a boat for a three day, two night stay at the Similan Islands.

We began the boat/Similan Islands portion of our holiday by cruising in open water for a good four hours...

...until we anchored and began the cycle we would repeat over a dozen times throughout the next few days: jump in, snorkel, see hundreds of varieties of sea life, crawl out, dry off, repeat, repeat, repeat.

The water was so clear near the reefs that snorkeling was hardly needed to see so much.

And the view outside of the water was nearly as magical as the one viewed through goggles.

On the first evening, we hiked up a small trail to a lookout to watch the sunset, drink a cold one, and take it all in.

Contrary to how it appears, I am, in fact, wearing a swimming suit.  Yellow, so of course, difficult to see through my sunblock (or, tee shirt.)

We alternated drying one shirt and swimming suit off the rails of the boat as we snorkeled and swam in another set.

 It was truly astounding to witness life under the sea.  And the moment that a huge sea turtle swam right by me and brushed my arm with his fin?

There are no words.

Add that to seeing lots of "Dories" in action, and the most amazing tropical fish with colors I didn't even know could be found nature, plus a lively and hilarious family from the UK with the sweetest, most inquisitive three kids, and it made for the ideal beginning of our trip, if not the highlight of our year thus far.

One last look...

After our Similan Island adventure in paradise, we jetted off to not-so-nearby Krabi, and the beach town of Ao Nang.  Our hotel was a ten-or-so minute walk from the beach, but was worth it because of our pool and view...

Part of the charm of Ao Nang was the ability to take a long-tail boat to other, amazing beaches nearby.  Which is just what we did on our second day in Ao Nang.

They are bedecked in colorful flags off the bow.

An amazing day spent lazing on the beach, capped off with buckets of amazing noodles, curry, and iced tea.  We only wished we had another night to spend in Ao Nang- it was kind of touristy and kitschy, but it wasn't overwhelming in that regard, and we found ourselves loving the vibrant yet laidback feel of the town. 

And the limestone craggedy peaks juxtaposed with the brilliant, tourmaline waters wasn't too bad either...

But it was time to jet off to Malaysia!  And after a week of heat and a really bad sunburn on my back (don't tell my mom!), I was ready to be a bit chilly!

.....

where we were: may

may was a relatively normal paced month at site- worked a normal number of hours, ate a normal amount of bowls of rice, read a normal amount of books.

but may was also a month where there was a fantastic week smack dab in the middle where we celebrated topher's and three other PCV's birthdays at the beach and we had our last official training before our final one next year!

in may, we utilized the end of a four day weekend to venture to what has been called one of the prettiest beaches in cambodia: koh rong island, off the eastern coast of cambodia.

for the beach, we took a two hour boat ride.  the one there was perfectly fine.  the one back...happened during a rainstorm. needless to say, we really should have remembered to bring our rain jackets.

koh rong has a variety of available bungalow villa type places.

and we were simply excited to get to the beach!

if you ignore my head, you can see our quaint bungalow we shared with three great friends.

as soon as we arrived, we dove into the warm, crystal clear ocean.

through out the weekend, we spent many hours lounging in the restaurants, playing cards, eating, and drinking delicious things.

we attempted to head via small boat to the other side of the island, said to be one of the top beaches in the world. the winds and waves were against though, so we ended up hiking to a different beach.

it was the bay for a small fishing village, and also had some gorgeous waters.

the bungalow had a decent restaurant, with a great 2 for 1 drink special. yummy pina coladas!

we were very lucky to be celebrating with great friends, and beautiful waters.

in may, we also enjoyed some delicious food and drink at a cafe in phnom penh with our friend.

this particular cafe sells delicious happy hour drinks AND is a bakery. so you know i had a cookie with my drinks!

and i ate dessert first- a mudslide!

this month we also celebrated two years of marriage by going to eat at my favorite restaurant in phnom penh- italian, of course!

in may, we also got to make the BEST pizza ever via a chef boyardee make your own pizza kit sent to our gorgeous friend jill from her family!

without a doubt, one of the best nights in may.

 and, as mentioned, we had our last training as a whole group of k5s in mid may, and peace corps was awesome and paid for a glorious two hour boat ride on the mekong for us to celebrate- early- our mid service mark!

we've made such great friends these ten months in the 'bode.

and we've got such pride for our site province! get ready k6s- your training in the BEST province in cambodia!

and what's a great month without a great movie? we saw the avengers- in 3D- and loved it, as it seems most of the world did!

indulge me and share your favorite thing that happened in may?