I've realized that my life in Cambodia has many quirks that I never think to write about. Some of these make me laugh, some I just take for granted, but none of them were part of my US life. So I'll share a few, in order to deepen your understanding of this ancient nation.
-Guys at Logos often put their arms around each other, hug each other, punch each other, etc. Girls are much less hands-on with each other.
-I never go into the kitchen at night without turning on the light first. It's just to prevent catching any rats off-guard...I want them to be on their way out when I go in. (We have far fewer than last year, but a few times I've seen one about 8 inches long.)
-I'm doing better this year with the heat. Last year, I slept with a fan on low and I only used a bedsheet during cold season. This year, I've consistently needed a sheet at night.
-"Knee squeeze!" Every day, Sarah drives me to school on our moto. The gate has 2 openings - one for cars and one for pedestrians/bikes/motos. We ddrive through the small one, and I have to squeeze my knees together to avoid scraping them.
-All the classrooms have ornate living room-style curtains because the sunshine reflects too much on the boards otherwise. Blinds are quite expensive here, but these curtains were reasonable. However, the science classroom has Venetian blinds, for some reason. The first time the science teacher closed them, students was shocked and amazed - they'd never seen them before.
-We have water coolers in the hallways, since you can't drink tap water here. Most actually cool the water, but the one outside my classroom doesn't work, and it's in the sun all day. Kids ask me how I can drink water well over 100 degrees, but the truth is, I don't have time between classes to go to one of the cold ones. I always tell them, "It's wet, so why should it matter?"
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