In Cambodia I will celebrate 8 new years, well 9 if you count the 1 year mark of service. 2 Jewish New Years (one down, one to go, I’ll be home in time for High Holy Day services 2012!) 2 new calendar years 2011 (check!) and 2012, 2 Chinese New Years (happy year of the rabbit!) and 2 Khmer New Years (in April, I’ll keep you posted). Lots of celebrating!
A few weeks ago my host mom started inviting people to the house for Chinese New Year and mentioning things about it to me so I knew I was in for another adventure. Tuesday afternoon the family car pulls up packed with tons of fresh fruits and veggies,fish, beef, pork, noodles…and six live chickens.
Two fires were quickly built and some of the biggest pots I’ve ever seen came out and an army of women got to work. The chickens were slaughtered and the blood boiled for a quick snack later (I passed), the fish were washed and cut into pieces, the pork and beef portioned out for soups and noodles. Everything that was being made for the next day was cooked, or at least started that day and heated up the next. All the meat and fish cooked through so it would be ok sitting over night.
At home I love this kind of meal preparations, Thanksgiving, Passover seders, that’s my jam! I love being in the kitchen with a million things going (like Passover 2010 when my Peace Corps placement officer called for an impromptu interview in the middle of making chroset! Guess I did ok) knowing a bunch of people will be over in a matter of hours. It was hard to me to watch all these women working together and not being able to help because of the language barrier and I had no idea what they were making. Eventually I was able to busy myself by preparing fruit that would go into a dessert we were making and the homesickness went away.
Wednesday morning everyone got up early and the cooking was finished. Two soups, one with pork, tofu skins, carrots, potato looking veggies and some other random things, one with fish, coconut milk, eggplant, and an almost curry like base (this is what I ate all day) stir fried rice noodles with pork, bean sprouts and green onions and then the dessert which was just sweetened agar with some coconut milk and fruit on the bottom. Tons of food!
Around 9 four monks came to the house and prayed. I swear they found the oldest monks in the WORLD to come to my house and one of them looked just like Gandhi. They laughed about me being there, asked who I was and finally put their cigs out long enough for the ceremony. As soon as they left I was free to put on jeans (yay!!) and my host parents immediately got to work setting up and elaborate table full of food and desserts, whole chickens and a pigs head and then lighting tons of incense and candles as an offering to the ancestors.
The rest of the afternoon was full of eating, fireworks, toasting a few times with my Khmer tutor and the village chief and just hanging out. It was a fun day and in true rural Cambodia fashion everyone was gone by 7:30. My Khmer tutor was telling me that my family also throws a party for Khmer New Year, and the one they threw for Pchum Ben was fun so I’m looking forward to seeing how the two new years are celebrated differently.
The rest of the week was pretty quiet with lots of people gone to celebrate the holiday, I still had work but we hardly had any patients so I got a lot of reading in. Thank you for the book suggestions!
I hope you are all staying warm back at home, it’s definitely starting to heat up again over here.
Wow, real party people! I’m glad you were able to join in. Next year, or new year you’ll be able to participate even more.
So great to talk with you and hear about all your adventures and the people you are meeting. I love you !