On the Run

It is SO great to have my dad here! He really hasn’t stopped moving since he stepped off the plane. He hitches motos all over the city, wanders the markets and checks out the sights while I’m at work during the day, then we hang at night. He knows this place better than I do now, and I think he’s buddies with all of the tuk tuk drivers in town. I'm a pretty poor host at the moment as the majority of my day is spent at the school or working on assignments in an effort not to flunk out of grad school, but he's great doing his thing. He swings by the school in the mornings and spends some time with the kids and talks with the teachers. The ninth graders were working on a brochure and powerpoint presentation about Cambodia for visitors who come to the school, so they had their first presentation with Dad on Friday. It was great to see the kids so proud of their work, and my dad was encouraging (and genuinely impressed - that was cool).
The evenings have been busy – one night we hit the jazz club, the next we went to the night market for soup from a vendor (with added chili that made even the master of Tobasco cry). On Saturday we joined my friend, Chantou, and her family at the wedding of her nephew. It was actually the family celebration the night before the wedding, and we were happy and honored to be there. No dancing this time, but you can't win them all. The yellow and pink tent was in place, the tables and chairs in order. We ate fish and mango salad and other concoctions that bubbled on the table. I am now officially part of the family, as I was invited by an aunt into the house to observe the couple receive the blessing from the monks and take pictures with the bride and groom. Dad and I stayed for quite a while – long enough for all of the uncles to take over a table, break out the brandy and raise their glasses a few hundred times. They celebrated the couple getting married, celebrated Dad’s presence, then celebrated when my future husband arrived. I have been to enough family functions now that I have an arranged marriage if I choose to accept. We have never actually had a full conversation, but I think he’s the only one in the family who is within a couple of inches of me. So what’s not to celebrate?
The next morning we caught an early bus to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat and a thousand other temples. The temples really are the pride of Cambodia, so it was important to make the treck. They are quite unique, and Angkor Wat is massive. I’m sure the history is captivating if one were inclined to do the research. Dad and I left early Monday morning to explore the temples - many people take three days to do this… we were finished a little after noon and left quite satisfied. Both of us were more entertained by the tree of about eight million fruit bats and the lady on the corner who sold us dried snake, frogs on a stick and roasted crickets. We decided we could easily forego the popular tours and kick it with the monks and tuk tuk drivers on the street. The great thing is that everything is cheap – two bus tickets were less than ten bucks – fourteen dollars a night for a guesthouse with A/C – and frog legs for about twenty-five cents. Dad was so excited about a ten dollar ticket to Bangkok that he jumped on a bus to Thailand this morning. I’m writing this on a separate bus heading back to Phnom Penh for work and studying, hoping he shows up in Cambodia again at the end of the week. If anyone ever questions why I hopped a plane to Southeast Asia, there’s your answer. I love it!