You want Book, Just One.........

No, I don't want to buy the shitty photocopied and Elmer's glue bound edition of the history of Angkor Wat, as told by your great uncle.

"Just one, good price for you....

Ok, kid, how much do you want

""Five Dollars, for you, good price. "

Ha, you've got to be kidding me. First off, I saw the original edition at the museum for $4.00 yesterday. Also, I have more books than I can possibly read at once, I believe my rucksack currently holds 5 novels and 2 travel books. More than enough. I keep holding onto these books to trade at guest houses but have a hard time justifying offloading a Tom Wolfe for a Clive Cussler or trading the Aussie guy my John Irving for his James Peterson. Seriously, is this what the world is reading? Evidently.

After five minutes of humoring this kid, for the sake of making breakfast interesting, I've got the price down to $1.00, learned that he doesn't go to school and that his parents have forced him for years to slang books on the street for immediate money and gratification, instead of attend FREE public school 4 blocks away. He even lied straight to my face about how he goes to school.
Yeah Right, we asked a Tuk Tuk driver and a waiter if they knew this kid and yeah, they seem him everyday.

What a shame. This county's youth is split into two, and I guess this counties parents as well. Some push their kids to be pushers, to scratch and pull for an dollar here and a dollar there, to bring the bacon home to the adults. The other portion study diligently and work hard for long term success. One can easily tell who has what upbringing by the time there in their early twenties.

So this kid, as cute as it is that he know the capital of California is Sacramento, still doesn't deserve our money. Its so tough, because he's a kind, good-natured kid, but you just cannot perpetuate this failed system. The more books he sells, the less he's in school and the more of a deadbeat he'll be when he grows up. Sad but true.

Fast forward 4 minutes later and another kid, 13 or so this time, shows up.

"You want postcard"?

"no

Why Not?

Why not, he asks!?!? I loved that. Why not, because I already have 10 postcards taht I bought yesterday, and I don't need more. Because my rucksack is full. Because, you are 13 and have been doing this for at least 7 year and we tourist need to stop supporting you. Because yesterday when I bought teh postcards off a girl at Angkor, one of the other 6 girls standing around trying to sell to us yelled at me and said, "I asked you first". They she continued to tell us to leave Cambodia, go back to our country, and generally go to hell.
Why not, because all the postcards you sell are picutes that are taken w/ a polaroid camera from the 1970s. Why not, because we just cannot buy thing and consume and purchase all day long.
Why not, and the answer we came up with, "because I don't want to. Goodbye""

After 2 minutes of lingering, he finally left. Too.

Cambodia is so 50/50. The people are affable ane kind, and pushy and deceitful. The food is amazing and Amok and it gives me heartache and diahrea 1 out of 5 times. The ruins are amazing and well preserved, but everyone seems to be living in their shadow, reminiscing and embracing the wonder that was 800 years ago. This county has had some horrible times as of late w/ the Khmer Rouge and some people get it and some people don't. They have the fortitude to perservere and make a life for themselves. But, so many choose to loiter around the day, napping, playing twiddly thumbs or lounging around with their 7 friends outside of a store. Its like I just want to shake the country by the ground up and motivate these people to do something and make difference.

All over Cambodia, there is a feeling of unease. Everyone is waiting, the cities are waiting. There is dust everywhere and it feels like an old Western Movie where everyone is on their porch looking down the street for Doc Holiday and the gunfight and shootout. So they wait and they wait, and they aren't motivated to pave the streets, work on their houses, cultivate their garden to grow some food to sell to make some money. Its such an experience to come from our country where everyone is so forward thinking and we are programmed from birth to succeed through hard work and sweat.