A Fortnight in Cambodia
*This is my view from the back of a Tuk Tuk. There are basically no street laws here, meaning people drive however they want in all directions on the streets, no speed limit, into on-coming traffic, no cross walks. This was beyond stressful at first but now I feel strangley safer sometimes than I did in America driving, people are more alert, not texting and driving, and looking for pedestrians crossing. *
*This is my very bright and colorful view from the Tonle workshop*
* This was meal I did not mean to order, no English was spoken at this spot. There was fish balls and blood sausage in this meal-I ate what I could without being rude...yikes. I'm a very pcky eater and I've been beyond proud of myself for trying new things! Side note: street pizza and burgers are very very awful- nothing like back home!*
*This is the start of grading a bralette, the pattern maker does not know how grade- and I breifly remember so we are learning together.*
*This is my extremely westernized apartment I'm happy to now live in!*
* This is what I bought on my first grocery run, the more western an item the more expensive!*
*These were my market finds today, everything pictured was under $8, I'm an awful bargainer and probably could have gotten an even better deal, oh well! I also gave to a couple of beggars with children and a woman with only one eye.*
*This has been my favorite dish so far, Ped See Ew from a small Thai place by the workshop, I also had amazing pork dumplings a diffrent day!*
I’m nearing my two-week mark in Phnom Penh and so much has changed since day one. My first post about the city was pretty confident and sure of my decision of uprooting my entire life and moving across the world, however the days to follow that post started to feel like…well bull shit. After that excitement of arriving and seeing my place of work wore off the culture shock hit full force and crippling doubt crept in. I had zero guidance here, in a country where almost no one speaks English- including the drivers who I trust to take me safely place to place, not to mention in developing countries mapping out streets and marking houses in order is pretty much the last priority and Tuk Tuk drivers do not know how to follow maps so many times I’m left in an area I did not want to go to, severely overwhelmed with a driver leaving me there. I was left in the dark, in area I didn’t know before I had my phone activated and I was terrified. Then I very kind Khmer guy offered to find my guest house- he wasn’t a driver. I was afraid. I did not know if this nice man was just helping a scared person out of the goodness of his heart or he was kidnapping me. I trusted my gut and needed a way home; I chose to trust him and jumped on the back of his motto. I learned he was an employee of one of the KFC’s and he was learning English, he continued to try to make small talk with a very frightened version of me on the back of his motto without a helmet or a clue what I got myself into. Socheat and I finally found my guesthouse and he wouldn’t accept any amount of money from me, he was happy to just help. I was safe, and so thankful for the kind soul who got me out of what could have been a very bad situation.
This event lead me to many many tears and locking myself away in my room and not leaving until nearly 18 hours later. I wanted to go home. I wanted familiarity and Google maps. Depression began to rear its nasty head. Then I had to choose to get up and make baby steps to explore my new home. Leaving my guesthouse seems like a small detail but at this time it felt like a huge triumph. So I was slowly on the mend, slowly adjusting. I met more friendly people who work for Tonlé and they are so welcoming and kind. Slowly I felt my bravery coming back and my confidence coming out of hiding. At the workshop I’m working on quality control, which is a very important part of production-inspecting each and every garment to insure the client receives their desired finished product when it arrives. This is a humbling task, working with the other women in the workshop as a team to meet a nearly impossible deadline, fine tuning my problem solving skills. The technical designer for Tonlé, Voleak, is a new graduate from fashion school, 22 years old, and she is half Khmer half Chinese. She is the sweetest and makes sure I feel comfortable in the workshop and answers my many question. This week we both worked on quality control together while listening to Taylor Swift, and asking questions back and forth about each of our cultures. She voiced that it made her sad to know I’ve been eating alone and that she would accompany me to lunch and simply bring her lunch she brought from home with her. This will be a memory I never forget. Later in a manager meeting where each department head says their “highs and lows” of the previous week, Voleak and another girl said having me there was their high. The kindness makes me feel so much more comfortable, and I’m beyond thankful for it. This week I moved into my apartment in the Russian Market, and I instantly feel more adjusted in a place to call home. I now live with Expat woman who writes for a living, has lived here for 5 years and is soon to marry her fiancé she met here. On the first floor lives the landlord and his Khmer family, they have two young dogs and are raising ducklings. I bought groceries for the first time in a market with two stories and the tiniest isles. I now have a Tuk Tuk driver, Chin, who is kind and takes me to and from work and helps me with my bags. I went to café called Jars of clay where 10% of their proceeds goes toward women in need who are poverty stricken. This again reminds me the importance of where you spend your money and how businesses should be ran. We are all connected. (Also they play country music, which made me giggle).
I’m feeling okay now, I’m getting adjusted and many marvel at my bravery to travel alone… which makes me feel both proud and silly. I’m missing the familiar still-my sweet pup, my cat, calling my mom, and laughing with my boyfriend. This feels very hard every day but I feel myself learning and growing enormously with my wonderful support system of my friends and family back home who remind me what I’m doing is important and will so be worth it when I need to hear it. Also Cambodia just got Netflix last week! But the crap wifi in my apartment doesn’t allow me to watch anything. I’m pretty jealous of the people traveling together and the laughter people share; while I still don’t quite have friends to laugh with. I know this will come soon and make things much easier. I’m thankful for this journey and for the opportunity for significant personal growth.
Love,
Kendal
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