Here in Cambodia, it is very important to keep a clean
house, particularly a clean kitchen. I know, it’s important everywhere, but in
my mind, it’s beyond important here. It’s essential. The reason? Bugs.
Apparently big, nasty bugs are everywhere here, and they love to invade homes.
As do tiny ants that can fit through the smallest hole in your “air- and
bug-tight” containers. Apparently the only way to keep the little monsters away
is to be hyper vigilant about crumbs and cleanliness, to go above and beyond
when storing food in airtight containers, and to be prepared with a veritable
army of bug-zapping, ant-trapping, roach-killing products.
Just to let you know, I despise bugs of all types and of all
sizes. A spider will send me calling for Jeff to come kill it. Ants in the
house will have me reaching immediately for the deadliest chemicals I can find.
A roach will send me scurrying away, to return to the room only with immense
trepidation after turning all the lights on and leaving them on for several
seconds, preferably with Jeff in tow to destroy the ugly monster. Yes, I do realize how hysterical it must be that someone like me is living here.
I say all this so that you will understand the horror with
which I realized, after dinner on our first night here, that I had neglected to
request that our sponsor stock our new home with dish soap. How was I to
banish every hint of food from the oh-so-sensitive nostrils of my enemy if I
didn’t have the proper tools? There was only one thing to do. I rinsed the
dishes thoroughly, scrubbed them with a wet washcloth to remove every visible
sign of use, stacked them in the sink, and made plans to do whatever it took to
buy dish soap the next day.
Accordingly, the next day, I took Alexa in my arms, put my
six U. S. dollars in my pocket (we’d forgotten to bring more cash, and I have
no idea where an ATM is in the neighborhood, so that was all I had until Jeff
got home from the embassy), and walked down to the corner market. I perused the
few aisles and their meager offerings. Milk, diapers, laundry detergent, beer,
and ah, there! Dish soap. But that’s no good; that’s for use in a dishwasher,
and our house doesn’t have a dishwasher. (Most houses here don’t.) Try again.
Nope, no wash-by-hand dish soap. Time to ask for help.
I approached the Cambodian lady who had greeted me as I
walked in the door. “Do you have any dish soap? Not for use with a machine, but
to wash by hand?”
“Soap? To wash by hand? No machine?”
I nodded.
“Here. This by hand, this by hand, this by hand. This and
this by machine.”
I looked in surprise at the items she indicated. I’d thought
that all of the merchandise in that section was for washing clothes. Then I
noticed a box of Cascade dishwasher detergent on the shelf above where she’d
pointed. Reassured, I took her word for what was what. The bags of detergent
(whoever heard of powdered wash-by-hand dish soap?) were on the bottom shelf and therefore difficult to see,
labeled in Khmer script and therefore impossible to read, and Alexa was getting away from me trying to grab
everything in sight, so I didn't have time to verify. I quickly picked up a bag that was marked $5.15 and headed
to the cash register.
Once we arrived home, I gleefully headed to the kitchen to
make use of my new purchase. I was hoping that I’d find some picture
instructions—or better yet, English—on the packaging to let me know how much
powder I was supposed to use for a sink full of water. As I examined the bag, I
noticed that one of the pictures showed a bucket of sudsy water with a white
shirt next to it. Hmm … maybe the dish soap was mixed with the laundry
detergent because it was meant to be dual purpose? I examined the package more
carefully. Not a picture of a dish anywhere. Then, I saw it, in tiny letters
underneath the Khmer script: “Standard Detergent Formula for Hand Wash.” With a
nice big picture of a shiny white shirt. This was not meant for dishes. Apparently
the woman at the shop had not heard the word “dish” in my question.
But I’m adaptable. I needed to wash the dishes. They
couldn’t wait any longer, not if I was to avoid the nasty little things that
lay in wait. So I decided to give it a try. Yes, I washed my dishes in
laundry detergent. Then I had a nice glass of water in one of my newly washed
glasses just to make sure—and no, there was no hint of detergent taste.
Still, I left “dish soap” nice and large on the top of my
shopping list for my trip to the supermarket the next day.
Written Saturday, 8 October 2011.
Written Saturday, 8 October 2011.
LOL Awww... Gotta love it. Not the bugs though.. eek!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are getting settled in your new home and still have time to keep us informed via your wonderfully written blogs. Enjoyed the "My Story" also. Love & miss you all. Maryanna
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