Where ever the wind takes me...hopefully back to Cambodia

Who knew that I would miss eating salad? Who knew I would miss wearing "real" clothes and wearing mascara? Who knew I would miss ordering free water with my meals? Or seeing the Blue Ridge mountains and sleeping on my hard mattress in my dorm room with Danielle, our last time as roommates before she spends the next 6 months in Bulgaria studying abroad.

I missed a lot of the small things, some more stupid than others.

But I don't think I missed all of those things nearly as much as I know I am going to miss Cambodia.

It doesn't feel like a month of my life was spent in this magical country. And while telling the stories and what I did while there, I find myself rediscovering adventures my group and I had, simply because we did so much it's hard to keep track of it all, especially when you have to explain the small things to people that you've become accustomed to. Like riding in a tuk tuk with no stop signs or stop lights or paying no taxes on meals or clothes. Stuff like that. Things that people don't really think about.

It's crazy to think that Cambodia is now just a memory. I just keep thinking about what I said in one of my stem writings: You can only experience Cambodia, in this moment, as it is now, only once.

We did so much, and yet, I feel like there was still an entire country left unexplored. And as much as I love feeling comfortable in my own skin and being in familiar surroundings with "real" clothes, salad, free water, and the like, I miss feeling out of place in Cambodia. I miss experiencing the unfamiliar with each new day.

The experience of Cambodia is a part of me. And hopefully a part of my future. Who knows? Maybe if/when I TESL abroad, it will be in Cambodia.

Where ever the wind takes me, I wouldn't mind if that ends up being back to Cambodia.