Doyc K'nia, Ko K'nia Part II

Back a few weeks ago, I brought you Doyc K'nia, Ko K'nia Part I - highlighting some of the similarities and differences between my old life and my new life here.  Now, I bring you Part II.  I know, this is not going to be nearly as epically awesome as watching my amazing and profound facial expressions as I try to speak Khmer, but, something has to follow that blog post.

First, let's talk about security systems.  In my old house, we had two locks on the door the deadbolt and whatever you call that other one on the knob :)  Clearly, I have some amazing knowledge of locks.  The deadbolt also stopped working about three weeks after I moved into the house and we never used it again for three years.  Our landlord gave us a new one but we never managed to copy the key :)

This is security now:

Oh, and I forgot the most important part.  Tony.

 

This Rasta-Guard dog rocks some awesome dreadlocks and will pretend to like you and then bark like he is going to tear your face off in two seconds.  He actually probably serves his purpose very well.  1) Many people are scared of dogs here.  2) He makes so much noise, he wakes the owners and they investigate.  On one occasion, when I was coming back after some Maryknoll outing, he started barking like he wanted to eat me, and I heard my landlord say, from inside the house, who is it.  As soon as I told him, he told the dog to quiet down.  *Hilarious sidenote, as soon as I started writing this, Tony started barking.

Yes, I think my old dog looks the part:

 

But, she would never be hired because she never barks... That whole running away from everything would also disqualify her.

Ceilings.  How often do you contemplate your ceiling?  Maybe only when you should be sleeping at night.  Well, let me show you my ceiling:

 

If you have skyped with me, chances are you have seen this as it is the first thing I show people :)  This was a French colony back in the day and you can still see that reflected in the architecture.  A few other notes, the high ceiling does help keep the place cooler - yahoo!  I have no idea what we do when the light bulbs need to be changed.  And, we don't use the chandelier, as it sparks a wee bit.

Another difference is the style of microwave.

 

This is how I reheat my food.  Let's be honest, usually I am too lazy to do that and it is hot, so I just eat cold leftovers.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some more of the new parts of my daily life!  Happy Weekend!

Language Learning - Video Style

In honor of my two month anniversary here in Cambodia, I give you this lovely video outlining my joys of language learning.  Many of you have said, "I want to hear you speak! I want to see the writing."  So, I have put in some examples here.  Happy Friday!  Remember, you will never get the next seven minutes back, so I have tried to make them worth your watching.



And, as mentioned in the video, here is the link to my friend Andrew's website.  As you can tell, he is a professional musician, so check out his work!  Little known fact:  the first time I was a cantor at church was with Andrew.  Clearly, one of us possesses far more talent than the other :)

And, the actual price is...

As they say on The Price is Right: And, the actual price is... (I think that is what they say, haven't watched that show in a long time...)  If you didn't yet see the last blog post, take a moment to guess the various prices of these items.

 

Actual price: $1.30  Eggs have, at one store, gone from $1.10 when I arrived to $1.30.  And, the extra bonus points to those who realized eggs here are not sold by the dozen.  They are sold in cartons of ten at the store. Though, you can also buy them in the market.  I have not yet tried that to see how much they cost.  That may be my next adventure.  Though, I am a little scared of accidentally getting one with a chick inside... Animal carcass falling into my brownie batter seems unfortunate... Side note, people here eat fertilized eggs as a specialty item.  I will not be having that crunchy cultural experience.

 

Actual Price: $2.80 - I have shopped around to three different markets and at some the cheapest butter is $3.40.  Too bad the cheap butter is the farthest from my house...

 

Actual Price: $4.60

 

Actual Price: $1.60 (is the cheapest price I have seen and remember)

 

Actual Price: $0.50 - $0.67  I think the lady there has gotten to know me because I buy a hand of bananas at least twice each week.  I also think she realized I wasn't going to barter so she raised the asking price from $0.50 to $0.67.  Once we jump to $0.75, I will say price (as they say for bargain) like my life depends on it.  That right there will break the piggy bank ;)

 

Actual Price: $1.25 BUT THEY ARE SO GOOD!  And, we haven't had to buy them for a while thanks to my generous teacher giving me some from her family's trees.  I wonder if I can grow a mango tree on the balcony of my apartment...

 

Actual Price: $0.67 (Dragon Fruit in case you forgot what that is)

 

Actual Price: $0.67 - Doesn't that beautiful color just make you want to lick it!?!  FYI, bad idea if you have a touch screen...

 

Actual Price: $0.50

 

Actual Price: $0.50

So, how'd you do?  Did you have to phone a friend?  Did you want to buy a vowel?  Use a life line?  Are you the Weakest Link?  Were you voted off the island?  What is, please stop using game show references?  :)

*Side note: I got a little closer to all of you in the US last night.  We don't have day light savings time here, so I am now 14 hours off of the West Coast and 11 hours from the East Coast.  (The other amounts were so much easier to calculate).  And, last tangent, I recently had a conversation with my teacher in Khmer.  I told him I spoke with my sister in the morning and he said, "Oh, is it 8pm there for your family?"  I said, "Yes, for my sister.  It is 5pm for the rest of my family."  He looked confused (more so than when I usually am speaking).  I, then, attempted to explain time zones.  He said, "Huh.  Cambodia is all the same."  I laughed, "And said, that is because Cambodia is the same size as one state in my country :)"  So, this is your question to be answered next time.  What state is roughly the same size as Cambodia?  (Ok, there are probably multiple states but if you guess the one I am thinking of, you get kudos. I may have mentioned it in an earlier blog).

