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From Our Own Correspondent: Cambodia's circus and American baseball

22/07/2013

Cambodia's circus and American baseball

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Cambodia's circus and American baseball

A circus in Phnom Penh and a Washington Nationals game in DC give lessons in character

Two tales from the front-row seats on cultural obsessions: Anne Caulfield, at a circus in Phnom Penh, and Simon Wilson at a Washington Nationals game in DC get lessons in character

Two tales about how cultural occasions can illuminate a country's obsessions. Anne Caulfield, at a circus in Phnom Penh, finds one sophisticated friend's wild enthusiasm as poignant as the performers' tough life stories. The generation which survived Khmer Rouge rule might have had its childhood ruined, but even some of today's young Cambodians must struggle to beat hunger and violence. 

Simon Wilson, at a Washington Nationals baseball game in DC, get lessons in character from America's pastime. It turns out that even in a nation obsessed by success, you have to learn how to lose and live with failure.

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