welcome!
ស្វាគមន៍ (svakom)!
That means WELCOME in Khmer.
Hi! My name is Mitty and I am a mother, writer, fitness coach and traveler. Most importantly, I am Cambodian-American. This is at the core of my identity. I was born in Cambodia but came to the United States when I was five years old. We were refugees recovering from a brutal war. Growing up, I struggled with my identity and where I belonged. I wish I could tell my younger self that this is the beauty of the journey—the search.
I went through the usual life stages, college, job, marriage, and kids. With time and maturity, I embraced my Cambodian identity. I realized, I didn’t have to choose. In 2013 with two toddler kids in tow, I decided to move to Cambodia to finally reconnect with a country I had never really known.
Two weeks before I left, my father became terminally ill with a disease he had been battling for years. It was always his dream to live there in his old age. All the regrets of moments I missed getting to know him and the country he loved, surfaced. On his deathbed, I made him a promise to write a book about Cambodia and our family story. I was committed to doing it, but I didn’t know how or where to begin.
In Cambodia I started www.banyanblog.com to document my journey. The blog was focused on rediscovering my roots. For three years I wrote about the beauty of the country and culture, darkness of the past, and hope of the future. In 2016 I moved back to the U.S. but the memories and experiences I had in those three short years will live with me forever. I was immensely grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with my country, to reconnect with my father, and retrace our family’s story. Throughout my time in Cambodia and in the U.S., I worked on my book one word, one sentence, one chapter at a time, while juggling a career in international development, two children, traveling around the world, and discovering my passion for fitness.
I’ve finished writing my book. Now, I am working on getting it published.
Over ten years ago, I was on a journey to rediscover my roots, and driven by grief to fulfill a promise. So much has changed since then. I am richer from the experiences I’ve had in Cambodia and have grown so much in this journey that has forced me to not only reconnect with my Cambodian identity, but all the parts of me that make me unique.
Now, as I approach 50 (and 50 years since the Khmer Rouge regime), I am working on the next chapter of my life; to fulfill the promise I made to my father long ago and make a new promise to myself; to live more fully and intentionally with all my identities as a Cambodian American, mother, writer, coach and traveler.
Come with me on this journey, in my Next Chapter.