Here’s the basic rundown- Todd and I are going to live in
Thailand and teach English for a year in their school system. We are currently
living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for two weeks for teacher training; we’ll than
move to Pattaya, Thailand to finish up our training and get a job.
From talking with friends and family it seems the big
question is—Why?
My answer is why not? We are newly graduated, have no debt,
and we’re not in a hurry to settle down and start buying real furniture. We can live in a tropical paradise, explore
south-east Asia, learn a new language, and save $1000 a month for a year.
Yes, it is scary. Yes, it can be uncomfortable. Yes, it
takes a lot of planning. And, Yes, it will push you way outside of your comfort
zone.
Anyway….
Let me introduce you to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia!
Phnom Penh is a typical south-east Asian capital. It has a
beautiful city center full of pagodas and Buddhist monuments, crazy markets and
food stalls, and away from the city center, suburban slums and
overcrowding. We are living half way
between , close enough that we are in walking distance of a mall, and far
enough that we get lots of crazy looks because we’re the only white people
around-- most westerners stay in the fancy hotels and resorts by the
river. Here is the view out our
window.
You can see the major highway crossing over the river/open
sewer; surrounding it are small family businesses selling whatever they can
get/find, tin shanties, and the local Buddhist temple. So far our
transportation of choice has been tuk tuk or walking. Tuk tuks are small carts
pulled by a motorbike, you can get a ride anywhere in the city for $1-2USD (You can see them in the picture below).
This can be quite an adventure since Cambodian traffic laws are more suggestions
and guidelines. Walking is nice to soak
in the city, but can be a little scary. There are no sidewalks and, if there
were motorbikes would still drive on them. There are no crosswalks so crossing
the street is like a live game of Frogger, especially at night in the unlit
streets.
