NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2009
Hi Everyone,
I have been here since 29th December and have only just managed to organise the internet, hence the email. Things don’t happen very quickly in Cambodia !
One of the reasons is that they love a party so any excuse is good enough to have a holiday and celebrate. They celebrate everybody’s New Year. Besides the fact that the Khmer New Year isn’t until April, we have already celebrated two. One holiday isn’t enough and they also go for a few days.
It is winter time over here and because it is also the dry season it is the season for weddings. In one month I have been to three and listened to many more in the village at long distance. The music starts at 4.00am and they love loud and I mean loud music! I have been backwards and forwards to Phnom Penh by bus five times in the last 7 weeks or so. If you ever come to visit,you must use the local bus service to get around. It is an experience in itself. The first was a Khmer/Islam wedding and the second a Khmer/Chinese wedding. Sothea, (I’ll introduce him later) was best man for both of these. I didn’t get to go to all the ceremonies, only the party at the end, so a lot of time was spent hanging around Phnom Penh waiting for the final day of celebrations. Both were very different and interesting. The third was the best of the lot. This was a traditional Khmer wedding. We all went to Kampong Cham, Sothea’s home province for his elder brother’s wedding. I got to meet all his family (so many, I lost count) and stayed at his parent’s house. Consequently, I was invited to all the ceremonies (four of them) over two days and then the grand finale, the party when every man and his dog is invited. I found it fascinating but I can understand how the royal family feel now. As the first foreigner many of the people have ever seen I was constantly stared at. When we finally left the village I was exhausted, being on show all the time. The people are lovely but I couldn’t do anything for myself. If I wanted to wash they would chuck the person out of the washing room even if they hadn’t finished! I was happy to meet all Sothea’s family as we have known him for a couple of years. He has done an agriculture degree and runs the farm. His mum and I ended up the best of mates even though we had to talk through Sothea all the time as an interpreter. The other few times were for injections, business etc.
Now, on to Kep Gardens. The farm is looking great. Lots of vegies growing and corn. I brought lots of organic seeds over with me so in the greenhouse we are growing seedlings of various vegies you find in Australia to see how they go here. The strawberry plants I brought in are doing well also. As you can see, there are no restrictions on what you can bring into the country. Had no trouble getting a business visa for a year when I arrived at the airport either so I don’t suppose they worry too much about who comes in either. The banana and coconut trees around the farm have all grown heaps and the place is looking quite tropical With hills covered in jungle on three sides it is looking a real picture. So quiet and peaceful. We have four spirit houses on the property that every eight days we feed and say prayers to with incense to appease the spirits. Cambodians are very superstitious and scared of spirits so I go along with it and have my own spirit house that I feed and look after. Trouble is, a toad lives behind one of the statues. I’d like to give it a bit of a clean up but the thought of the toad jumping on me freaks me out. I can see him but I don’t want to touch him. He jumps around the place every night so I should take the opportunity to clean it while he is having his daily constitutional.
On 24th December, the first babies were born at Kep Gardens. We have seven puppies. The mum made a nest in the tractor shed and until a few weeks ago was very protective. We couldn’t go anywhere near them. Now, there are seven little dogs running around all over the place. So cute but I nearly break my neck every day trying to avoid stepping on them. Meal time is chaos! I can hear them now having lunch, fighting with each other and generally causing mayhem. We have homes for 5 of them, want to keep one so there is one left but I have my eye on a different one than the others want to keep so maybe she will end up mine. Not that we want three dogs but I suppose we have plenty of room for them. The cat had three kittens on Wednesday. She proceeded to move them to my bed so I share with the four of them (mum included) during the night. There is a man in the market that gives animals injections to stop them getting pregnant. Not sure if it works or how it works but we have to do something or we’ll be over run. No such thing as vets over here to do the operation, at least not locally.
I really enjoy the school every afternoon. We have two classes. The first one is for the younger children who haven’t learnt any English at school and the second are older students, some who do English as a subject at school. I enjoy both classes but the second one is very exhilarating. We discuss so many topics as they are so eager to learn. Sothea translates for me to make sure they understand what I have said. I can hardly wait for all the boxes that I packed to arrive with all the teaching aids to make it more interesting for them. We have the local pagoda not far away and four, sometimes five, of the monks come to class. They come 6 days a week as this is the working and school week here with Sunday the day of rest.
Every 8 days is pray day and if you want you can go to the pagoda with food for the monks and they say prayers for you etc. The monks in the class wanted me to visit the pagoda so Sothea and I went on the most recent pray day, me on the back of the moto clutching four bowls of food. The monks I knew were happy to see us and took me around the pagoda explaining all the murals on the wall and what they meant to Buddhists. This was all done through Sothea as the monks can only speak a very few words of English, nowhere near enough to tell me the stories. Next Monday night at 9.00 pm after classes there is a big ceremony which we have been invited to. For those interested in music, there were 4 traditional instruments in one corner. Anyone is able to go in and play them and they will even give you lessons if interested. Also yesterday we were invited to a birthday party for a child in the village. Couldn’t stay long as we had classes but I guess they appreciated us going. Also went to an anniversary ceremony for a lady who died 3 years ago. It was like a memorial service really, except there was food and a party after all the monks finished their service. Got to meet a lot more of the local people there. Very interesting too.
Weather wise, I can’t remember it being as cool the last couple of years I have visited. I have never stayed at the farm before so maybe it is where it is located that cools it down. I only bought one long sleeve between seasons top with me, not expecting to wear it. I have put it on every evening and even slept in it with a cotton blanket over me as well. So if anyone is thinking of visiting and can’t handle warmer weather, December/January is the time to come. Even in the city of Phnom Penh it has been cool and quite comfortable. Although, I must admit, it is starting to warm up a bit now.
I am looking forward to Andrew arriving when we can start building, irrigating the farm etc. Gets a bit boring sitting around not doing much, although at the moment, sometimes I do some weeding or watering the vegies by hand. I have found a book exchange for English books in Kampot and have read about 10 books so far to pass the time. I am really meeting people and running the school, laying down foundations for good relations between our neighbours in the village. Went to the local coffee shop and watched boxing (which I hate) and met lots of the local villagers on Sunday. Most villages have one place where they run a TV by a generator or usually battery and it is kind of a social meeting place. Bit like a pub, not really, but sort of. Also getting to hear the stories of the families in the village. I am really on a reconnaissance mission, learning about the people and their culture, if you can ever really understand.
So good to be in touch with the rest of the world again. I’m not homesick but was feeling totally isolated. We have an old transistor radio which only seems to have local radio stations and nobody here listens to the news. I had a phone call from a Cambodian friend telling me about the horrific bushfires in Victoria and it took me another week to find out any details. Hopefully now, if we stay on air, after a couple of false starts, I can keep in touch. Also now, hopefully you’ll send me emails so I can catch up on all the gossip.
Until next time, cheers
Janine
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January 2009
