One of the things I love about traveling is the chances to meet people I wouldn't otherwise. Not only do we often find many similarities in our short time together but we are both more honest then usuall. Somehow we trust the other instantly and explain nearly our entire life story before parting ways. It is as if the knowledge that we will never see eachother again provides safe grounds for disclosing intimate details. knowing there is a shorter time limit to include all the juicy details may partially motivate the speed in getting to know eachother.
While waiting for my flight to Taipei at the SeaTac airport I met a group of people from Wenatchee traveling to Bangkok for their annual check-up on English teachers affiliated with their program. Three of them were around my age and on their first trip to this area, all excited to enter such an exotic country. I felt a tad guilty when they looked down after hearing how Western Thailand is now. Although, I myself have not visited there but merely heard stories from others in SE Asia. My traveling honesty did express that my negative thoughts on tourism and Western influence spreading throughout SE Asia and other semi-remote regions.
On the flight I sat next to a Vietnamese man who has been studying Architecture in Texas and will be visitng his family. We compared Vietnam and Cambodia but decided we shouldn't take eachother word and each must visit the other country.
During the layover in Taipei, after checking my email at their complimentary station, I conversed with a Cambodian girl who has been living in the Seattle/Renton area for six years. She lent me her IPOD after spending a few hours chatting about how differently we are treated in Cambodia simply for being "from the West". They even charge her more than local Khmer because they believe she can afford it more, which by her very American pop-culture appearance it makes sense. We parted ways on the airplane but exchanged numbers for meeting upon returning to the states.
My seat was by a Khmer who had been living in the California for over twenty years. He escaped from the Khmer Rouge at the peak of his soccer career, but became a Christian and soccer coach in the states. Now he is returning to Phnom Penh to begin a soccer ministry with youth in the city. He has had difficulties since he never received a college degree but is well versed in theology and soccer. He will remain in Phnom Penh for one year before returning to gain further support.
On the bus trip (16 people in a minivan) from Phnom Penh to Ban Lung I met a woman from California visiting relatives in the city. She was traveling to Ratanakiri with her nephew and his sons to purchase a Rubber Tree Plantation. I can only guess her age and what she has experienced with her two children on their escape to the states. Her nephew did not speak a word of English but had learned French before the Khmer Rouge took power. One of his sons spoke English very well though, as he had learned it from passengers in his Tuk-Tuk arouHe nd Siem Reap. I ate lunch with them and chatted about the changes Cambodia has gone through in the last thirty years. They seemed to be just as shocked as myself with the current stability in the country. Before parting ways they instructed the bus driver how to find Anne's house and gave Azia gave me her phone number to reach her in California.
I reached Anne's just after six and luckily met up with James, her gardener, who was changing the locks. He caught me up on news things around the house and proised to return and take me to church in the morning.
