Category: Daily Life in Cambodia

One tough cookie

Just because of her age, this woman’s life has been rough–she is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge. And from this picture life may still be very difficult. But again she’s a survivor, making it day by day. Her story would be compelling, I am sure.

Another season

The big green fruits with the spikey hull (hard to see the spikes) are jackfruits. They are big with a really thick hull but once they’re open, they’re a good-tasting fruit. They’re definitely in season now. The large plastic bags seem to be full of mangoes that are still green. Cambodians love them that way!

Staying in Touch

Cambodia has the same problem as the rest of the world with distracted drivers, but the difference here is that people don’t realize (1) that it is illegal–just recently; and (2) that it is dangerous. They do everything dangerously–according to western standards–and driving while using a phone would never occur to them to be a problem.

Good News, Bad News

Fr. Kevin, who lives with me at the Maryknoll office, likes to watch the news, especially CNN, to keep up-to-date about the coronavirus.

The bad news: the TV remote control stopped working while he was watching CNN and he had to unplug the TV to turn it off.

The good news: the TV was tuned to CNN and not the Cartoon Channel when the problem developed!

Who’s watching the feet?

I have never seen any mention of such accidents or heard of it happening to anyone, but I often wonder how many Cambodian children are injured each year when they inadvertently stick a foot in the spokes of a motorcycle wheel. I’m sure there must be a good number who lose their toes or their whole foot since kids are kids and there are no guards or barriers on motorcycles.