Leaving
loved ones is never easy, nor is it an exactly pleasant experience. However, in order to accomplish most
oversized goals and adventures, it must be endured. Wednesday and Thursday were filled with a
flurry of exchanging phone numbers and emails with everyone I know and
many many….many goodbye hugs.
Luckily my good friend Patrick had come over from out of state had come
for a last minute visit and was very good at keeping me busy and my spirits up.
Thanks bud!! We all had a fantastic Easter together in Riggins by the river and
what better send off than dinner with the girls and late night viewing of
Jurassic Park. It was great.
Thursday
morning was very hard for me, as I had to drop Charlie off with my friend
Angela, who will be the first in a long line of doggy sitters. I won’t lie. I
bawled like a baby. It was awful. I told
myself he was in good hands (which he is) and dove with Mom and John to Boise
where we had a fabulous dinner at Barbacoa. I was at the airport at 8am on
Friday. I made a few last minute phone calls from the SEATAC airport on my
layover, painted may nails, did some preflight yoga (odd looks be damned!) and
mentally prepped myself for a 12 hour flight, a tight layover, and another 6
hour flight. 
As I was getting settled in my
little seat thinking of how glad I was I brought snacks to save me from the
airplane food that most of my companions would soon be consuming, I remembered
something I had forgotten since my last trip to Asia. Asian women are lovely. Does that sound
creepy? I hope not, because I mean it in the most graceful and becoming sense
of the word. Cross my fingers, hope to die;
I swear those stewardesses glided through the air down the airplane isles. I was suddenly ashamed of my wretched posture
and slouchy clothes. Note to self: try it their way once in a while.
Well, as expected, the flights were
long and the layover was rushed and I was in Phnom Penh before I knew it. I was collected at the airport by a Khmer man
named Smith in one of my personal favorite modes of transportation: tuk
tuk. It was 11:30pm and still 90 degrees
out but the open air ride felt amazing after so much plane time. It was a sketchy (nice way to put it) 20 min
tuk tuk ride to my hotel/home for the next month as we regularly drove on the
other side of the road, viciously abused the horn, shouted at passing motos
(also going the wrong way) and ran at least 3 red lights. It was spectacular.
My room is small and neat with a
tiled bathroom, lovely buttercup yellow walls, and 5th floor view of
the surrounding city. There is a darling
little gym downstairs and a pool out back where I intend to regularly beat the
heat! On our first day in the city my group ventured out into the sweltering
heat in a caravan of tuk tuks to see the Royal Palace and a nearby temple. It
was all very exhilarating except for the very large blister I got on my foot . That evening we had a
delicious welcome dinner at the hotel, which I followed up with the best cold
shower of my life before hitting the hay utterly exhausted. First day of school on Monday!! Hip hip
hurray!!!
You know, it’s interesting, when I begin
a trip I can physically feel something stir inside of me. It is a feeling of awakening that seems to be
dormant when I am stationary at home and comes to life in me when I am abroad. It is what makes me ask strangers at the
market how to say things or for directions, or play charades with taxi drivers
and airport personnel. Perhaps it is my
body’s chemical reaction to my new surroundings, but it feels like more than
that. It feels like wonder. Not to say I never
have bad days or experiences, I just think it allows the very best version of
Madi to come out and play. More to come
soon!! Love and miss you all! xoxo
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