SEE-SA-DAI! That means hello/hi in Khmer (one of the few words we know).
After our lavish stay at the hotel in Battambang, we drove less than 10 minutes outside of the city to the Street Families Center. The scenery changed drastically within those few minutes from nice hotels and paved roads, to wooden houses on stilts to dirt roads. We recieved loads of loud “HELLO’s” from little children that were playing near the road. When we arrived at the Street Families Center (PTD), we were greeted with great accomodations (comfy matresses!!). We started our volunteer work right away at the center, we were to build a new fence for the perimeter of the property. First, we had to destroy the old fence made of bamboo (we had fun with that!) Within two days, the first fence we had to build was completed and it was onto the next which only took two days as well. When you have 12 hands working on projects, work is speedy!!
On a free night at the center, Mr. Sandara (a long term volunteer at PTD) brought us to a children’s circus down the road. The children who are part of the circus go to a performing arts school here in Battambang. The students are very poor, some orphans, who come to this school to channel their energies into juggling, clowning, and acrobatics while raising awareness for HIV/AIDS and child rights. The circus act tours around the world, currently in France, Japan, Korea, and New York City in 2013…start buying your tickets!!! The circus was AMAZING to say the least. Flying, flipping, and fun!!
There is a school at the PTD center for younger kids, with a morning class and an afternoon class. We have all been switching off going into the classroom at the center and helping out by teaching english to the students. The children are so cute and happy although they do not have much. It is inspiring to see them want to learn! We help out with pronunciation or even play with playdoe during break time spelling out our names and other english words.
Last night we all had Dengue Fever…
THE BAND, OF COURSE!! Dengue Fever is a band, whose lead singer is from Cambodia, while the other members are from Los Angeles, California. They’re a very eclectic group of people! They had a free concert in the heart of Battambang in the streets so we went for Josie’s 19th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSIE!! The music was cool and hip and fun to dance to, we had a great time eating cotton candy, drinking sugar cane juice (if you haven’t had it, I suggest you try it), and dancing around to the music under the Cambodian moonlit evening.
We are off to Penom Penh tomorrow morning! We leave around 9:30 am and have a 7-8 hour bus ride ahead of us! Today we are in the city of Battambang and we have already planned what food we will be bringing on that long ride: BAGUETTES AND PEANUT BUTTER. Who is excited for this bus ride? I KNOW I AM!
(Cambodia has baguette food carts everywhere because of the French influence)…we love us some bread.
Until next time!
xoxo Tangley
Trivia by Anna:
Phnom” is the Khmer word for “hill”. Built on a hill near the Mekong River, Phnom Penh is so named because it was developed from a small monastery which had been built there in 1372 by a rich Khmer woman named Penh. Phnom Penh literally means “Penh’s Hill” and became the country’s capital about 64 years after the monastery was built.
Cambodians, for the most part, are practitioners of Theravada Buddhism. This practice was abandoned during the Khmer Rouge era as they were anti-religion, like other Communist regimes.
Cambodians celebrate their Independence Day on the 9th of November. 10th of October is the Chinese national day, while the 4th of July is America’s Independence Day. 31st December is, of course, New Year’s Eve.
During a traditional Cambodian wedding, the groom and bride are tied at the wrists to each other with which colour thread?
They use red coloured thread, which is often soaked in holy water. Red is the colour of happiness in many Asian cultures. A Buddhist priest would preside over the ceremony and a candle would be passed around by married guests as a way of blessing the newly wed couple.