My Cambodian Grandmother

During the Vipassana course, there were over 70 women participating, with a vast majority being elderly Cambodian nationals. One woman particularly stood out to me during the 10 days. Even though we were not allowed to talk to or make any sort of contact with one another, I would notice her walking or at meal time. I couldn't tell you what it was. She was just so cute and happy! I was just drawn to her like the force of gravity. Sometimes you have that kind of connection with people, without exchanging a single word.

On the 10th and final day when we were allowed to talk, to my surprise, she was the first person to come up and start a conversation. She didn't speak a word of English. She held my arm and it was the first human touch I had received in the past 9 days. The only thing I could do was smile, bowing and thanking her for her kind attention towards me. As I left, I was so touched that I wanted to do something nice for her. We were taking the same bus back to Siem Reap the next day, so I thought of perhaps buying her ticket for her. 

She quickly outmatched me in thoughtfulness.

That same day during dinner, she again caught me by the arm, this time pulling me into her chair. As I sat down, she reached into her pocket and pulled out 10 US dollars and 1000 Cambodian Riels. She placed it in my hand and was adamant that I take it. Her generosity brought be to tears. In turn, I gave her one of the bracelets I was wearing from Korea as something to remember me by.

The next day we were on the same bus headed to Siem Reap along with others from our course. During every break she would buy me a snacks.  She even ordered and paid for my lunch.  She was taking such good care of me. And why? I was a stranger from a different land, with a different language, and in a different place in my life. Yet I think she felt the same unexplainable connection to me as I did to her. It's love, really. And that kind of generosity and compassion she shared with me is something I hope to cultivate in myself. I don't even really know her name, but she is someone who I admire so much and certainly someone I will never forget.

I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Vipassana Meditation

At Dhamma Laṭṭhikā, in the Vipassana Center in Battambang, Cambodia.

It was only recently that I took my Vipassana Meditation course, but I already know that it has made a tangible impact on my life. 

There is a part of me that is constantly thinking about how to live a peaceful, happy, moral, and loving life. And over the years I have accumulated ideas and found personal truths of how to live as such.  But the ideas and philosophies are all understood at an intellectual level, which is important-- but it's not real knowing. After taking the course, I now feel like I have another practical tool to help align my values with how I live my daily life.

Vipassana meditation is a technique in which you unlearn the habit patterns in the mind which cause suffering. Through the observation of the sensations on your body and observation of your reactions to them, a person learns the true nature about reality and oneself. Vipassana literally means "to see things as they really are."

the day I left the course

 

Vipassana is a 10 day progressive course where participants live remotely on site. It can be practiced universally, no matter what race, religion, or background a person may come from.  Courses are offered all around the world and there are no charges for anything, not even food or accommodations. All expenses are met by donations of people who have taken the course previously. For more information or to apply, you can visit their website at http://www.dhamma.org/en/.

Ariving in Siem Reap

I took the long and arduous journey from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Battambang, Cambodia for my Vipassana Meditation course. It was not easy.

Step 1: Take an overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. (12 hours)

Chiang Mai Train Station

The seats were actually quite comfortable!

Step 2: Take a taxi to Bangkok Bus Station. (20 min)

Step 3: Take direct bus from Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Try to avoid being scammed as much as possible at the border crossing. (8 hours)

With my tag, identifying my as a foreigner crossing the border.

Step 4: Arrive in Siem Reap late at night and stay overnight in a hostel.

At dusk, my first view of Siem Reap.

Step 5: Take bus from Siem Reap to Battambang. (5-6 hours)

Step 6: Take tuk tuk to Vipassana Center. (30 min)

I was straight up traveling for two days. No one ever shows pictures about how tiring it can be traveling from one place to another, but it is! Especially when you're on a budget. Luckily I made it just in time to Battambang. And the entire journey was worth the experience that was to come over the next 10 days.

Thai Orchid Cookery School

Before leaving Chiang Mai, I spent the last day at Thai Orchid Cookery School learning how to cook! This was way, so much, too, too fun. Not only are you learning a skill and creating something with your own hands... you get to eat it after! There is something so satisfying about that.

