Cambodia's Kids

Perhaps what made my short time in Cambodia most memorable were the conversations I had with different kids and teenagers. Someone I met after Cambodia asked me if I noticed that there were seldom old people. The population appears to be very young. This may be one of the many signs of a country still healing from the mass genocide caused by the Khmer Rouge during the mid 1970s.

At a small family-run restaurant in Siem Reap I sat down to a traditional Cambodian dish. Before I knew it I had four young women pulling up chairs around my table. Only one could speak much English and she proceeded to teach me Cambodian for different foods. She was twenty years old, with long, shiny black hair and too many teeth for her petite mouth. Her pronunciation took a strong ear but I admired her fearlessness to engage the only foreigner in the restaurant. The other girls were shy and stared at me as I stumbled over Cambodian pronunciation, giggling when I made mistakes.

At a bus stop on the way to the country's capital I met a group of girls, a 14 year old, two 16-year olds and a spunky six-year old. At first they tried to sell me pineapples and fruit that are commonly peddled along the roadside. One pretended she held a spider taken from the overflowing bowl being carted by the older women. Yes, Cambodian's eat fried spiders. Quickly, the girls forgot about selling me something and tried to guess my age. They, kindly, pegged me for about 10-years younger, winning me over instantly. I asked them their ages and about school. In turn they asked me about boyfriends and my travels. I teased them about dating, especially the six-year old who insisted over and over that "I too young! I go to school!" At the end I gave them a dark chocolate bar I had leftover from a Chicago care package. They were overjoyed and almost immediately asked me how much it costs in the US. They all dramatically feigned fainting when I told them. The six-year old reached in her pocket and insisted I take her sucker before I got onto the bus. They all waved good-bye calling me sister as the bus pulled away. Later it occurred to me that, like many kids, they may not find dark chocolate all that exciting.

At all the tourist spots, including the Killing Fields outside Phnom Phen, kids will sell you trinkets and ask for money. These boys were calling to visitors walking the grounds of the Killing Fields. I asked them about school and why they weren't there. Kids go to school from 7:30-11:30am then return from 1:30-5:30pm. The boys chatted with me for a little while but lost patience when I didn't give them a dollar. The boy on the right, frustrated, lost interest and ran after other visitors. I gave the other two that told me more about their classes two pens I had brought with me with Chicago scenes.