I just stepped from the office into the kitchen to get some water (a difference of about 10˚C), and I can smell meat, barbecuing for our lunch. Mmm. A note on what I've been eating here: mostly Chinese food. Nothing too exciting, sorry to disappoint you. As we're still staying at the hotel (our rooms at the school are still being renovated) we have breakfast there (toast, fruit, and an array of oily Chinese food in warming trays) which is not amazing, but it's free and requires no effort. Lunch and dinner we have at the school, which is cooked by the family that lives upstairs. Since the boss's family is Chinese and a couple of teachers at the school here are Taiwanese, we usually have some Chinese and Khmer dishes over rice. And soup. There is always soup. Soup isn't my favorite thing to begin with, but it's just about the last thing I want in 30˚ weather. I eat it once in awhile, and I have to say I liked the Khmer pumpkin soup and the lotus soup quite a lot, although bitter melon is definitely not to my taste. I do want to get out and explore the local street food more, though.
I'm slowly learning Khmer, but I'm having trouble remembering what I've learned. I just learned today how to say "tiny banana"... but now all I can remember is that it sounds like "eggs" in Chinese, which I don't know either. Not helpful! The stuff that sticks the best is the stuff you'd say to a three-year-old -- in this case, the three-year-old daughter of the family. Things like "let's eat!", "come out!" and the numbers 1-10. Occasionally the woman who cooks for us tries to teach us a few words or a little phrase (i.e. tiny bananas). At times I’m inclined to think that unspoken cues are universal, but then I remember that almost everyone nods and smiles when they don’t understand what you’re saying. So when we think we’re learning “I want eggs” we’re probably learning how to say “barbecued pork sauce” or something. I really need to learn more, so that I can get around easier and eat more interesting things (a.k.a. explore the food stalls at the market).
It's a slow Saturday here at the school. Saturday and Sunday are usually our busiest days, but next week is Khmer New Year so a lot of families have already left for vacation. Phnom Penh apparently empties out and shuts down as everyone goes home to the provinces, so I'm taking off too. If there were going to be a lot of events in town I might stay, but this is also the only vacation I'm going to have for awhile, especially since I work six days a week. Since I have a whole week, I decided to visit neighboring Laos, the quiet little country just to the north. I've never been and I've heard only good things about it, so why not visit the capital city when it transforms from sleepy town to chaotic New Years crazy city? That part of it wasn't planned, but I should have figured that Lao New Year is probably when Khmer New Year is.
Take that image and then stuff it onto a lovely TV set, with scores of singers and dancers dressed in silk, dancing traditional dances and singing traditional Khmer songs to celebrate the new year.
One last note, about the traffic in town. It's nuts. Lane's aren't a suggestion, they just don't exist. Although generally traffic stays to the right, driving is accepted on either side of the street, and makes for an interesting thrill when your driver suddenly turns directly into oncoming traffic. Regardless, it's quite easy to drive here. When she drove us to the bank this week, we asked our accountant how long it takes to get a driver's license here. Her reply was, "No need. Just pay." "Pay for what? A license?" "No, just pay if police stop." See? Easy! For a good description (and picture) of the traffic, click here and scroll down to the entry "11 September 2006 -- Traffic Law". (From my own experience, it seems like the law had absolutely no effect.)
One and a half more days of classes and then I'm off on vacation!
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