Approaching 30

I know I said I would be more diligent, but hey life happens pretty fast sometimes. I apologize for having not written in forever. As I approach the 30th anniversary of my birth, I have vowed to keep my writing and my blog up to date.

Here is a broad, far-reaching and non-descript account of my life over the past year or so…

Life here is great, except for the cleanliness of everything. I love my job, and not to sound lame, but I believe I have found my calling. I don’t mean that I will be living abroad for the rest of my life, but I do think I will always be a teacher. I now have eleven classes ranging in ages and levels, and I often substitute at a pre-school, and I love every minute of it. I have also learned so much about the English language, as well as the art of teaching.

I have traveled a lot. The last time I wrote I had just gotten back from Thailand. Sense then I took a long weekend and went to Hong Kong. I really liked it there, it is a great city. The best way I can describe Hong Kong is to say it feels like a very large “China town” in a European city. I saw more white people there than I had seen in a very long time. The culture, atmosphere and food are great. Actually, most of the food Americans think of as “Chinese food” comes from Hong Kong. The trip was great, and I am looking forward to making another run over there soon.

Talbot and I took a ten day trip through Vietnam and Cambodia for his 30th birthday. Vietnam and Cambodia were incredible, and the trip was a blast. Saigon might be my favorite city in Asia. Cambodia was great, well Siem Reap was, Phnom Penh was awful. But, Phnom Penh is the best place to be in order to visit the “killing fields” as well as some other sites about the Khmer Rouge. The food in both countries is great, except if you eat an undercooked piece of snake, just ask Talbot. I would say out of both places Cambodia effected me the most. The people there are incredibly nice, maybe even nicer than Southern Americans, which is saying a lot. If you don’t believe me when I say that just ask anyone who is not from The States that has traveled to the south. They all say the same thing “I could not believe how nice everyone was”. It is incredible that the people of Cambodia are as nice as they are considering everything they have been through in the past 30 years. It really is mind-blowing. It is impossible to go anywhere in Cambodia where there is not a victim of the Khmer Rouge needing some kind of help. There are victims of landmines everywhere and children selling everything you can think of in the streets. And yet, they are always able to keep a smile on their faces.

I also managed to sneak in a trip home for three weeks. It was great to see everyone and catch-up. I miss everyone and everything from back home, especially the food. I feel torn all the time as what my next move should be. I love America, my family, friends and dog, but I don’t think my time is done here or with the rest of the world yet. However, I say that know and I will probably feel differently in a few hours (it always works out that way).

Until next time,

Mark