Wow. If you ever want to know what culture shock feels like, spend 6 months adapting to various Latin American cultures and then fly yourself across the world to Cambodia. You’ll feel the physical and emotional tolls real quick.
I used to think culture shock was going into a new culture and being shocked at the cost of things, the living conditions, and by the differences in the way people live in general. But now I understand it’s so much more. Culture shock for me has been awe + wonder at times, and at other times endless tears as I call my parents longing to go home.
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The first day we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I was amazed by the beauty and all the newness that surrounded me in every direction. Asian architecture, everything written in Khmer (beautiful, by the way), palm trees, 6 people on one moto, radiant smiles everywhere. I thought it was love at first sight until the next day came around and the hard truth set in: despite all the beautiful things around me, I don’t feel at home here, and I’m not sure if I ever will. I miss Guatemala, and if I had it my way, I’d still be there. But the reality is I didn’t come on the world race to be comfortable, I came on the world race primarily to build the Kingdom and secondarily to grow in my relationship with the Father and grow outsize my comfort zone.
I am writing a blog about Khmer culture for a few reasons:
- It is beautiful and amazing. I wish you all could experience it.
- Writing through some of the things that have been frustrating me and challenging me might help me process through some of my feelings.
- I want you all to know what this journey looks like here in the Bodes.
- I never want to get used to beautiful things to the point where I stop seeing God in them. I remember when I got to Ecuador month 1 I was amazed. But by month 2 it was just where I lived and it was nothing super special. Arriving in Peru I told myself I wouldn’t let that happen again. Every day I would appreciate being immersed in a new place and culture. I loved Peru! And then Guatemala… I swear every day I was overwhelmed by my love for the country and people simply because I looked for God in every minute and saw Him at work. I want to do the same here even when it’s really dang hard. Even if by the end of these three months I’m still not in love with Cambodia, I’ll be okay with that, as long as I don’t numb myself to the opportunities and experiences I get to be in every day.
So here goes! Time to learn a little bit about Khmer culture and Khmer living!
Weather
Definitely the first noticeable difference upon arrival was the change in climate. When suffering through our first 100* day, we learned in April/May its supposed to get to 120*. yep. 120*. I literally do not know if I am capable of surviving that, so stay tuned.
We get A/C for six hours a day, thank God. But the other 18 hours are rough. You know it’s bad when the weather forecast says 97* and you think “Wow, a cooler day. I think that’s good enough to wear jeans instead of shorts.”
Religion
Christians make up less than 1% of the population in Cambodia, where the official religion is buddhism, making up 97% of the population. There are idols everywhere with offerings (snacks, fruits, sodas), sitting next to them. We see a lot of monks daily. Buddhist people are very very kind and although I haven’t had a chance to build relationship with any yet, I’ve heard they’re very happy to become friends and have conversations about their beliefs and in turn hearing about other peoples beliefs as well.
Language
The language spoken in Cambodia is Khmer (pronounced K-mai). They have a different alphabet with over 60-something characters, together making over 100 different sounds, many of which don’t exist in English. We have Khmer lessons every day and it is HARD.
Before arriving, many people told me that it’s so easy to communicate here because many people speak english. My brain got a little too excited and kinda expected nearly everyone to speak english, so I was a bit shocked to realize many people do know “hi, bye, thank you” but not many know what you’re asking for when you ask where something is, how to get somewhere, what is in the food, etc. I grew extremely frustrated with my lack of ability to communicate. After coming from Guatemala, where I could communicate nearly anything I needed to, it was/is a hard shift coming to a place where I know maaayyybe three phrases.
Travel
There’s no city buses/chicken buses here. You go anywhere and everywhere via tuk tuk, and during the ride, you’ll probably get the crap scared out of you at least 10 times because people drive on both sides of the road, weaving between cars, pedestrians stepping straight in front of moving vehicles. It’s pretty wild. But kinda fun.
Respect
There’s many different ways you can respect and disrespect people here which aren’t the same in the states or Latin America. For example, touching someone’s head is extremely disrespectful. I love kids and I have noticed how much I touch their heads now that I cannot do it. Also, showing the bottom of your feet is very rude, and you MUST take off your shoes before entering a house. It’s also extremely disrespectful to take photos of the giant pictures of the King and Queen. When greeting people who are older than you, you have to say a formal greeting a bow, along with when you leave. Another thing is that it’s disrespectful to take any of the soda/snacks left out anywhere. For example, you might see a coke on the sidewalk near an idol, and think it’s up for grabs because heck, it’s on the ground! But no – that coke is an offering and taking it would be a big sign of disrespect.
Toilets
Kinda weird to put this as it’s own topic but whatev. First of all, no signs say bathroom. There are always signs that say “toilet”. It’s small but I think it’s funny. Also, when you’re at locals’ houses, you’re likely going to find yourself needing to use the restroom, but what you’ll find isn’t a western toilet. It’s a squatty potty! It’s juuuust what it sounds like. An indent into the ground where you’ll squat over (kinda in a frog position) to use. I am not quite used to it and really don’t like it but I’ve heard after some practice, they’re better than normal toilets!!! Haha
Creatures
Cows everywhere. Funky chickens. Bats night and day. Cutie water buffalo. Spiders as big as my hand. Enough said.
Food
We have a big say in what we eat because we get a food budget to spend how we want. But I try to eat local traditional dishes as often as possible. A lot of fried rice, chicken, white rice, fruit, more rice, tea, more rice, noodles, curry, and more rice.
Other!!!
Nose picking!!! Totally acceptable to do whenever and wherever. Hard to remember it’s not weird here because I see people doing it and I’m like woah ew! But then I gotta remember that’s my own problem I think that because it’s fine to do here.
Receiving money!! When cashiers receive money from you, they extend their right arm while touching their right elbow with their left hand. Sometimes they won’t receive it unless you hand it to them in the same fashion.
Hammocks errrrywhere!! You literally cannot go anywhere without seeing like 12 hammocks. In peoples houses it’s pretty normal to have 5 or more hammocks. I’ve seen hammocks under the cover of tuk tuks, inside a car, under a porch, the options are seriously endless and anywhere you can put a hammock is an acceptable place to put a hammock.
If you read all of that, you’re a champ. Thanks for sticking around.
Even though I don’t feel at home here, I’m choosing to try my best to adapt and finish the race strong. It’s challenging at times but when I ask God for grace and guidance, He’s so generous to provide it. If I never feel at home here, that’s okay, because God called me to leave home and serve His people, and I’m happy to do so even when it hurts. I hope this gave some of y’all a clear look into what Khmer life is like. Please be praying for our ministry here (details to come in the future about what that looks like here!!), for peace, for health, and all the things!!!
Please reach out to me if you want to talk!!! I looovveeee getting to stay connected with people from home and I would love to pray for you if you have requests.
Until next time!
-Madison
