Farewell for Now

The last few days have been great – I have been tying up loose ends and celebrating every day with food (shocking – that’s all I seem to talk about). We enjoyed the last day of school with a party at the school – the kids prepared dances and songs (and pork kebabs), and we said goodbye. Most of the kids will be at the school every day of vacation because that’s their safe place to study and hang out, but I will be gone …so the final days meant something to me. The day after our school party, the teachers took me into the mountains along with two other volunteers to celebrate the end of the year. We drove a couple hours, then the Corolla (with four in the back… good thing I’m small) climbed a mountain that belonged to the military, I believe. Our driver handed a couple beers to the guards and we were on our way. It was near the land owned by a teacher’s family - such a beautiful place. We made lunch near a small lake (they made lunch, I ate), and we had some time to share thoughts and feelings on the year and about each other. After, we went for a walk – which turned into boulder hopping with the guys. They caught a couple fish, and I had a rock skipping contest with Thuoen – really, the perfect day. No city, no motorcycles, no garbage. Those things were replaced with fresh air, green trees, jokes and chicken salad.
I also joined a family for dinner in their home the next evening – the daughters are students at the school, and we have bonded through singing and candy. We ate morning glory and rice, played ‘Go Fish’, and we listened to their dad play the guitar. I couldn’t understand the words, but he sang to his wife as she smiled from the other side of the room. . I flipped through their wedding album, and we shared different stories from our lives. Good moments. Their house, like others, is very simple, but it is packed with love. I managed to spend time with many people right before leaving – I took my friend’s daughters to the market for pedicures (yes, less than a dollar so I have done the nail thing), and I spent the morning packing with my friend who is very organized, unlike me.
I actually needed the help, because I have been hobbling around the last two days. I really wanted to go home completely healthy and fresh so my entrance to the US would scream “Cambodia is GOOD” (which it is, of course) but instead – after seven months of good health – I have an infected foot that looks like it belongs on an elephant. It really is swollen, and now I sit at the airport in Korea with my bandaged foot in the air, taking antibiotics every six hours. Not the message I wanted to send, but par for my course. I always come home with some injury - last time I arrived with ten stitches in my hand and had to water ski with a plastic dish glove and duct tape.
I was taken to the airport by a very large entourage of people – it was a pretty grand farewell, and again, I felt spoiled. We had a dinner at the school with the teachers and students to honor one of our volunteers, then everyone escorted me to the airport at nine o’clock at night. I jumped in the car with my lame foot, and about fifteen guys from the school – both teachers and students – followed alongside on their motorcycles. What a great sendoff! Again, there’s no way to out-serve these people. They just give until there’s nothing left – until they either run out of food or run out of time. Good thing there will be more of both. Two of the teachers said, “I’ll be here waiting for you.”