Some Things That We Like About Cambodia: Sok Sa Bai, They Are a Very Modest People & They Speak Quietly

There are many things that we have learned to appreciate already, but there are some things that especially stand out in our minds which we enjoy about Cambodia.  After you greet a Khmer, they will often say, sok sa bai tee?  The word sok is short for soka phiap which means health and sa bai in Cambodia is happy.  To answer them you reply soksa bai, and they are genuinely pleased that you are happy and healthy.  They are a kind people that really care about each other in many ways.

One thing that we immediately noticed when we arrived is that the Cambodian people as a whole dress a lot more modestly than those in the U.S.  That is amazing since it is so much hotter here than back home.  When you go to Anchor Wat, the Kings Palace, Tuol Sleng and other places that are sacred to them, there are signs with a dress code spelled out.  Women are suppose to have sleeves, no shorts, etc.  In fact I have read articles where some of their leaders have spoken in disapproval of the way that foreign leaders have dressed.  It is so nice to be in that kind of an environment.

Another amazing thing is how quietly the Cambodians speak.  If you speak too loudly they think that you are mad or something.  Now they do know how to laugh loudly, but in general they are a very quiet people.  There are times that we have to strain our ears in order to really hear what they are saying to us.

This evening the Office Elders asked if they could use our office for a Skype call with one of their investigators.  He is from Japan and is here in Cambodia teaching Japanese.  They had arranged for some Japanese Missionaries to teach him via Skype, so that he could understand the lesson better.

Before we left our apartment to go back to the office it rained pretty hard for a few minutes.  With most Cambodian's using motos that means the rain jackets and umbrellas came out.  We got a great picture of a women on a moto in high heels with an umbrella and a towel across her back so that is our picture for this evening.