Cambodia: Day 71

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Phnom Penh

Things are going well in the office. I'm actually enjoying the work I'm doing with my report. It's fun to see it all come together. I've also realized something about myself: I really like to make charts, especially those of the pie type. I know, I'm a dork, but being out of school for this long forces me to be creative in the ways that I express my nerdiness.

I came home for lunch Monday afternoon. To my pleasant surprise, my bike had been fixed. Om found someone in the neighborhood to fix it for a dollar. I promptly paid her, plus paid her the 2000 Riel (or fifty cents) I owed her for my laundry. There was a little discussion about the money for laundry as I tried to explain to her the best I could why I was only paying her 2000 Riel instead of 12,000.

I went back to work early to continue working on my report, thinking it was all cleared up. Later I got a text from Lauren; apparently Om thought I was cheating her out of three dollars for the laundry. She had gone over to Sophorn's to tell her to talk to me about it, and then went to Lauren to ask her to try to convince me to pay, as well. It was a little nerve wracking; I don't really want to be on the bad side of the person who makes my food. I assumed it was all just a big misunderstanding, though, and decided I'd wait for Sophorn to come to me.

After work, Tuni and I met Lauren at the home of the Ellsworth's. April had kindly invited us over for dinner and FHE. I was very excited as I walked into the spacious home, welcomed by the smell of baking coming from the kitchen. I set my stuff down when I felt something familiar on my feet.

Is that … Is that CARPET?! It hit me that it had been over two months since I'd felt carpet on my feet. It was inviting, much more so than the cold tile that makes up the floors in almost every home in Phnom Penh. It's decided. When I get home, I'm going to eat a bowl of cereal while laying on the carpet in my living room. It will be glorious.

We helped prepare dinner a little bit and then President Ellsworth gave us a tour of the house. It was HUGE, yet another thing that I was not used to. The stairs were actually big enough to scale up and down with ease; I didn't have to waddle like a penguin like in Om's house. Toys were splayed out all over the place, acting as little reminders that a childhood was being created.

Dinner time came. All twelve of us sat down around the large dining room table. The food was spread before us: baked chicken, cheesy onion bread, and rice. It was so nice to consume something that wasn't fried or drenched in oil. My food was finished and I stared in disbelief at my plate, which was oil puddle free. It's about time my heart gets a break.

We finished the night off by watching the Gordon B. Hinckley movie and eating cookies. The boys played in a large blanket fort that took up the entire living room. I don't know how to explain it, but it was nice to be able to spend some time with a family. Don't get me wrong, Om is great, but she doesn't exactly give off the "family vibe". Sure, I get to spend time at Tuni's house where a family of four lives, but they're hardly home.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that being at the Ellsworth's was familiar. It was something that I could somewhat relate to, something that reminded me of home.