Short Stories and Essays
A STRANGE TWIST
My wife Dianne and I were living in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and serving as full-time senior missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We had spent a short time at the missionary training center in Provo, Utah, before traveling to our assigned field of labor in Cambodia.
After we had been in Cambodia for a few weeks, we were joined by an elder whom we first met in the missionary training center. His name was Elder Tiave. He was native Hawaiian. He looked exactly like a native Cambodian or Khmer—darker skin, jet black hair, dark eyes, smooth complexion, nicely proportioned facial features, slight build.
I told him he would have a great test of his honesty soon. He could easily get into the ruins parks which are free for native Cambodians, without paying the $20.00 charge they place on foreigners. The gatekeepers at the parks merely go by the physical appearance of the person seeking entry.
Of course, Elder Tiave came into the country hardly speaking a lick of the native language. He was assigned to be the companion of an experienced, white, Anglo missionary who could speak the language like a native. So they went everywhere together, as required, giving the false appearance that a Khmer was teamed up with an Anglo, a very common situation. In those common circumstances, the native Khmer missionary generally always helped the Anglo missionary understand what was being said by the local population.
When Tiave and his Anglo companion went to purchase their food in the market, as well as in accomplishing other normal activities, the Cambodian people had this puzzled look on their face because the white Anglo translated for the native-looking Khmer. They watched in confused amazement as the Anglo explained to his native-looking companion exactly what the local people are saying. It presented a very strange sight for the local population.
The locals always started talking to Elder Tiave first, then with a confused look on his face, Elder Tiave would turn to his Anglo companion for an explanation of what was said. It turned the Cambodian people’s world upside down and provided for us considerable humor and entertainment just following the two elders around.