2 Week Mark, Already

Today is the two-week mark and already I have grown pretty accustomed to living in another country 8,692 miles away. They say the human body is remarkable when it comes to adapting to new environments, and while my stomach still has some time to adjust, mentally, I am quite adjusted.

I have my daily routine pretty well established and between the new efforts with the restaurant, Joe to Go, and activities at TGC, my mind is always occupied. When I have free time I usually spend it exploring the city, reading, or catching up on the news back home. Most of the time it seems as if things are more organized here than in Washington. Every day there appears to be some new development in the cluster-fuck that is the White House.

By now I have a pretty good handle on all the ins and outs of living in Siem Reap: turn up the fan speed incrementally or else it will violently fall out of the ceiling, cold showers after sweating out all the water that was formerly in my body, listening to conversations in a language I cannot understand, with body language being the only thing I can understand, geckos on the walls of everything, and narrowly missing motorists every time I hop on my bike. If my bike has a flat tire, I know where to get it fixed. If I need groceries, I know where I can buy them. Life in Siem Reap isn't really life in Siem Reap anymore, it's just life, but there are still times when I think to myself, "am I really here?" While I still miss my friends and family back home, I have come to the realization that I am only an acting Minerva Fellow once, and I need to live every day in Siem Reap as if it were my last.

Being someone who loves souvenirs, I caved and bought my first two souvenirs at two weeks in. Souvenir shops in Siem Reap are like mazes. They appear the same in every which direction, and have countless exit and entry points. As I walk the long corridors filled with dusty old trinkets and touristy apparel, one by one the salespeople tear their eyes away from their phones and give their best attempt at a sales pitch. Best not you find a dead end, as you'll find yourself cornered between someone trying to sell you the elephant statue you happened to glance at for a fraction of a second, and a pair of cheap leggings.

In the coming weeks I will be focusing on Joe to Go's marketing efforts as the restaurant operates solely to fund The Global Child. While there is much work to be done, I look forward to the challenge and have already been able to put my design skills to use and offer input.