One is that I hate packing and I will not do it until the last possible moment (evidence of this is the family vacation we took to Africa at the end of Hilary's study abroad program, a 2-week safari in Tanzania and Kenya, and I chose to go to Denver's Holiday parade the night before my flight and wake up at 5am to pack for a flight that left at about 9am). I'd like to think I'm in a little better shape this time. There are some folded clothes and toiletries on the floor next to a large backpack. I may still confuse priorities as I just spent half an hour looking for a headband I probably won't wear. My redeye flight leaves in just under 24 hours and instead of getting a good night's sleep, I'm sitting here creating a blog, that I will promise now to write in every night and will realistically end up posting a couple of pictures every third day.
Another quirk about me and International travel is I've decided to learn how to say "Cheers" in every country that I visit, hence the name of the blog. It occurred to me during my last Global Village trip in Cambodia that while "Thank You" is definitely the most practical thing to learn how to say in the native tongue of whatever country you are traveling to, "Cheers" is much more fun and much more me, so here's the story:
After four busy and informative days touring the temples of Siam Reap in Cambodia, our incredible tour guide, Khanha (Ken-ya), took our group from St. Vrain Habitat on a boat tour of the Floating Villages, a community where each house literally floated during the rainy season. It was poverty unlike anything any of us had ever seen. Through this poverty there was something striking about the people in these villages that was hard to describe. Despite their poor economic status, they were incredibly happy and kind and rich in so many other areas. Describing them as poor was the wrong word entirely. This phenomena of rich and poor was eye-opening to most of us. We continued past the villages to the middle of a lake where Khanha told us the story of how his family had survived the Khmer Rouge, and then we celebrated with Gin and Tonics on this boat in the middle of a lake in Cambodia as the sun set. We celebrated a great four days of learning about the history and culture in Cambodia. We celebrated the work we were about to do building 22 homes alongside 350 other volunteers in 5 days. We celebrated the people we'd met in Cambodia and we celebrated each other's company. We celebrated life. It was at that point I asked Khanha how to say "Cheers" in Khmer and decided to make it my goal to learn how to connect with people, celebrate and say "Cheers" in every country I visit.
Well, while the length of this post would beg to differ, I really don't love writing, particularly about myself, and since I probably should have either been packing or in bed several hours ago, I leave you with this tonight:
"Jewel Cow"
Cheers in Khmer
