-If crossing the street in Guatemala was a warm-up for Thailand, thebarking dogs in Guatemala were just a taste of the dogs in Cambodia. I
have to apologize to our adorable “guard-dog”, P-dog, every morning
because at night he turns into a barking monster and I wish for bad
things to happen to him.
-The center line of the road is merely a suggestion. You may drive on whichever side of the road you wish. In fact, almost all traffic laws are suggestions. I never thought I would be able to say that my pet peeve is people who drive on the wrong side of the road. It is a little disconcerting when a moto is driving head-on towards you on your bicycle and the only place to go is either the ditch or into the traffic that’s driving in the correct direction.
-It’s also not as easy as it looks to ride sideways on the back of a bicycle either. It’s really fun to try though. And then you can proudly announce to the rest of your team that you can now do something that any Cambodian over the age of three does effortlessly.
-It’s really fun to hear a class of Cambodian teenagers say 3, 641, 728, 596 in English.
-Weddings here last three days, four days if you are wealthy. They are so loud that you need a permit to hold them, and the music plays for the entire time. I now know that our neighbours here are wealthy, and that I have a really bad attitude towards marriage after four days without sleep.
-Pajama suits are considered normal everyday attire here but it seems to be necessary for the top and bottom to match.
-Congo lines through the village with all of the children are a big hit.
-Line dancing is VERY popular here. Every night, the school on our street has line dancing class. I would say that there are 400 people there every night. Our contacts asked us to host a class at the student centre and their suggestion was line dancing. We thought they were crazy. They are not.
-If you haven’t had any calcium in three weeks, you will find no shame in drinking the leftover milk from the small pitcher served with your coffee.
-The phrase “But I don’t know how to eat this with a fork” comes out of your mouth one day during dinner.
