Life's Journey: The home hunt and a weekend of Solace

Wednesday, August 17th, after being offered the job at SNA (Schools of North America), John the sleezy moto driver and I went to go looking for a place to live. We went to about 4-5 places, all wanted around $300-$350 a month. I was hoping for a bit less than that and to ensure I'd have a balcony, AC, internet, and a view. I also wanted to have more than a cubicle with a bed. After searching, we eventually came to Guesthouse Thanh on Duong Co Bac (Street Co Bac). I checked out the room which is on the 4th floor I believe, and it was love at first sight. Big windows, a large room, AC, internet, and a balcony though it is small. It sounded like a good deal, $270 a month. Which it is indeed, but the whole process went rather quickly. The moto driver rapidly encouraged me to find a place, which was helpful at the time, but it also gave me a sense of permanence which I did not want. Considering the fact that I did not decide to take the job until the following day. Despite all of this, I agreed, signed some contract written fully in Vietnamese and paid the $270. I'm happy I did not have to make a deposit of the first 3-4 months as I read about online before coming here. It appears as though the agreement is on a month to month basis. So perhaps I'll move, it depends on how things turn out and how much I enjoy living here once I become fully independent.

I decided that the next day I would go to work at 7:45am. John, the cheapskate moto driver, was supposed to pick me up at 7:15am, he did not show up. I waited til 7:23am till I grabbed a new driver. The previous moto driver took the business card I was given, so I had to tell the new moto driver the address based on memory. Needless to say, we got lost and I arrived 7 minutes late on my first day. It all worked out fine and my new boss was understanding about the issue. And so, the whirlwind continued. Luckily the classes I have are fairly simple, 1st and 5th graders. I had to create the lesson plans for only the 5th grade class. It did not take too much time as I have an assistant in the classroom. Plus we bascially just follow the textbooks with a few activities thrown in to fill in time if needed.

I made a deal with the boss man that I needed to go to Cambodia and therefore, had to leave work early on friday. That was accomplished, I took a bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh from 3pm to 10pm. Usually it's a 6 hour bus ride, but once we crossed the border into Cambodia, the rain was relentless. It even felt like the driver almost lost control sometimes due to all the mud caused by the rain. Let me back track for a second or two. I was going to say it was a feeling of nostalgia, but actually it was more of excitement. Crossing into Cambodia, a giant smile appeared on my face. Though it had only been 3 days spent in Vietnam, I was profoundly happy to feel comfortable, to know I can greet people, have conversations and not have to think deeply about it or stumble on my pronunciation. Crossing the border was the microcosm of Cambodia for me. After getting my visa, I had to do the health check. The lady there, asked how I was, I responded to her in Khmer, sok sup bai (I'm well), sok sup bai te? (How are you?) She said "Ah! Che(h) Khmer te? Nyay peasah Khmer lu Ah nas!" (You know Khmer? You speak very well [yes, say the general greeting and instantly you speak Khmer very well :) ] ). She proceeded to ask me in English where I was from, I told her California, she asked about Long Beach (the town/city with the largest population of Cambodians outside of Cambodia) and so we continued our exchange regarding what she knows about Cambodia. I felt at home, at ease. Something a little difficult to describe. From there on, the smile continued for the next 3 hours.

Upon arrival in Phnom Penh, it was dark and I was disoriented. Unsure of where I was, and thus, paid more for the tuk tuk ride than I should have, but that did not bother me. I was happy to be somewhere where I felt some form of belonging and that I was going to see an awesome friend, my Jules. Jules showed up with her cousin and we made our way to her uncle's house. I could not believe how polite they were to have me stay in their home as I know many Khmer families do not ever allow friends to stay the night. Jules and I spoke about our future, about her experience in Cambodia for the first time, about how quickly I landed a job, and soon enough it was time for bed. Going to sleep around midnight and waking up at 5:40amish, I could not be more elated. We all piled into her Uncle's car, 10 in total. It was a toyota highlander, needless to say it was not legal in the U.S. We drove from Phnom Penh to Kampong Som. A beach area aka Sihanoukville. Along the way we stopped by a river and got our feet wet. Eventually we found a guesthouse to stay at and then fixed a flat tire. While fixing the flat tire, we went across the street and got some of the best Nom Som Jake (Sticky rice with banana wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled) I've had in a while. I couldn't believe it when I saw it, it was so perfect. It's probably my favorite Khmer food/pastry and I completely forgot to get some until that moment. The rice was savory and the banana soft and sweet, I had two they were so good. Next, we grabbed lunch and the family grabbed fresh seafood, shrimp, mussels, crab, some worm looking things, and barbacued squid. We made our way to the beach and began our feast. And my God, was it a feast! We had pounds upon pounds of seafood. There was no way we could finish it all in one sitting. So we took a break in the water. The waves were weak, not as weak as some of the ones I've seen on the east coast, but they were right near there. The water however, was very comfortable. It was warm, but not hot like a spa, and thus it was relaxing with the heat of the sun. Jules and I decided to swim out to the buoi. It wasn't very far and I think we both wanted to work off our feast (at least I know I did). We accomplished our task and came back to the shallow water where we relaxed. We returned to our shaded chairs and continued to talk about our long-term and short-term futures. In the background was the beautiful beach as the sun began to set. As the sun began to drop closer to the horizon, we descended into the Gulf of Thailand. Enjoying the sunset, we laid on our backs and floated in the water, the water seeped into our ears, defeaning any nearby sound. We only had the solace of the waves to calm us despite some boats nearby who tried to interrupt our peace. At this point, I felt as though all my worries regarding settling in Vietnam disappeared, the worries of getting sick by the water or food vanished, it was just me and the sea, as cheerful as one can be. We stayed in the water until I actually felt cold, yes it was one of the rare occasions, if not the first, where I actually felt cold in Southeast Asia. I went ahead and swam which warmed me right back up. Eventually, we left the beach when there was no more sun to be had.

We made our way to our guesthouse and got ready for the nights festivities. Which would later include drinks and dancing at a club, a real club, one that I could easily see being in the U.S. minus all the Khmer singing and so forth. We danced the night away, rejuvenated our spirits and made our way back to the coast to end our night with singing, jokes, and many cheers. This was the weekend of Solace I needed.