Now, being a forty-something man, I had stereotypical American feelings of empathetic estrangement - why was an 'old man' at university? But this quickly wore off as I have learned over the past few months that in Australia, university really is seen as special training - not just the next step to a job. Jobs are available after high school, good jobs; university is seen as specific training for a field. So there are many older people studying here. But, the man being older, and we being in a computer-oriented laboratory/research session, I assumed that he would hit some road blocks, possibly. At least with the language barrier?
Thankfully I had read the pre-lab and done some of the work before the session started so that I could be somewhat ahead. This allowed me to answer my neighbor's frequent questions about what was going on, in his broken but suitable English. I was happy to help out, especially because I'm supposed to be learning about other cultures when I'm here...
At the termination of our friendly peer computer session, I was thrilled to hear that he was a talker. This is great! I found out that his name is James. He's taking aquaculture courses, and this one marine biology course is his only one. He told me he lives in Phnom Penh, in Cambodia. And he sounded just like any American student, with his heavily-accented laments towards excessive reading and coursework! Of course this was mainly tongue-in-cheek jibber jabber considering his wise and wizened of-age status - he wasn't expecting anything else out of the higher education experience. In any case, when he told me he was from Cambodia, I was curious to learn more. More culture! Excellent! From a person, and not a tour guide! I pressed for details, saying that I was possibly planning a trip to Thailand or Cambodia (which I am...)
So, James went on a happy tirade with Google Images to show off popular places of Cambodia - 95% of which were photos from a shrine in Angkor Wat. Much to my chagrin, his excitement for Angkor Wat somehow decreased his ability to understand English, as multiple inquiries of mine were unheard or brushed out of the way in favor of another picture. I could only smile and nod at the amazing Bayon temple, made entirely out of rock and pieces of rocks without any other supports... and smile some more... and more. When the torrent of images slowed to a trickle, he began to hear me again. One of the things I'm curious about in my global ignorance are what real life in these countries is like, not just what the tourists see... Let me illuminate:
Bayon temple, in Angkor Wat. Tourist location built in 9th century that attracts about ~1 million people a year, according to James.
I feel that what's in a travel guide is not reflective of daily living. I feel that travel guides do not reflect nuances in language and culture that make us different at the core. I feel that there is some reason that we are different, that after years of documentaries and stories of others' experiences that yes, there are amazing things between cultures that separate us, not exclusively, but culturally. That these people have unique ways of seeing, thinking, and acting. Isn't that what we're always shown? So when I visit a country, I want to not see Bayon temple (well, not exclusively). I want to know how they think. What jokes are funny? What do they do on a Friday night? Is Friday night a typical activity time? Is there an equivalent of a Friday night, or even just a Friday? What sports do they watch? Do they have a sport? What do they drink to get silly drunk, and who gets the butt of jokes when they're drunk? Do they get drunk? Are there butts of jokes? Do they criticize government? Do they like to write? These are things I want to know. Not just a picture that says "hey ma! I'm in Phnom Penh!!! wooO!!"
So, back to James. In order to learn something, I asked James, "so, what do you do at home?" and he showed me pictures of Bayon temple. I asked James "when a friend comes to visit, where do you go? what do you do?" and he smiled. I asked "do you play cards, do you tell stories," and made hand gestures. He told me about how you can go into the city and find a child who will show you all the tourist places and tell you about them in English - you just can't talk back to him in English because he just knows how to say things about those places in English, he doesn't actually understand the language! This was a cool story, but not my point. James just seemed like another guy happy to show off pictures of the "tourist" part of his country.
As far as I've seen for now, my in depth questions about society are once again somewhat mystically inspired. What do they do for fun? They're people. James was connecting with me on a human level throughout class, and he's never been to the states. He's just in Australia for the first time now! Yet he's a person, and we have so much in common already. In one sense I am disappointed, that we are all more similar than we pretend with our PBS documentaries and travel guides. Perhaps that's how they make their money, convincing us that people are unrectifiably foreign from each other. From what I've seen so far, culture to culture, we all laugh and cry and find faulty computer programs hilariously annoying.
James invited me to Cambodia, or rather, he said he'd show me around and I'd have a place to stay. Awesome, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to go. Maybe then I'll be able to tell you that there are nuances to discover - but I think that whatever the day/night's activities are chosen for entertainment, we'll still be laughing for the same reasons.
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