What do you do with your free time?

Given the risk of portraying a "single story" about either culture, I'd like to start with a disclaimer.  What I know about American culture and about Cambodian culture is only my own point of view and I represent only my own experiences.  I know that Cambodians and Americans live a variety of lives and that many are as unique as each person.  Now, given that disclaimer, I'd like to tell you what I've experienced so far.

Cambodian people work seven days a week.  Sometimes more than one job.  Incomes are very small and in order to live they must work as much as possible.   However, every once in a while, especially during an important holiday, workers close up their shops and spend their free time with family and friends.

So far that doesn't sound much different than what Americans do, right?  Memorial day, Labor day, Independence day....we don't work and we spend time having picnics and food with family and friends.  But somehow, it's different here.  Let me see if I can explain it.

Outing to Bokor National Park

When we were living in Phnom Penh, Gary's host family invited us to visit two places nearby on two separate Sundays.   The first outing was to a national park in Kampot province called Bokor Mountain.  We drove over 3 hours to get there.  Before we arrived, the family stopped at a market to buy raw shrimp, raw crabs and cooked rice and two large bottles of water.

I wasn't sure what was going on.  We drove into the national park and up to the top of the mountain where the view was sometimes obscured by a layer of low clouds.  Our Cambodian friends warned us that we could "touch the clouds" in Bokor mountain!

When we got to the top, we found a spot under a small tree and the host family deployed a whole picnic there.  This was a huge surprise.

First two straw mats, then a small gas burner.  The host mother began by cleaning the shrimp and the crabs with some of the water.  The host brother started boiling water in a sauce pan.  Before we knew it, we were eating some delicious boiled shrimp and crab with white rice.

On the way back from the picnic, we stopped along the side of the road many times.  First we stopped at Kep province at the crab market to buy more fresh crab to take home.   And then along the road there are many kiosks selling whatever local products there are in that area.  We stopped over and over again to buy all kinds of things, including Tiep (a local fruit that I think is called "cataracts" in English, but I've never seen it before), boiled corn on the cob, which we ate in the car, ch-huey, a delicious dessert which is served inside a coconut, and now I don't even remember what else....it seemed like we were eating the whole way!

Outing to Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center

On another Sunday, Gary's host family invited us to a "zoo" in Takeo province.  This time, the car ride was only 1.5 hours.  It's not really a zoo.  It's a wildlife rescue center and the animals were in very large spaces that looked very natural.  But that's not why I'm writing this.  I'm writing because our outing followed the same pattern as the first one.  First we stopped to buy the food.

This time, the food was cooked.  Most of it was fish or frogs cooked on a bamboo stick over an open fire.  We also bought a whole deep fried chicken and of course, rice.  We found a gazebo with a straw mat that we rented so that we could set up our picnic and voila!  Picnic deployed.  First things first, though: a man with a motorcycle loaded with coconuts sold us our fresh drink.

We ate and drank and at some point we had a little visitor that came to eat peanuts with us!

When the picnic was finished, we packed up the car and drove home.  Just like before, we stopped at the side of the road to buy whatever local products the people were selling.  Now I don't even remember what these were.

If one's an incident, two's a coincidence, then three's a pattern.

Outing to Kulen Mountain and Waterfall

While we lived in the Phnom Penh area, we made friends with our tailor.  That's right.  The clothes here are made to order for a great price.  Right before we left the area, we ordered a few more articles of clothing and had some of our trousers altered (we have gotten smaller since we got here.)  Our tailor, whose name is Long, told us that he'd contact us when he came to Siem Reap so he could show us around.  He used to be a driver in the city.  We had been in our new home only three days when he called!  It was a holiday here in Cambodia and he closed up his shop and came to see family in Siem Reap.  He and his lovely wife wanted to take us to the famous Kulen mountain waterfall.

This sweet young couple took us to the entrance of the Kulen park but we weren't able to get in because it was a bit late in the day.  But that didn't discourage anybody!  The whole idea of a holiday in Cambodia is to go on the road to somewhere, stop at the side of the road to buy something local and then have a great big picnic!  And that's exactly what we did.  We didn't see the waterfall, but we did stop to buy honeycombs on the side of the road.

The honey comb came on a stick and in a plastic bag.  Lickety split delicious and sweet....after we released all the bees.

And then we found a grassy area near one of the Angkor Wat temples to have a picnic.  We rented the mats and four hammocks and a woman with a menu came to offer us food.  We ordered food and next thing you know we are eating a papaya salad with crabs and fried chicken.

We had a conversation about the pattern that I am discovering.  What do Cambodians do with their free time?  Many go on a road trip to see some part of the country.  They stop at the side of the road to buy a local product. They have a picnic with loads of delicious food.  I was remarking on this when our Cambodian friends asked us what we do with our time off.   Many Americans also celebrate holidays with picnics and road trips.  But we have so much more free time off!  Americans have two out of seven days off.  That is a luxury that is often overlooked and seldom appreciated. On those days off we do DIY home improvement projects and yard work.  Cambodians don't have that much free time.  The little that they do have is used for family, friends and food and for touring their beautiful country.