Things I do regularly in Cambodia that could get me arrested in Canada

AKA "Things that keep my Mom's prayer life rich and committed" (you're welcome, Mom!)

• Driving into oncoming traffic: The easiest way to turn a corner here is to hug the corner closely and weave your way through traffic into your desired lane, even if that means turning left into oncoming traffic. Linked to this is a nonchalance about having other vehicles driving towards me in my lane of traffic. I think it makes my driving better and instincts more alert!
• Wearing my toddler in a backpack carrier, while driving my moto: She still wears a helmet! And this is better than the alternatives other Khmer families opt for, including having small children stand between the driver and the passenger.
• Jay walking: OK, I wouldn't get arrested for this one back home, but here I am taking my life in my hands a little more by doing it. You see, as a pedestrian, I am never afforded right of way, but instead am seen as the very bottom of the road traffic food chain. Bicycles, motos, tuktuks, cars, SUVs, and trucks are all above me and, therefore, see no need to stop to let me cross. I see my jay walking in Montreal as a kind of soft training for Phnom Penh jay walking.
• I let restaurant staff take care of my toddler while I eat: Maybe I should be teaching my daughter a little more about stranger danger, but it's just so nice to walk into a restaurant and have her whisked away into the kitchen or other room to be entertained and fawned over while Charlie and I have a nice quiet meal. Who turns down free childcare?
• We rarely put our toddler in a car seat: We rarely travel in cars, but when we do we're either going somewhere in town in a friend's car or in a hired van to go out of town, and in both cases, there is rarely enough room to put a car seat and all the passengers. So lap sitting it is. She's in for a rude awakening when we go back to Canada.

I do not feel cavalier about many of these things, some I am 100% fine with, others make me a little nervous. On the one hand, it's nice to live somewhere where regulations haven't gone completely crazy. On the other, I am keenly aware that there are more traffic-related accidents and deaths in Cambodia than anywhere else in the region. This is just the way we live. We are as careful as the circumstances allow, and trust our family will be protected.