After Phnom Tamao we all realized that we had one of the worst bits of news since the beginning of the semester. We had a FULL week of class without a long weekend or a vacation. We had five full days of teaching. After managing our way through the whole week of teaching getting in the way of our Cambodian vacation we realized it was Chinese New Year and we had 5 whole days off.
For the vacation time a group of people went to Siem Reap to see the temples, some went to Kep and Kampot to relax on the beach and some others went by themselves to smaller towns. As Liza was walking down the stairs to catch their midnight bus to Siem Reap, she tripped and rolled her ankle, making her unable to do all the walking that is accompanied by the temples. That brought the number of people in the house to three for the Chinese New Year. Vilde and I decided to stick around Phnom Penh so we could see some more things, since we're moto-ing around Cambodia and we'll have to pass through most places anyway. Nothing much happened. We created a check list of things to do that included everything from Liza walking, fixing motos, watching the Jungle Book, visit the Killing Fields and National Museum and make some Mexican food and one of the more important things: finish the puzzle. There were a lot more but they were quite varied. That was essentially what happened over the five day vacation, we tried to complete the check list and I think we got around 75%. Through the course of the time off we also gained Rich and Leanne in the house bringing the total to five out of 13.
As for the rest of the group, they got through their vacations seeing temples, as well as seeing more beaches. Oh and Liam got into his second moto accident causing many scrapes, bruises and a stitch in the foot.
After the New Year we had two days of classes, but since it was only two days most of our students did not show up for class so they consisted of most teachers playing games, or just hanging around talking. I spent most of my time learning about different aspects of Khmer culture and getting to know some of my students better. After the short week of only two classes, we again had a full week of classes (the third and final full week we taught over the ten week course). That week went on uninterrupted by anything except for the fact that we were all invited to a Khmer wedding. The groom of the wedding is the brother of our receptionist and one of our administrators.
We went through the week with the knowledge that we would be getting out of town for a truly Khmer experience, and we were all ecstatic. Most people stayed in on Friday (except one person's regular trip to Top Banana, one of the popular backpacker bars in town). We left at 8 am on Saturday for Kampong Thom province, a little to the North of Phnom Penh. The beginning of the bus ride was most everyone sleeping, and me playing Khmer card games with our weekend cook Ali, and one of the receptionists Seanglay. It took me a little while to catch on to the idea of the game with some explanations from the two of them. I also quickly realized that the winner got to hit the losers on the knee or wrist, depending on how many red cards they had at the end of their turn. It didn't take long for my knee to start hurting. Before long I was talking to Rithy, who speaks very little english, but it was still hilarious. We talked about how he is stronger than me (kleng) and I was weaker (kasouy). He later laughed at me, pointed to my arm and said soan (soo aan), and I remembered learning that at the zoo and realized that he was calling me a monkey. I was confused and asked him what he meant. He said "you are monkey" and proceeded to pull some of my arm hair and then showed me that he had none. When I finally realized what he was saying, I was rubbing my arm in pain and he was cackling with laughter.
We were in the bus for quite awhile when we finally stopped for a bathroom break and a chance to pick up snacks. After fifteen minutes or so we got back on the bus and shared the snacks with the rest of the bus. I looked in horror as i say Sorya with a cooked spider in a bag. I decided to get over it and eat some. I asked for a leg because that is the smallest part, but she decided she would give me part of the rear because it had more meat to it. Before I had the chance to think, I threw it in my mouth and chewed as fast as I could. And of course to my surprise, it was delicious. It was a smoky flavored meat with a small bit of spice. Needless to say, I wasn't begging for more, the look was just too much. So for the checklist of things I've eaten that are "strange" to westerners: fried frog, stuffed frog, snake, crickets, spider.
After that we got back on the bus for a bit longer, stopped for a proper lunch and hit the road to get to our final destination. We got to a fork in the road where we would head for the wedding, and we dropped off some of the people because they were joining parts of the wedding we were not going to be a part of or needed to see. Then we continued on to the Sombo Preykuk temples a few kilometers down the road. The worst part was the half hour ride off the main road on the lightly traveled dirt road that should have only taken 5 minutes. The bumps slowed us down to a very slow and uncomfortable crawl. We spent some time around the temples (dating to around 500 AD), learning some of the traditions and stories from past Khmer culture. Then after that it was back on the road to get to the wedding.
