There it is again

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There is that feeling again. I am sitting in our room alone. We almost have all of our things packed up. It’s raining outside, and Darro’s mom was just calling for him and he’s headed downstairs.

Wow did 10 weeks fly by really fast. Also, it’s funny how much stuff one can accumulate in that amount of time.

Tonight is our last night at our training site host family. To be honest the sadness is hitting me now. That same feeling that hits a person throughout life. I really like this family ~ they have been really good to us and we have gotten to know them pretty well. It’s almost like we’re a part of the family. They certainly treat us that way. We all joke around. We’ve taught our host brother and sister a few American card games and we’ve been spending a fair amount of our free time playing cards. This week is Pchum Ben holiday- and we’ve gone to the Wat with the family to help them celebrate … which has entailed getting dressed up in our good clothes, squeezing into their Toyota corolla and driving to the Wat all together. Sopeap jokes around with Will, asking him if he’s hungry; if so he can eat a few of the bananas in their car (as she points to the banana shaped air-fresheners hanging from the rear view mirror). Darro’s English has improved significantly in the 2 months that we’ve been here. He now is picking up and using sarcasm and joking around nearly as much as Will is. Bun Than keeps saying in Khmer that “now that I can cook American, maybe I can be a Peace Corps Volunteer in America.” All good things. All real things. I guess you know you’re living life when you hit moments like these that make you sad, and reflect. You know that people have touched a part of you, or have left their mark with you when these feelings hit you right in your heart.

I’ve had all these feelings way too many times I think, in the last few months. First packing up and leaving Big Sky, then leaving my home and Will’s home… and here we are doing it all over again.

But there was something significant about this one…here is where our first steps, experiences and moments in this country took place. Here is where we made our very first true and genuine Cambodian friends. Here they are and now we go. Now is when they become vivid pictures in our head to keep as treasures and stories to tell somebody, someday in the future maybe sometime.

Well I had better go, but I just wanted to share those feelings going on in my heart.
I think I’m going to head downstairs to the cooking area one last time and spend time with the family …

Until next time… good night.