Funny, funny barang lady… all eyes on me

I didn’t know how funny I was until I moved to Phnom Penh. It seems that everything I do is humourous to all. I’m sure this will be a theme of many posts, but for now…

The perils of walking:
Barang lady walking down the street – funny. Most people don’t walk here… understandably, it’s pretty hot and dusty, and there aren’t really such conveniences/safety mechanisms such as sidewalks. So the sight of me, shuffling from shady overhang to the shady side of a building, meanwhile dodging motos and random holes in the road, piles of garbage and yappy dogs probably is a funny sight. I usually arrive wherever I am going dusty and flushed, also a funny sight I’m sure.
Basically, people only walk here if they are poor and/or crazy. Anyone who can afford a moto taxi (less than $1 a ride, usually much less if only going a short distance) or tuk tuk will take that option. And since I am quite obviously not a poor Cambodian, I must be crazy?
This morning is a case in point… on the way to the market I was first approached by an older, poor Khmer woman would who just may have been a little crazy. She had a few hundred riels (which amounts to pennies) in one hand and was asking for more. On her way past, she grabbed my tummy, hard, and then muttered away. As I turned to watch her retreat, rubbing my sore belly, I tripped into a random whole in the road and scraped my ankle. Ah, the perils of walking… maybe this is why it’s so funny that I try to do it?
So, if no one walks  – how do people stay fit? Stay tuned…

All the action:
The day starts at dawn. Those who aren’t immediately bustling off to the market or to work are exercising in the schoolyard next door. Before the sun even peeks over the horizon, ladies and gents are lining up to participate in some funky fusion of aerobics and line dancing, to the blaring “mash up” of Khmer classics, gay circuit boy techno and hip hop hits. This repeats at sun down, though the sunset activities are a little more gender segregated. The ladies continue the dancing, and the gents play volleyball in the yard across the street. Kids ride their bikes around the neighbourhood or play badminton in the side streets.

If you are rich, you have a membership at the Phnom Penh Sports Club, just down the road from us. Today, I splurged on the $60 membership, which gives me access to the work out room, outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, hot tubs and sauna. The standard car driven by the membership seems to be a Lexus SVU, as evidenced by the parking lot.

I had dressed modestly for the occasion. (I’m beginning to wonder why I bother, since I get stared at no matter what it seems.) I was the only barang in there. However, in my grey yoga sweats (not too tight) and my tank top with wide straps, I was VERY underdressed. The standard uniform of the PPSC ladies seems to be cute tennis-style skort outfits (white), BLACK work out pants with splashy t-shirts, or my fav, designer jeans! Skinny ones at that! So while I’m puffing away on the eliptical (sp?), red-faced and sweating through my sweats, the girl next to me is in designer jeans and these pink and white little half sneaker things. Amazing. I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Or maybe not… by the end of my 45 minute workout, I had emitted about, say, a pint of sweat (sounds about right… a pint of blood, a pint of beer, a pint of sweat?). And my red-face wouldn’t go away, so walking home, you guessed it… I was hilarious! Just wait until I drop in on the line dances… more good times to be had

On household chores:
Yes, I wash my dishes. When our landlord stopped by to check on something and saw me soaping the dishes in the sink, he stood there shaking his head and giggling away! Barang lady doing her own dishwashing – perplexing AND funny. Same goes for doing my own laundry. While on the roof hanging it do dry, the construction workers across the street look up and shake their heads, laughing. Apparently, these are not things that Barangs do here, and therefore, me doing them = funny.