Phnom Penh...

On Saturday afternoon, after a brief layover in Laos, we arrived in Phnom Penh. Our joy and excitement at finally reaching our terminal destination is ineffable. Right now we are living at friend’s house in central Phnom Penh until we can move into our campus housing on September 16^th. The university we are teaching at is about 18 kilometers from downtown, and according to our sources, “is good Cambodian country life.” All that being said, we have a few wonderful antidotes to share with you since our arrival: the airport, French soccer, and tuk-tuks.

The International Airport of Phnom Penh is actually rather small, comprised of only two terminals. Being so small, one would think it easy to find the arriving party you are looking for. However, after we had already paid for our visas, and made our way to the baggage claim, our university’s representative ran up to us waiving a sign reading, “PETERS.” The bad news was that he wanted to pay for an official visa—we had already paid for a tourist visa—and insisted on going back through customs with us. Thus, what ensued was an hour long debate with Cambodian officials on visas: the ones we paid for, the ones our attaché wanted for us, and the ones the Cambodians felt we should have. It was insane and awkward. The university official with us was Korean, the Cambodian official was Khmer, and of course we are American; talk about culture clash. Eventually we worked it out, and Mr. Cho—our Korean university official—took us out to Chinese, because he felt bad. It was a great “hello” to Cambodia.

After Chinese, we moved into our new place. Another teacher with ELI lives there, and while he is gone for the summer, we will be taking over his space. There is only one catch; he has a French roommate named Alex. Now, Alex is a great guy, but since our French is non-existent we can only communicate with him through broken English. During our first conversation with him we drifted to the topic of soccer. He really enjoys soccer, and plays in a few leagues here in Phnom Penh. He said, in his broken English, that we—Ben and Bryant (a guy teaching with Andrea and me)—should play in his French league the next morning. He said, “don’t worry, we will provide the shorts, and jerseys.” Needless to say, it was a rather official game, but we figured…yeah! Why not?

So, Sunday morning we woke early and headed down to the Phnom Penh soccer stadium; yes, we actually played this game in a real-deal soccer stadium. Bryant and I donned our jerseys, warmed up on the pitch, and quickly were relegated to the bench. Yet, thirty minutes into the game, the French players were getting tired, and so the coach called our number. Out we ran onto the field, the crowds roared (not really), and we took our positions as mid-fielders. I played right-mid, and Bryant played center-mid. Now, I have never in my life played soccer, but that did not stop me. Within a few minutes of play a ball plopped down in front me with nothing lying between me and the goalie. So, I dribbled the ball down field (as I fended off a Khmer defender with my right elbow), took aim, and let loose. It was a beautiful kick. Quickly it shot out from my foot, curved left, the goalie dived, he fell short, and I realized, he missed! Holy crap, I am about to score my first soccer goal ever. I am in Cambodia, under the blistering humid sun, in an official soccer stadium, playing on a French team against a Khmer team, and I am about to score a goal. Then…CLANG!!! It hit the post, rolled in front of the goal, and out of bounds. Seriously, five centimeters to the left, and my fate as a soccer hero would have been sealed. As it was, I was pretty stoked I even hit the post, and due to my small success, am planning on playing in the weekly French games.

Lastly, tuk-tuks! Tuk-tuks are carts strapped on the back of motor scooters. For about a dollar a ride you can travel all over the city. It is really an easy and convenient way to travel. However, last night on our way to the grocery store street kids began to crawl and climb all over our tuk-tuk looking for money or food (what they called, “yum-yums”). It was heartbreaking; no more than six years of age, in tattered cloths and shoes—some with babies—we saw, face-to-face, the poverty hidden amongst the economic growth of Cambodia.

In our short time in Phnom Penh, these are just a few of our experiences. It is wholly different from Vietnam, and, like any traveling, will take time for us to adjust. We miss you all so much, and look forward to sharing more of our journeys soon.