I have really enjoyed my second year teaching here in Cambodia. It has been a year of blessing in many ways for me, yet not free of challenges, of course. We have wrapped up the school year. There were several tears on the last day, but I know that when they meet their new teacher next year, grade 2 with Miss Carson will become a distant memory.
June is here and with it the beginning of the rainy season. Even though April and May are the hot, hot months, June through October won't seem much cooler, just more rain thrown into the mix. How hot is hot? How about high 90's with high humidity. It's hot enough that a few weeks ago the temperature dropped to 93 and it felt like a crisp cool day. This is the land of perpetual summer. This last 'winter' (and by winter I simply mean it was the month of January) I watched several Christmas episodes of cooking shows. It made my insides ache to see the beautiful kitchens decorated with fairy lights, with cakes coming out of the oven and warm spicy dishes bubbling on the stove. And of course the Christmas music in the background brought it all home. When you play Christmas music here and it's 95 outside and 90 in your house, there's something that's just not quite the same about it. So I watched those Christmas episodes about three times over and my insides were stirred because I really love that. Beautiful homes, warm kitchens, dinner for guests, laughing voices around the table, etc. I love to hostess. I like to cook, but it's not really the cooking itself that I love; the stirring, the chopping, the mixing... It's offering the fruits of my kitchen to others. One of my deepest forms of happiness is having people enjoy my cooking, and leave my home feeling full, warm and happy. It's my way of bringing beauty into the world.
We were sitting in a cafe the other night, staying out late because school's out and now the teachers can play. During the course of conversation we were wondering out loud how big Cambodia is compared to the United States. I came across this fun site called, If It Were My Home, http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/ There were some interesting statistics, such as, if Cambodia were my home instead of the U.S. I would make 95% less money and have 82% more babies.
While clicking around on this site, the opening paragraph on the homepage grabbed my attention immediately. It stated, "The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person?" It caused me to ask myself, if I were born in a different place, which parts of me would remain the same? Essentially, who am I in the deepest parts of my soul and being?
I have to admit, I was stumped. Would my favorite color still be green if I hadn't swum in the sea green beaches of Sihanoukville? If I had been born in Asia instead of America would I still laugh as loud as I do? Because, you know, nice Asian girls don't laugh loud and cover their mouth when they do. Would I still love to hostess? Would I still be an introvert with occasional gregarious flare ups? Would I still be a homebody with an adventuresome spirit?
Nature vs. nurture. Take out the nurture and what would be left? I know there is no way to separate a person completely from the effects of their environment. But I was in deep thought. It really made me think... What are the core aspects of my God-given soul, my uniquely formed genetics? Which parts of me would remain the same if I were born in any other place or time? WHO AM I?
On Facebook tonight a quiz popped up on my feed right after this long discussion with my housemate, Hilly. Guess what it said? Can we guess who you are in 10 questions? Of course I had to take the quiz. I was hoping the quiz would tell me that I have the gift of hospitality, and confirm my recent ruminations.
To my disappointment, but not to my surprise, it pegged me as a male in my 20's with a flashy, gorgeous smile. How do they come up with that because I chose chicken over beef?
Hilly is a twin, and we've had some insightful discussions on this matter. I'll share some of my humorous musings with you...
Since hostessing is one of my deepest passions, what might this look like if I had been birthed in a different time and culture? Let's imagine for a moment...
If I were born into a nomadic people group, maybe I would invite folks into my tent for some roasted lamb and sautéed desert weeds.
If I were born and raised in rural Russia, I might offer my best bowl of borscht made from beets freshly plucked from my kitchen garden.
What about Cambodia? I might specialize in serving up a dish of piping hot fried tarantulas or offer you dessert wrapped in banana leaves.
All humor aside, it's been fun and interesting to toss the idea around. So here's my question for you... WHO ARE YOU?
