Today though, I kept walking and headed over to Sorya, Phnom Penh's largest mall to buy some muesli, toothpaste and toothbrush at Lucky Supermarket and indulge myself in a lunch made entirely out of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Why not? We only live once and I had sweated probably the equivalent amount of fat this morning biking to the bank and to work. I sat down at Swensen's ice cream parlor inside the cool mall, and promptly picked out the brownie ice cream "tower". It's Cambodia. It was a small tower. Even though there were only four bite-size brownies, a large chocolate-covered cherry topped my delicious treat, and I settled in to enjoy my sweet lunch when all of a sudden an obnoxious Australian accent thundered from the table next to mine, "Give me the menu! I come here every f***ing day and you can't give me the f***ing menu!!!" I turned to find myself staring at an ugly, overweight Australian man wearing a black bandanna, black tee-shirt, shorts and a mean scowl. All the foreigners stared at him as well, the other men directing comments towards him along the lines of "Give it up man. There are ladies present here." Whatever. My female status has nothing to do with this large piece of lard who has clearly had an I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF CAMBODIA day. He's cracked as easily as my chocolate Swensen cracker. As usual I want to say something like, "Dude, chill-ax," but I'm more concerned by the lack of reaction by the pretty Cambodian waitresses and the Cambodian male manager behind the counter. They simply stare back at Mr. Ice-Cream Everyday, still smiling, handing him the menu while he basically chews their heads off.
Mr. Ice-Cream Everyday gets up and mutters, "I've had enough " then storms off in the direction of the Lucky 7 ice cream counter, which is cheaper anyways.
What has he had enough off? The heat? The lack of initiative taken by Cambodians presented in the simple mistake of not handing him a menu? Perhaps his Cambodian mistress found a new lover today or he just found out he won't be able to "invest in the development of Cambodia" because the tourism industry is down. Whatever the cause, that sun-burnt old man had had enough of life today and walked away.
If only the Cambodian public could do the same with the Western abuse and misuse of their people and country. If only they could walk away and say no to the dependency on Western tourism, governments, businesses, or those who take advantage of their "situation."
I lick the last bits of chocolate off my spoon and vow never to crack. For if I crack, I will have failed as a person searching for a bit of humility in a new place.
Funny talking about western business abuse while eating at Swensons ;)
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on how you define "western business abuse". You decide. Take a look at these:
ReplyDeleteSTRENGTHENING IMPLEMENTATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPSD/Resources/CSR/Strengthening_Implementatio.pdf
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/selected_features/cd-Jul-4-2007.htm
"Some business experts think the larger international chains are staying away because their presence relies on the guarantee of quality local produce-something that Cambodia's agricultural sector cannot yet ensure.
Others say the country is more politically stable than it was a decade ago and that with a growing middle class, there should be a market for bigger franchises. "
http://www.swensensicecream.com/about-us
" Swensen’s was the first national Ice Cream Parlor to serve a premium ice cream that is all natural. The business was built and continues to be built on three founding principles that have never changed: Quality, Quantity and Value for Money. "
Brilliant. Here's to chocolate cold lunches and refusing to buckle.
ReplyDelete