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In Cambodia, where we don’t have meteorological seasons (we have only two seasons: hot and wet and then hot and dry) and no sports seasons, it’s the fruits ripening that indicate what is the time of year. And now it’s time for jackfruit again. They’re suddenly appearing in the markets and in pop-up stalls along the streets.
Yesterday, going to our Sunday mass, my PassApp driver had his little daughter with him. She was about five and they seemed to have a really good relationship, chattering about things we passed as we drove along.
After about ten minutes of riding, the little girl seemed tired and stretched out on the seat behind her father. She was small enough to just fit into the seat comfortably.
This is in front of a furniture factory across the street from the Maryknoll office, early in the morning. The guard is probably finishing his overnight shift and getting ready to head home but some woman vendor comes along and he decides to eat breakfast here instead of on the way. I wonder what it is she has to offer?
Cambodia has a strong relationship with its trees. Most of the population still cooks using charcoal in open pottery braziers. Heavy wooden stylized furniture is an affirmation of a family’s status or the viability of a company. In the colonial days beautiful tree-lined boulevards graced Phnom Penh. Today much of the urban glory provided by the trees is gone but there are still glimpses in some parts of the city.
