Ewwww...

I just saw the most grotesque thing of my entire life. A man walked into a salon where I was getting my nails done, and asked for a massage. Then he asked if he could personally select the woman who would complete the massage for him. They women stood in a police style line up, and he simply pointed at the girl he felt best suited him. I have seen and heard some pretty crappy things occuring, but I think that tops it. How would you like to be chosen simply based on a 2 second glance, while standing there being compared to your coworkers. Gross.

So I am officially in the last day of my Cambodian travels and the last day of my South East Asian adventure. I am currently in Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia. Thus, I was able to see a royal palace!!! As well as a proper museum or two. Although, one of the museums was about the Khmer Rouge.

In my hotel, which is also a 5 star, I met a middle aged Aussie(in our private club, only for VIP's...no lie). He is traveling around with his family, and as I was lonely I pulled up a chair and sat with them. After a few minutes, I realized that I did not want to share his company. I have met many people from both western and non western countries. They have all been very openminded, laid back and fun. This man, while appearing fun on the outside, was anything but. He kept telling me how the service was bad in the hotel. And yes for hundreds of dollars a night, the service could have been a little better. He kept saying how if he lived in this country he would simply educate himself and find a way out. He kept reverberating the idea that they were less then us. That they could not handle themselves and constantly needed western support. Yes, they do need western support if they want to be western. But they aren't western, they are eastern. Just because they are not put in our own image, does not mean they are not worthy or any less deserving of respect. He looked at this culture completely ethnocentrically, and criticized it because it wasn't akin to its own.

I never understood until this very moment why American's are encouraged to have liberal arts degrees. I finally understand why I was forced to take a non western class in college, plus 8 credits of Humanities. Although I have never had much practice with it until now, I am now able to look at different economic systems, and different political systems based on their merits and not merely the commonly held belief. I am forever grateful that I have the ability to look at others as unbaisedly as possible, and I wish others could do the same.

As my last officialy night in South East Asia, I am going to head out to the backpackers bars for some grub, and hopefully some good conversation. Unless I can find cheap internet in Singapore, the next time you will hear from me, I will be back in the western and northern hemisphere.