Often times, when we interact with Cambodians, they (obviously) know we are foreigners from the moment we start speaking. So, it usually comes as a surprise to them when we begin speaking K'mai instead of English or French. Usually (every time), they say something like "jie k'mai" which translates into "know k'mai." This is usually an aside to their nearby friends or fellow Cambodians. It tends to produce a good feeling for me when this happens as it shows me that a) Cambodians are recognizing that we are making the effort to learn and speak K'mai where other foreigners are not and b) are being understood while speaking K'mai.
An ever greater feeling, however, is the one you get when you speak K'mai to someone in Cambodia and they don't even realize you are a foreigner to begin with.
A few days ago, I was enjoying an evening bike ride when I decided that I needed some fruit. So I stopped at the next fruit stand I saw and proceeded to ask the woman behind the counter some questions like how much a kilo of dragon fruit was and whether or not the oranges were sweet.
She was clearly so busy chopping up a pile of cucumbers that she hadn't the time to look up, but only responded in K'mai. When I finally said that I wanted a half kilo of dragon fruit, she wiped off her hands, got up and weighed the fruit I had picked out.
Then she looked at me.
I distinctly remember hearing the words "barang" (foreigner) and "jie K'mai" in a most puzzled intonation. After explaining to her that I was learning K'mai because I am a Peace Corps Volunteer and that I taught English at the High School, she was a little less shellshocked and more inclined to pick up her jaw and sell me the dragon fruit.
The point is that, until she looked at me, I might well have been a Cambodian based on what I was saying and how I was saying it. And that, my friends, is one of the best feelings in the world...
No comments:
Post a Comment