Conversations With Ratha

In addition to our dental team from MTI, we also have 4 dental students working at the orphanage with us for these two weeks. It is super fun to work with them and get to know them, and I am surprised how fun it is to teach them. I have made a friend. His name is Ratha (but you say it like Rattah). I am about 7 inches taller and outweigh him by a good 50 lbs, so he is like my little buddy. His English is pretty iffy, but enough to get by, and he laughs at everything I say. I am always in his business. He told me he went to live in an orphanage at age 11 when his mother could no longer care for him. I asked him he was scared when he moved there. No, he said, he felt pretty lucky because otherwise, in that situation, he'd be sold into child slavery or prostitution.

He tends to be a little on the timid side when it comes to dentistry, so the other day I was trying to encourage him:

Me: (I went up to Ratha at the dispensary table) Ratha, I have three injections to give to this patient. I will do the first two and talk my way through it while you watch, they I'll have you do the third. I'll be right there to help you.

R: No, my hand will shake.

Me: That's ok, my hand shook when I was learning too. It's alright. Listen, I will teach you how to do this and then you'll go back to school and impress all of your teachers.

Then he took off! I sat down, put my gloves on, and Ratha was gone! I guess I scared him. He did do an injection the next day...and did great.

* * *

Our team is going to Thailand tomorrow. It is one of our only days off and we collectively decided to skip church and get an early start. Today at the clinic I invited Ratha to join us.

Me: Ratha! We are driving to Thailand tomorrow. Come with us!

R: Tomorrow is Sunday...What time you leave?

Me: Early.

R: ... What about worship?

Me: So skip church. (He looked at me like a deer in the headlights. I continued on) Ratha, if God were here right now he'd say Ratha, go have fun with your friends in Thailand! (He laughs).

He is joining us tomorrow.

* * *

There is something really interesting about Cambodian men. They are very affectionate towards one another. We ride together in the truck with the dental students (you'll learn about "the truck" in the next post) every morning and evening I see them cuddling, or holding hands, or even just resting their hand on the others' knee as they sit and talk. I find it strange, but in an interesting, good kind of way.

Today after lunch I went out and talked to Ratha while he laid in the hammock with one of the other guys, San. I took a picture. Ratha is on the left, and the guy behind him is Bot.

That night, as we drove home from the clinic, Ratha was sitting next to me, and the student on the other side of him had his arm draped over Ratha's shoulder.

Me: Ratha...men in your culture like to touch each other a lot.

R: Yes.

Me: Men in my culture do not do this.

R: (looking completely perplexed) Why is this?

I didn't know how to explain to Ratha that I come from a culture of men who fear being anything less than manly, and that if they touched each other they'd be worried someone would think they are gay, or even worse! that it would actually MAKE them gay. So I said, simply, I don't know.