Tuesday, Day 4: My Gym Buddies Drive Range Rovers

I'm sitting at a restaurant/bar down from my guesthouse. I'm alone tonight - needed the time to myself. It was a long day - lunch with all students (50/90 total) and then work stuff... Still frustrated but organizing my way through it. Our whole team just looking for clarity and feeling like idiots sometimes in the process. It's manageable but stressful.

I checked out my neighborhood gym in NGO Land... You should see it: http://www.theplace-gym.com/ - it's sort of off-the-hook. And by that I mean it's $150/month... Almost 10x what I pay for the Y back home... I didn't join... But the pool was maybe the prettiest pool I've ever seen. I will be getting day passes now and again... Air-con treadmills... Cause I will NOT be running the streets of PP!!! Fuck - it's not safe to WALK them! :) My favourite part though is not the chandelier or the door man... it's the sign that says "no weapons; no bodyguards"... I simply refuse to leave my bodyguard outside with the Range Rover... it's so unkind. 

I have been thinking about why I am feeling so comfortable in PP. I think there are a lot of answers and I'm still looking for meaning in it all. For one, I feel so much more comfortable with myself at this point in my life than Ever before - even in making mistakes, making a fool of myself, getting lost, asking for help, being wrong... It seems to translate as being more comfortable in my surroundings too. On the other hand, I do have people helping me through it and people (faculty/students) who are excited to have me around. And, the people are very friendly - lots of smiles on the street, kind-eyed women, and affectionate men. I'm sure the white boy thing plays into it too - people/settings designed to make me feel comfortable. On the other hand, the visible social issues seem to my social work eyes less shocking and more like complex issues to explore and understand how they are being addressed by capable people building upon human capacity... There's some PollyAnna in there but also some realism and constructive optimism. Then... There is the food! Cambodian food is so freaking flavourful!!! I have loved everything!!! I am SO grateful to be with a knowledgeable and adventurous group! We really are a great team...


Some more pictures of home: