Yep, it took me a month to move from being happy as Joe Teacher to getting into the slow crawl up the ladder of advancement.
I swear it is not some in built desire for a name plate on a door and the expectation to wear a tie with short sleeves (shudder)
We are looking to becomae an IB school (its got some good points, very similar to the way Karyn and I were teaching our Year 7/8s in Hataitai, that should have me worried time wise already!)
Im on the group getting the Application A off and will be helping get teachers to see the possibilities in moving away from "projects"towards more transdisciplinary inquiries. (Teaching needs to lose the jargon!) lol
So it is quite exciting here at school and means any spare time in the lab is taken up with PYP reading and researching.
The TA issue is ongoing, the workload for one teacher in a room with 25 computers can be heavy as hell. at times i finish a session and sit down feeling like ive spoken to 24 kids 7 times each in a 45 min session i cant even do the math on that!
Will look at talking seriously with the boss in a week to see how the classes are going.
The pic is me on our new flash as wheels, the moto dop guys across the street seem to find it a hell of a funny when im blatting around on it.....cant think why.....?
The last few days have been the start of P'chum Ben (the Khmer festival of the Dead)
Here is a brief run down on what is happening.
The fifteenth day, of the tenth month, of the Khmer calendar marks the Pchum Ben festival. This is a time when the spirits of the dead ancestors walk the Earth. And the living can ease their suffering by offering them food to eat.
At four in the morning, nearly all of the residents of Phnom Penh gather at the temple with offerings of rice, which they toss on the ground, feeding the dead ancestors.
"Some of the ghosts have small mouths," one man explains. "So we have to use special rice."
Many of the people throw sticky rice, which, apparently is easier for the spirits to consume.
According to Buddhist beliefs, the lives that we live, after death, are predicated by the actions that we took when we were living. Minor infractions would be punished with small punishments, such as being an unattractive ghost or having a small mouth. With a small mouth, it is hard to eat. Other, more severe, punishments could include being crippled or having no mouth at all.
At 8:00 AM, people return to the temple, with offerings for the monks. "They don't just give food," explains Mey Sameth, who was a monk for seven years. "They bring money and other things as well. As a monk we looked forward to this period all year long, because we could get new clothing and good food."
At 10:00 the people return with more food, which will be shared between monks and poor people. Os many of the Buddhist traditions seem to relate to feeding the poor. Disabled people also crowd around the temple tat is hour, begging alms. To give help to the less-fortunate, particularly during Pchum Ben, is to acquire merit. Many people explained that the offerings they made during the festival were to cancel out past sins.
At four in the morning, nearly all of the residents of Phnom Penh gather at the temple with offerings of rice, which they toss on the ground, feeding the dead ancestors.
"Some of the ghosts have small mouths," one man explains. "So we have to use special rice."
Many of the people throw sticky rice, which, apparently is easier for the spirits to consume.
According to Buddhist beliefs, the lives that we live, after death, are predicated by the actions that we took when we were living. Minor infractions would be punished with small punishments, such as being an unattractive ghost or having a small mouth. With a small mouth, it is hard to eat. Other, more severe, punishments could include being crippled or having no mouth at all.
At 8:00 AM, people return to the temple, with offerings for the monks. "They don't just give food," explains Mey Sameth, who was a monk for seven years. "They bring money and other things as well. As a monk we looked forward to this period all year long, because we could get new clothing and good food."
At 10:00 the people return with more food, which will be shared between monks and poor people. Os many of the Buddhist traditions seem to relate to feeding the poor. Disabled people also crowd around the temple tat is hour, begging alms. To give help to the less-fortunate, particularly during Pchum Ben, is to acquire merit. Many people explained that the offerings they made during the festival were to cancel out past sins.
In the early morning of the last day of the Pchum Ben Festival, visitors can join the throngs at the pagodas and take photos of local people of all ages in traditional costume. Women especially, don their best traditional dress, and come wearing their silk, embroidered blouses and scarves, bearing offerings, candles and incense.
