Soou-sdey from Kampuchea (Hello from Cambodia) Part Two

In other happy news we had the wonderful opportunity to witness the baptism of Bro. Rottana, and as it was the first baptism I had witnessed in Cambodia or outside of Australia for that matter, I was interested to see what local ‘flourishes’ there may be. I think that this was quiet an unusual circumstance, as it was two weeks before Khmer New Year (which goes for three days) and which many people go home to the provinces at least a week (if not two) before the event. Khmer New Year is celebrated with family and friends gathering at someone’s house in the village and then proceeding with three days of Khmer dancing, eating and then more and more and more dancing. So this event coinciding along with the birthdays of two of the dormers and the baptism it was decided that a small celebratory event was in order. This consisted of a lovely dinner of fried rice, kebab skewers of various kinds of meat, and you guessed it Khmer dancing! There was karaoke earlier in the evening (but alas such songs I have yet to master, so I could not participate), which eventually progressed into Khmer dancing. Now unlike western dancing (where often just about anything goes and is considered a ‘dance move’), Khmer dancing does appear to have set steps and hand movements which are co-ordinated with each other, and when done correctly does look amazing. However, when not done correctly, it is not so lovely to look at, and often western attempts at this style are somewhere in between these two extremes. Kerren and I were given several lessons and tutorials on the basic steps and then the accompanying co-ordinated hand movements, but I fear that I have yet to master the dance. I will admit that Daniel and Brendan were pretty good at it (Kerren and I watched the dancing rather than shocking the dormers with our attempts). Many of the dormers, both male and female are very good dancers, some have their own fantastic elaborations of the traditional steps. However, I am practicing my dancing attempts on occasion in the privacy of my own room, just in case at the next wedding, baptism, birthday or just general get together there is dancing, and as both Khmer men and women, young and old absolutely love to dance for hours at a time, I am sure that this skill will be called upon sometime in the near future.


To top off the evening we had two birthday cakes, which was a little bit of a unique event, as most Khmer people do not celebrate their birthdays this way. So the two unsuspecting birthday people Rottana and Chem were blindfolded on the pretence of a game, the lights turned off, the candles lit and the singing of happy birthday commenced much to the surprise of Rottana and Chem. Then a few pieces of cake were served and then the inevitable food fight began. Most cakes here seem to be coated in a very thick layer of fake whipped cream, which makes an ideal item to throw at someone and smear in their hair and just generally cause chaos. And this is what happened, but with much screaming and laughter in the mix there too, and with very few escaping the evening without cream on their clothing or in their ears. It was a fantastic day of joyful celebration with friends and family.

And the last departure for this month was that of Sis. Ren to Australia (she accompanied Steve and Lynne) to spend time with her fiancé Jonno and her soon to be in-laws. She is missed, but we are all so very happy for her and Jonno and this new chapter in their lives, and we all look forward to their return to Kampuchea next month and their photos from their wedding in Australia.


With much love from all your friends and family in Kampuchea,
Jess.