Being a newcomer here I see, hear or experience things which are just a bit quirky or unusual and they bring a smile to my face.
Like my walk to uni the other day to another lesson of Khmer. I am walking along a main road, it's busy....motos, cars and tuk tuks going every dirrection. Then I walk past the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, just to see two chickens exit and walk down the street. Had to take a photo.
The other day I had a girl crying in my Year 2 class. No idea what was happening and the teacher was out of the room. So I was left to a classroom of 22 broken and very little English speakers. Finally I got out of one of them "She has a sick tooth".
I like the description that crossing the road in Cambodia is like walking on water. You just gotta fix your eyes straight ahead, walk confidently, don't worry about the things around you, the wave of motos, the thunder of tuk tuks, just keep walking.
Words in Khmer sound so strange to my English tuned ear. Some of the vowels I think sound more like seal mating calls than actual phonetics. I am encouraged to make sounds I have never made before. It is an adventure in itself.
For now I am going to be the crazy foreigner that does silly things, doesn't understand, gives crazy directions, butchers the khmer language, asks for small notes, pulls silly faces and is watched wherever I go. Hey it's all part of an average day. Learning to smile at these new and sometimes frustrating daily things is the only way I will be able to enjoy each day here.
