calah in translation: summary: you are happy.

Regarding my trip to KAMPUCHIA, a friend asked this morning:

What was your favorite part?
My response. I think I said something about Angkor Wat and Western food. Well, that was honest, but here is the more accurate and more honest response to that question:
FREEDOM!!! (I'm just saying, it was nice to not have a curfew for a week.)

Or to put it another way:

Hannah, Ali, and I were walking down the streets of Siem Reap one night and a random tuk-tuk driver -- after propositioning us for a ride -- asked:
Why are you happy?
To which we answered:
Because we are on vacation!!!!

Or to put it another way: We like Vietnam but we simply needed a break.

Now the vacation is over. We arrived home safely this morning at 3 am (minor flight delays..). In response to the question:

Cam-pu-chia the nao (How was Cambodia)? from my co-workers, I respond:
Vui qua nhung rat met (Very fun but very tired.)

Here is a brief summary or a few notes to pique your interest:

Tet 2010 Trip:
When: Feb. 14-21
Who: Hannah, Ali, me. Also some random (great!) friends we met along the way. Also our MCC boss, Derek, and his family, who happened to be in Phnom Penh for Tet (Ana, Derek's wife, is Cambodian). Also, met up with some MCC Cambodia friends.
Why: We got a week off of work for the Lunar New Year. We heard about a big temple in Siem Reap we probably should see while we are in SE Asia (Angkor Wat). Better question: Why not?!
Where: Ho Chi Minh City. Phnom Penh. Siem Reap (Angkor Wat).
Modes of transportation: plane, bus (4x6 hrs.), tuk-tuk (cart pulled behind moto. see picture below).
Favorite activities: people watching (particularly guessing tourists' countries of origin and wondering how obvious ours was). eating. climbing stairs. getting to know each other (seriously. we told stories from our ancient history--i.e. middle school. it was fun to have lots of conversations that didn't start with "i don't know what to do in such-and-such situation with my host family.."). laughing. meeting random people. taking pictures. learning (we read aloud to each other from the Angkor Wat guide books). getting up early (well...maybe not favorite, but surprisingly non-heinous). shopping (silk scarves!)
Probable secondary activity: annoying everyone around us.
Primary mode of entertainment: ourselves.
Notable events: my birthday party on the plane, complete with decorations, food, and fun activities. naming our non-existent American band and taking melancholy/cool cover pictures.

or to summarize more briefly:

When we arrived at one of our destinations, our tuk-tuk driver said:

You are happy. You laugh a lot.