Things I Have Learned From My Neighbors; the Essential Khmer Words

I'm very thankful that a neighbor moved in that is bilingual. It has opened up a completely new world. In hindsight, it would have been better to take a few courses in Khmer, even if we are here for only two years, and life was so overwhelming, and we were trying to pay for the baby... so I'm not sure how well it would have gone. It's a proven fact that the brain does not retain knowledge like it should when you are in "survival" mode, and I was definitely in survival mode when we arrived. However, I would recommend taking language courses if you can! 

Our neighbor has taught me several things about Khmer culture lately. I thought I'd share a few with you.

-When a woman gives birth, they take the leaves from the turmeric plant and make something like a tea with it. Then, it is rubbed all over the woman's skin to restore health and vitality.

-Cradle cap in Khmer is translated "water buffalo poop." She laughingly explained it comes from the old times when people would jokingly say that the mom had left the baby unattended and a water buffalo had pooped on his head. She also said doctors don't recommend scrubbing cradle cap off of a baby's head because it is so delicate.

-Turmeric leaves are really big! The ones she showed me looked like the banana leaves you would use to wrap a Khmer version of a tamale. These leaves are chopped very fine and used to season... frog! This was the example she gave me, but I'm sure there are other dishes, too.

As Talia is homeschooling this year, she offered to teach her a simple Khmer lesson in the afternoons. Talia writes down the transliterated words next to the English and then comes home and teaches me. It's amazing how many words you can pick up from daily life but once you've gotten used to that and are in the frame of mind to learn, it is also amazing how helpful it is to learn more words to integrate with daily life from a bilingual person.

(The boys have started back to school too. Elias takes Khmer at school this year.)

Some must-know words in my opinion are these:

ah-nee-man: how much?
sadam: right (for giving directions in a tuk tuk)
schvey: left
soo-sah-day- good day

Then the numbers to 10 which you will notice are worded on a base 5 pattern:
muy- 1
pee- 2
buy- 3
buon- 4
pram- 5
pram muy- (5+1) 6
pram pee- (5+2) 7
pram buy-(5+3) 8
pram buon-(5+4) 9
dap-10

-One of the first things I like to know about someone is their name. The neighbor explained that here, it's different: people often call others as "mother of -----" using the child's name as an indicator. This reminds me of Abu Dhabi where Ben's students called him "Abu Ilyas" or "father of Elias." She said sometimes people don't learn the names of their neighbors until there's a big wedding and they go door to door finding out names for the invitations!

Who knows what we'll learn next!

Ukuleles and Fat Babies

Since Ben learned piano from an early age, and he's just smart in general, picking up new instruments isn't very hard for him. Hauling a piano, even a keyboard, around the world is hardly practical. Something small like a ukulele or a guitar is perfect, though. Ben says that learning on something so small will help make a guitar feel spacious, since the fingering is always challenging with his big hands.

Elias is proud of himself for learning the one string to push down to make a C chord.

There are several sizes of ukulele, at least three. We have the smallest. This one and one a size up have the same fingering but the baritone ukulele is played like a guitar (with four strings.)

The kids love singing along with Ben or trying to play too. Since it is a really cheap instrument, it's a little easier to let them try a few chords. Zoe even likes the music.

Can you tell how big she's getting at two months compared to Talia's doll?

Here it is almost a symbol of affluence and pride to have a fat baby. Cambodians often come up to Zoe and pat her leg or cheek approvingly because she's a chubby baby. Sometimes this cultural desire can have less appealing affects. Some babies here who are formula fed are over-fed on purpose to appease the family's desire for a fat baby.(Being able to afford formula instead of breastfeeding is also a sign of wealth, sadly.) I have seen sumo-wrestler-looking babies that were grotesquely overweight and unable to walk until a later age carried everywhere by a mother. I think a chubby baby looks healthier than a skinny one, but I've never seen it taken to extremes like that before. 

I'm thankful for a healthy baby and music in our home!