Tomato or Spider, you pick.

The other day I was thinking about languages. People always have some funny story about how when they were speaking another language and accidentally say, oh let's say... vagina instead of chair.... like, 'oh, come here and sit on my vagina.' or some other story of equal embarrassment. I was trying to remember if I had made any type of cute mistake that I could turn into a fantastically charming anecdote to show the people back home how fantastically charming I must have been to the people in Cambodia. I couldn't really think of anything so I got kinda worried... I must make all sorts of mistakes so the fact that nobody tells me is probably just that they are so used to it it isn't even worth it to tell me... maybe I'm making too big of a deal than it is... but I would like to know if I've ever said anything like, 'I like to eat my soup with a condom' to my poor Buddhist grandmother. And of course I would have said it with a certain amount of enthusiasm that makes it seem like I really mean what I say. Like with a big emphasis on 'CONDOM! Do you understand, grandma? I don't eat my soup with a spoon, I prefer a nice clean condom, it is more 'sanitary'... agg.

Last month, I went to Mondolkiri with my friend, Lauren. It is in the Eastern part of Cambodia up in the 'mountains.' It was really beautiful and a lot cooler than down here in the lowlands. Lots of waterfalls, trees, hills, hilltribe people, and... they grow avocados!!! I was pretty excited when I found out that 'pli buh,' or butter fruit, was actually avocado! Oh, how I miss guacamole and my mom's seven layer bean dip. We bought a bunch of avocados to take back to our sites and Lauren bought some more for a mexican dinner party we were having at another volunteers house the week after. I bought some to show the kids around my house. I had once had a picture dictionary out and they asked what it was... so I was honored to be able to educate them on the joys of avocados. Turns out they weren't as impressed as I was.

I decided to make some guacamole for my family. I was telling my gma everything that I would need to make it, 'ktuem barang, ktuem saw, bing bee-ing, matay, jee, tuk crowit ch'ma' or in English, 'onion, garlic, spider, chilli, herbs, lime juice.' She looked a little confused so I repeated the list again... and then again... and then again... I got the same response every time, her just looking at me like she doesn't recognize me... or like I'm asking her to go buy me some spiders and then I'll prepare them into a great american dish that I will then force her to eat. About the 6th time that I repeat my list I catch my mistake. 'Ah!!! Awt bing bee-ing, bing boh!' We laughed over my mistake. I had got confused and said bee-ing instead of boh... turning the word from tomato to spider. Not as funny as a vagina or condom mistake over the breakfast table but still it was my little moment. We laughed, together I hope.

Tonight at dinner, I asked the boarder, Bo, if he has ever eaten a spider since he comes from a part of Cambodia that is known for their fried tarantula. 'Bong dile hope bing bee-ing, awt?' or 'Have you ever eaten a spider?' He looks at me and says with a smile, 'dile' or 'I have.' The whole time I see my gma leaning over to him with a look of determination to save me, trying to get his attention and whispering, 'Bing boh! bing boh!'... 'Tomato! Tomato!'