I feel negligent for having never added an effective ending to the story of my trip, but it’s a very difficult thing to do. No story actually ends with goodbyes. People say good by, they go their separate ways, and things continue. I’m back in L.A. now and life is certainly continuing. I am terribly busy with college applications, I would even go so far as to say that I haven’t truly been able to look back on the experience yet. However, I have still found time to think a little about my trip. My memories evoke emotions ranging from sadness to elation when I think about what I managed to see and to do. I miss the streets, I miss the landscape, and I miss the food, but most of all I miss the people who were so kind to me there. I hope to go back to Cambodia in the future, and to rekindle the wonderful relationships I had with my friends at Amrita Performing Arts.
In particular, I must pay tribute to Fred Frumberg who founded Amrita, his assistant Rithisal Kang (known to all as Sal) and Sopheap who, with great patience and diligence, taught me the Monkey Dance. I shall always treasure the memory of my lessons with him. Learning this dance has given me a new understanding of the culture and a sense of personal connection which I keep alive by practicing the dance back in California.