Now I have VERY little experience cooking, but  taking the one day class made the process seem much less daunting. Having someone show you step by step is so much better than trying to figure it out from a book.

At Thai Orchid, you choose 5 dishes to create: an appetizer, a soup, a stir fry dish, a curry, and a dessert. I started with Chicken Satay as my appetizer.

We marinated the meat with curry paste, salt, pepper, coconut cream, oil and condensed milk.

Chicken Satay after grilling. We made the sauce and side salad from scratch too.

For the soup I made Tom Kah Gai, or chicken in coconut milk.

kaffir lime leafs, so potent!

to release the flavor, you need to tear the stem out of the middle

chopped up all the veggies

I thought these straw mushrooms were so cool!
The stem and cap are actually hidden inside!

The ingredients are then put into a coconut cream base.

Tom Kha Gai

Next, we took a break from cooking/eating and visited a local outdoor market to learn more about the produce and ingredients we were using.

Ingredients for the soup I made can actually be bought in a fresh bundle per serving.

Thai food uses 3 different kinds of ginger.

And even more types of rice!

fresh coconut cream, straight from a coconut.
So many of the recipes had coconut cream as an ingredient.

Fruits I'd never seen before.

When we came back to the school, it was time to make our stir fry dish. I chose to make Pad Thai.

5 ingredients for 5 different tastes. Fish sauce,  palm sugar, curry paste, tamarind paste, and ground peanuts.

The amount of each ingredient you put in depends on your taste.
I like sweet and salty, with minimal spice.

Assemble all the ingredients together and heat in a wok accordingly.

Pad Thai

For the curry dish I choose Yellow Curry with Chicken, the least spicy one. (I'm a wimp when it comes to spice).

We made the curry paste from scratch!

We even had the experience of grinding it all together,
 though it's just fine to buy the curry pre-made from the store.

Yellow Curry with chicken and potatoes.

And for dessert, super easy Mango Sticky Rice. Just steam the rice and mix the cream in!

This was a great experience that I would highly recommend to everyone. The school made cooking easy, super fun, and accessible. They give you a book with all the recipes at the end and I have real confidence that I'll be able to make these dishes at home! 

Sharing our creations together! I'm no longer a cooking n00b.

Graduation Dinner

That evening our class went out together to celebrate the end of our course. We went to a restaurant that showcased different traditional dances throughout dinner.

performers in traditional clothing

umbrella dance

Ok, really I was just taking pictures of this cute girl taking pictures. #imacreeper

When the dinner and the performances were over, we were permitted to go upstairs into the building where they kept tons of different Thai Antiques.  I got some awesome pictures this night.

 

dried flower

 

 

Super intricate wood carving! HOW?! Human beings are so creative and talented.

 

 

And just like that it was time to say goodbye to everyone, probably knowing it would be the last time  I would ever see these people again. Even Dot said a quick goodbye and promptly rode off on her bicycle. Traveling is hard sometimes.

Graduation at Sunshine Massage School

Ms. Dot showing us her dancing skills. She used to be a professional traditional dancer.

I spent two weeks learning and practicing at Sunshine Massage School, but before we could receive our completion certificate we had to memorize and give a two hour full body Thai massage as a final exam. 

During the final exam, we were paired up randomly and timed.

Our teacher was watching our every move...

Then we switched giver/receiver roles in the afternoon.

It was a tough exam, but we all passed!

Our class <3 What a mixture of lovely people, coming from 7 different countries to learn Thai Massage.

Dot held a simple graduation ceremony for us, where she gave us our certificates and blessings. It was a beautiful time, our class had really grown close over the past two weeks.

Giving me a baci

Giving me some metta

Our class then surprised her with a bouquet of chocolate flowers, since she LOVES chocolate. As well as being so experienced, Dot was incredibly funny and adorable. I felt a real connection with her and will miss her so much.

seriously adorable!

Me and Dot, and a bag of tangerines since it was also Chinese New Years

WAHOO!

 

This is just the beginning, the real journey begins once I start practicing!