Life is

After the shock of Wednesday night (see last post) and the sadness of the memorial service yesterday, it was good to go and do normal things with my friend, Chami today. Eating Pho (Vietnamese meat and noodle soup) at a roadside cafe, drinking beer in a big-on-cushions laid-back cafe, going to see a photograpy exhibition celebrating the everyday stuff of Cambodian life.

Good to see a room full of massive cheery photos and linger at leisure, taking in what have now become very familiar sights: a family of six on the back of a moped, children playing on a rubbish collecting cart, an old woman with a false leg cooking noodles on a street corner, stall-holders selling spiders and snails, girls with muddy faces doubled up with laughter.

Has inspired me to linger longer among life here and not just rush along with a head too full of the-next-thing-to-do. As the photographer himself puts it:

"Life is what it is and if we try to be a quiet, gracefully involved witness, if we think like a child, every moment viewed with curiosity, then every moment will be a new one, unique and filled with wonderful elements for us to enjoy and grow from." Daniel Rothenberg