It’s Not Just Chinese People

Every Chinese-American kid is familiar with the old adage from our parents: “When I was your age, I didn’t have ______ (various items can be inserted here: food, shoes, electricity, paper) so be grateful you do now. Work harder. No excuses for failure.” Other kids might be familiar with that too, but I wouldn’t know.

Yesterday, at language, Mr. Sophea proved to me that it’s not just Chinese parents who do this. The following is the conversation we had.

Me: (reading from my textbook) “Don’t jump off bridges into the water.”
Sophea: Christine. I need to tell you something. [Note: whenever he needs to tell me something, even if it's something like "I sold my motorbike today", he prefaces it with this serious disclaimer.] When I was young I did this.
Me: You did what? Jumped off bridges into the water?
Sophea: Yes, I did that. When I was young I did everything. Not like this generation now.
Me: What do you mean you did everything?
Sophea: I catch fish for dinner, I climb trees to get coconuts and other things. I carry buckets of water 2km. I was slow so during one morning I only carry 2 buckets. I was maybe more than 10 years old.
Me: Your [9 year old] son can’t climb trees?
Sophea: No. He look weak. His life is easy. My wife does everything for him. That why when he here I make him do work like boil the water for drinking.

See? Same same. My language tutor reminds me of my father a lot in his parenting skills. I see him every day, so he’s kind of like a father figure to me, and there is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t mention how hard things were during the Khmer Rouge. Kind of like my real dad and the Cultural Revolution.

So yeah, Cambodia: more like home than you think.