Time to Reflect

Since I posted the last blog entry I have had some time to reflect...on the bus really. First off, yesterday was great. A relaxing day at the beach in Cambodia not getting hassled too much..although Lauren got talked into having her leg hair threaded! It took 2 hours and was pretty painful, after about 20 minutes she was already regretting it. I eventually had to go in and shave cause I had all these women coming up and grabbing my legs! It was sooooo weird! But we ended up meeting all kinds of cool people,some young american expats and lots of others from all over the world. It was a great farewell to Cambodia.

Anyway, the reflection...
It seems that this portion of the trip is amazing and exhausting...but that's what makes it so exciting. It feels really good to have gone through what it takes to be here, witness it and accept it. I finished reading a book I bought here today called "First they killed my Father". It's a biography of a girl who survived the Khmer Rouge as a child and now lives in the states. I really think knowing a lot about the history is such an important part of being here. I can still feel the weight of the book in my stomach, and how recent it all was. The thing that really gets me is that every time i get annoyed with the hassling I immediatly feel guilty afterward because I feel so bad for what all these people have been through. Every single person that is in this country over the age of 35 was in a prison/work camp unless they escaped and returned. What they went through is so unimaginable yet so real to me now. I've never been to a place where war was so fresh that it affects the culture so much still.

So my reflection is this, it was a good experience. Trying, exhausting...but this is why i flew across the world..after all, Costa Rica has some fantastic beaches too!