It has been a while since I have written anything – my mind is going ALL the time, but getting thoughts down seems to take some time. Between teaching at the school, working on assignments for grad school, and eating, I seem to run out of hours. I realized that one of my favorite aspects of this culture is the importance of eating – I just plain love food, and I commit time to the things I love. I learned a new Cambodian saying: “Don’t hide your stomach”, which is funny, but not something I want to necessarily embrace. SO, because I like to eat, I like to run. Well that’s what people say – “running”, but of course it’s jogging at a very average to slow pace. Regardless of terminology, Cambodians clearly don’t see many women running around the streets of Phnom Penh, so it is a daily adventure (well, every-other day-ly). I have been running during my lunch hour, which is clearly a bad idea because it is the hottest part of the day, but it’s the time that works. So every run starts with me saying hello to the motodope driver who is perched on his bike outside our gate and nodding when he points at the sun and shares a painful expression. I run down one of the long roads, which is pretty busy at noon, and trust that the cars, trucks, motos and bicycles will give me a few inches. This can be a scary stretch, because the idea of space isn’t a major concern, and most people seem to think that a gap of three inches is more than adequate for passing. I don’t know how safe you would feel standing three inches from a grizzly bear, but being at that proximity from a speeding Lexus or a cart stacked with rebar doesn’t feel very safe at that distance. I’m still standing, so the course is working out. The humor comes when I pass people. Now, I realize I resemble a baby giraffe when I jog, but come on. The old women standing on the sidewalks stare, then smile when I say hello. A few have tested the new move, then quickly stop. The children shout, “HEL-lo!” and ride their bikes in circles around me. The young guys mock me, running along the side of the road (also like baby giraffes), and a few have chanted “mouey, bpee, mouey, bpee” (“one-two-one-two”) – one tuk tuk driver even made the effort to use his fingers to count for me as he drove by with a goofy grin. Everyone else just points and laughs. A guy drives by with four tanks of propane, a dead pig, and 14 live chickens on his motorcycle, and nobody bats an eye… I run by, and people act like they are at a parade. Sometimes I get irritated, but I have to remember where I am and who I am. ‘Normal activity’ is really relative. I have been able to have some cool interactions – there are three little kids who run up to me every time they see me truckin’ down the street, and I do love that. The only things that really scare me are the stray dogs and gangs of tuk drivers on the corner. The dogs aren’t so threatening, I suppose – they are all pretty small – but none of them are trained, and they are pretty unpredictable. Some dart after me, and some just look like they are plotting an attack. All of the men who walk in the mornings carry long sticks. I think there is some proverb that says to walk softly (or speak softly – neither of which I do) and carry a big stick – I’m understanding why. So far, no bites, no rabies. I’m hoping to run the 10K at Angkor Wat in December. There is also a half-marathon, but let’s not get crazy – I threw the shot put in high school for a reason. It should be a lot of fun, and I will at least be with a group of runners and won’t have to face the ridicule of the “street.”
Today I joined a 5K fundraiser at one of the international schools. The course was great – through back allies, along a pond of dried up water lilies, through a field (hopping cow pies) and along a strip of the main road. One section consisted of bricks, stones and smashed tiles. I am proud to announce that I won the women’s group with a time of 29:08. Very impressive, I know. I have never been first in any kind of footrace, and I don’t know how it could happen with that kind of pace, but anything is possible here. Obviously, there weren’t many people. It kind of reminded me of an episode of The Office – if you’ve seen it you’d laugh. The important thing is that I got a chocolate bar.
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