Week Five: Sunday near Christmas -- December 27

December 27, 2009

We went to the village where Ming lives. She was the housekeeper for Daniel and Kristin’s friends from Australia. And her niece, GumLee, was ready to ride along with us to go home to visit for the day along with the baby she was caring for and her friend. We drove in our rented car for an hour or so, out of the city and into the dry, dry countryside. We came to the blue gate in front of the blue house on tall posts that was Ming’s.

The vibrancy here spun around Kristin and Ming. Ming shared tears of joy, and sorrow. With her ability to understand Khmer, Kristin received Ming’s worries about her daughter who is ill and living in Viet Nam. She smiled when Ming showed huge baskets of rice, just harvested by Ming alone, since she is a widow. Kristin helped us negotiate where to sit, knowing that my old back would not handle sitting cross legged on the eating platform for a whole meal. Kristin did not need to say much. Her voice quiet, she nodded, smiled, made small moan. And we were connected. Daniel, with grace, took photos and smiled at small children.

Such hospitality! Though our Phnom Penh driver seemed a bit apologetic of the plastic chairs we were offered, and was quick to try to brush them off, my sense was of being treated as a honored guests. Ming managed the several generations of women and girls who were going in and out of her kitchen as they brought beautiful platter after platter – of beef and vegetables, fish soup, rice, white with black speckled dragon fruit and deep orange papaya. We were the central event in the life of this village of women and children, and though I could not speak a word, showing off babies, being given the tour of each woman’s home, and watching a special dish being prepared were all known rituals for rural visiting. The vibrant faces glow from the photos and in the memory of my heart.