There is never a boring day over here. Even menial, daily tasks can become adventuresome and something new is always experienced. For instance, in one second I fully realized why so many wear masks (like surgical masks) outside over here. I was driving the moto and a large truck passed. He kicked up much of the dust and sand from the side of the road and in an instant my gum was filled with tiny particles of sand. Yum. Another thing to get used to is how weddings are celebrated here. Picture the second busiest road in your town. Is it a major artery for your city? Great. Now imagine a young couple in love is going to be getting married. So the family rents a large awning to set up tables, chairs, dance floor, music, food...etc. Where better to set it up? Why don't we take up half of the street in front of our house? Perfectly logical, right? That is exactly what they do here. At least half of the width of major streets are bottle necked by wedding tents, elaborately decorated in pink and yellow. The next thing I am recognizing is just how out of place I/we must seem to the Khmai. Fair skinned, light hair yet we don't go home like most westerners. We just keep showing up. One thing that always garners a laugh from the locals is a new phrase I learned. It is: "bien moto high" (strictly phonetic...I couldn't attempt to write Khmai and I am sure you wouldn't be able to read it). It means "I have a moto" and is used while pointing in the general direction of your moto. I use it when walking out of a market when invariably there are a half dozen moto and/or tuk tuk drivers ready to bring tourists to their next destination. It is probably the last phrase they are expecting to hear come out of my mouth. They always laugh and smile.
The last thing that I will share with you this time is my license plate story. There is so much to the story but I will just hit the highlights. The purchase of the moto (found on the "The Moto" post) was only the beginning. When purchased, the dealer gives you a record of import tax paid since there is no sales tax. Then within 15 days, the seller has to accompany you to the license plate place to verify the authenticity of the transaction. So I showed up at the sellers at 7:45 this morning. I had all of the appropriate documentation including passport, visas, signed proof of address, proof of employment, $50, sales receipt...I think that was it. Then I took off on my moto following Meng, the son of the owner of the shop, on his moto. That in and of itself was a challenge. He was weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, up onto sidewalks and through some less than green lights. Nonetheless I made it to the right location right behind him. That definitely boosted my driving confidence. So we pull up to an open air but covered waiting area with 120+ people and there is not another fair skinned person anywhere. That doesn't bother me at all since we are in Cambodia. I walk in and I feel so out of place yet at peace. Out of place because every sign, every form, every name tag is completely illegible to me and at peace because this is right where we are supposed to be. To give you a little indication, the font on the top of the license plate says "Phnom Penh" in Khmai and that is the font that everything is in. As one of the brothers that works at the moto shop was filling out all of my paperwork for me, I was told the wait would be about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. Then about 40 min into my wait, the guy who filled out my paperwork for me motioned for me to follow him. I then got up, followed him past the row of windows with the workers, through offices in the back, up some stairs, along an outdoor corridor and into an office. The man in the office looked important as he had pictures of himself shaking presumably the prime minister's and king's hands. After short dialogue in Khmai (not with me) I gave my thumbprint on a couple more documents we went back downstairs. Much to my pleasant surprise, about 15 min later I was out the door (or gate) with my new plates. I don't really question what happened, I just know where I am going for my next moto.
These definitely are interesting times and we are embracing the differences and appreciate the opportunities to share them with you. Blessings!
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