Cambodia - afterthoughts

I've been completely unsettled ever since i posted the last entry and must explain why!
I've been having many discussions about development and western tourists in non western places. Discussing and expanding perceptions based on learnings of everyone's varied experiences in various countries.
The difference between discussions and 'blog posts'', is that when written, the idea feels so much more permanent and decided. And that's just not the case at all! Everything in the last entry is swirling in my head, sailing in and out of my thoughts, picking up new experiences and ideas with every voyage.
There are no answers it seems.
What I have decided is that it is important to be responsible with my experiences and with the learnings I bring back.
What that means in a concrete way is yet to be defined!
I also feel unsettled because an apparent attack on my life in Canada seemed to dominate the mood of the entry. and I don't mean that either!
i do often feel critical of life in North America when I see others ways to exist, because we really do overconsume at home and it's simply not good for anything. I do say that with an pound of decidedness! There are ways to be happy that don't require 'stuff' , and in less 'developed' places there are many ways to be friendlier to the environment that we could easily adopt at home.
So often travel and 'development' means one way domination and learning. The western ways are brought to new areas and begin to be adopted, yet the travellers hardly ever bring back new ways to live to their own country.
I think we have ALOT to learn from Cambodia.

One environmental suggestion for the day: When brushing your teeth, fill a cup half full of water and use only that for the whole process! dip, brush, swish and rinse! no need to have the tap running the whole time, or even long enough to wet the brush. there isn't always running water everywhere. quick learning.

And now a super brief update:
Here's the travels after Banteay Chmar....back to Siem Reap - this is where Angkor Wat is, but I haven't been tot the temples after 3 nights in the city! it was mostly a place to sleep and leave from.
To Phnom Penh for a day. This is where Anna lives. We got there and I didn't leave the apartment for 24 hours! It's really REALLY nice to be in a Home.
Next down south near the Vietnam border to Svay Rieng, staying with other volunteer friends of Anna's (Rachel and Fiona). They volunteer at a place that does many projects in the rural areas including HIV awareness, a small orphanage, and raising frogs and fish for selling at the market. We went down there to escape the city and to help plant a garden!
What a deliciously wonderful 2 days! Playing in the dirt with children and adults! What I love most about experiences like that, is that the instant rich-barang (foreigner) to poor-local relationship is stripped away and we're left being Human with each other.
We get to laugh, teach each other new words, make mud pies, share a banana, break up dirt clumps, play games, learn about different banana species (only 6 months before the plant is old enough to produce! hot climate).
Refreshing.
Back to PP after that for another 2 days before heading way north to Rattanak Kiri in the far north east corner. More interviews here with an indigenous ecotourism project that's on the go. These are no Cambodian people, but rather Tampoen. There are about 5 different indig peoples involved in the project, centered around Yeak Loam Lake. it's a beautiful area and we've had a delightful time getting to know some of the indigenous guys that are happy to invite us over to show us photos or drawings one has done, happy to be our tour guides, tell us stories, teach us more words.
it's so nice to be here with Anna ...being able to speak k'mai gets us into all kinds of situations that aren't always possible. (indig peoples here also speak k'mai). An instant change in the relationship or perception of us occurs when she switches languages. perhaps more respect?
so that's where we are right now, Bang Lung in the Rattanak Kiri province.
We'll head back to PP on Sunday, hopefully. There is a huge water festival there right now, we're told an extra 4 million people have streamed into the capital city to watch and race boats on the river! so it will be Slow Going to get back to the apartment.

it's so wonderful to be out in the world, stimulated to learn and have so many amazing conversations every day! conversations that teach new perspectives, that challenge my ideas, that make me laugh, that create memories.
high concentration of memory making going on here.
it's good.
life is good!

loving you all every day with my Whole Heart
Lauren