Num Onsam and sweet Num Korm (steamed cakes wrapped in banana leaves) are taken to pagodas during the festival to share among participants. Num Onsam is a kind of cylindrical cake of glutinous rice wrapped around a mixture of pork, salt and other ingredients. Num Korm is shaped like a pyramid and made of rice-flour and filled with a coconut and palm sugar mixture.
Money offered to monks goes towards the construction or renovation of temples and community development such as the construction of bridges and schools, tree planting, or as donations to needy families.
Khmers believe that fraternal feelings are fostered with the exchange of food and Num Onsam and Num Korm cakes. This ensures that visitors to any pagoda during the Pchum Ben festival will be warmly welcomed and invited to taste these cakes and enjoy the festivities.
Num Onsam and sweet Num Korm (steamed cakes wrapped in banana leaves) are taken to pagodas during the festival to share among participants. Num Onsam is a kind of cylindrical cake of glutinous rice wrapped around a mixture of pork, salt and other ingredients. Num Korm is shaped like a pyramid and made of rice-flour and filled with a coconut and palm sugar mixture.
Money offered to monks goes towards the construction or renovation of temples and community development such as the construction of bridges and schools, tree planting, or as donations to needy families.
Khmers believe that fraternal feelings are fostered with the exchange of food and Num Onsam and Num Korm cakes. This ensures that visitors to any pagoda during the Pchum Ben festival will be warmly welcomed and invited to taste these cakes and enjoy the festivities.
This final passage is revealing in how strong the beliefs are in Cambodia
The last four days of the festival were public holidays in Cambodia. Most Khmers visited the province where they were born, where they had family reunions.
In observing friends and colleagues, it was amazing to see that even people who considered themselves only marginally religious still took the Pchum Ben festival seriously. They felt a real obligation to feed their ancestors, lest their suffering should continue. Even friends who claimed to have converted to Christianity, and who attended church regularly, took time out of their schedule to make the early morning pilgrimage to the temple, and feed the ancestors.
It was as if they were saying that their choice to convert was a personal decision, but one that shouldn't be imposed on the souls who died before. Historic records show that even under the Khmer Rouge, and later under the communists, prohibitions against religious worship were unenforceable during Pchum Ben. In fact, the prohibitions were eventually lifted, with the result that high ranking Party members felt obligated to attend temple with their superiors.
The Buddhist religion is such an integral part of the Khmer culture that neither political upheaval, economic crisis, the spread of foreign religions, or the intervention of modern society will shake the fundamentals of Khmer beliefs. It is refreshing to see that, although many aspects of the Khmer culture were lost during the Regime, the Khmers have managed to maintain their religious devotion and their family-centered way of life.
In observing friends and colleagues, it was amazing to see that even people who considered themselves only marginally religious still took the Pchum Ben festival seriously. They felt a real obligation to feed their ancestors, lest their suffering should continue. Even friends who claimed to have converted to Christianity, and who attended church regularly, took time out of their schedule to make the early morning pilgrimage to the temple, and feed the ancestors.
It was as if they were saying that their choice to convert was a personal decision, but one that shouldn't be imposed on the souls who died before. Historic records show that even under the Khmer Rouge, and later under the communists, prohibitions against religious worship were unenforceable during Pchum Ben. In fact, the prohibitions were eventually lifted, with the result that high ranking Party members felt obligated to attend temple with their superiors.
The Buddhist religion is such an integral part of the Khmer culture that neither political upheaval, economic crisis, the spread of foreign religions, or the intervention of modern society will shake the fundamentals of Khmer beliefs. It is refreshing to see that, although many aspects of the Khmer culture were lost during the Regime, the Khmers have managed to maintain their religious devotion and their family-centered way of life.
May and I will be accompanying Ms Savrey and Grandma Savrey to one of the Pagodas further out from town on Sunday. (the temples/wats in the city are fairly well off, the thinking is that giving at a temple that is more isolated helps both materially and spiritually, cant argue that!)
As it is important that families go as a group to the temple, it is nice to be included in May's extended family for this festival.
Photos will follow
Photos will follow
The photo links from this site are great, from 1991 through to today
1 comment:
I can see a dark cloud and fork lightning on your horizon... move away from it matty.
The festival sounds good though!
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