Anniversary

It's been exactly one year since I went on my study abroad to Thailand and Cambodia.

The trip was a turning point for me; not only was it the first time I had been overseas, but also my first glimpse at the region my family was from. I could go into the oddities of being an Asian-American in Asia versus an Asian-American in America, but it'd basically be a sociology paper and I've had enough of those.

The photo is from Cambodia in one of the many temples that was either Hindu or Buddhist, depending on who smashed it up last. It'd be nice if I were joking. Buddhas carved into Linga then back again, back and forth until finally someone just throws the whole pedestal outside. The art conservationist in me cries.

In all the areas we went to in both Thailand and Cambodia, tourists can climb all around and on the temples. If it was a contemporary temple, it was in use and you could go in. If it was ancient temple, you could go in and (if you're a jerk) mess with everything.

But the experience of walking around in a centuries-old stone labyrinth in the jungle was surreal. It's preserved fantastically, at just the right point where it's obviously ancient, but still retains it structure and sculpture. If you go during the off-season when almost no one is there, you feel like a lost adventurer who stumbled on something wonderful.