I'm Not Morbid

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the different beliefs that various cultures have. A really interesting conversation I had with a student on Friday about Cambodian funerals further piqued this interest. I know a post about death is not exactly the most uplifting thing. But I found the traditions pretty interesting and quite indicative of Cambodian people’s typically Buddhist beliefs.

Normally, Khmers have many funerals whenever someone dies. The 1st funeral is as soon after the person dies as possible. This is usually the same day or the day after, and tends to have only the close friends and relatives as mourners.

Then, 7 days after the person has died, there is another, bigger funeral. This funeral is sadder than the first because this is when the Khmers believe the deceased first realizes that he or she is no longer living. The dead person begins to miss his family. He may also come back in spirit form to haunt loved ones or send them messages in dreams. One of my student’s friend’s brothers died. They thought it was a moto accident, but the brother’s spirit is supposed to have inhabited his aunt’s body and revealed that he was really murdered by his friends after a fight in a bar. Apparently the police here take these séances quite seriously, and will look into the allegations from beyond the grave just as much as they would if they were made by someone still living.

There are many subsequent funerals as well- one at 3 months, 1 year and 3 years. These gatherings are intended to be for more than just immediate family, and can become quite large and expensive. The 1 and 3 year anniversaries are especially important for those who believe in reincarnation, as this is the time when the person’s spirit will be born again on the earth.
In the mean time, the dead person’s soul is believed to be in hell, suffering according to how well or how badly he acted in his life on earth. The deceased person’s relatives must hope that in the past year or so, they have accumulated enough good Karma to help their loved-one come back as a human being, and hopefully one of higher standing in society. Because no one can ever know when a person has accumulated enough good Karma to be reincarnated, loved-ones will offer prayers and sacrifices for the dead for the rest of their lives- just in case he or she is still in purgatory. Many worry that if they do not continue to help their ancestors, their ghost will come back and curse the family with all kinds of calamities.

This belief in karma is so strong that it is often used as a threat by parents to their disobedient children. One of my students told me that when she would do something bad, her grandmother would say, “Do you want to come back as an ant in your next life?” Though Mouyteang told me she doesn’t believe in reincarnation per se, she always thought twice before acting up after such a scolding.

The thing that touches me most about this belief is how sad and full of uncertainty it is. I can’t imagine trying to earn my mother or father’s way out of purgatory for the rest of my life- constantly hoping that my offerings were good enough to keep them from suffering. I know Christianity has the existence of Hell and that the Bible does teach that some people will go there. However, I take so much comfort in the knowledge that I can have assurance that I won’t be one of those people. I can know I am saved from suffering. And it is NOT because I am good enough. I’m not. I won’t ever be good enough. But God doesn’t operate on a system of karma. There is no magic scale that weighs my good and bad merits to decide my eternal destiny. There is only grace through Jesus. I am so relieved that my salvation is not dependent on what I do every day. I am a constant failure. But I know I am saved because of Christ’s sacrifice. I could go on and on about this, but I will try to stop here. I love talking about my faith, though, so if anyone has any thoughts or questions on this, I would love to hear them! Post a comment or email me!

Yada Yada Yada

Today was a Buddhist holiday, so all but one of my students opted to skip class today. I took the opportunity to go run a few errands and practice my Khmer. On the way to one of the shops I was going to, I stumbled upon something amazing!

Who would have thought that Orlando Bloom and Matt Damon would come all the way to Phnom Penh for their $1 hair cuts? I mean, I always assumed people like that went to high-dollar salons. But the pictures on the front of Pop Style Barber Shop make it clear that I was sadly mistaken. So, if any of you out there have been trying and trying to achieve that perfect “movie star hair” to no avail, now you know why.

As I mentioned before, I did have one student come today. Ya is my 8am pupil. His real name is Chanmakara, but he prefers to be called Ya, and honestly, I prefer to call him that! Ya is a non-practicing Buddhist who is currently studying Physics at University. He is extremely bright and is constantly asking insightful questions to which I don’t always have an answer. (i.e. “Teacher, what is the exact moment when Jesus took the sins of humanity?”)

