At Home in Cambodia

Hello, blog. It’s been a while. The streets of Pursat and stone halls of Angkor have stolen my attention; please forgive me, I am here now and ready to divulge.

The city of Pursat is a pleasant middle-ground somewhere between the chaotic monstrosities of tourist town Ayutthaya, DISGUSTINGLY URBAN, unorganized Bangkok, “tuk-tuk, lady?” Phnom Penh and the many humble villages spread out along the national highway which we passed through to get here. More bicycles than previous cities, but motorbikes are still the popular mode of transportation. “You want to walk?” I’ve been questioned many times.  Yes. The entire long, straight, day-lit kilometer. I must challenge myself to conquer! It’s as if I told them "I want to eat bugs." Oh, wait …

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This monster grasshopper was quite delicious




Walking seems unheard of here, even in the small city setting. Pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way.

But I’ve really begun to feel at home here. My host family is wonderful. I’m house stay number 27! They speak little English but we make do without, especially when we come together to eat because talk turns to “Eat, eat!” But my host mother, Sychhen, is an excellent cook. Rice still sounds good to me even after eating it 2-3 times a day for 3.5 weeks now. This weekend I will take a trip to the market with her to pick out ingredients and help cook.

Everywhere in town shuts down between 12-2 for lunch. Siesta is great! Just to be away from your place of stress and at home for a couple of hours is revitalizing. Problem is, if you lay down for a nap you never want to go back to work. And if you can’t get anything done in town because everywhere is open at the exact same times; housewives must be great! (Kidding!) But 20 minutes was enough for a lightning fast REM, maybe enough to keep me awake past 9:00 tonight.

Pauli, the house baby, is starting to like me. He is for real the cutest little guy I have ever seen. And maybe the first baby I’ve felt a connection with. Surrounded by non- English speakers, I’m learning to communicate without words. It’s nice to find a deeper, non-verbal connection. So a non-speaking child seems not so far from the folks I’ve been surrounded by and his intuitive responses and non-verbal cues seem to make much more sense to me now.

PS I need a grammar lesson and tutoring on semi-colons. (Ahem, Chelsea Rose)

I do need to keep in mind, however, that not speaking English does not deem one illiterate. I should speak slowly and reiterate but not as if I am speaking to a child. Patience is a virtue and tolerance is key.