Why did I have to come so far away to be able to recognize all the stories in the world? It must be because I am less wrapped up in my own... finally!
The sky is so big. We pass countless lives, we all only know our own. I can never read books when I travel through the countryside- instead I prefer to imagine the thoughts and dreams, hopes and fears of all those who we are passing. I have a poet whispering in my ears over sweet sweet beats. My imagination inspired to explode!
The people I pass- a life I will not know this round on the universe... palm thatched stilted huts 30 yards off one of the few major roads in the entire country! Handmade ladders leading to their open door abodes, some houses fenced in by 6' sticks pounded into the soil every 12". The garbage littering the ground is much less prevalent than in the crowded city, but I believe that is because the families are truly living off the land. Plastic bags aren't in their front lawn because they don't own plastic bags. Picturesque farm lands reach the end of my field of vision, but must span much further. Water buffalo and cows meandering through the land, we just slammed on the breaks almost hitting a hungry looking cow.
The green mud pools that separate the houses from the road seem to be man made, I just saw a boy no older than 10 years slamming a pick into the earth to build one. Maybe the pools are for the water buffalo, or maybe for fishing small proteins. The road is maybe one of two or three main roads in all of Cambodia, only in recent years has it been paved (and from what I hear, we are very thankful of that!) A bit too many children running around the farm yards to assume everyone gets to go to school here. A group of young boys digging trenches, a girl preparing food with her mom and gramma, kids emptying a cart of products, and a girl carrying her sibling on her hip as she walks down the road. Street stands with a single umbrella shading unknown foods for sale, more developed stands are the palm and bamboo huts where a six-pack of people hang out. I do not what they sell or who to... dried fish or fresh fruit to neighbors?
The green mud pools that separate the houses from the road seem to be man made, I just saw a boy no older than 10 years slamming a pick into the earth to build one. Maybe the pools are for the water buffalo, or maybe for fishing small proteins. The road is maybe one of two or three main roads in all of Cambodia, only in recent years has it been paved (and from what I hear, we are very thankful of that!) A bit too many children running around the farm yards to assume everyone gets to go to school here. A group of young boys digging trenches, a girl preparing food with her mom and gramma, kids emptying a cart of products, and a girl carrying her sibling on her hip as she walks down the road. Street stands with a single umbrella shading unknown foods for sale, more developed stands are the palm and bamboo huts where a six-pack of people hang out. I do not what they sell or who to... dried fish or fresh fruit to neighbors?
I don't envy their lives- the basic struggle for survival, the lack of opportunities and arts. I don't wish them my life either- the loss of basic eternal truth through a complex, hectic, and luxurious materialistic lifestyle. But... okay, I wish them my life a little. I mean an education, a life of play, 6 months of travel, and hot pink toenails are things I would wish for everyone!
They have huge open windows looking out onto their huge sky. All they need is family and the environment that surrounds them. They must believe in god because their lives look impossible without some faith!
In the middle of their muddy ponds, gorgeous lotus flowers grow. In the miles of their rice fields crops, an amazingly luminous green. In the eyes of the dust caked children's faces, the brightest glimmering light. Do they get to dream big? They must live for right now. Death and destruction constantly on the forefront with an average lifespan of 58 and millions of active landmines still threatening the nation. The suffering of Cambodians will be discussed in my next journal entry.
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