liesel speaks from the airplane

(I'm sorry this post is so late in coming, but with jet-lag and the pressures of readjusting to my everyday responsibilities, I just couldn't get around to it.)

Liesel inflight: Singapore – Newark

The last day in Phnom Penh was absolutely packed with last minute things to do. As was mentioned at the front of our trip Sokkim had planned our first few days for us and none of Amy’s priorities were accomplished – primarily finding out as much about her father as possible. Monday morning I made a list of everything we needed to do and we set out from there.

Tuesday morning we took a trip to Olympic Stadium. Amy wished to find the exact steps she had been photographed with her father and nanny at age 2. After walking through the vast aging sports complex of indoor and outdoor gyms, we found the steps at the outdoor track. Amy and the cousins posed for several shots as well as me and Amy solo. In leaving the stadium we came upon some older women sitting outside one of the gyms. Sokkim started chatting away and the next thing we know, Sophal is translating that one of the women had known of Amy’s mother!

Throughout the trip, family history from the cousins hasn’t always matched up with Amy’s understanding of the family history. Ly Kry had mentioned previously that Amy’s birth mother had been a volleyball player, a contradiction to Amy’s understanding that she may have been a teacher or student of her father’s. One of the women relaying this information had been a volleyball player herself, and motioned with an outstretched hand holding an invisible volleyball and with the other hand, motioned a graceful serve. This woman was distinctively tall with gleaming white hair, not gray, but white. I am 5 foot 10 inches and all of the women I saw in Cambodia were shorter than me, so she and I measured up shoulder to shoulder and she was at least 6 foot , 1 or 2 inches.

We chatted with these former atheletes and tried to gain new information on Amy’s mother. We ended up leaving with not a lot of information, but with a new lead for the family history book.

Wednesday we headed to the outskirsts of Phnom Penh to meet a former colleague of Amy’s father. A very interesting gentleman, we discussed their professional relationship including the context of Cambodia’s history in the early 70’s before Pol Pot took reign. Much of the conversation became so detailed, Sophal could not keep up the translation, so we’ll find out what was said when we get the tapes transcribed back in the states. The translation stopped when this former professor had Sokim, Kry and Sophal transfixed on every word. I assumed a new angle on Cambodian history was being relayed and it was important for them to learn and for us to listen to his summary later.

Wednesday afternoon and evening were blur of last minute errands including a visit to Phnom Penh’s night market where we hoped to get some last minute souvenirs and silks. The night market turned out to be a modern mall, 5 stories of contemporary fashion, music CD’s, electronics and even a food court. The last thing we wanted to experience was a mall, but we ended having a great time