Harlem N Da House

Cambodia Week 2 – Harlem ‘N Da House
There was a couple of days overlap as the dentists left and the photographers arrived. In between Maegen and Camera, our neighbors from Harlem, arrived. Makara and I met them at the airport the evening they landed. They looked tired from their flights and relieved to see us there. I could tell by Makara’s excited chatter that she was happy to have a girlfriend here with her.

Since they were newly arrived, we did some of the same things we had done with the dental students:. an elephant ride at Angkor Thom, a tour of Angkor Wat, and lunch at the Artisan Café where I had a prawn and green mango salad followed by a homemade chocolate ice cream cone that were all absolutely delicious!

Everything seems like a new adventure when you are showing it to someone else. The tuk tuk ride seems more fun and more harrowing, the Blue Planet (our favorite café with the long white-sheeted mattresses and pillows for patron seating along one side) more daring and different, the street scenes more cacophonous and picturesque. When we toured Wat Damnak and the LHA offices with them, I was proud to show off my English students in the sewing center.

As you can imagine, we are a visual novelty wherever we go. We have encountered almost no any Africans of any kind or continent during our stay. Both Makara and Maegen have dreads, thereby drawing additional looks. The Khmer are unabashedly curious, and will continue staring even when you are looking right at them. But when you are warm and acknowledge them, their faces light up like the sun breaking through clouds, guileless and open. Most relish the opportunity to practice their English, and will attempt a conversation. I’ve learned a few Khmer phrases, and when I’m asked “Souksa Bye-tay” (“How are you?”), I get the best reaction when I respond in slang with “Souksa bye mop-mop” (“I’m crazy fine.”).