I am a Foreigner

 

By Tith Chandara

I walked down the street off from one to another to get to know the town. I was directly walked to the river Rhine. Different from Cambodia, There is quite at 9:30 am. People were just having exercise on the street and the markets were quieted. Photo: Tith Chandara (Self-Timer Captured)

I saw foreigners found it hard to communicate with non-English speakers in my country. I could see their astonished face seems like “How can I get help?”

When you’ve never been out of the country, you never feel that you are a foreigner. You have seen foreigner in your country and say something behind them.

Really!! I’m sure that more or less you will feel being a foreigner and face some problems while living abroad.

When I travel somewhere, I need to hold two maps: the city map and the sub-way route map. People are staring at me and obviously known that I am a foreigner.

What would you do if you understand nothing?

While I went shopping, all the descriptions on the products and any other information in the market are in German. I hardly recognized what it is, but just guessed and bought it for a test.

A new me:

I temporary set up a new life in Germany. It is a completely new life. Living in the dormitory and travel by sub-way every morning is a new habit while in Cambodia we have something to eat in the kitchen and go out anytime by motorbike.

This is a development of life in the development world. Culture shock is not an issue. Having a real problem is an issue. She is my friend came to Bonn/ Germany with me, Pin Manika

At Tannenbusch, Bonn/ Germany, there is a supermarket selling various products and foods. Pin Manika is having a look at some fruit because she could not find Asian food to eat. Photo: Tith Chandara

said she never left her parents for such a long time.  “Now we are a foreigner,” Manika spoke with smile.

Cambodian parents do not let their children living further from them or leave them before married, except for some reasons. This is a culture of dependent that children, mainly daughter have to live with family until they get married.

I live alone in the room taking care of myself and any other problems occurred accidentally.

One life in two different place is like this. I realize how is life. Growing older, I have to depend on myself.

So, now I am a foreigner. I am not in my country where I know what to do and where to go. Here, I have experience new things start from getting to know, test and get it.