Cafe Khmao
Aug 17th, 2005 by Jinja
Cafe Khmao
I was finishing up an iced coffee (‘cafe khmao’) and looking for change in my wallet when one of the teenage girls waiting tables pointed at something outside.
“Khmao” (dark), she said. She and her co-workers were fascinated.
The woman walking outside looked to be a tourist from the States, from the dreadlocks to the backpack. There’s not a lot of Africans in Cambodia. (There is a tiny subculture/clique of expat Africans in Phnom Penh.)
Still digging through my wallet, I talked with the girls in Khmer:
-There’s not many Africans in Cambodia, but there are plenty in the USA.
-Really?
-Yes, their families came from Africa long ago.
-Are they different?
-Well, it’s ordinary to see dark skinned people in my country, there are many. I used to share a house with an african-american.
-Really?
-Sure. And Cambodia has Chams who came years ago and now are part of the country.
And with that, my short effort at being an ad-hoc cultural ambassador was at an end.
Nothing wrong with a little curiosity. It would be great to let this curiosity lead to friendships, rather than prejudice or fear.
And on a related note:
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=59356
Cool. What countries do some of the African expats in Cambodia come from?
Neil