As some of you know, I have been professing my love of all things coconut to anyone who will listen or is within earshot (or reading my FB status updates). Today at work, during one such episode, one of my new colleagues said – “well then, have you tried the new coconut shakes? If you looooove coconut, you’ll love these.”
“COCONUT SHAKES?!?!” I practically scream… “where? How do I get one?”
“This guy, he makes ‘em, sells ‘em on a cart, passes right by here,” he replies, laughing at my exuberance.
And then, as if by some divine summoning, the man with the coconut shake cart rolls by.
“You want one?” he asks.
“No, thanks, but really I shouldn’t… coconut’s going to be the death of me here.” I quietly (and weakly) protest.
“Aw c’mon, you haven’t even tried this yet. You gotta try one…” Before I know it, someone else has whipped out into the alley and returned with an icy plastic cup of heaven.
I slurp in. The proportions are perfect… just the right amount of ice, it’s creamy with condensed milk and coconut cream… it’s not too sweet and there are shavings of young coconut meat. It is, quite possibly, the most delicious drink in Cambodia.
“This is so amazing!! So good!! This really is going to be the death of me!!” I’m practically shouting again. “And it’s only 500 riels!! I can’t believe it! That’s like what, how many cents??”
“It’s 12.5 cents exactly.” Says a quiet voice behind me. Another colleague who had been listening in on my rapture.
“That’s so cheap, so good and so cheap. Only 12.5 cents… this is gonna be a problem, I could drink like 10 a day…” I shake my head in amazement.
“Yeah, I used to think like that,” he said. “When I first got deported from the States… 12.5 cents ain’t a lot for us, but here it goes a long way. Now living here for awhile, I started realizin’ 500 riels is a lot to most people, now it’s a lot for me too. 500 riels is too much to for drink, ya know, when it could be a meal. It’s like gotta be a really special occasion or something to spend that much on a drink.”
Dear coconut shake. You are so delicious and the instigator of a gentle lesson learned. You really are a gift from the angels. With gratitude, Caitlin.