The Meeting

There are only two AA meetings a week in Siem Reap. I wanted to get to one as soon as I was able to once here. It was a priority.

One of the perks of being a sober alcoholic is that you can go to an AA meeting anywhere in the world and feel immediately at home. You’re amongst friends. I needed to find my people and make some connections. That was the plan. And that’s exactly what happened.

One of the two AA meetings was at 12:30 PM on my first full day in Cambodia. After walking and exploring the city all morning, I made my way to St. John’s Catholic Church. When I got there, there were a few people just hanging out.

“Friends of Bill?”

Yup.

Just before the meeting start time, a couple of guys showed up and opened up the sliding glass door to the room we were meeting in. It was tiny and hot. There was just a little table and some chairs, a shelf with Bibles and some AA literature, and various Catholic-y things on the walls.

There were six of us total—myself, John and Brenden from Cork, Ireland; Amber, originally from Southern California but now living in Cambodia; Vinny from the UK; and another John, who lives in—wait for it—Kyoto, Japan. Of course he does. I’ll be in Kyoto in about a month.

It was a step study meeting, and the step for that day’s meeting? Step 2. Of course it was. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m in Cambodia. I’m on a spiritual quest.

The meeting was amazing. One of the best I’ve been to of the probably close to 2,000 meetings I’ve attended since starting AA nearly a decade ago. Of course it was.

After some standard meeting readings—How It Works, the traditions, and some intros for the Siem Reap meeting—we all took turns reading a paragraph or two on Step 2 from the 12 and 12. We read the first few pages, which I relate to completely. Then we all took turns sharing, and each was incredibly heartfelt, honest, vulnerable, and moving.

We all have the same experiences. We all have the same feelings. We all have the same struggles. We’ve all been saved from certain misery and even death. We all have recovery. We are from all across the globe but together in Siem Reap, Cambodia. But we are all the same. We are kin.

After the meeting, I talked to John from Kyoto. He won’t be there when I am, but he told me where the meeting is that I should go to. Nishijin Church. Ah-ha. Another waypoint on my path.

Amber, Vinny, and I hung out by the river, had refreshments, and talked. Vinny had to go after a bit, though we exchanged WhatsApp info and agreed to meet up later.

Amber and I hung out for another hour or so. We really hit it off. It was a great conversation. She’s a photographer. Of course she is. But not just any photographer. Her background is in photojournalism.

I didn’t catch it at first. She whispered it. Apparently, that could be a bad word here. That made me pause.

Cambodia has a brutal history. Genocide. Within both of our lifetimes. Many of the people I see walking these streets lived through that. I can’t imagine. It’s hard to reconcile—how these warm, kind people could have done that, to each other. They still live in its shadow. Maybe it reshaped them.

Amber gave me a bunch of tips about where to go, what to do, and what to see here, as well as many practical tips about navigating the upcoming week. I am grateful to her. She’s awesome. We exchanged WhatsApp info too. She, Vinny, and I all plan on being at that next meeting Tuesday night. We’ll probably get a bite beforehand.

And that’s AA. A lifeline anywhere in the world. A reminder that we’re never alone. Thank you, AA.Read more