I picked up Ya as a student from a previous teacher, so I can’t take credit for his incredible understanding of both English and the Bible. But I am continuously amazed at how profoundly Ya has grasped difficult concepts. For example, today we reviewed for an exam he will have next time. I was quizzing him on the sequence of events for different stories in the Bible. When I asked him: “Which happened first? Did Jesus begin his ministry of healing and performing miracles? Or was he baptized by John the Baptist?” Ya replied: “He must have been baptized first. Because when he was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and gave him the power to perform miracles.” While most of my students would have gotten the sequence of events right, few of them would have been able to explain why that logically must be the order in which things occurred. Needless to say, I make sure I’ve had my coffee before I come to class with him!

A Not-So-Euphemistic Euphemism

A few weeks ago, one of my students and I were talking about a rather unusual Cambodian delicacy known as “Khmer Cheese” (which is basically mushed up rotten fish, but I won’t go into that….) She told me that she absolutely loves eating this, but tries to limit herself because if she eats it all the time, her skin will break out. I told her that in my country, we like to blame skin problems on chocolate and potato chips. She thought that was interesting, and we eventually moved onto another topic.

The next week, this student walked into class with the biggest smile on her face. As soon as she sat down she looked at me and said, “You have potato chip on your face."

Well, her class is right after lunch, so I immediately put my hands on my face and tried to wipe off whatever food could have possibly been there.

When I did this, she said, “No, no. Potato Chip!” and began pointing to her forehead.
I must have looked really confused because she finally gave up and said, “Pimple!” Apparently I had a small breakout on my forehead that I had forgotten about.

My student looked quite confused as she explained, “You told me last week that in your country you call these potato chips.”

Ooops! I guess I hadn’t been very clear in my explanation after all! After laughing for a minute or two over the obvious miscommunication, I explained to my thoroughly embarrassed student what I had really meant in the previous conversation. Poor thing! At least she had a good attitude about it, though. All she said was, “I think it is good that I tried this on you first and not someone else. That would be embarrassing.” (Of course, I’m wondering when blatantly pointing out a blemish on someone’s face wouldn’t be embarrassing!)

*I’m currently in the process of writing a post about some interesting cultural differences. Hopefully I’ll get it up in the next few days, along with some more student profiles. Speaking of students, please keep my student Ly eang in your prayers. She’s in the hospital with encephalitis. I’m planning on calling her tomorrow to hear how she’s doing. I’ll let you know more later.

Professional Perks!

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job? I really am amazed at what a difference it makes in my outlook on life to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Having a purpose and feeling like a contributing force just changes the way I feel about myself and others. I am so blessed to be in a situation where I find fulfillment from my “nine to five” week.

My students are the biggest reason why I truly love what I do. All of them have such interesting backgrounds and future aims. Their hunger for knowledge and work ethic put most of the Americans of their age to shame. And they are all so thoughtful.

Though most come from incredibly humble financial situations, I have been overwhelmed with the presents I have received from many of them. Though Cambodians do not celebrate Christmas on the whole, most of the tokens I have been given came around that time. A few were in honor of Chinese New Year. Just to give you an idea of some of the presents I have received: One girl took the time to find out my favorite color and then made an adorable hair bow for me! Another designed a ring with a “J” charm on it. I also got a few candies wrapped in a decorative cloth, a card with a traditional scene from the countryside, and 2 new pens from some of my other students.

Nimol is the student I want to profile for you today. She just returned from a week-long trip to Vietnam. On her first day back to class, her eyes were sparkling with so much joy. I couldn’t figure out what was so wonderful. But then she pulled out a small package from her bag. In the package was a beautiful bracelet that she had bought for me on her trip! I was so overwhelmed that she thought of me and so touched that she obviously took great happiness in presenting me with her gift.

Nimol is a very quiet girl. Our classes are always very serious and we rarely stray from our study to talk about peripheral matters. Raised completely Buddhist, Nimol has never heard anything about Christianity before coming to PIP. So, it is understandable that she has a LOT of questions as we are working through the story of Jesus. It has been so rewarding to be able to be the very first person to tell her about God’s plan to save humanity from sin. She is so impressed when we talk about grace, and has told me on more than one occasion that she thinks “it must be wonderful to be a Christian.” Right now Nimol knows she would have more peace in her life if she were a Christian. The main thing that is causing her hesitation is her cultural ties to Buddhist traditions. I told her that over the next few weeks we would talk about the differences with Buddhism and Christianity. Since she is the expert in Buddhism, we are both going to compare our faiths and talk about the similarities and differences. I’m excited for the chance for us both to learn more and pray that it will help us both to have a better understanding of the truth.

