Weekend in Phnom Penh.

The weekend in the city was... interesting. Since I didn't spend much time in PP before, this trip was the first time I got to experience some of the more tourist attractions. And traveling with 15 of the closest friends you've got here was fun. In a way, we have all become a sort of family.

Having spent nearly two months out in the country, I actually experienced a few minutes of culture shock. Where were all the cows? Where were the heaps of garbage? Why are there so many foreigners here; what are they doing in my country? I was so surprised that I reacted that way but then, it was profound to learn that it only took a short while to get over the shock. Needless to say, it didn't take that long to fall back into Western comforts of cleanliness, being able to use dollars anywhere and having the access of pizza, burgers and milkshakes at your disposal. It didn't take long to get used to a higher standard of living.

Something that did really disturb me happened when we had dinner at a fancy Lebanese restaurant. The place and outside decor looked like a place in Old Town Pasadena. For a moment, one of our North American friends was talking about Colorado and then it was like I was suddenly transformed into another reality where we could have been back in LA or something. It was so strange! Yet, we were still in Cambodia, only three hours away from the town that we live in.

And even that in itself - to consider ourselves as temporary residents of this country, not merely obnoxious tourists who have come to Cambodia only to take advantage of the inexpensive traveling. When I spoke with other travelers, I could hear myself speak with a sense of pride. It was such an interesting learning experience because there was no way I could have foreseen that until I was actually in a different environment.

I came back to Pursat with new perspectives of my time here as well as a bit more confidence to enter the city on my own again a week from now. I don't know about other countries but I do know that Cambodia is such an easy place for foreigners to come travel through or live here. I can understand why there is a growing number of expatriates. Here, having a few hundred dollars means you can live with absolute comfort.