Stefan and Nico came and visited us over the Christmas break, Nico bringing along 4 friends, and we all had a good time hanging out and exploring a bit of Cambodia before they moved on to the beaches of Thailand for the combined New Year/Full Moon parties. These next two pictures were taken by Stefan while they were on a day-long Mekong cruise on the boat of a friend of ours named Soeun.
The fitst picture shows some boys playing volleyball (the most popular rural Khmer sporting activity) and you have to give the kid props for his leaping skills (and Stefan for getting him in mid-leap). Double click on the picture to enlarge it.
This picture show what the Americans (and one Brit) were doing while the Khmer were playing volleyball. There is a metaphor in here somewhere, but I'm damned if I can find it... Soeun, the boat owner, is standing in the middle holding the plate of cut fruit while the boys do their best Somerset Maugham imitations, albeit not dressed in linen suits.
Soeun is married to one of my colleagues, and is a pretty impressive guy. He designed and built the boat despite having no prior experience in boat-building, he has a pig farm that uses the waste for methane gas production, all done on a shoestring, he can fix anything, etc. So the boys kept saying that various things he had done were "awesome", a word he had never before heard. It quickly became his favorite word (as boatloads of tourists have since learned).
After a while the boys got around to calling him "Chuck Norris", because it seemed that there wasn't anything he couldn't do. Then they started to tell Chuck Norris jokes, which, as a Khmer, he had some trouble following. I spent some time over the next week, working through is wife, explaining Chuck Norris jokes. It was one of those times when you realize that humor is quite culturally specific.
In honor of Occidental humor, I'll end this post with Chuck Norris jokes.
- Chuck Norris does not wear a condom. Because there is no such thing as protection from Chuck Norris.
- Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
- Chuck Norris will never have a heart attack. His heart isn't nearly foolish enough to attack him.
- When the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
- Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
- When Chuck Norris crosses the street, the cars have to look both ways.
- Chuck Norris once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants are known today as giraffes.
- Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.
- Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because Chuck Norris only recognizes the element of surprise.
- According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday.
- There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
- If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.
- Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you.
- Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter.
- If at first you don't succeed, you're not Chuck Norris.
- When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.
- We live in an expanding universe. All of it is trying to get away from Chuck Norris.
- Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
- It is scientifically impossible for Chuck Norris to have had a mortal father. The most popular theory is that he went back in time and fathered himself.
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