Let’s face it, holidays are confusing. If I was new to America and told that
during December, we put lights on our houses, drag enormous trees into our
living rooms, and wait for a man in a red suit to come through our chimney, even
though what we’re really celebrating is our religion, I would be confused, to
say the least.
Things are no different in Cambodia, for me. It’s no secret that I spend most of my
day having no idea what is going on (well, now I probably understand at least
5%...progress), and this problem is amplified during the holidays.
For the past few weeks we have been in the process of
celebrating Pchum Ben, a holiday that exists to honor the ancestors of
Cambodian families. You can read about it more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pchum_Ben
Now I say that
we’ve been celebrating this holiday for a few weeks, because there is no such
thing as a one-day holiday in Cambodia.
Every holiday has at least a few buffer days so as to fully enjoy the
relaxation a holiday should provide.
I have to admit, I’m a fan.
My first experience with the holiday was last Wednesday when
my school director came up to me and invited me to a ceremony at the wat
(Pagoda) the next morning at 7am.
I asked, “Don’t we have school tomorrow?”, but he assured me not to worry
about it. Sure enough, most of the
teachers decided to ditch school that day to go to the wat. I spent most of the morning standing
around awkwardly, spooning a bowl of rice into 4 bigger bowls of rice (for the
monks?), waving around incense and bowing whenever everyone else did. I also gave someone 500 riel, but I have no idea what it was for.
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| A view from inside the wat. These buildings are always gorgeous. |
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| Leaving out offerings of rice and money |
After that, we made a meal for the monks. Monks usually travel throughout the village asking for donations of money or food, but during Pchum Ben, they do not leave the wat, so the community comes to them. I helped out as
much as I could, but it was made apparent that I am not as skilled at cutting
up pineapple as your average Cambodian woman. However, they humored me and helped me out as much as they could.
Soon after, we ate with the monks (delicious fried noodles and
pineapple soup!) and headed home around noon. It was quite the event.
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| Food laid out for the monks |
Today, I got the opportunity to go to the wat again, this
time on the official date of the holiday.
It was pretty much the same deal, but this time, we brought food that
was made at home, instead of making it at the wat. At one point, my friend Soporn turns to me and says, “Kelly,
everyone is staring at you.”
I was aware.
It’s not every day that a 5’7” white girl walks into a
wat. Apparently I was quite an
exciting guest. Overall, it was a great holiday! Best part is, I don't have to teach until Thursday. Gotta love those buffer days.
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| Quite the hip-happenin' place |