We were on the bus for about 9 hours total (even though we were expecting about 4). We got to the wedding house, which because of tradition belonged to the Bride's parents. We met the bride and groom, some showered and got into the appropriate clothing for the nights party. Jake and I decided to skip the shower and get to the party. The first person we met was a man who told us to call him Phillip who spent most of his life in San Jose, California and said he had just moved back to Cambodia because he said he missed his homeland. The rest of the night consisted of a large dinner and beers in ice (since they could not be kept cold anywhere). After dinner was a quick ceremony where the couple gets a blessing and the have a ceremonial wedding "cake," which was a huge pile of fruit. After blowing out the candles, everyone's favorite part began: the dancing. There was only Khmer music, most of it more modern than you would expect, but the dancing was still traditional. It's a blend of complicated foot steps along with impossible to learn hand movements. Some of us were able to get the foot moves down but the hand movements in conjunction with the foot steps was way too much to handle. We ended up dancing through the night until around 11 (which is VERY late for Khmer people). Then it was off to bed at a home stay just down the village road. All the guys (plus three girls) were staying in a stilt house with floors similar to the bamboo ones in Koh Pdao. The difference between then and now was that we now had more of a sturdy floor with thicker wooden planks, but still with the inch space between each board. This time we also didn't have a foam mattress to sleep on so we were on the floor with nothing but a sheet and whatever we could find for a pillow (I used my backpack). I was also one of the only ones to sleep well.
Around 4 or 4:30 am came the next part of the wedding where they played music very loudly, over the speakers that were brought in on a cart by a mini-tractor (which is basically a tractor engine with long handles that you use to control it with). We were fortunately told that we did not need to get up right away because it is not considered rude if you miss some of the ceremonies since a lot of it is done in traditional Khmer that even our staff has trouble understanding some of. Once the sun came up and the rooster below me started his morning song, I decided to get up. I was thrown into the procession of the morning which consisted of everyone carrying a bowl of fruit as an offering to the Bride and Groom. I held two because I expected more people to show up, but they decided to stay in bed a bit longer. After standing for a bit everyone started giggling at me, and Sambo told me why. I had two bowls of fruit which in Khmer culture means that I wanted two wives. They were also laughing because you are supposed to stand next to someone who has a bowl of fruit with the same things you have. I kept having to change bowls with other people and being moved everywhere in line until I once again ended up with Sambo.
We walked in and sat down for breakfast which was a ton of sticky rice and fruit, as well as a porridge. Then came the most nerve racking point of the day. We walk into the house and give the bride and groom a contribution for being allowed to go to their wedding, and to help pay for us being there. In the countryside this amounts to 10 dollars, where in Phnom Penh you would be expected to pay around 20 dollars. What you do is, with a partner you give the money to the bride and groom and then tie a string around their wrist, with everyone watching. The symbolism is that they are accepting the money together and they are now responsible as a couple for everything that comes to them, and the symbolism of the string is that they are being tied to each other in every way. I got really nervous and had a lot of trouble tying the string, and after what felt like an hour of trying to tie the string I managed to get it done, which was followed by a few giggles from the audience and a photo with the bride and groom. And to top off the anxiety about the process, Vicky and I were the first ones to go, so we had no frame of reference on how to do it.
After getting out of the house, which was incredibly hot because of the number of people in the house, we sat down and hung out until it was lunch time, our final step of the wedding process. It was very similar to the lunch we had at the engagement party. It consisted of 8 courses which were in Khmer and we had translated for us. Number one: "8 types of happy" which turned out to be 8 appatizers like fresh cashews, a crab cake type thing, and a jelly thing. After that was a salad with squid, mint, greens, and other noodles. Number three was fried chicken. Four was vegetables with more squid, and other seafood. Five was steamed fish (some of the best I've ever had), and which Vincent ate the eyeball of. Number six was fried rice. Seven was a shrimp porridge. And the final course was dessert.
With incredibly full stomachs, we took final pictures with the bride and groom, changed into our traveling clothes and were back on the bus for our journey home. This time, to our extreme joy, the ride was only six hours long. We stopped at the same place for snacks, but I skipped the spider. Jack did not however. He decided to bring a live spider back on the bus to take home. It was in a small plastic bag the whole time, and many people wanted to throw it out the window (myself included). We made it back to Phnom Penh safe and sound, with one casualty. Jake had inadvertently brought the spider to the brink of death. He let it go outside of our house, and there is no doubt that it is now dead. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
On Monday we started new student testing, which consists of a stranger sitting in front of you, and you asking questions to judge their level of English. The hardest part is that some people ruin it by passing on what questions you get asked, so you have to get creative to see if they are telling the truth or they had answers preprepared. Yesterday was yet another holiday, Meak Bochea, which celebrates something to do with Buddha. All the staff and my students either gave me different answers and didn't know themselves, so I'm not too sure what its about. All I know is that a lot of older Khmer people go to the pagoda to pray and give offerings to Buddha. Vilde and I spent the day picking up our motos and seeing how well they work now compared to before.
Somehow I think this will be the last post until Vilde and I are on the road around Cambodia. The next post will also probably be very lengthy because it will be the end of the semester and I will eventually get sentimental about leaving the house, friends, students and the city. So until then, I'll be finishing up teaching and working on my Khmer driving skills.
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