Just some thoughts I've been having. I didn't think that coming to a foreign country would actually lead me to more fully appreciate my own culture and heritage. This post isn't about how grateful I am that we are "free" in America because people in Cambodia aren't as "free," but really the much lighter subject of how I am coming to appreciate my own culture more.
I think I bought into an idea that everything outside the normal aspects of my life were more cultured, more beautiful or more compelling. Since coming to Cambodia I have certainly seen many incredible things and my vision of the world has expanded. What surprises me though, is that living in a foreign country has helped me re-appreciate the normal aspects of my pseudo-Utopian Utahn life. I'm not talking about hot showers or sleeping on a mattress because I actually have had easy access to all of that the whole time being here.
Here is an example of what I mean. I was stuck in a big traffic jam last week riding in the back of a tuk tuk and I somehow got the idea to listen to Dvorak's 9th Symphony as it's been a while and it's one of my favorite pieces. Sadly, I didn't have that particular piece on my phone, but I did have Beethoven's 7th so I spent the next 45 minutes in my own private German concert hall driving through the crowded streets of Phnom Penh. For someone who really enjoys music, it's funny how little time I actually spend listening to it, but during this drive I felt a familiar connection to this empowering music while being surrounded by a place that was very foreign and sometimes daunting. I was reminded about who I am and where I come from.
Ok I'll also admit that I have feelings that are more shallow too. I just really like hamburgers. In the states if you were to ask me if I prefer eating fast food or Khmer sour soup for dinner, I think I would choose the sour soup 9 out of 10 times. But actually after eating almost straight Khmer food for 3 weeks I'm craving McDoubles and Little Caesars. Maybe what I'm learning is more about the value of balance and variety in my life?
Here is a picture of me and some of my friends from work on the Fourth of July:
I think I bought into an idea that everything outside the normal aspects of my life were more cultured, more beautiful or more compelling. Since coming to Cambodia I have certainly seen many incredible things and my vision of the world has expanded. What surprises me though, is that living in a foreign country has helped me re-appreciate the normal aspects of my pseudo-Utopian Utahn life. I'm not talking about hot showers or sleeping on a mattress because I actually have had easy access to all of that the whole time being here.
Here is an example of what I mean. I was stuck in a big traffic jam last week riding in the back of a tuk tuk and I somehow got the idea to listen to Dvorak's 9th Symphony as it's been a while and it's one of my favorite pieces. Sadly, I didn't have that particular piece on my phone, but I did have Beethoven's 7th so I spent the next 45 minutes in my own private German concert hall driving through the crowded streets of Phnom Penh. For someone who really enjoys music, it's funny how little time I actually spend listening to it, but during this drive I felt a familiar connection to this empowering music while being surrounded by a place that was very foreign and sometimes daunting. I was reminded about who I am and where I come from.
Ok I'll also admit that I have feelings that are more shallow too. I just really like hamburgers. In the states if you were to ask me if I prefer eating fast food or Khmer sour soup for dinner, I think I would choose the sour soup 9 out of 10 times. But actually after eating almost straight Khmer food for 3 weeks I'm craving McDoubles and Little Caesars. Maybe what I'm learning is more about the value of balance and variety in my life?
Here is a picture of me and some of my friends from work on the Fourth of July: