Day 2 of Technical Exchange (Kampong Cham - Chris' Village)

I woke up at 7a, showered, packed, then headed to PSI's office at 8a. We left around 9:15a to Kampong Cham province. There was plenty of talking and napping in the car on the way there. We checked in at our hotel (fan room), got lunch, then promptly headed to Chris' (PCV) village where I actually did my training more than a year and a half ago. Oddly, I had not been back since then. I know, it sounds terrible, but I live 12 hours from there! Yes, Rachel, if you're reading this, I know you've been back 3 or 4 times. Way to make me look bad! Anyhow, it was fantastic getting to hang out with Chris and have him suggest a few places for us to shoot. It was amazing getting to see Taboung Kamum district again. That place is gorgeous. Seriously, if you've ever tried to picture what Cambodia looks (or should look) like in your head, that's this village. It's surrounded by rubber trees and it stays green year-round.

Our first shot was of a poor-looking family (this probably sounds strange to you all back home, but in Cambodia, pointing out socio-economic distinctions is not uncouth. In fact, many people would be happy to come up to you to say "Hey! It's been awhile. You looked prettier before. Oh, and you're a lot fatter. Did you eat a lot of rice when you were away?" and they would mean nothing harmful by it). It went really well. this is probably one of the most striking images that was taken so far (I'm at the end of Day 3 right now). I can't wait to get a hold of all of these photos from Bunsak's laptop. I really enjoy feeling this productive. I hope this is something that can continue into next year (which I should know about by the end of next month, which is so soon!!!! ...but I wanna know, now! I want it, now!)

After the photo shoots, which went until about 4:30p, I saw my host family from training, which was so fantastic. They were really happy to see me, and the kids had grown so much (it had been about 18 months!). My host dad brought out jake chop (banana chips with caramelized sugar...this stuff would be excellent in a bowl...with cold milk...and a spoon), nom bao (giant dumplings with pork and a duck egg), and some Coca-cola. We chatted for about 30 minutes, and then I had to head back to the provincial town. When I got back to town, I met up with Kellie (another PCV) and grabbed some food and chatted about the mysterious and fascinating histories in our families.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett