Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Out and About




Phnom Pehn can be a difficult city to digest. The dizzying movement, chaos, and oppressive heat that greeted me upon my arrival have not let up -- they immediately accost you once you step outside the comfort of your home. Only my expectations have shifted. Each time I peel off another layer of this city to examine, I realize just how staggering the gulf is between what I believed life would be in Cambodia and how life really is, how simultaneously foreign and familiar, alarming and comforting.

In the search to embrace some shred of normalcy in an otherwise patently foreign environment, I've been doing some strange-for-me things, such as spending inordinate amounts of time cooking and thinking about cooking for my flatmates and new friends. (Thank you, Jennifer, for the magic tomato sauce recipe.) I do this despite my oven-hot kitchen, which unfortunately does not even house an oven. And I do this despite the fact that it can be significantly cheaper to eat out than to cook.

Dancing is another strange development. Lots of dancing. Last night, we attended yet another show hosted by the French Cultural Center, this time headlining French hip hop/band, Java. There was rap, an accordian, guitars, French words I could not understand, dancing in the humid night air, and, at some point, a bag of baguettes on stage. It was strange and wonderful. And so much fun.

4 comments:

  1. It seems to take a long time to become fully adjusted to living in a different country, and you never realize just how accustomed you had become until you've moved away..at least that's how I felt when I lived in Beijing and (very briefly) in Paris. But it sounds like you're making a good go of things over there.

    How'd that tomato sauce work out for you?

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  2. Thanks, Jennifer. The sauce is yummy. Keep those recipes coming. Yes, I'm having a go at it, one day at a time. It is definitely a fascinating place.

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  3. Good. That is what this time is for. For you to reach out and try new things. Take yourself where your heart moves you. There are secrets that are written within the caverns of your heart. Listen as they whisper and make themselves known to you. :)

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  4. Oh my goodness, so many new things ...

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