Sonder

The other day while eating at one of my usual spots, Tuk Tuk Tacos, I was sitting at a long table while two guys hunkered down at the opposite end. I had just finished a workout and wasn't eager to start a conversation, so I kept to my tacos and ate quietly. As I was getting ready to pay, something compelled me to sit back down. The two men across from me paid their bills, and as they finished the guy closest to me turned and said hello. We introduced ourselves and covered the typical bases of a first conversation in Siem Reap. Where are you from? What are you doing here? Etc. etc.

Turns out he was originally from Canada, and was currently working as a photographer and filmmaker. Long hair, a prosthetic left leg, and a Khmer Kid he was no longer allowed to see, I thought to myself this guy should've been the spokesperson for Dos Equis. We hit it off and continued the discussion at a bar across the street. He showed me some of his photography, and even told me about a Facebook group for local photographers who get together for photo shoots and critique each other's work. While riding home I realized how fortunate I was to meet this guy, all because of an inexplicable hesitation to pay my bill.

A few days after being added to the group, a post was made about a photo walk through the Angkor Night Market. Upon arrival at the meeting point, a rather luxurious theater in which I am hoping to catch the new Star Wars, I met a couple of Americans, John and Ralph, who had been living in Siem Reap for a couple of years now. Ralph turned out to be from Rochester, which is only 3 hours away from my hometown (which now seems minuscule considering my new global frame of reference).

Going out with the sole intention of taking photos was something I had never done before. Being able to walk through the market maze and marvel at its intricacies made me realize there is much more to this city than I will ever be able to see. During the walk I captured a few nice photos, all the while getting to know some amazing people. At the end of the shoot most of us stopped at a pizza joint for dinner and I felt like I was back at Union, eating with all the "boiz" in upper. The only difference being you can feed a party of eight in Siem Reap for $22.

For the rest of the night I forgot about how I was missing everyone back home, that I have 230+ days left, and even how my stomach decided it wasn't fully adjusted to Khmer cuisine at a month in. Great food, great people, and great conversation all converged to give me exactly what I've been searching for, a sense of belonging. Our table resembled something reminiscent of the last supper, with veteran and novice travelers all coming together to share a meal of the classic 'zza.

Hearing the stories of John's heart attack at 34 and Ralph's worldly travels as a respiratory therapist have opened my eyes to how this country attracts could-be Dos Equis spokespeople. Experiences such as this fill me sonder (a feeling for which I have provided the definition as I do not think it could be said any better). I haven't quite discovered what it is that attracts so many amazing people to this country, and even those who have been summoned by its tantalizing allure cannot provide me with a solid answer.

Sonder: "The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk." -The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows