Awk-waaaaard

5-15-09

The other day I went shopping. I was looking for some crackers or cookies or something, anything to help me stop losing weight. I’ve dropped roughly 12-13 pounds since coming here, and that is weight I really don’t have to spare. So I dropped by one of the largest stores in the village, which coincidently is run by the family of one of my 12th grade students.

This student is one of the best students in that class; she can almost carry on a conversation, after only six years of study. When I first arrived in Rumduel, my co-teacher had her come along with us on our shopping trip to Svay Rieng town, to help get the best prices on the stuff I needed to buy. And I sent her to a career day for female students organized by the K1s. In the course of all of this, my co-teacher and I had stopped by her family’s store/house. This was probably when I first appeared on their radar.

The Cambodian educational system has a rich history of students marrying teachers. Some teachers will openly admit that they are searching for a wife amongst the students. Other volunteers have stories about counterparts and coworkers who are engaged to 16-year-old students in their class. And, of course, every family would love to see their daughter marry a foreigner. Cambodian marriages are business arrangements first, designed for the support of the parents involved. The money that the foreigner would send to the family every month would make them the richest in town. So a foreign teacher is…something of a target.

Knowing this, I still went to my student’s store. I was hungry, damn it. And I figured they would be least likely to try and rip me off. It went…a little beyond that. They actually refused to take my money. I tried to pay them several times for the rather large package of crackers I got, but they kept telling me to take it. Then the mother invited me to sit down and sent the daughter to get me something to drink. Also free.

I’ve been in some awkward situations in my life, many of my own doing. This will probably be at least in the top ten. I sat and drank my water and tried to steer the conversation towards things like my work here in Rumduel, but the parents mostly wanted to talk about things like what my parents did for work, and how white my skin was. They were very interested in where I wanted to live after I left Cambodia, too.

I got out of there as quickly as possible. They told me to come by any time. So now I am conflicted. On one hand, I really like getting free stuff. On the other hand, if I drop by another few times the parents are going to start making reservations for a band and a caterer for the wedding.

Somehow, this is one situation I never really imagined would ever be a problem for me.