I’ve been asked what I think of Kratie or whether I like the town several times since moving here. I’m still not quite sure what to say when asked. I think this has to do with the fact everything here is new and different from what I’m accustomed to. For instance, the first day when I arrived I walked around trying to find a store to buy some food and a place that sold electronic equipment in hopes of navigating where to buy a modem for internet. I quickly realized most everyone buys their food at the market or in these little storefronts that double as peoples’ homes. There weren’t any traditional “grocery stores” like I was used to. I’m slowly navigating where I can buy what and do things like laundry, buy a decent meal, or get a bike tire fixed. I actually stumbled across one store that sells western food items like pasta noodles, yogurt, nutella, and even a box of corn flakes. After eating mostly knock-off brand pringles and random crackers for snacks, I was ecstatic.
The language barrier also threw me for a loop at first. During my first week everyone at work went out to dinner, which was lovely, but most of the conversation was in Khmer. I already felt a bit awkward trying to navigate the new foods I was trying with the chopsticks I’m not particularly adept at using, and felt silly sitting there not joining in the conversation. However, the staff at WWF speak English well, so I haven’t had trouble at work yet. I realize I’m now thankful they often speak Khmer as it gives me many more opportunities to learn. If I’m out in the market though, that’s a different story. I didn’t understand the smallest amount of fruit they will give you is 1 kilo so that resulted in me buying literally 20 bananas one day. I’m also trying to learn the numbers in Khmer so that I can understand how much everything costs. However, often the storeowners tell me the price so quickly that I inevitably just stare back at them with a slightly dumbfounded look on my face. I’m getting better at making them repeat it until I truly understand what they are saying. Just to let you know the Cambodian language is called Khmer (I was pronouncing it wrong until the week before I left for Cambodia!) which has its own unique script derived from Sanskrit. The alphabet has roughly 33 consonants and 24 vowel combinations. I’ve actually hired a tutor so we’ll see how much I improve in the upcoming months.
The last thing that you can’t help but notice walking around Kratie is how differently people live here. While some people are well off and have nice homes, many do not. This isn’t to say that their lives are any less enriched, but I have found myself inevitably being grateful for the luxuries we are accustomed to in the U.S. Because I stick out very much in town I feel odd snapping photos with my big DSLR camera, but have tried to capture some to give you a quick glimpse of what the town is like.
