Well, I made it back to the states in one piece, no signs of intestinal parasites, or any other various ailments common with sailors and the like...

It was really amazing to be immersed completely in a culture so foreign from mine in every way.
sights, sounds, smells, tastes, these are all things we take for granted because we are surrounded by the same things everyday.
experiencing so many sights, smells, sounds, etc. that I had never experienced in my whole life on a daily basis, was actually sometimes pretty overwhelming.
Here are some examples.
I'm walking down a street where I can smell the open sewer really strong, but as I approach the temple it starts to smell beautiful like spices and roses.
And I realized, for the first time why they burn incense in sacred areas.
Eating a hot curry soup and then biting a green leaf in the soup that turned out to be a super strong icy tasting mint leaf.
Swimming in the ocean and getting surrounded by glow in the dark mossy stuff.
the plankton in the ocean around Cambodia are phosphorescent, and glow when disturbed.
its amazing!
sitting on mats in the jungle sweating like crazy, and then noticing all the local people have bamboo fans and they don't look sweaty.
I never knew until that moment why Ive always seen Chinese/Asia associated with fans...

The other travelers I met were all people leading inspirational lives, and I was fortunate to have befriended them.
 finding value in life experience as opposed to finding it in money was a common topic of discussion among us all.
I met a lot of really good hearted people who helped me, even with money, and never expected anything back.
I now know things now about other cultures, and other natural environments, that I couldn't learn from a book or TV.
 I learned a great life lesson, from traveling this year.
the whole time I was traveling I had no idea exactly where I was going or how to actually get there.
I just pointed myself in a direction and headed that way. In the end it was perfect.
Even after being completely lost, or taking a train 300 miles the wrong way, or losing my money, everything always worked out if I just had a little patience.
I'm gonna remember that...