It is time for me to put the kibosh on the old cliches that really impressed the barang. Cambodia, not only houses branches of palm trees, with their grannies krama casually folded on top of the skull, now chew their betel between their reddish snags.
No. The Cambodian people is not only composed of grandmas and toddlers laughing.
There is also the middle class. Those living in the compartments Chinese, while the large block length with the ground floor, a shed that serves as store-room-car garage, and blind parts in succession, in which to live under the white light of neon, with only air breathing mice.
Yesterday evening, starting A dam cons the Pacific, I read that Duras was an allusion to the buildings erected by settlers for the middle class "native", buildings which were built in succession, and which proved conducive to the spread of plague in a speed record. Well I think these buildings are not native to far from these compartments Chinese, who are a bit of the Rolls rabbit hutch of Sarcelles, except that it still sounds modern and chic, especially when it is near the airport ...
brief. it is time to introduce you to another Khmer art de vivre.
here is the prototype of a Khmer family of the middle class and even the upper middle class. I
Laurent Boton have thought about taking this photo. Because it's going to buy the precious Bendazole 500mg which overcomes worms in the stomachs of our young godchildren Mekong he gave me his little show with his customary aplomb theater:
(I emphasized in bold-capitalized intonations legendary Lawrence but tak know Leah and has written everything is lost)
"but not RE custody, Heloise, RE keeps it. It -TY-PI that is -TY PI- that. RE custody, in the lounge car, the TV on in background is TY-PI- that! "
And it's true that this is typical.
The madam of pharmacy -Which is also currency exchange and jewelry, and filing for Rice, which speaks volumes about the skills of the lady ...- pharmaceutical is a Sino-Khmer thirties, still quite nice (at forty years will be gone forever in the "MING", much less prepossessing), rustle of pink clad, indolent, and who did nothing to seriously shake us.
It takes about an hour to find multi vitamins when I ask him ... Finally, more precisely, it can not find it, it's me that runs behind the counter to show him the boxes rows highlighted on one of three shelves that are his business pharmaceuticals.
"No, but IL FAU t you understand that ET laws IT she married, and now she f t OR NOTHING of his life. She watches TV, she is doing pedicures at home, she looks (be careful, do not read it " RE guard") magazines. And we, we employ it to Wed. It would f OR t us, I'll DIS me, Heloise, she would f t OR ROYAL us. It's like CA middle class in Cambodia. It's like it ."
C'est vrai que mêmme sourire, c'est un effort qu'elle ne se donne pas la peine de faire, notre super pharmacienne.
Et puis dans la maison khmer, tout le monde est plongé dans une profonde léthargie, comme un refuge, une parade à la chaleur écrasante de la ville, et les décibels particulièrement agressifs du mariage devant la maison d'à côté. Il ya la belle-mère qui roupille sur le transat' et décolle parfois une oreille pour aboyer un ordre à sa boniche invisible en cuisine, et les gosses (un garçon en général, car le fils est roi chez les khmers, comme souvent en Asie) qui se cure le nez, l'air absorbé devant son dessin animé.
The car is like everywhere a major sign of wealth, it is placed prominently. It may be there one of the few universal traits of stupidity that we share, between East and West. But unlike the rest of us barang, Khmer upper middle class has no problem taking all his meals in an atmosphere of Motorway.
course there is a dog filthy, gender or Chitsu Chihuahua, who comes regularly bitch tiles (from a pharmacy is not a bad idea ...) because he also found that going outside is really too much effort for not much. "In any event, the penniless cousin, housed in the eye by the family and used the occasion to wipe my maid is going on, then it would be wrong to deprive ... "
then, they'll still taste these sympathetic Khmer?
PS: Mom, I remind you that the last months of the mission's rush. I wrap all my sponsorship openings, prepare to get my successor with a record of curl, to my farewell and dry my tears. so I'm not ALWAYS in Phnom Penh, and I does not update my blog every day!
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