Just a little bit... different.

Well, today I learned something. Granted, I knew it already, but the thought was made fresh to me.

I started the day helping Sak Saum move a whole bunch of heavy boxes full of handbags to their new center. Yes, I'll get you a Sak Saum post! Next one is the one I am planning for that, ok? Anyway, after lifting just enough to feel kind of manly and strong, I traveled with Jacob to the local grocery store to grab a snack.

Hey! Stop laughing at my spaghetti arms!

The label says something to the effect of 'If you can't read this, why are you buying it?!?'

My wife wanted me to try to get a bottle of her favorite pomegranate green tea (tastes like a melted popsicle. mmmm.). We went to Psat Bayon - Bayon Market if you want English - and I had a look around. That's when I discovered they did not carry said tea (markets carry things at random sometimes, but apparently not the tea today). I didn't want to come back empty handed, so I grabbed an orange-colored bottle, thinking it would be orange or mandarin or something.

Yeah. No. It apparently is buttered corn flavored green tea (note: the manufacturer swears it's roasted brown rice flavored - like that helps or something).

This led me to remember that as much as this feels like home, it's still just a little different than I am used to. ;)

Here, let me give you some examples.

This innocent looking storm cloud is capable of flooding entire fields in a matter of minutes.

Here, we have storms. In Florida, we had storms too, but not like this. During the rainy season, we get weather that is reminiscent of Noah and the Ark. Fields flood... then disappear entirely. Cows swim for high ground, and certain roads require you to caulk the wagon and float across.

What? Oh, sorry. You're right - this isn't the Oregon Trail. Truly, people use big trucks with snorkels on the engines to get across, if they are brave enough to even try.

Siiiinging in the rain....

What else is different? When the rains come, people go out and play. You don't stop a soccer match here due to rain, you start one! It's fun to see such enthusiasm, especially from the relatively dry safety of my living room window.

This ain't your grand pappy's minute market!

Shopping is different too. Here, you haggle, or expect to overpay because you aren't Khmer. The old 'corner store' is quite literally the entire corner... and most of the block as your neighbors all seem to own some sort of business. Just be cautious where you shop. I was careful today to buy a potato snack that wasn't prawn flavored. However, I didn't notice the snack expired some time during World War 2. Pungent, and slightly chewy... don't waste food now. Eat up!

...yep.

Which brings us to Cambodian Cuisine. I think the book says it all, don't you? ;) You'll find a KFC and a movie theater on one street, and the next one down has vendors selling things that were pulled out of the river this morning. They might have even cooked it too!

Overloading is a way of life.

Traffic is... traffic. From live chickens, to the guy carrying combustible fuel on a motorcycle in large quantities, it's never a dull moment out there. Sure, there's stop lights (usually ignored), traffic police (ditto), and nice cars, but as with everything else, what a geeky American thinks of as normal is mixed with the undeniable "what?!?".

Some things don't change though. People are people. Aidan is Aidan. You smile and wave, and they smile back. In fact, they smile brighter, because you just made them feel liked and appreciated (nice one!).

Make a child smile. Nothing unusual about that, my friends.

Ahh, but there are some things that are different in a slightly better way. How so?

What do you see?

Yes, that's a bicycle tire. What else? Yes, that's a loom.

Want to know what I see?

Freedom. Freedom from a life of hard labor, or misery, or being enslaved or abused. How so? Well, my next post will be about Sak Saum, and I'm going to answer those questions for you.