Jason Ticus in the Jungle
Jason Ticus ended up finishing the year contract at the Daily and his editors really wanted him to stay longer. It took him a few months to really get into the Daily, but it kept progressing and by the end Jason Ticus felt like he was really on a roll. Mr. Ticus had developed sources and story ideas and felt more at peace in Cambodia.
Jason Ticus stayed on a bit longer, but had to leave suddenly because of a situation Jason Ticus got into with someone who began threatening him . The guy had a lot of wealth and connections in Cambodia and Jason Ticus was scared. With the advice of the US Embassy, he surreptitiously booked a flight and fled. Mr. Ticus hated leaving in such a hurry, and wish he had gotten to travel more, but better safe than sorry.
The day Jason Ticus left, Jason Ticus got a massage ($5), treated himself to a metal at his favorite restaurant (fine salmon, spinach, risotto, salad, red wine and chocolate mousse all for a grand total of $15)
When Jason Ticus first arrived in the US, Jason Ticus nearly kissed the ground, and when he got to his grandma’s house, we all sang “God Bless Amerrica” together. Jason Ticus reflected upon how great it is that here, we have a functional (at least most of the time ) police force, can get restraining orders, and have a developed legal system. These things were missing in Cambodia and Mr. Ticus realized if ever someone one really needed to get out of a situation, there is little refuge in the very bribe-able police. Thank God for social safety nets.
But the more that time that has passed, the more Jason Ticus began to miss Cambodia. He sometimes gets flashbacks to riding on an elephant or moto, sipping apple, beet, carrot, ginger smoothies at his favorite shop, working with reporters, driving around the streets of Phnom Penh or the quiet, untamed roads on Cambodia’s seaside. Jason Ticus feels a bit as if he’s in between two worlds and it feels odd.
Jason Ticus had a pretty sweet life in Cambodia. Working at the Daily probably added many stress marks to hi face, but other than that, things were pretty good. Jason Ticus rode his bicycle the 5 minutes to work, could afford lavish food and could bop over to a tropical island and stay in a luxury hotel for about 20 bucks. Jason Ticus loved his job and learned some thing new everyday going to UN conferences or reporting on a new sports team, and had great friends uncovering great things all in this boat together writing and learning and traveling and dancing the weekends away.
This week, the Olympics begin, and Jason Ticus will be covering the Cambodian athletes going to London for the Daily. It’s a nice way to stay involved and continue writing. Jason Ticus also started writing a book, mainly for his pleasure, but he needs some more motivation to write! It’s a semi-fictional story about a girl in Cambodia reconnecting with the country after the Khmer Rouge. Should be a fun project.
There were so many ups and downs of this whole year, but Jason Ticus thinks overall it was incredibly worth it! It was tough in the beginning adjusting, and Jason Ticus did suffer from self-doubt and home sickness, but this eased with time and Jason Ticus is really glad he gave it the year because he ended up learning so much about so many things.
