I am all about finding the silver lining whenever needed.
Case-in-point:
There have been a number cases of dengue fever lately in Phnom Penh. Not good. In my friend's family, out of six people, three of them got it at the same time. VERY not good. The 8-year-old daughter had it bad enough that they decided to take her to our neighboring Thailand for treatment. Because the husband was one of the sick three, he had to stay in Cambodia and the mom went with the daughter, as well as the 9-month-old son. I went along to help her with the baby (and with her and the other daughter when necessary). So my impromptu excursion to Thailand consisted mostly of the inside of one of the world's best hospitals, Bumrungrad Hospital.
I definitely felt like I stepped into another world after being in Cambodia for the last year and a half. This was my first time out of the country since I moved here. I love traveling and I have been to Thailand twice. But this time felt very different for some reason. I have been living here in Cambodia, and this is the foreign place that, in my heart, feels like home. I am learning the language and can communicate to a certain degree (and understand to a greater degree actually). But entering Thailand, the foreign place really was foreign again. In my head, I would instinctively try to figure out and translate what the people were saying around me, and feel a little frustrated because I wasn't understanding. Sometimes I even forgot that it was a different language and that was the reason I wasn't getting it. Or I would try to say something to someone and they didn't understand my English and I would instantly try to speak Khmer...only to have this realization once again that I wasn't in Cambodia! Foreign felt more foreign than usual.
After 5 days, the girl was released from the hospital and that is where the silver lining came in ;-) Because, you see, there are a lot of things available in Bangkok that are absolutely not available in Phnom Penh. Great things. Amazing things.
IKEA things!
It's like a heavenly light, glowing in the darkness!
{Yes, I do, in fact, LOVE IKEA!}
I could have walked around this store for a few more hours, just soaking it all in. I was not being rushed too much (only a little), but I also didn't have all the time I would have like in order to really appreciate it. I was also very restricted because of my suitcase and the fact that I live in a different country. Furniture was an obvious no-fly zone, even though I would have happily finished furnishing my new apartment with just one trip to this beautiful store. It was definitely a different world being inside the store! But I did come away with some really great purchases and packed them all so well in my suitcase {I even received comments from my friends about how nicely and amazingly the suitcase was packed...I would pack things professionally if that was an actual job...I love making things fit together...strange, I know}.
The other silver lining came in the form of a mermaid.
But I do have a shocking confession to make...
I didn't actually drink anything offered by this beauty.
Crazy, I know, seeing how I am talking about her. The plan was to get one at the airport, where I took the picture. Only to find out they didn't have what I liked AND I was out of Thai Baht currency. So I admired from a distance and decided that it will make the starbucks that I drink when I visit the States THAT much more amazing!
After 6 days in Thailand, I was very ready to get back to Cambodia. I missed it...the people...the language...my friends...my home...my job...my life here. I am glad I had the ability to go to serve and love my friends in this way, but I was happy to be home.
Case-in-point:
There have been a number cases of dengue fever lately in Phnom Penh. Not good. In my friend's family, out of six people, three of them got it at the same time. VERY not good. The 8-year-old daughter had it bad enough that they decided to take her to our neighboring Thailand for treatment. Because the husband was one of the sick three, he had to stay in Cambodia and the mom went with the daughter, as well as the 9-month-old son. I went along to help her with the baby (and with her and the other daughter when necessary). So my impromptu excursion to Thailand consisted mostly of the inside of one of the world's best hospitals, Bumrungrad Hospital.
I definitely felt like I stepped into another world after being in Cambodia for the last year and a half. This was my first time out of the country since I moved here. I love traveling and I have been to Thailand twice. But this time felt very different for some reason. I have been living here in Cambodia, and this is the foreign place that, in my heart, feels like home. I am learning the language and can communicate to a certain degree (and understand to a greater degree actually). But entering Thailand, the foreign place really was foreign again. In my head, I would instinctively try to figure out and translate what the people were saying around me, and feel a little frustrated because I wasn't understanding. Sometimes I even forgot that it was a different language and that was the reason I wasn't getting it. Or I would try to say something to someone and they didn't understand my English and I would instantly try to speak Khmer...only to have this realization once again that I wasn't in Cambodia! Foreign felt more foreign than usual.
After 5 days, the girl was released from the hospital and that is where the silver lining came in ;-) Because, you see, there are a lot of things available in Bangkok that are absolutely not available in Phnom Penh. Great things. Amazing things.
IKEA things!
It's like a heavenly light, glowing in the darkness!
{Yes, I do, in fact, LOVE IKEA!}
I could have walked around this store for a few more hours, just soaking it all in. I was not being rushed too much (only a little), but I also didn't have all the time I would have like in order to really appreciate it. I was also very restricted because of my suitcase and the fact that I live in a different country. Furniture was an obvious no-fly zone, even though I would have happily finished furnishing my new apartment with just one trip to this beautiful store. It was definitely a different world being inside the store! But I did come away with some really great purchases and packed them all so well in my suitcase {I even received comments from my friends about how nicely and amazingly the suitcase was packed...I would pack things professionally if that was an actual job...I love making things fit together...strange, I know}.
The other silver lining came in the form of a mermaid.
But I do have a shocking confession to make...
I didn't actually drink anything offered by this beauty.
Crazy, I know, seeing how I am talking about her. The plan was to get one at the airport, where I took the picture. Only to find out they didn't have what I liked AND I was out of Thai Baht currency. So I admired from a distance and decided that it will make the starbucks that I drink when I visit the States THAT much more amazing!
After 6 days in Thailand, I was very ready to get back to Cambodia. I missed it...the people...the language...my friends...my home...my job...my life here. I am glad I had the ability to go to serve and love my friends in this way, but I was happy to be home.
