This is my last written post. It's also the last day I am in Cambodia. I've said goodbye to a lot of great people over the last two days. When I was in SLP for the last day, it felt like a dream.
I don't really know what to say.
Maybe filling everyone in on the last 4 or 5 weeks would be good. So that meeting on the 20th was the last thing I mentioned as being important I think. It went fairly well. Leb Ke and Yousos had some good ideas about how to help the shop get better, and I think Leb Ke will be able to help the guys from TC improve their accounting methods, among other things.
I've been away from the shop for a few weeks though, and things went well while I was gone, in terms of the business. They repaired the Chaly, which you may remember spent months torn down in the shop. They've been able to use it to get back and forth to Tramoung Chrum, which is great. Here is a picture of it, I think it looks cool as hell because all the lights and electronics are stripped so it looks sort of like a miniature chopper. The 'key' is a piece of wire that shorts the ignition, which is cool.
There has been death and birth among the Cham people. Leb Krem, who was the leader of the Tramoung Chrum community, died in a motorbike accident while I was away. He apparently swerved to avoid a dog and crashed. Despite having worn a helmet, he is no longer with us. It is a tremendous loss for TC. He was an incredible man, and brightened my day whenever he came by the shop, despite our relative difficulty in communication. There is a picture of him with a bunch of people in the shop from an earlier post. I may put it up in a new post.
Yousos's wife had a daughter, which is great. She is their first child. He showed me a picture and she looked wonderful and healthy. So that in some small way offset the sadness of Leb Krem's death.
This dog joined the family I was staying with in SLP, although the black one pictured earlier in the blog has vanished. It is hilarious, and very playful. I'm glad to be going back to my dog soon, I miss the companionship animals can provide when they aren't terrified of people.
I went to a formula one race in Malaysia, which was great. There were a lot of people there, despite this hillside looking empty.
Here are some pictures from the shop. It was sad to say goodbye to the TC bros, and especially Sai Ha. He is really an awesome guy, and very smart. He asked me several times how he could get to the United States, and it was hard to tell him that I didn't really know how to help him. I plan on keeping in touch with him over e-mail though. Anyway, here is a picture of the TC bros with a customer who came in to get his oil changed this morning, followed by a picture of all of us outside the shop. We thought the guy taking the picture was struggling, so Sai Ha started walking out to help him. So this isn't the normal 'everyone in a line' picture, but I thought it was the best of the ones taken. We are all smiling.
It is so indescribably bizarre to be leaving Cambodia. I am very excited to be heading back, but this has been a life changing experience, in ways I'm sure I won't fully understand how for a long time.
I'd like to say thank you to a lot of people.
First, to Alan Lightman for coming up with the idea, having faith in my ability to accomplish some semblance of his concept, and providing help and good ideas along the way. To Tom McEvoy and Hal Fried, for putting the Minerva Fellowship together and giving me the opportunity to take part in it. To the Schenectady Rotary Club, without whose generous donation and business advice the shop would have been even more difficult to set up. To my family, who were supportive no matter what, as always. To Leb Ke, Yousos, and Sai Ha, without whom I would have accomplished very little and probably gone out of my mind. They are the champions of Cambodia as far as I'm concerned. To Tony Priestnall, who provided sage wisdom in the area of running a bike shop, as well as a great deal of help with my dirt bike. To Ahti Westphal and Steve Finch, for putting me up and putting up with me on weekends over the course of roughly 6 months in Phnom Penh. To Veasna Chea and Peter Leth, for providing a home away from Home, and for letting me/helping me bake lots of pies in their kitchen. To the Clinton Foundation people for introducing me to Jersey Shore, and for the best Thanksgiving party ever.
I'm missing people. Thank you to those I have forgotten.
P.S. If this post seems ridiculous I'm sort of out of it because I can't believe I'm leaving. So, sorry If it seems discombobulated.
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