Sunday, Day 2: I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...

Today was a bit more of the same - street food in the morning (noodles for $0.50 per person) and then lunch with Tracy ($3 for a salad which now seems REALLY expensive!). We talked a lot about work and it was good to get more of a picture of our tasks ahead. We even have a rough schedule of major events and workshops, etc for the summer. It feels good to have deadlines - it will be good to motivate our group to finally get organized and on top of our tasks. I have a lot of faith in our team despite the fact that we are all feeling like we don't have enough information to really know what we are supposed to be doing. One of our teammates, Borpha, made it in today and now we are finally all together - it feels good to be reunited. We went to a Chinese noodle place for dinner - SO good, except we got to see first hand how Borpha is treated differently as a woman who looks Cambodian (she is) compared to the rest of us who look foreign. Frustrating and sad.

I also had fresh coconut from a street cart where he shaved and cracked me a coconut with a bendy stray into it... yum). Honestly, I feel so comfortable and relaxed here. It does feel exciting to be exploring a new place but I largely feel like it's very natural to be here. Honestly, I keep waiting for the big Oh My God feeling of being here but it seems more like... like I am Finally here and ready to settle in. The things that seem foreign don't seem "exotic" and the things that seem concerning still aren't "shocking." I think there is a feeling of being comfortable with myself as well as my ignorance and humility that I don't feel wide-eyed or deer-in-headlights... I don't know how to really articulate it well yet but I just keep thinking that I feel comfortable here. More unpacking to do :)

The big problem I am having: white folk. Our guest house is in an area of town referred to as "NGO Land" where a lot of ex-pats and some tourists stay. There are a lot of very clean and air conditioned restaurants nearby and the only people of colour are the ones serving food or waiting outside to offer you a ride. I know it sounds a bit silly as a white man, but I am finding myself reacting very strongly when I suddenly feel like I am in a mostly white space. It makes me want to grab my stuff and go back to the the neighborhoods where we have been going for street food. I appreciate the luxuries of air-con and wifi but I seem to get annoyed when I see spaghetti on a menu. I know it all has a place and I understand my role in the system too and I know that I can't really distance myself from my identity here... but I still don't want my experience to be contextualized in tourism. I am excited to get to work at the school tomorrow with Khmer faculty and staff. Enough f'ing British 20 somethings...


Ok... enough complaining... more photos:

Wat Lanka - right by my house