In Honor of My Nephew, Jake

Tomorrow is my nephew's birthday - actually, it is already his birthday in Cambodia today. So, I dedicate today's blog post to my favorite nephew who shares the name of my favorite fruit: banana.

My Khmer lesson (23 October 2013): Fruits (Pa’ly-chur)

My favorite fruit is: Jake (banana). Neohm joe jet Jake chiang kay (I like Jake the most).

Most Khmer’s favorite pa'ly-chur is Durian (a large spikey fruit that smells really bad, but apparently is quite sweet). Apparently, to many SE Asians this Durian fruit is considered to be the “King of Fruits” while to many Westerners the strong odor is a turn-off. To my surprise, most Khmer hate Dragon fruit (sockakneeik) the most. Sockakneeik is one of the exotic fruits that I enjoy. When I say "most Khmer" I am basing this on scientifically sound research from surveying three people who each and all reported that Durian is the favorite fruit and that they dislike Dragon fruit the most.

“Dume” means ripe and K’jay means not ripe. “Joe jet” means like, “joe jet chiang kay” means like the most. “Achoechet” means dislike and “achoechet chiang kay” means dislike the most.

“Aluck” means melon, all different kinds of melons. I asked my Khmer instructor if I wanted a watermelon would I ask for “Duckaluck” (“duck” means water) and he said “no” because duckaluck means melon juice and “duckjake” means banana juice and “duckgroit” (“groit” means orange) means orange juice. I think that this broad definition for melons of all types may cause confusion when going to the market (psahh) and wanting a certain kind of melon. I asked my instructor about this – like what if I went to the market and asked for an aluck and they gave me a watermelon, but I wanted a honeydew melon or a cantaloupe. He looked confused (I am now used to this) and then seemed to answer me with a response that implied this is the reason why we have fingers to point.



Durian at the Market (Psahh)

To wrap up on the theme of “duck” – “mortduck” means shower and “hiduck” means swim. So, I was thinking that if one were to hiduck in a pool of duckaluck then surely they would need to mortduck in duck afterwards. Just thinking about this quacks me up!

Dragon fruit (Sockakneeik)



Here is my real tribute to Jake (my nephew, not the fruit).

Jake was born with a pointy head, but it was pointed straight to Heaven and since that time (even though his head has rounded out) he has kept his heart pointed in that same Heavenly direction. Jake is a young man who possesses a depth of character that is far beyond his years. When Jake has been faced with difficult decisions he has almost always chosen the right way even when that way was the more costly or difficult way. On those rare occasions when Jake has not made the best choices he has been honest about that, learned from his mistakes, and he has grown through those experiences into a man of even stronger character and resolve. Jake is one of the most talented athletes I have ever known and he is incredibly smart, but more than that he is kind, and he loves God, his family, and friends. He makes a positive difference everywhere he goes and with everyone he meets. So, there is much to celebrate about October 23, the day Jake was born. Happy Birthday Jake!

 

I wish I were with you to celebrate. Love from your very proud uncle.