1. I see more men with their shirts off than on. This includes men of all ages- old, young and everything in between. The only exception to this rule are the male teachers at my school; I have yet to see a shirtless male teacher teaching. But I'm sure it has happened before.
2. While disruptions during class happen in America, I am pretty sure they do not happen for the same reasons as they do here. Some of the most common disruptions interrupting my lessons are: cows and/or dogs entering the classroom, random babies trying to play hide and seek (they are mostly the children of teachers at my school; in Cambodia, everyday is bring your child to work day), powerful rainstorms that block out every single voice in the class due to the crashing sound against the shoddy tin roof, and other students at the school creeping in the windows/doors trying to get a sneak-peak at the weird, sweaty, foreign teacher who is desperately trying to teach the present continuous tense.
3. There is no such thing as trash collection here. Disposing of trash means gathering it into a huge pile and lighting it on fire. This means a mishmash of everything- food, clothes, plastic, cardboard, more plastic. Light it up and you're likely to get a very unhealthy wafting in your bedroom, depending on which way the wind is blowing. The smoke from trash burning is EVERYWHERE. Sometimes, I am tricked into thinking it's fog during my early morning runs, which leaves me gasping after I run through it. I should know better by now.
4. There is no such thing as a tub or a sink here (at least for PCV's). I am fortunate enough to have a shower in my room, which most volunteers do not have. When I shower, the water just goes on the floor, the toilet, the mirror- it pretty much gets everywhere. The floor is slightly tilted downwards to allow the water to drain. I forgot all about tubs and enclosed shower areas until Steph came to visit and pointed out how strange this was. Also, when you brush your teeth, since there is no sink, you just spit on the floor. How will I ever go back to using a sink?
5. I have yet to see a police car in this country, so I've been curious about how the police arrest people here. Well, luckily for me, I found out just the other day. As I was walking to the market, I saw a disheveled man in handcuffs with two police officers standing by. I actually had to stop and watch the drama unfold because I really wanted to see just how this man was going to be transported to jail. Now for all of you who don't know what a cyclo is, it is a common form of transportation throughout SE Asia. A little cart that can fit one Western person (maybe 2-3 Kmai people)is attached to a bicyle that is pedaled by a hardworking Kmai man, using all his power to cycle his passenger(s) to their destination(See pic below). Little did I know that the cyclo is the bona fide cop car of Svay Rieng. The prisoner was placed in the cyclo (barefoot) as a random cyclo driver steered him toward the prison, the police officers trailing behind on their motos. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself- the method of transport for prisoners here would be a cyclo.
6. I have to be really conscious about what I throw away because it will ALWAYS be picked through by my host mother before it is set on fire. For example, on more occasions than I can count, I've thrown away an empty food container that later appears in our kitchen as the newest storage container for a number of things- my old peanut butter jars become salt containers, an old ziplock bag holds MSG, a container of cashews becomes the newest water bottle. Nothing goes to waste here. You might think that's good, but (a) I don't know how healthy reusing plastic bottles is for an extended period of time and (b) it's kind of creepy.
7. Any time Cambodians watch comedic tv shows, the funny characters always have mustaches. If you see a Kmai man on tv with a mustache, you know it's a funny show. Kmai men can't really grow facial hair, so you know when you see one on tv that something funny is going on.
8. Eating dog meat actually happens here, and it's actually considered a delicacy. I don't think I've eaten it, but my host mother likes to trick me into eating a variety of things. So actually, yes, I probably have eaten a dog at one point or another.
9. I get called "French" everyday here, since the word for foreigner, barong, literally translates to French person. It can get really annoying, and if an unsuspecting Kmai person catches me on a bad day, I will respond to their "Hello barong" with "Hello, Vietnamese." They're not too crazy about Vietnamese people in my town, so they quickly get the point.
10. Animals are NOT considered pets here. They are mangy, disgusting, and flea-infested. Dogs are used to enforce property rights- when a different dog starts barking you know you are on someone else's property(or they are eaten). Cows/buffaloes are used for labor. Cats, well, they are around, but so emaciated that you wish you could personally put them out of their misery. Pigs are purely for eating, a fact which the slaughterhouse down the road constantly reminds me of. I hope that on return to the states, I can once again begin to lovingly think of animals instead of shooing them away and constanly living in fear of catching rabies.
These are just a few of the entertaining parts of life in the Bode, but I will add more once I think of them.
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