Visiting First Host Family

This past summer, I went on an adventure to the wild west to visit my first host family. I missed them.

These are my two little sisters! The one I’m sitting near by, and then the second photo, the adorable Ting.

But before visiting them, I visited a fellow Peace Corps volunteer for the last time, a sort of farewell to everyone! Sadness, but we had a yummy lunch that was special in Cambodia: vegetarian.

Battambang Province has a vegetarian restaurant very close to Capitol Bus Station. Very delicious! I forget it’s name but it’s one of Cambodia’s hidden secrets~ It’s run by a Chinese family, so the menu might have awkward translations and mysteriously fun menu items like a snow dessert called Valentine’s Day or something like that. Names you are curious to try out! ANNNNNND the place had bubble tea! Sugoi! Best bubble tea in Cambodia, but makes me awful homesick.

Normal noodles, on my way to my training village. This restaurant is kind of famous too in Battambang. It’s called Tin Tin or something like that. Forgive my foggy memory. But just down the street south of the bus station area street.

Walking around Battambang city, a friend and I had found some hard rice snacks in the making. Very popular. Everyone loves the overcooked and hard rice left at the bottom of the pot. Might be called a poor person’s food, but it is very delicious. Texture.

Posing in front of a moto wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for a photo, but just wanted to share with the world what the most popular moto in Cambodia is. Honda Dream moto bike. Sometimes I don’t know how people can afford $1000 motos, it seems they’re really ubiqitious however.

Here is the front gate of the village I learned language, culture, and how to live in Cambodia—visiting my first host family.

Encountering my first loves in Cambodia: Jing Jing. She was a baby when I met her, and now I met her again still very chubby and adorable. Except her bike broke in half somehow and there is now a pole that helps drive the bike around. Kind of ingenious how rice and a would be a long-gone bike in America still be used happily.

My family in Cambodia, part of a huge circle, that I hope to keep in touch with long after service. They really took care of me like a daughter.