On sequins and how to set proper expectations for the Cambodian cinema.

Dear Friends and Family, 
Cambodian Weddings… been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. Well, it is not so much a tee-shirt as it is an excessively embroidered, gaudy, superfluously sequined shirt. Think I am exaggerating? Take a look at the pictures below. I am wearing a traditional Cambodian dress. The shirt and the skirt are separate. You wear a brightly coloured shirt for weddings, and a white shirt for funerals. Nowadays most young woman prefer to wear more trendy or “sexy” dresses to wedding receptions, however, Jenna and I thought it would be fun to dress up in traditional clothes. I was even convinced to buy a pair of shiny gold shoes to go along with the dress. By that point, it was go big or go home.

Galuh (another MCC volunteer and I)  went and did our hair and makeup with the girls at the Mennonite Student Dorm (some of you may remember that we stayed at the dorm for a couple of weeks during orientation in september). It was one of the members of the Mennonite Church getting married, so the girls were all going, and that is how I was invited. It was so much fun to hang out with the girls for the afternoon! I haven’t seen most of them in so long. They did a great job with my hair, though I’m not sure they’ve had much experience doing makeup for foreigners; I don’t know what they put on my skin, but it made me so pale that I looked like I’d just spent two years in a library in the Canadian arctic. This wedding reception was thankfully indoors, not in one of those tents they set up in the middle of the street. The music was pretty good compared to many wedding I have heard from a distance. After the food and the briefest wedding speeches I have ever heard, the bouquet was tossed and the music began in earnest! It was not long before I was dragged up to join in the dancing. It was quite fun actually, and since the same 8-16 beat pattern is repeated for the whole 10 minute song, it is quite easy to catch on to the moves though I was hardly graceful.  

Now, living here in Cambodia, I have come accepted that there are certain things I have to give up, sacrifice, or live without, and I am OK with that. However, every once in a while it is nice to enjoy something from home (a good slice of pizza for example). When I found out that Les Miserables was going to be playing in theatres in Phnom Penh the same weekend as we wedding, I was unbelievably excited. I have been waiting for the movie to come out for years! My sister and I read the entire 1200 pp book out loud together, and soon became fans of the musical, listening to the soundtrack on youtube. I know all the songs by heart and was so excited to see it in theatres that nothing could ruin it for me! At least, that is what I thought. Before I begin this narrative, know that I had one night, and one night only where it was possible for me to get out and see the movie with Jenna and Galuh. First of all, we forgot to double check the showtimes and had to rush out the door, running breathless into the theatre 5 minutes into the movie. But we were there. The first half hour was fabulous. And then, right as Anne Hathaway began her heartrending song “I dreamed a dream” the picture cut out for 20 seconds. We were left with the music and Khmer subtitles on a black screen. And then it happened again… and again. And the music started cutting out too and only the Khmer subtitles kept flashing across the screen. They kept apologizing and even gave us all free coke, but an hour into the movie they gave up trying to fix the problem, and gave us all a full refund, which is all great, unless this is your one and only chance to see the movie before heading back to the province. I remembered seeing that Les Miserables was showing at another theatre across town a bit later in the evening. As we purchased our tickets the man at the counter informed us that it started half an hour previously. He was noticeably confused when we said “that’s fine!”. It turns out we had better seats, there were no subtitles, and the sound was better at this theatre (so long as you ignored the explosions from the movie next door). However, it was hard to really relax and enjoy it, not to mention that I was getting hungry, thirsty, and tired at this point. When I get home to Canada, it is the first movie I’m going to watch on my parent’s TV (complete with surround sound and fresh made popcorn).

Finally, you may be wondering by now what I’m going to be doing next year since my time in Cambodia is nearly half over. Some of you know that I had been hoping to stay in Cambodia for another year working for MCC and helping out at ODOV. Things have been going so well here, and I feeling like I could most effectively continue to help people by staying in this town. However, I have recently found out that, for many reasons, it is not possible for me to stay with MCC. I am sure that since God has closed this door that he will open another one. I am sad that I won’t be able to stay here- people have already been saying they are going to miss me, and I know for sure that I will miss them. But I am trusting that God will show me where he wants me to go and what he wants me to do next year. I was feeling rather confused and unsure about it all, when I got an email from my grandmother this morning. Knowing nothing yet of these recent developments, the verse she shared with me was remarkably fitting and just what I needed to hear.

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as  
you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of  
the Holy Spirit."

Yours, 

Rebecca

The four MCC volunteers: Humberto, Warren, me, and Galuh... and on the left our photo-bombing friend Rota! 

To give you an idea what the party was like... this is a group of girls from the Mennonite student dorm. We all sat at round tables, and the food was placed on a swiveling centre. You take the food you want with chopsticks and put it in your bowl, and as one dish is finished, a new one is added. 

Dancing! Apparently I didn't know a photo was being taken. Often we danced with a partner (in this song  they were standing opposite to us), but it was mostly girls with girls and guys with guys. We had some very patient teachers!