Changing Landscape

Hills in Kep Province

Most of Cambodia is flat as a pancake but there are a few areas with some different topography.  This morning, coming back from Kep Province in the south, we went through an area with a few of these little hills (we would call them “knobs” in Kentucky).  We passed through them for a space of five or ten miles and then all was flat again.  They may be part of a small range of “mountains” near the southern coast on the Gulf of Thailand.  The hills there are small in extent and also in height.  The highest peak in Cambodia is about 3,000 feet.

Wedding in Kep

This weekend I had a wedding in the coastal town of Kep. It’s unusual because the wedding took place on a hotel beach front. Normally church rules allow weddings only in church buildings but because there is no church in Kep (the nearest parish church is 35 km away), the bishop allowed this wedding outside.

Sunday

Wedding in Kep

The bride was born in Burma and her family now lives in California.  The groom is from Canada.  Both of them work now in Cambodia and wanted their families and friends to have an opportunity to see some of Cambodia’s beauty as well as attend the wedding.  This afternoon we gathered on the hotel lawn for a rehearsal for the ceremony to take place tomorrow.

 

Wedding in Kep

After the rehearsal some of the wedding party lingered on the beachfront as the sun set.

Monday

Wedding in Kep

The wedding was at 2:30 PM so I was free in the morning.  One task I had was to pick up the marriage registry, the book where the marriage records are kept.  It is kept in the parish church in Kampot and I really didn’t want to ride 35 kilometers there to get if I didn’t have to.  Luckily, the pastor there was able to arrange for someone to drop it off at the Don Bosco School in Kep yesterday and I went to the school this morning to get it.  This picture is of some of the students there preparing Philippines-style Christmas decorations.

 

Wedding in Kep

Setting up chairs and an altar for the wedding ceremony.

 

Wedding in Kep

Preparing for dinner after the ceremony.

 

Wedding in Kep

The bride and groom going to the pavilion for serving the cake.

Decorating Party at Maryknoll Sisters’ House

One of the traditions of the Maryknoll community in Cambodia is gathering each year to set up the Christmas decorations at the Maryknoll Sisters’ house.  This year it happened on Friday, 16 December.

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Usually some of the first-comers start decorating Christmas cookies.  L-R: James Havey, Sami Scott, Bob Wynne, and Olga Pacumbaba.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Eating pizza in the front room are Charles McCarthy, Mara Rutten, and Karen Bortvedt.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Eating in the dining room are (Clockwise): Helen O’Sullivan (green blouse), Dee Dungy, James Havey, Bob Wynne, Luise Ahrens, Len Montiel, and Olga Pacumbaba, with Ann Sherman hidden in the corner.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Sr. Luise Ahrens showed Mara Rutten and Karen Bortvedt the sash that came with being honored by the government for her many years of service to the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Then it was time for Christmas carols.  L-R: Sami Scott with the flute, Mara Rutten with the guitar, Luise Ahrens, Ann Sherman, Bob Wynne, Russ Brine, Kevin Conroy, and Mary Little.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Singing in the dining room are Olga Pacumbaba, Len Montiel, Helene O’Sullivan, Dee Dungy, and James Havey.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

At the other end of the living room: Kevin Conroy, Mary Little, Karen Bortvedt, Sami Scott, and Mara Rutten.

 

Christmas at Maryknoll Sisters'

Adding to the Christmas spirit with their singing are: Ann Sherman, Bob Wynne, and Russ Brine, our newest addition to the Maryknoll Cambodia Mission Team.  Missing tonight was Maria Montello who is in the United States.

Sunday at DCC

dcc-1

One of the worst aspects of deafness is isolation, not being part of all that is going on around you, even in your own family.  That creates great interest among deaf people for getting together whenever they can.  The Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme has a Deaf Community Center (DCC) in Phnom Penh and in Kampot and Kampong Cham Provinces and they are open on Saturday and Sunday for deaf people to drop in and play games or participate in various activities.  This group is playing dominoes.

 

dcc-2

Inside the center this group is playing Uno.

Salesian Girls Vocational Training Center: Christmas Bazaar

The Salesian Vocational Training Center for Girls in Phnom Penh has an annual Christmas Bazaar. It is partly a fund-raising activity and partly an opportunity for the young women to plan and put together a group project.

Salesian Christmas bazaar

These young women are offering one of the many food selections available at the stalls set up in the school’s courtyard.

 

Salesian Christmas bazaar

These girls were making all kinds of fruit drinks.

 

Salesian Christmas bazaar

Sugar cane juice is a very popular drink Cambodia but someone has to scrape the bark off the canes.

 

Salesian Christmas bazaar

Here is the dining area where people go after visiting the different food stalls.

 

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This little girl is waiting for the afternoon performance to begin.

Topics: Raincoats

Climate change may be a matter of debate in some circles but not in Cambodia. When I first came almost seventeen years ago, it was common wisdom that the rainy season started in May and ended at the end of September or early October. Then a few years ago I noticed it seemed to be raining later, even into late October and November. This year it’s still raining today, 14 December.

Selling disposable raincoats

Cambodian people are not known for critical thinking and planning ahead.  Even in the rainy season, when it’s almost certain that it’s going to rain, many people are out without a raincoat.  Some forget them.  Many just can’t be bothered or figure the rain will stop before they leave work.  For those who get caught, cheap disposable plastic raincoats (the multicolored packages in the upper right of the photo above) are available for about 35¢.  This mobile hawker of food has some available on his cart, and the gathering of clouds brings out numerous offerings of the raincoats stuck on poles, hung from overhangs, canopies, etc., in many of the shops along most streets.

 

Selling disposable raincoats

Selling disposable raincoats

Selling disposable raincoats

Name that fruit…

Fruit in large tubs

I have mentioned before that when the weather is always the same, it’s hard to keep track of the seasons without external markers like sports seasons, etc.  One help to identifying seasons in Cambodia is to notice what fruits are being sold on the streets.  Some only bloom at certain times of the year.  Today I passed quite a few people selling these black round fruits, here sitting in tubs of water.  They look like mangosteens but these are black.  I have no idea what they are.

CCAMH 25th Anniversary

Center for Children and Adolescent Mental Health

On 9 December 2016 the Caritas Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health celebrated their 25th anniversary.  Started and directed by Dr. Bhoomikhumar Jegannathan, it is the only mental health facility for children in the country and has done wonderful work.

 

Center for Children and Adolescent Mental Health

Every ceremony in Cambodia starts with a blessing dance.  What was unusual this day was having dancers in wheelchairs.  Just as young girls in the United States dream of being a cheerleader, so young girls in Cambodia want to be an apsara dancer but that is not an option for most young women with disabilities.  These women are fortunate to be connected to the Jesuit program for disabilities in Battambang Province.

 

Center for Children and Adolescent Mental Health

Bishop Kike, the head of Caritas Cambodia, speaks to a young woman who has participated in the church’s program for people with disabilities.

 

ccamh-4

After the not-too-long presentations, all the guests and the children at the center with their parents were invited to a lunch served in the center’s well-designed center courtyard.

“Soft and Safety”?

Helmet with a crack

Today I was riding on a motordupe (a motorcycle taxi) and my driver had on this helmet.  Notice the crack that run from front to back of the helmet!  And the wire holding the two sides together.  That’s not a problem in Cambodia.  And notice the label, a bit difficult to read because the crack runs through it:  “Soft and Safety.”  Why would a helmet be advertised as “soft?”  I want mine to be hard and sturdy!