I set off shortly after my last entry to meet my new host family in Battambang. After a 6 hour bus ride full of Khmer Dance videos and stand up comedy (ie: pure torture) I arrived in the small district town where I will live for my 2 year service. At first glance the town is nothing special. It consists of one main road with various restaurants, shops, homes, a market, hospital, and school. Pretty standard. The real selling point was once I met my host family.
They are fantastic. Most host parents are in their late 50's-early 60's and have 4 children all of whom are married with their own children. The youngest daughter and her husband and 3 year old live with us, but all of the kids hang out there in the evenings. The family owns a restaurant (a rather nice one) that the kids run. There were a few things that really sold me on them:
1) In the evenings my host mother, sisters, and neighbors get together and do Khmer dance aerobics in the front yard. To truly understand how great this is you have to know two things, first Khmer people do not really exercise and second khmer dance generally involves nothing by flashy hand movements. Put this combination together with sweet glorified pajamas and a boom box blasting Hotel California and you have MAGIC.
2) I was sitting under the covered area next to the house with my host brother-in-law on my first night when out of the blue he reached over and slapped my ankle. This was weird since it was out of the blue slapping, since we didn't really know each other, and because men here do not touch women that are not their wives or family. I was confused until I looked down and realized that he had slapped a mosquito that was biting my ankle. It's nice to see that they very literally have my back.
3) In the morning I went to the family restaurant and they brought out my favorite breakfast without me even having to order.
More later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I would very much like to see a small video clip of dance/aerobics. Oh pretty please!
ReplyDeleteCare package will be the way by week's end. We love you!
That's fantastic. I think a good host family is what really makes the experience fantastic. Do you have to sleep with mosquito netting or are they not that bad yet?
ReplyDeleteI can imagine your Cambodian family and your USA family gettin' along JUST FINE!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Barb
Hi Meghan!
ReplyDeleteBoy, dancing to Hotel California in silk pajamas with flashy hand movements sounds like my cup of tea! I want to do this, too! Probably why I'm drawn to this: when I was in kindergarten I was "kicked out" of beginning ballet because I wasn't taking it "seriously" enough and "ballet dancers shouldn't be acting like Carol Burnett". I've never lived it down.
And what luck that you live with a family who owns a restaurant! And they served you your favorite breakfast. Did they know about you or was it just serendipity? And they are covering your behind, so to speak, with the bugs. Sounds like they are a caring and fun-loving and perhaps mind-reading (the breakfast thing) family. I am so happy for you that you are with this group of people. Take care and prayers sent your way every single day.
P.S. Are you actually in the city of Battambang or in a little town in the province of said city?
"Aerobics" to Hotel California. I like this take on exercise.
ReplyDelete