Beyond First Impressions

by Mindy Wong


As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.

The eighteen of us first encountered our student guides through passport-sized photographs they submitted. Upon meeting the student guides, however, we wanted to take newer photographs of them that could reflect their inner qualities without the following 600 words.

Cooperative, knowledgeable and humble would incontestably be the best three words to describe our student guides.

Bona, Borey, Bunneth, Kosal and Sorn have all given their 110% effort to help bridge the cultural space between us. Despite linguistic differences, they would always try their best to explain and clarify themselves. Our efficient student guides never failed to complete their tasks, whether to be the translator during interviews, to purchase phone cards, or to gather ticketing and transport information to Angkor Wat.

"They were very informative, especially at Angkor Wat. Not only do they know the history of temples, they could explain the images and icons even. As well as the role of Hinduism and Buddhism in Cambodian history," said Melissa.

Cambodian culture, lifestyle and politics are only some of the topics which are close to their hearts. As nationalistic individuals, they modestly share their knowledge with us, expecting only our desire to learn and to question.

At first impression, some of us thought they were rather quiet and shy, rarely initiating to talk. As we investigated into the reasons behind this, Max found out that it is part our cultural differences.

"According to Bona, Cambodians who have not been influenced by Western culture do not have the habit of saying hello. Their gesture to show friendliness is just to smile. So by not saying hello does not mean they're unfriendly," said Max.

As such, we have come to understand why some of our interviewees gave short answers as well.

In the first few days, both parties found it difficult to understand one another. However, the student guides made the effort to listen very carefully to us, while we spoke slowly and were very conscious about how we phrased our words.

"My name is similar to Cambodian names so it's pretty cool," said Linda, who was the first person the student guides remembered.

Learning our names proved to be rather challenging for them and this resulted in slight alterations to our names. For example, Aron became Iron, Melissa was pronounced as Malaysia and Fabian was spelt as Fibean. Once, Max was even mistaken for Maxine.

During the course of eight days, we learnt about Cambodia's historical, political, social and cultural issues. Feeza has now become more aware of the hardship of the Cambodians and their preference for agriculture rather than higher levels of education. I have realized how well they preserve their culture and customs, such as not taking photos with three people.

Apart from that, we have also gained invaluable acquaintances with our student guides. Borey shared stories with Melanie about her parents who survived the Khmer Rouge, while Dr Yeoh found out about tuk-tuk drivers from Sorn, whose uncle is a tuk-tuk driver. Sorn seemed the most affected by culture shock. His roommate, Aron, noticed how he much he enjoyed watching television. On the other hand, Bunneth is one of the most talkative of the bunch. As for Kosal, he was keen to share Cambodian politics and held strong political interest and perspectives. Bona was generous because, according to Max, he shared his shampoo as well as snacks.

Some things were beyond our expectations. For one, we were surprised to see how they could tolerate 30 over degrees Celsius in long sleeves and blazers without a trickle of sweat. Conversely, we looked for every shade possible, hid behind our sunglasses and explored Siem Reap with sticky sweat print t-shirts. Melanie was perplexed by how some people could wear high heels with the road condition as such.

"They're like Ninjas. They seem to whiz in and out without anybody noticing and suddenly, they're next to you," said Maxine.

The student guides were mysterious, indeed.

She added, "Despite not being able to communicate fluently, we learnt to understand each other through more than words, which made this experience more special."

By the end of our journey, the student guides made drastic improvements and they have become much more fluent in English. We believe that they have learnt a new culture, interacted with energetic students from Monash, as well as made many new friends. O-Kun (thank you in Khmer) for enlightening us to the beauty of Cambodia and her people.