Moving Out

I'm moving out. I'm saying goodbye to the family that has "adopted" me for the past 10 months. Where to next? I'm moving into a student dorm!

Another NGO has set up a dormitory (not far from the house I'm staying in now) to help university students from the provinces who want to study but cannot afford to rent in Phnom Penh. There are 17 students (10 males, 7 females). The curent dorm supervisor will be away for almost two months so I have offered to take his place. In terms of comfort and convenience, the dorm is a slight step down. However, I hope to be able to "do the job" needed of keeping an eye on the students as well as getting to know them, sharing something of who I am with them and having a few hundred conversations in Khmer.

So, as I prepare to leave, I say:

Goodbye sharing a room with one other person. Hello to sharing a room with three others.
Goodbye bed. Hello bunk.
Goodbye sharing a bathroom with a few other people. Hello queuing with eight.
Goodbye washing machine. Hello bucket.
Goodbye bar fridge. Hello ice.
Goodbye Khmer pop on TV. Hello attempts at Khmer conversation.
Goodbye to five familiar names, faces, people, family. Hello 17 new names, new stories, varied histories.