Monks, me, and kung fu

Last night I tried to explain culture shock to Venerable Sokheun. It was difficult. He could not get past the idea that this shock is only relative to the cost of the country. For example, since Cambodia is inexpensive, it is therefore easy. I sighed in the midst of listening. I tried to explain what it would be like if he came to America on his own. Hopefully he understood a little by the end so that my next trip to Lazy Mekong Daze in town to play pool will be thoughtfully accepted.

Another visitor soon joined the conversation, but this time diverting the subject to vocabulary.

"Seth, I want to ask you a question," Venerable Koemva began.

"Sure," I told him.

We then launched into a discussion of the word operator described in terms of Cambodian farmers, and presenter in terms of group settings. As always, with mispronunciation and improper words, laughter follows in these lighthearted conversations. Soon the room was full of orange robed monks.

All of them can speak English at different levels, but by this time in our relationship everyone has input for the circus of English and Khmer. Whether in words or in laughter; at my expense or at the expense of the absent.

As the room filled with chatter the television was silently broadcasting across the room. We talked about Laura Boof, George Boof (this is the pronunciation of "Bush"), Hillary Clinton, English teaching methods, body hair, beautiful girls, monkeys, and farts. A typical night in the pagoda.

Suddenly, the volume escalated as a Chinese kung-fu movie hit the airwaves of CTN -- the Cambodian Television Network. Conversation was subdued by silence as the stares of what was now ten, or maybe eleven people fixated their eyes on a film genre that rarely disappoints in the pagoda: over the top, often bloody, slapstick, Chinese subtitled with Khmer dubs, kung fu movies.

I laid on the floor, shirtless, while a monk snuggled up beside me. The cooling night air brought some relief but a fan still stood on the floor turning back and forth. For a moment, I forgot my allergies, frequent stomach problems, and the problems with teaching.

It was kung fu night in the pagoda.