Happy Independence Day!

November 11, 2013 - 70th Anniversary

Cambodia in Holidays: Constitution Day

On September 24th, the Kingdom of Cambodia celebrated their 10thConstitution Day, marking the late King Norodom Sihanouk’s signing of the Cambodian Constitution as well as his re-coronation as king of Cambodia’s newly formed Constitutional Monarchy on September 24th, 1993.

As part of the Paris Peace Accords of 1991, the United Nations stepped in to civil-war torn Cambodia to administer and monitor their first elections in decades. The May 1993 election ushered in a voter turnout of 89.6% of the eligible population, and Cambodia formed their first Parliament to draft and approve a new constitution.

The Preamble of this Constitution reads,

"We, the people of Cambodia, accustomed to having been an outstanding civilization, a prosperous, large, flourishing and glorious nation, with high prestige radiating like a diamond, having declined grievously during the past two decades, having gone through suffering and destruction, and having been weakened terribly,

Having awakened and resolutely rallied and determined to unite for the consolidation of national unity, the preservation and defense of Cambodia’s territory and precious sovereignty and the fine Angkor civilization, and the restoration of Cambodia into an “Island of Peace” based on multi-party liberal democratic responsibility for the nation’s future destiny of moving toward perpetual progress, development, prosperity, and glory.”

The Day's Reflection - 10 April 2013

I’ve never been in charge of my own kitchen. My family was more for take out or pre-made meals from the grocery store since all of us worked and had various other commitments. I went from there to a college with a great meal plan. Even during my semester in DC I didn’t do much cooking since my poor unpaid-intern self didn’t have money to spring for kitchen essentials, so I lived on cereal, raw fruits/vegetables, salads, pasta, and baked potatoes. From college, I entered the Peace Corps and have been living with a host family who has taken care of cooking for me. 

Next year, though, I’ll be moving from my village and my family in Svay Rieng and living alone and cooking alone in Kandal Province. Ergo, I have an urgent need to learn to cook. 

My sister has been gracious enough to provide me with cooking lessons, and she laughingly bemoans not having taught me sooner since I could have been helping pick up some slack in the household. 

Tonight we made fried eggplant with pork, and it was sublimely delicious. I really appreciate learning in this environment, but I worry that some of my newly acquired cooking skills won’t transfer well. For example, I’m pretty sure that in the States I won’t have to fend off aggressive ducks while chopping meat.

With each dish I learn, I get more and more excited to become a more independent person. However, I will miss cooking and bantering with my sister and holding the baby and letting her stir so she’ll stop crying. I dislike that my concept of independence is associated with separation from caretakers, and I’m becoming more and more attached to strong familial bonds that shape living situations in Cambodia.

The Day's Reflection - 9 April 2013

While I was growing up, my parents always enforced a Sunday afternoon nap. My brother and I hated it. I would always sneak from my room to his, being careful to sidestep the squeak in front of my parents’ door, and we would make a metropolis for his Matchbox cars in the folds of a crumpled blanket. 

Well, I’ve changed my tune. Not only do I love my Sunday afternoon naps now, but I also love my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoon naps. In fact, the whole country of Cambodia adores them. The heat is so unbearable during the noon time (and also to account for travel time by foot, bike, or motorbike) that my school breaks for a 3 hour lunch break (11am - 2pm). 

Because I opted out of buying a fan for my bedroom and I’m tired of sweating through my mattress (it reaches temperatures around 120 degrees in there in the afternoon), I now take my naps downstairs. Communal napping has become one of my favorite aspects of Khmer culture.

Today, I lay, curled up on the wooden couch that my family bought with my rent money about a year into my stay here. My father sprawled across our low-laying ‘bed,’ my sister and brother-in-law and their baby lay on their mattress in the corner where they all shared the same long pillow, and my nephew cuddled with my mother on the cool ceramic tile floor.

I drifted off to the sounds of my nephew slapping his thigh against the floor as he bounced his leg up and down and the sounds of my niece talking to the mermaid sticker in the palm of her hand.

I love having found that sleeping doesn’t need to be a lonely endeavor.