T'lie Pone Mawn

T'lie Pone Mawn means how much does it cost (t-as in talk + lie - as in don't tell one, Pone rhymes with bone, Mawn rhymes with dawn, as in when I get up).  This is my favorite, or least favorite, phrase at the market.  Following their response you are supposed to respond, "T'lie Pake (rhymes with bake) and ask if they can do... some price less.  I am usually in what I call a USAmerican mood where I don't want to haggle for my bananas when they are only asking 50 cents for the bunch.  Plus, given the fact that I make around twice the living wage for a family of three in the city, or about eight times what a factory worker makes, I find it a bit stingy to haggle over 25 cents.  I always go back to, which of us really needs that 25 cents more, thus, enjoy your 25 cents, seller lady.  This is a point of debate among missioners, and my teachers, many of whom think it is cultural to bargain and we should pay no more than the locals, I have a different opinion, as you can see, but that is not the point of this post, I digress.

I have prepared this great guessing game for you called, T'lie Pone Mawn.  Think of it as The Price is Right - Cambodia style.  Though, you have nothing but your pride to gain. I contemplated a price, but really don't want to calculate numerically how close everyone is.  If you want to let me know your guesses, you are still welcome to do so.  The rules are this, below are some pictures of various items I purchase (on a regular basis).  I will describe the item and You get to guess how much each one costs.  Next blog update, I will give you the answers.

Good luck!

 

#1 Chicken Eggs -  You must specify here as duck eggs are also popular.  I have had them...once.  That was enough.  They have a MUCH stronger flavor than chicken eggs.  Bonus points, if you correctly notice one major difference between my carton of eggs and your normal carton in the states.

 

 

#2 Butter - This is the way butter is sold here.  I have seen it from Australia, New Zealand... and at least one other place.  I have tried all the cheapest brands and this is definitely the best.  It is a good thing I bake so much in the states that I can guesstimate a tablespoon well, as it is not marked (or marked only in grams)

 

#3 Best Oatmeal -  This is from Australia, I think.  I had only been able to find the quick oats, which are sooo mushy.  Thus, finding rolled oats was a particularly great moment.  

  

#4 - Baking friends, this is how yeast is sold here.  I am guessing because most normal, everyday folks don't have ovens.  Thus, only professional bakers buy yeast.  I actually didn't buy this because another lay missioner had bought it a few months ago and never opened it, thus, I was gifted this awesomeness.  If I come back to the states during my stay here, I will take orders for anyone who wants cheap yeast ;)

 

All of the above items are purchased as a supermarket (some are much more western than others).  A few things to note: 1) Many 'western' foods can be found in the super markets, almost anything you would want.  The catch, you will be paying a HUGE amount for many of these imported items; 2) Prices are not consistent on these items, week to week, they will change.  In my month, I have seen items increase by up to a quarter at the exact same place.  Not sure if this is an inflation thing or simply the person with the price gun selected a different price at the time of labeling;  3) These places have fruit and veggies BUT it is all wrapped in plastic and Styrofoam (so my environmentalist side cringes) and it is not nearly as fresh as the market.

 

# 5 Bananas - Here, they sell bananas by the "hand"  I can't say I had heard that term before coming here but since I had to learn it is Khmer, I now know it in English, too.  These are one of three kinds of bananas they have here.  I have only been able to find two in the market.  These little ones are super sweet, and I think I had similar in Nicaragua back in my youth...  Fun fact, in Khmer Sign Language, they have three different signs for banana because there are three different kinds.  So, how much is one hand?

 

#6 Mangoes -  My one true love.  These puppies are something I really should bargain over, as they are the most expensive thing I buy but I just can't muster the energy to do it... Someday.  Maybe I will take my language teacher with me someday and she can teacher me the art of bargaining.  She actually has a mango tree in her front yard and brought me seven mangoes, so I won't have to go bargaining for the week :)

 

 

 

#7 Dragon Fruit - These are Dragon Fruit, for those not familiar with them.  I forgot to take a picture of the inside (it is white with small black seeds).  See here.   I have decided I want a dragon fruit inspired dress...  Fashion designers, GO!

 

#8 Watermelon - Chinese New Year time is apparently melon time!  This was DELICIOUS!  If I wasn't so worried about my stomach, I would probably live on fruit here.  It is all So GOOD!  These little melons are smaller than the US but look...

 

It is not a fake watermelon like the ones in the states!  It has seeds.  If you have ever been around me while I eat watermelon, you have probably heard my rant about how the fake watermelons these days are going to ruin the youth of the future because they will not know how to have a seed spitting contest.  County fairs everywhere are suffering... But, not in CAMBODIA!

 

 

#9 Carrot - Next Khmer word for you, Care-ott.  Yup, did I feel like a stooge after asking for a kilo of those to be told those were called Care-otts ;)  They are big and fat and delicious here!  It is basically like a farmers' market being my only source of veggies.  But, not DC farmers' market prices.  Hint #1

 

 

#10 - And, last but not least.  These lovely green peppers went into my Mexi-style rice and beans.  My language teachers think it is super weird that I eat beans and rice together.  They don't know what they are missing.

Ok, so those are all your pictures for which you must guess prices/costs.  READY, GO!  

(You can either write down your answers and save for your future checking, or put them in the comments.  I will be curious to know how you do!)

And, as Bob Barker would say, "Always have your pets spayed or neutered." Or, since this is Cambodia, "Rabies shots people!"  ;)