Hobbies in Cambodia

I am not sure if I have mentioned one of my new found hobbies in any of my previous posts.  And frankly I am to lazy to look back through all of them, so I will continue with this post. There is no ice to play hockey on (though I have found street hockey).  The only hockey that I can watch is on really early in the morning in one of the sports bars here.  The mountains in Cambodia would typically be referred to as hills back home, so hiking is a rarity.  To add to that I forgot my saxophone at home and so I have had to search out new hobbies.  One that I have become particularly fond of is shirt making.  

The first step to shirt making usually involves lunch.  A great spot is Asian Spice as it is on the way to Oressei Market, where all the best fabric in town is.  At lunch we discuss what kind of fabric we are looking for and for what purpose.  Often the reason for purchasing the fabric is for a new shirt.  After lunch we go to the market and begin the hunt for that one piece of fabric that we have on our mind.  And oh what a search it can be!  Looking and feeling making sure it is exactly what you want.  Alas! you see that perfect pattern starring you right in the face.  Cue the dramatic music as you make your way over to your new found treasure.  And now the bargaining begins (sorry Grace my efforts last week were less than spectacular)

"Tlay ponmaan?" you say

"Muey Mite, pram muey dollar" says the seller

"Buen dollar?" you respond

"at tee, pram muey"

"Pram dollar" you try to be a little more forceful this time

"Pram muey" She is not budging!

One more try

"Pram dollar kanlah"

"Chaa"

You got 50 cents off, but she won that round!

With fabric in hand now you need to find a tailor.  And there are many options here.  First there is the best tailor, a favourite among MCCers.  He practices his trade at the Russian Market.  Other options include tailors at Orussei (very convenient) or a new place that I have found just down the street from my house.  After getting all measured up you play the waiting game.  Finally the day comes when you get to pick up your shirt.  After that it is time to start the process all over again!

And that my friends is the art of Shirt Making!

 One of my shirts

A Visit to the Province

So another update is in order!

I have settled into my new host family and have found my role as proh poh quite enjoyable.  Growing up as the oldest in my family I always had to be the mature one.  I am now the youngest sibling in my host family and am enjoying some of the riches of being the spoiled one.  Not that my little sister has ever been spoiled ;).  I have been treated to great food, as well as some interesting food (last weekend I ate some pig stomach as well as some crickets).  We have also played numerous games of dutch blitz and sequence and for the most part I have been on the wrong end of those games, but it has been great fun so far!

Let me look back to last weekend.  I joined some my host family as they traveled to the province for a wedding.  This was my second wedding, so I had an idea what to expect but this time I did not have the safety net of my fellow MCCers.  We arrived in Kompong Thom Friday evening and made the rounds greeting all the family members.  Then it was off to bed because we were going to have to get up mighty early the next day.  Turned out to be 5:30 in the morning early!  This was to attend the first part of the traditional wedding ceremony, the fruit walk.  The grooms family walks from the grooms house to the brides house with platefuls of fruit.  The distance between the two homes was a little far for this, so we just walked a little ways down from the brides house and then walked back.  Somehow I found myself at the front of the procession.

The one Barang among many Khmer.  The guy to my left kept asking me if I wanted a Khmer wife.

After the procession we ate, watched another ceremony called the hair cutting ceremony.  Do not worry the brides lovely locks were not harmed during the ceremony.  They only pretend to cut their hair.  Then it was time to have our noon time nap.  With a two hour nap in me I was ready to get back at it, and by at it I mean the food.  One of the real treasures of Khmer weddings is the food.  Now I know you read earlier that I ate pig stomach and crickets and are probably thinking that doesn't sound much like fine dinning.  That assumption would be correct.  However, those items were not on the menu for the wedding dinner.  Instead we were treated to barbecued beef, fried octopus (slowly becoming a favourite), a big old fish, and I completely forget what we had for dessert but I can assure you it was not cake.

The fish that we ate

Once again we head back to freshen up and then head back to the party for another meal and some dancing. By the time we got back to the party unfortunately all the food was gone so that left one thing, dancing.  I have had a few different occasions to practice my Khmer dancing and though I am getting much better it is still far from being any kind of spectacle that anyone would want to watch.  Unless, that is, you are into car wrecks.  Nonetheless I always have fun out on the dance floor and it was no exception on this particular night.  There were some interesting events out on the dance floor but if you are really interested you will have to ask me about those events.  That concluded the wedding and what a great wedding it was.

Sunday morning we went to the local church where I shared a bit of my testimony and why I was in Cambodia.  After church and lunch we started our journey back to Phnom Penh.  We were stuffed into a 15 passenger van, that by the time we hit Phnom Penh had 28 people in it!  Of all my experiences in Cambodia it has probably been the least pleasant.  Thankfully I had a window seat and could stick my head out and get some fresh air.  We arrived safe and sound thus ending another one of my great adventures in this lovely little country!

1st Semester a howy'

They said time was going to fly, but it is hard to believe that it is February already.  So much has happened in the last 5 months and so much has happened in the last few weeks.

Let me get you caught up on some of the recent events in my life over here in Cambodia.

• Semester 1 classes finished at the university on the 19th of January.  It was nice to have a couple weeks off as I was definitely starting to feel burnt out.  I think I can be forthright in saying that teaching is not in my future career plans.  However, having one semester under my belt now qualifies me as an expert, as I will be having student teachers observing my class this semester.  They will be taking notes on my technique, which will be a little nerve wracking.   The benefit of this this situation is that these students will then be teaching my classes for a couple of weeks.  Ahhhh the perks of teaching, maybe I should rethink the teaching thing altogether.

Giving some serious direction to my students

•  Us Cambodian SALTers were blessed with the presence of Isaac and Jenny, fellow SALTers from Vietnam, last week.  We had a great time checking out some spots in Phnom Penh as well as up in Siem Reap.  Up in Siem Reap we were able to check out one of the partners that MCC works with.  Philip Hosler, one of the current SALTers, is currently helping them with there ceramic studio, and you can take a look at the project click here.  We of course spent a day up at the temples.  I have never really been a museum guy, so although these are the Angkor Wat temples I still had a feeling it might get boring rather quickly.  I was pleasently suprised that I was able to be entertained throughout the entire day.  There is just so much to take in and you spend a lot of time walking and tuk tuking from temple to temple.  Most of the structures are awe-inspiring especially their size.  By the end of the day we had visited most of the temples near Angkor Wat, but there were many more that we did not get to. 
We also had the opportunity to bike around Siem Reap and take in the countryside.  Being a country boy at heart I am always happy to get outside the city and be amongst the rice paddies.  Phil was an excellent guide and showed us some of the different attractions that are must sees when traveling to Siem Reap.  It was sad to say goodbye to Jenny and Isaac, but it was great to spend a week with them hearing about their stories.  Now I have to return the favour and meet them in Hanoi.

Jenny, Isaac, and I in front of one of the temples (Bayon I believe)

• The last significant event happened this past Sunday when I moved in with my new host family.  My family actually hosted a SALTer last year and one of the members of the family was an IVEPer 2 years ago.  One thing I have already learned is that they love to play games.  The first night I brought dutch blitz and even though I was sick and went to bed early they continued to play until 11:30.  Looks like my remaining months will be filled with lots of fun.

It is hard to believe that I am coming up on the halfway point of my term here.  I want to thank all of you for your support so far and look forward to sharing the second half of my journey with you.