Rolling. Rolling. Rolling on the...Lake?

I could have just had the best day that I will have in Cambodia. Now, just to be clear – I’m not sure that it tops that day on Santorini when I rode donkeys up to the top of an island, hiked an active volcano, and four-wheeled through rural Grecian villages at sunset, only to arrive at a restaurant where I enjoyed glasses (yes, plural!) of white wine and a huge helping of moose-ka-ka – but this day was a very, and I mean very, close second. Even though both days were incredible, they were distinctly different. The fantastic-ness of this day had nothing in common with the fantastic-ness of that day in Greece. Greece made my jaw drop. Cambodia made my smile widen.

Brekke and I woke up early. That may be the only bad part, and waking up early isn’t so bad, I’m discovering. We woke up early to ride down to the river (excuse me, very large lake), to hop on a make shift canoe (excuse me, very impressive boat), and to ride out the countryside. We partnered with FFE today as they went out again on one of their puppet show adventures (Yes, I will explain. FFE, or Food For Education, is the second program that is being run out of the Kampong Chhnang office. One of the main ways they strive to serve the community is through regular school feedings, the installation of latrines, the training of teachers on nutrition and health…and puppet shows. They have a group of what I thought to be pre-teens (until I had an 18 year old profess his love for me…or my white skin, rather) helping them to put on puppet shows for local schools in order to raise awareness of the harmful practices of smoking, alcohol, and bad hygiene).

Ok, back to the canoe, I mean boat, ride. We all trekked down to the water with speakers and puppets and a cooler full of local fruit in tow. And by we, I mean two way-too-white girls who have this combo look of confusion and terror on their faces and about 10 Cambodian pre-teens who happened to NOT be helping our lack of self esteem by giggling and laughing. I’m not sure what they were laughing at exactly, seeing as how my life is one big fashion show and even in rural ASIA, I look good.

So we are on the boat. And the scenery is beautiful. Even though the lake is low and all the underbellies of the houses are exposed, the sun is shining and I can taste salt when I lick my lips. One of the pre-teens, Sohkay, and I begin talking as best we can. The sentences are small, but significant. Sohkay and I get pretty chatty and, out of nowhere, I have one of those greenish band producing diamond rings from the 4th grade on my ring finger to symbolize our sisterhood. I hold my hand up as if admiring an actual wedding ring, and she beams. Then I beam, too. We begin laughing, and I’ll have you know, the day gets even better. You make one friend in Cambodia and you might as well have made a whole group of friends. Before I knew it, I was trying to pronounce all the names of the pre-teens and they were all trying to pronounce “Sa-ra” and “Brek-ke.”






We dock the boat and climb up a water-starved hill, unloading the gear while trying to hail a tuk-tuk driver to take us out to the school (Side note- it would have been a good idea to not have been so hasty with our tuk tuk choice! But more on that fiasco later. I mean fiasco in the most endearing sense possible). After a long ride of finding out who is dating who among the pre-teens, we arrive at the school and they busily start to set up their show. Brekke and I are now really really excited to see this famed puppet show…as are the school kids streaming out of their buildings to see what all the excitement is about.

The show begins, and it is hilarious. My new found sister is the emcee and I wonder to myself why I am at all shocked. She is working the crowd and getting every single kid involved. I mean, it takes one funny girl to get kids excited about brushing their teeth. The puppets come out from behind the curtains and laughter comes out from behind the kids’ mouths. Little do they know that they are being more than entertained! Could it be? Could they be…learning? Why yes! Whoever thought of this puppet show idea was a genius.



So because we are in Cambodia, it starts to get hot. Like the kind of hot in which your deodorant has ceased working and you legitimately need to bathe again. Because it’s THAT hot during the hours of 12 and 2, Cambodia looks like a ghost town. No one dares to be outside for fear of having to bathe again. So, I look at my watch, and what do you know! It’s that time of the day and we begin packing up to head back to town. We hop in the tuk tuk, relieved to be getting some fresh air flow, only to plow into a thatched fence. And scream, I did. After a little too long of an “Oh no, we’re stranded in this hot country that eats dogs…and me if I sit here long enough!” moment, the pre-teen boys do something heroic: they get out of the tuk tuk. They push the tuk tuk back onto the road and forever prove themselves worthy of being called men.

But this tuk tuk seems to have a mind of its own. After about 11 and half minutes, it runs out of gas and putters to a stop. 11 and half minutes is coincidentally the short window of time that the pre-teens seem to hold on to their new found title as men. This time, they don’t move. Instead, they ask me to sing them a cool American pop song. What? You want me to do what!? I’m stranded here in this hot country, to the point of, heaven forbid, having to shower again, and you want me sing? To which I gladly pull out my IPod and have them listen to the BEST. SONG. EVER. No, not Cat Stevens. No, not CCR. No, not Van Morrison. So what do I choose when given the chance to make a lasting musical impression on these pre-teens? Justin Bieber. I mean, it only seems appropriate. These boys can’t prove themselves to be men, and little Justin, well he hasn’t even hit puberty yet.

The tuk tuk ride back gets even more interesting, for one of the more mature pre-teens (we called him ‘doctor’ because, well, that’s what he wants to be), begins to show signs of affection towards the fashion queen herself. He has a girlfriend, a girlfriend who is actually sitting A FEW SEATS DOWN, yet he begins to ask me what my plans are for the afternoon. I’ve been called naïve many times, but I get what he’s doing. That sneaky pre-teen is hitting on me! I think his girlfriend realizes this at the same time, for she begins to mope and sniffle. Brekke and I can’t help but laugh a little as I try to bring the conversation back to topics like…ummm…his girlfriend. But then again, how serious can they be? He can’t even get hold the title of ‘man’ for 11 minutes. Yeah, he wants to be a doctor, but move on, honey.

I’m not sure how the tuk tuk got running again, for I was busy trying to fend off my suitor. But we made it back to the boat, and back to the town, and back to the hotel. With a greenness upon my ring finger and a redness upon my nose, I’d say it was a fantastic day.