It's not quite Tuesday night yet -- and I've been convinced all day that's Friday (which always makes for an unhappy surprise) -- but after my Khmer lesson I'm going to a Halloween party at a good friend's apartment and I wanted to get this written first. I'm repeating costumes from last year and going again as MJ, except this year I have a wig. Be afraid.
The new apartment is nice but it still feels like somewhere I'm staying and not home. It's been making me actually quite homesick the past couple days, I think because it is not yet a "safe place" that is recognizable and comfortable. I know in a few weeks that will fade, but at the moment it's definitely odd.
It's also a new neighborhood, and definitely not an expat one. On the one hand, that's great, but on the other, the guys haven't yet figured out that I live here and therefore there is no end to the comments and kissing noises when I'm biking or walking around.
Sometimes it's just a more or less suggestive "hello" shouted from the side of the street, but sometimes -- like this morning when I was trying to find the nearest market and got somehow in the middle of a motorcycle market area -- they scream unrepeatable things as you bike away, probably in a desperate attempt to get you to look around. I never do.
It's not unique to this country, of course, you get it everywhere, but it's still really annoying. Harassment is never cool, and I always have to resist the temptation to retort with something like, Okay, I get it, I'm white and a girl, now can we please move on? And by the way, shouting at me does not make you sexy. Thanks.
I did manage to find the fruits, though, and picked up some goodies for the week. I do kind of miss my friend the fruitseller at the other market, but it is too far to bike all the way over there when the other market is so close -- and, if I'm right, cheaper.
One of my favorite fruits here is the pomello and I bought one this morning. My friend used to peel them for me, but this one came as it does from the tree, leaving me the task of unpeeling it for an after work snack. It's quite the workout; on the outside is a fairly tough green skin that smells vaguely of sap, and underneath that is about an inch worth of this kind of pink foamy substance, which has to be pried off the fruit.
When at last I dug my thumbs into the main fruit and split it open, I was sweating and had a great sense of accomplishment -- and yes, it was very yummy too. First pomello peeled successfully. Score.
As part of missing home, I found myself missing the cold and the seasons change. The seasons do not change here, and it's always very strange for me to think that it is almost November -- is it really? I keep sort of hoping it will get cooler here, but I think that might be a vain hope. Hey, a girl can hope, right?
Tomorrow is a day off, which is good as I didn't have much of a weekend, and the rest of the week promises to be busy as always.
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