Monk-y business

Today was a day on a mission.

After an early breakfast and class, 7 of the girls took off to the market for some serious shopping.

Some of the things I got were Christmas gifts but let me just say that I got 24 things for $100. Love the Cambodian marketplace.

We spent 2 hours on a mission before we dropped our bags and picked up our forks for some scrumptious food at the Khmer Kitchen, our favorite Cambodian restaurant. Let's just say you can get 5 fried spring rolls, a heap of cashew nut chicken and a plate of rice for $4.

After all of that we needed some peace. So three of us met up with our favorite guide, Yut, to go to the Buddhist monastery. Yut was a monk for 10 years and did his first 3 months as a novice in a monastery in Siem Reap so we went to that one.

Side note: you'll frequently see children running around with coins and keys on strings around their necks. I asked what that was about and they said that monks will bless the keys and coins and sick children wear them as a blessing of good health. Since I haven't been having the best of luck with my health for the past year I found a tiny jade key at the market place and brought it to the monastery to be blessed for me to wear.

After taking off our shoes and sitting, feet facing behind us, on a mat the monks had lain out for us, we bowed three times to them so that they could begin the blessing. They collected my necklace, some string and some of the other girl's things in a bowl to be blessed and began. We held our hands in front of us in traditional "prayer" form as the monks chanted/sang us two blessings. In this off the beaten path, genuine Buddhist environment where the monks worked, lived and prayed, it was incredibly surreal.

There were saphron robes hanging on clothes pins to be dried outside one of the houses. That's right, monks do laundry too. And if you're dressed conservatively you can look them in the eye, just don't touch. Luckily I was dressed like a boy.

After the blessing they each tied a piece of red string around our wrists. This is a pretty traditional thing for monks to do to those who they bless. I asked if they had any coins with holes in them, which is normal because they bless these a lot for people. One of the monks found a pendant with the Buddha goddess on it and they gave it to me. I think it's copper and has Khmer writing around it. I got a gift from a monk. I almost let out a "YIPPEEE!!!" but figured that wasn't the right time for that kind of reaction.

Now, contrary to popular belief, I actually have to do school work. Off to do interviews tomorrow and research my life away tonight.