The past two weeks have been absolutely crazy. We have had celebrations, illness and small accidents. Everyday has been filled with surprise, some better than others.
Last weekend we celebrated my 24th birthday. We had a group of friends over for a little party, followed by karaoke and dancing. Karaoke in the USA is so different from Cambodia. We were expecting the usual local bar filled with mediocre singers and a lot of drunk people. What we got was a private room where we could sing to some American songs accompanied by weird music videos. It was definitely an interesting experience J. After karaoke, a few of us went to a local club for some dancing. We remembered our keys this time, so no attempts were made to climb over the gate to our apartment’s entrance.
Unfortunately, after such a great night out I became sick with a head and chest cold that was an unwelcomed present from one of my students. As if a cold wasn’t enough, I also got a nasty spider bite that I had an allergic reaction to. I tried to be tough a make it through the week before I went to a clinic, but I couldn’t wait because after 5 days the itching had to stop! I wasn’t sure what the huge, swollen, itchy spot was, but I knew it was not getting better with the over-the-counter medications I was using. Literally, the spot grew to the size of a baseball on my stomach…gross! Keith and I made our way to a highly recognized international clinic to seek medical advice. At least now we know where to go if we become seriously ill.
As a birthday present to myself, I bought a used bicycle so that I could get around town faster. Walking in the heat is exhausting and paying for rides to nearby destinations is not only impractical, but expensive over time. Keith also got a bike and today we got helmets to protect our valuable brains. If any of you have ever traveled to a third world country, you probably understand when I say that life here is extremely unorganized. The streets don’t have many stop signs or lights and when they do most people don’t think that they mean anything. That being said, walking, riding bikes, and driving vehicles becomes very difficult. Everyday our senses are in overdrive making sure that we don’t get run over by another person. At times it is very scary, but being in this situation has made us both thankful for our traffic laws and vigilant police officers.
This weekend we have been recovering from an exhausting week. We both needed a lazy weekend after the madness. Tomorrow we are back to the grind and will be up to our necks in lesson plans and grading. Hopefully this week will go smoother than the last and we will both stay healthy.
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