By the way, I know this is another picture-less post and that many of you are probably bored to tears with reading my ramblings. I think that as my situations have changed in India and now Cambodia, the nature of my entries has changed as well. I hope you all will stick with me through these slightly less exciting posts. I love telling everyone what I am doing over here. I know I might not have a lot of you that are reading, but it’s always nice to know others care about my work and want to keep in touch. I just have a few more weeks left in Cambodia until I come back to the states to finish school. I’m sure the blog will go on temporary hiatus once that happens. (until my next big adventure, of course!) But in the meantime, I’m still here!

Happy New Year...?

I fully intended to have a wonderful post for you all this week that would be chock-full of Chinese New Year pictures. Unfortunately, the past few days have been much slower than I anticipated and fairly devoid of any photographic opportunities. Hopefully things will pick up again soon.

Now I know some of you are thinking that I live in Cambodia, not China. So why am I talking about Chinese New Year? Well, Cambodia actually has a surprising amount of Chinese immigrants. Couple that with the fact that Cambodia's neighbor Vietnam also celebrates its New Year at this time, and you have a pretty large portion of the country that's really excited for the "Year of the Ox" to arrive. This past Sunday was the official start of the New Year, and I did see quite a few people outside of their homes burning paper and incense and offering food to their ancestors as a way to appease their spirits. The one really incredible shot that I wish with all of my being I would have been able to get with my camera was of a huge display in front of a store. Complete with 2 whole roasted pigs, each with a large knife stuck in its back, this tower of food and flowers must have been 7 feet tall! But unfortunately I caught this on my walk to church. Since I'm not in the habit of bringing my camera to worship with me, I didn't have any way to document the massive offering. So you'll have to take my word for it.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were holidays for most people in Phnom Penh. None of my students wanted to study, so I took the days off. Monday I was actually quite busy as I had to (actually, was BLESSED to) move once again. After 3 months in Cambodia, I have made my very last transition- to the PIP House. Troy and Tabitha came back from their time in the states, relieving me of my kitty-sitting duties. So I said goodbye to Kenny and Jasmine and moved into my very own room in the housing for the PIP English teachers. So far it has been great staying here. I've been so blessed to have wonderful people like Dennis and Sharon and Troy and Tabitha open their homes to me. But I am glad to be close to my work and the other staff members at PIP.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty dull. I did attempt a brief excursion to the market on Wednesday. But most of the stalls were still closed from Sunday's festivities. Cambodians seem to operate on the philosophy of "Work Hard. Play Hard" and when they actually DO decide to celebrate something, it's an all-out affair.

Thursday and Friday were not much better. I had 4 students that said they would come those days. But at the last minute, all but 1 cancelled on Thursday. 2 came today, but I had to wait around until 3pm for that to even start. Another perk of living at the PIP House- my bedroom is always waiting for me if I find myself with unexpected down time!

So, that's my week. I told you there wasn't much that was photo-worthy. However, tomorrow I think I might have a few semi-adventures lined up, so I do envision some more exciting posts in the near future. Until then, Happy New Year!

My EYES, My EYES!

The other day, someone asked me if I liked it in Cambodia. When I responded rather enthusaistically, she asked me what I liked about it. After listing off some things like the simplicity of life here, the kindness of the Khmer people and the encouraging contribution to society that I feel my work is making, I added a few more superficial items: the balmy weather, the yummy food, and the FRESH FRUIT! While I will definitely miss all of my wonderful friends in Cambodia when I come back to the states, I think really, truly fresh pineapple, papya, mango, pomelo...comes in as a close second!

Usually I buy my pineapple already cut from the market. But the other day, I decided to be adventurous and buy a whole one just to see if I could duplicate the beautiful pattern that results after de-eyeing the fruit. While the results of my first attempt are not quite as lovely as those in the market, I was fairly proud of the results. For those of you that are curious about how such a thing is done, here is a quick tutorial:

Step 1: I didn't think of documenting my trial through photographs until AFTER I had cut the skin off. So here is my skinned pineapple, eyes still intact.

Step 2: Cutting along the diagonal to get all the eyes in one row.

Step 3: Making sure to cut at an angle to maximize on the amount of pineapple that's left in my final product.

Step 4: Tada! Okay so there are still some little bits left. My perfectionistic juices just weren't flowing that night. Still, I'm proud of my fruit.

