On a lighter note

This morning my mom told me my last blog post was depressing. Well, its hard to make genocide a chipper topic. But, I realized I should add something on the lighter side of Cambodian life as a counterweight. So please enjoy a few fun facts, proverbs, and cultural lessons.

1) A Cambodian proverb: Just like a chili is always spicey, a woman is always jealous.

2) Cambodians eat rice with a spoon. In fact, a spoon is your main utensil. America might be a first world nation, but the fact that we try to eat rice with a fork proves we still have room to advance.

3) Cambodian delicacy: Pong Tia Koun- Literally meaning baby duck egg. This is an egg with a partially developed duck fetus inside. Developed just enough to have little crunch. I tried it with so much sauce I couldn't taste it, but I'm still not eager to try it again. Every Cambodian I know thinks these are delicious, but my American mind just can't overcome the idea of them.

4) The main form of transportation here is moto- motorbikes. Think vespa. The law says only 2 people per moto and at least the driver has to wear a helmet, but I've seen up to 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 children. I've also seen 30 dead chickens, 1 big dead pig, 3 live pigs, a book shelf, a couch, and a delivery vehicle for a pizza place. Probably the funniest part is I don't even notice these things anymore. They are so commonplace.

5) Cambodian superstition: If you get caught in a rain storm and don't take a shower right when you get home, you will get a headache. And this isn't knock on wood or a black cat- my sisters barely believed me when I said I didn't get a headache.

6) Fun language quirks: The word for pregnant literally means to have a house stomach. The word for 'to like' means to enter your heart. The word for 'milk' means water from the teat of the cow.

7) Cambodians love Angelina Jolie. She shot part of Tomb Raider here and then adopted a Cambodian baby. If that weren't enough, she also created a pretty well respected NGO here working with children who have HIV/AIDS. So in that sense, I'd say she deserves their love.

8) My sisters and I spend a good portion of every week watching music videos- Cambodian and American yes, but predominantly Korean. Korean Pop is seriously a huge deal and America is missing out. Think boy bands meet awesome special effects in music videos. Hip hop dancing is seriously becoming a global culture. Some band names: 2NE1, 2pm, Girls Generation, Super Junior, G Dragon. Being in Cambodia might be permanently altering my tastes, because I've actually developed a like/love of these bands. Oh and people do the dances to these bands' videos on the street in the evening for exercise. Come five o clock, dance groups pop up all over the city every night. Only 25 cents to join : )

9) In Sihanoukville, the main beach town, many restaurants boast happy food. Happy pizza. Happy burgers. Happy smoothies. In case you haven't already guessed, happy means a little marijuana mixed in for good measure. Only 50 cents extra. And though I ate at Happy Herb Pizza many nights on my most recent vacation, I chose to avoid the happy!

10) And finally, I don't know if its because of all the collective trauma this country has experienced or simply a natural part of their culture, but people here are resilient and always, always joking and laughing. Even when I can't follow the conversation, I"m still having a good time because everyone is cracking up half the time. From the silly to the serious to the ridiculous, Cambodia is a joy to get to know and live in.