After a lovely evening spent with my family friends, Marcy and Jerry, who are visiting Cambodia with the Lindblad National Geographic Expedition group, I traveled down to Phnom Penh for the weekend to participant in the 5th annual Big Phat Phnom Penh Hat - a two-day Ultimate Frisbee tournament where you register as an individual and get assigned to mixed teams. I roped one other PCV, Vicki, into playing too. My team Maroon ended up winning the "B pool" and having an absolute blast. It was great making new friends from all across Southeast Asia! (That's the thing about sports, and especially Ultimate; it's all about bringing people together.) The tourney ended with a slip-n-slide layout contest (you dive for the disc onto a slip-n-slide). Needless to say after 7 games of Ultimate over less than 48 hours, I am exhausted, sore, have blisters and am dangerously close to losing both big toenails. But all in all, totally worth it!
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| spirit shown after the B-championship and before a shirt-less T-Rex arms point! |
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| Me and Vicki post-tourney! |
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| Slip-N-Slide! |
I have a day to recover from the weekend as today is Meak Bochea, a Buddhist holiday celebrated on the full moon day of the third lunar month to commemorate the Buddha and his teachings. It is said that on this day more than 2250 years ago the first 1250 of Buddha's disciplines were ordained and listened as the Buddha predicted (correctly) his death three months in the future. That day in late May is now marked as Visakha Bochea, also the same day as Buddha's birth and day of enlightenment. At most temples in Cambodia this evening there will be a candle processional called
wien tien were Buddhists walk 3 times around the temple with candles, incense, and lotus flowers to venerate the Buddha, the Dharma (Buddha's teaching), and the Sangha (the monastic life). Should be a beautiful display.
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