Thursday night they threw a dance party for us. We ate on the front driveway with flowers on the table and fried pork for dinner (a specialty here -- it's very time consuming to make). Then they tore down the tables, brought out the snacks, and cranked up the music.
Me with Larissa at dinner.
We danced a mix of American music and Khmer, and all the westerners tried their darndest to learn how to dance Khmai style. Khmer dancing goes in formation around and around a circle. Not like american folk dancing -- more like the electric slide, only with your hands also doing asian swirly things. I can't describe it, and trying to remember the foot pattern (to the beat, but the foot pattern doesn't alternate on the downbeat) and the hand twisties (not to the beat at all -- but must happen evenly over top of the foot pattern) is like trying to pat your tummy and rub your head with the wrong hand. I can do three dances now -- the feet at least. The hands are getting there. And I could do one really fancy schmancy line dance by the end of the song.(step step step kick, step step step kick, step step step ball change, left ball change, jump 180 degrees and kick. Repeat)
Dancing Western style. Sumuuen, Sombat, Molly, Phally, Alissa & Jessica. Sombat is the camera ham.
After all was said and done, my feet hurt, and I've never sweat so much dressed up before. But it was a blast, and a great way to have fun with the Khmer students as they taught us how to dance -- and then we taught them the lawnmower, the shopping cart, the sprinkler, the swimming guy, and the pony. That should hold them over for years.
Me. Collapsed in exhaustion.
