Tis the Season!

While those of you in the states are busy baking pies, cooking turkeys and starting on Christmas prepartions, we in Cambodia are just drying out from rainy season! If you are an international news watcher, you probably saw there was a "tropical depression" sitting over Vietnam for about a week. They got heavy flooding in Hanoi....and we did too! It was definitly not as bad here, but rainy season lasted about 2 weeks longer than it should have. On some roads, it feels like I"m riding through layers of melted chocolate! It hasn't rained in the past 2 days so I'm hoping the rain is done and the roads will start to dry. The cool weather (high 70s to mid 80s) has finally arrived...it feels good to grab a jacket in the evenings!

This is also the season for weddings and special ceremonies. On any given day, I can see at least 2 weddings and 5 pagoda fundraisers (hence the confusion in the story below) in my village. My host mother told me they will go to 30 or more weddings this month! I went to my friend Duong's wedding early last week and had a great time spraying silly string and getting all dressed up!

After the big religious holiday, Pchum Ben, at the end of October, there is a special time of fundraiser ceremonies for the pagodas. Families will hold what is called a "Bon Kathen" at their house or a pagoda. People who are invited give gifts of $1-$3 along with incense and candles for the family to take to the pagoda. It's a way for Buddhists to gain blessings by assisting the works of the pagoda. The other night I was invited to a teacher's ceremony at her house. My co teacher drew a little map for me, I got dressed up and set off. I saw a ceremony on the road where I was supposed to go so stopped and went in, gave my money, sat down to eat.....and then realized I was at the wrong house!!! Probably one of my most embarrassing moments.....the family was so nice and new I was confused though no one said anything. I finished up, got on my bike and coninuted on to the correct ceremony....which was another 1/2 kilometer down an awful road....ankle deep mud awful. By the time I got home, I was tired, dirty, and royally embrrassed. My host mom was delighted to see me though....she had been scared the whole time that I would fall in the mud on my bike. I had a few close calls but made it home with only dirty feet and wounded pride. I called a friend to share my embarrassment and laugh it off.....his comment after a good laugh "hey....at least you got a double dose of good karma." :) And that's how I will forever remember that night....not an embrrassing mix up but "double karma night."