But enough about fruit. As promised, here is the newest profile of one of my students:

Sary is 24 and going to school to be a kindergarten teacher. She's really sweet, and has taught me all kinds of traditional Khmer beliefs. Like, did you know that crabs bite women more than men? They especially like pregnant women because, "The crabs want to kill the baby." I had no idea crabs were so malicious! And Sary is also the student that taught me about "coining", which is a traditional Asian home remedy for sickness. If I understand her correctly, it involves heating coins and rubbing them on your body. She has come to class more than once with marks on her from a rather painful "coining" the night before.

Sary's ancestry is partly Khmer and partly Vietnamese. (that's significant, because Cambodians don't typically love the Vietnamese). When I asked her if she spoke any Vietnamese, she said, "Little, little." (a common Cambodian response). The province she is from is near the Vietnam border, so I think I actually went through it on my recent trip down the Mekong River to Vietnam.

Sary's family is Buddhist, and also strong in ancestor worship, but she has decided she thinks Christian beliefs make more sense to her. She told me this week that her parents are relatively supportive of her difference in faith. (As in, they haven't kicked her out of the home.) But her aunts and uncles do not like it at all. When the family performs ceremonies to pray and offer gifts to their ancestors, Sary has told them she will not participate, because she doens't believe her great grandparents can hear her. Sary's aunts and uncles are terrified that Sary's rebellion will anger their ancestors and bring misfortune on the whole family. I'm so proud of Sary and her strong conviction. She told me she wants to tell her mom and dad about Jesus and the God of the Bible, but she doesn't know how. I'm trying to help her have a solid foundation of the Bible so she will be able to explain things to them more effectively.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

I realized today that I still hadn't shown you all pictures of my other adopted baby, Jasmine!

Here she is on a dining room chair:

And here is a picture of her taking advantage of laundry day to slip into a tear in the mattress cover:This is her with Kenny. Aren't they cute? And so innocent...looking....

Mostly, Jasmine is the quieter, more docile of the two kitties. However, I did have a mild scare with her a few weeks ago when she snuck out without me seeing her.

I'm still not sure how she got out. One day I couldn't find her anywhere in the house and was starting to worry. Jasmine is an adept hider, though, and can cram herself behind the entertainment center better than one would think. But somehow, I had a feeling that this time she really WASN'T inside the house.

After spending a good deal of time searching all of her usual hide-outs, I happened to casually glance out the kitchen window as I walked by. Wouldn't you know it, there was Jasmine walking around in the backyard! Except, the only problem is that it's not MY backyard. Technically, it's the neighbors, and I don't have access to it from the house.

Frantic, I opened the window and called to Jasmine, hoping she'd decide to repent of her wanderings and come home. Unfortunately that did not happen. To make matters worse, the open window proved to be too much of a temptation for Kenny and before I could grab him, he'd jumped out as well!

Distraught, I began desperately weighing my options. The bars on the open window made my jumping out highly implausible, so I was really left with only one other option- go talk to the neighbors. No big deal, right? Well, not when your neighbors speak the same language as you, it's not. But mine don't speak English. Not at all. However, I was not about to lose these cats to a silly linguistic barrier.

So I marched myself over to the neighbor's gate and began using basically every word in my limited Khmer vocabulary. "Excuse me....I need...ummm...I don't have...ummm....Can I...." At this point I am thinking "Why oh why don't I know the word for cat?!" But I took theatre in junior high and I'm a very resourceful person. So, I channeled every ounce of creative energy that I have and delivered what I consider to be a fairly decent cat impersonation- complete with sound effects and using my fingers for little pointy ears!

While I'm SURE I was the topic of a rather comical dinner conversation that night, my miming worked well enough to get me access to the backyard so I could look for my lost felines.

I wish I could tell you that I found Kenny and Jasmine right away. But I didn't. Nope.I had to endure climbing through a dark and dank abandoned basement with bats flying at my face for at least another 15 minutes before I finally gave up and went home.

When I walked into the house, though, I was warmly greeted by Kenny, who had decided to jump back into the window sometime during my absence! Jasmine would follow several hours later, after I had spent a full day giving myself a stomach ulcer over her departure.

Needless to say, heightened security measures have been taken since this breach.

**I know I said I would profile a student in each post. But I need to get some more info before I'm ready to do that. Sorry for the delay!