Khmer New Year reminds me of American 4th of July.
The first day we woke up to fireworks (literally at the
crack of dawn): cherry bombs, ones that make ridiculous noises and ones that
just go “pop.” We relaxed all day, celebrating the holiday with food and rest.
When the night came, we enjoyed a barbeque with the extended family of our
contact, Vuthy. We danced to Khmer traditional songs, and had Roman candle
wars.
The next day we continued our celebration by a day trip to
the nearby lake. Vuthy calls it his “New Zealand.” This is what the day looked,
felt, and sounded like:
members of Citizens of Hope hopped on board what appeared to be a simple
trailer hitched to a Honda motorbike. The cart was a familiar vehicle of transportation
(we had already taken one to the market the week before). However, with more
passengers and a bumpier road ahead, my mind quickly imagined that I was on an
amusement ride at Disney Land.
“All persons must be 36″ tall to ride this ride”
“No pregnant women or persons with previous back pain”
“Please keep all arms and legs inside the cart at all times”
Similar to the Indiana
Jones ride, there were many bumps (some of which shook your insides), lots
of dirt flying up, and potholes everywhere. We passed rice fields, mud fields,
and dry fields. Many motorbikes surrounded the cart, honking their horns for
pleasure or for passing. We all had the same destination in mind: the lake.
The closer we got, the bumpier the ride. Soon we overcame
the hill and cheers from the cart erupted, “whoooo!!!” (Who isn’t excited for a
day at the lake?!)
The day consisted of worship, water games, swimming “tag”,
lunch of rice and chicken, and even an afternoon paddle ride in a canoe made
out of a palm tree.
As it came time to leave I could not help but notice a
little girl in our group fill up used water bottles with lake water. My first
thought was, “No! I hope she isn’t so desperate that she has to hoard lake
water to quench her thirst!” At
least 30 water bottles were gathered. This is when I noticed an older girl
begin to punch holes in the lids.
It dawned on me. Cambodians love water fights so why not have
one on the Indiana Jones ride home?
As soon as our cart set off the water fight began, not
amongst our own but with every cart that passed!! Once there was even traffic
because of a stopped caravan that attacked with water every vehicle on the
road!
At this point, I’m glad we have our own ammo, and the water
felt great… it was hot out.
There is nothing like an Indiana
Jones rides to and from the lake through the back roads of Cambodia.
What a life.
