a few things I will remember

I rode down the road and through city traffic on the back of a motorbike; sidesaddle.

I learned to eat fish with the head and tail still intact.

I communicated in a language different than my mother tongue.

I learned to read and write; again.

I wept.

I prayed more often.

I was humbled.

I learned to draw blood with a simple needle and syringe.

I answered questions about my marital status and weight upon just meeting someone.

I ate rice for breakfast by choice.

I learned. and learned. and realized how much more I have to learn....

I was sick for a full week.

I took three or four showers a day.

I was welcomed in to strangers homes.

I went for morning runs on dusty gravel roads with children calling out after me.

I grew to appreciate the 5am rooster crowing and welcoming another day.

I learned to drive a motorbike.

I drove a motorbike through lakes of mud.

I fell off my motorbike.

I became charmed with the things that once bothered me.

I was invited to eat lunch with people I had never met.

I learned about thyroid disease, how to perform an EKG, and use ultrasound.

I drank coffee at a casino on a regular basis.

I bought eggs and coconuts from my neighbors.

I used a tiny bathroom with no sink.

I never needed hot water showers.

I made new friends.

I was pointed at and laughed at.

I was admired and complimented.

I felt hopeless and encouraged in the same day.

I wore jeans and long sleeves outside on hot days.

I thought in Khmer first.

I found Cambodian words and phrases more useful and appropriate than English ones.

I ate a cricket and a duck fetus.

I woke up to wat music too many mornings; and never got used to it.

I never did grow to love Cambodian music. I didn’t like it either.

I found cockroaches on my bathroom floor.

I went barefoot most of the day.

I received more compliments than ever in my life!

Thank you Cambodia.

I will remember with much fondness and much love.