Through The Looking Glass: Part 1
My host was bitter about the political state of Cambodia (and rightfully so), but also about everything that I had just flown out to inevitably see… from the insurgence of Korean tourists, to the way Cambodians drive and my desire to talk to everyone rather than relax on vacation.
There were very little positive remarks about the place I had flown half way across the world, and spent the remainder of my meager salary, to visit.
Though I have always known her to be a sarcastic and borderline cynical woman, she was my “best-friend.” My host was also incredibly generous, intelligent, remarkably fun and a strong woman whom I respected and enjoyed having in my life.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t expecting this drastic change in my friend. I knew of and respected her development from the “wife” of Howard Dean to the pro-life, libertarian and (soon-to-be) Orthodox Jewish woman she is today. I was proud that I could maintain a friendship with someone who believed in almost everything I fought against. We were more than our political views…
Yet I was naive and didn’t realize that spending a few weeks with her would be different from having Sunday brunch once in a blue moon.
Were we “best-friends” or simply show-off brunch buddies every five months?
But this is not about my host or our personal relationship. Our interactions only acted as the door that led me something great:
I was slowly starting to realize that I had changed as well. I had become peppy, overly optimistic, incredibly sensitive and passionate about everything I believed to be right (I don’t use those last adjectives lightly. It has taken me a long time to accept and embrace these characteristics).
As you can imagine, it is difficult to travel and avoid seeing a place through the eyes of your host.
And yet, I tried my best to push aside her negative views and learn about this country and myself, in a positive light.
And I saw it.
I saw the incredible endurance of a people and the possibility for change.
Within myself I found an inner strength to walk away from the pessimism that once allowed me to hide from the nitty gritty truth.
My twenty-something ass grew up in Cambodia.
