August 7th 2010 | Manila International Airport

Hard to believe we’re here…awaiting our flight to Tokyo and then Minneapolis. Our two years is a wrap. I’ve got some catching up to do as usual… the last month or so……

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Now I’m in Tokyo. Didn’t really get the chance to sit down and write like I thought I was going to be able to at the Manila airport. We stayed the night in the terminal and there was only one power outlet for me to plug my computer into, then I had to move when they were starting to check in flights

Well I’ll start this post with, “We’re definitely not in Cambodia anymore”…. nor the Philippines for that matter. There was a drinking fountain as soon as we stepped into the airport. A real fountain, in which you could drink the water for free. It was cold. It was clean. No need to get it from the well, or catch it as rain water, or boil, or filter it. It’s already funny how the little things have been hitting me since we left Cambodia a week ago. Anyway, I need to sit down and write about a few moments as well as some finishing words about Cambodia, we’ll see what I can get done with our 3 hour layover in Tokyo!

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On Being Home | March 3, 2011
So we’ve been back in the U.S. for just over six months.

I pause and let my cursor blink for a bit while I reflect on that. Wow.

Tonight, Will and I both stared at our pantry cupboards and looked in the fridge while trying to figure out what to eat for dinner. There were a few left-over’s. Re-fried beans, cheese and tortillas are always an easy option when we don’t feel like cooking. Then Will said, “We could do breakfast for dinner.” Then I said, “How about fried eggs and rice with soy sauce.”

I don’t know how many times that was our staple, choice option while we were in Cambodia on the days we didn’t really feel like cooking. It was easy. Almost like making mac & cheese from a box here. The only things that were missing were the fresh cucumbers and tomatoes that we’d have on the side. Oh, and also the whole sweat-dripping-down-our-bodies-while-we-enjoyed-the-meal-thing.

But yes. We’ve been back in the country for almost half a year. It’s crazy how fast the time goes. Will’s in grad-school. I’m working at a small marketing firm. We’ve experienced 25-below degree temps again. Yet Cambodia still remains very prominent in my mind.

Ha. I remember last summer the first time going into Cub Foods grocery store. I wanted to buy a few toiletries like some shampoo, toothe-paste, a razor and lotion. I found myself in the air-conditioned aisle just staring at ALL of the many different options to choose from, baffled by the steep cost of a bottle of shampoo. $4.95? Are you nuts? It was a bit overwhelming in a way I never expected. I think I might have spent close to an hour trying to pick out all the things I needed. It felt somewhat nice that I didn’t have to bargain with anyone, but at the same time, I kind of wished I could have. I think ended up spending $45 at the checkout, walking back to the car in dismay. How did I just spend $45 on toiletries?

The price-tag sticker shock was definitely something that took a little getting used to. It didn’t help that we were un-employed, and spent the last two years bargaining over as little as $0.12-$0.25. I mean… when we went to the super market in the city, buying something that was $2.10 vs. something that was $2.80 was a big deal in regards to our budget. It took us two months being back in the states before we decided that spending $5 a month wasn’t too expensive to have a text messaging plan on our cell phones. Ha.

Well anyhow, we made it back safely. We had a wonderful trip to the Philippines with my folks. Saw my mother’s hometown which is also where my dad served in the Peace Corps. Cantilan. Yea, a town on the coast of a beautiful island in the southern Philippines which has beautiful beaches with white sand and clear blue water, fresh crab and shrimp daily, nice green mountains as a backdrop, and can I mention, beautiful beaches again? I tell you. Some things in life just aren’t fair. He claims everything’s a trade-off though; he didn’t have electricity, access to ice, and had to take an over-night boat trip to get any sort of western food or ice-cream.

Will’s parents picked us up in the MSP airport on August 8th. It was funny seeing the countryside back in the mid-west again. Everything seemed so clean. So wide open and spacious. It was weird to ride in a mini-van that wasn’t jam-packed full of people, going 65mph down the interstate. (It felt uncomfortably fast to us.)

We got back to Will’s parent’s house in the country and stepped outside of the air-conditioned van and wandered around their back yard. Took a look at his dad’s huge garden. Walked back by the corn. Heard his parents both say, how UNBELIEVABLY hot and humid this week has been. Both Will and I just looked at each other and kind of grinned, but didn’t even need to say anything because it actually felt quite pleasant out to us. Looking back, that was the warmest it has been in the US since we’ve been back.

Anyhow, I’ve finally taken a moment to finish up a few entries for this blog. I know there is more I could write, and maybe I will someday, but here are a few more things that I felt like posting.

Thanks for following along on the journey. It was a good one, and it has changed me and continues to change me in ways I never thought.