Laughter.

I'm happy. Really happy. One way I can gauge my happiness level is through laughter.

There have been stages of laughter since I arrived in Cambodia.
The first stage was not real laughter. It was the polite laughter, the laughter you give to strangers. It was the phase when I would have given anything to be back at camp.

Stage two was more comfortable laughter. Life was making a turn for the better. My students were lovely. I was getting into the swing of things. My second Sabbath here was the first time I really laughed out loud. It was Saturday night game night at Tim and Fay's, and Fay was teaching me to make popcorn. She was struggling to get the lid on the pot and I joked, maybe someone who knows how should teach me. Shona, one of the Australian long term missionaries, BUSTED up. Fay gave me this LOOK that told me I would never be receiving popcorn again and walked away. Haha! Shonna and I laughed for about five minutes and have been bonded ever since. I tried to apologize to Fay, but it was a little difficult through all the laughter. Pretty soon Fay cracked a smile and began to laugh with us.

Stage three was honeymoon phase. Everything was perfect, everything was amazing. I spent my days giggling at babies, men peeing on the side of the street, and the bread seller man who calls me 'little foreigner' in Khmer. It wasn't deep laughter, it was growing though. The other SMs were becoming my people, we laughed about little things. My students were becoming my children.

And now, now I don't know. It could still be the honeymoon phase for all I know. But it doesn't feel the same. It's become daily life. Things aren't new or exciting, but I'm not unhappy at all. On Sunday I laughed more than I have since my time here began. Olga, Phil and I went to Wat Phnom and rode elephants and fed monkey. We ate pancakes on the water front and we bought North Face backpacks for nine dollars. We laughed about Olga and I having little catchphrases. Mine, seriously?! And Olga, Really?! Phil said something and we both responded with our phrases and Phil laughed hard. He has told us that between Olga and I talking to each other and Nayha [our three year old neighbor] always being like HUUUUAAAHHH?! When she doesn't understand, Phil will be entertained for the rest of the year.
This is the good kind of laughter. It's the kind that you have to be here for, that comes from time together and shared experiences. The kind that means we are bonded.
I love my class. I love knowing that Soveacha will come in from grade 7 to tell me she misses ESL. And Joshua reading in his singing voice kills me. Telling Bot we're going to play a game and then changing my mind, he pouts SO big. Sen Sopeak and Boreach being best friends and coming to tell me a story half in Khmer and then laughing hysterically, I usually laugh right along with them.

There are so many little things. The laughter is more personal these days. I'm not laughing because I need to. I'm laughing because at this point this is home. And Kinyoum bro-chia-chon [These are my people].
When I walked into English vespers on Saturday night barefoot Shonna looked at me and said, "You're just lovin this Cambodia thing aren't you?" I could only laugh and nod.

There is Jimmy Needham song- So this is what it feels like to live life...