MAI Told Me They Need a Teacher in Translation

And so I went to Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Steve and Mary Westergren were my generous hosts, Mary going out of her way to prepare full meals, and Steve driving me to and from the seminar venue. I held a translation seminar as sponsored by Fount of Blessings publishing House, with Media Associates International serving as my main link. Sixteen participants joined us. The participants were representatives from: Atithau Association, Voice of New Life Radio, EFC-YL, TBLC, Cambodia Bible Institute, OMF, FOW, Word Teach Cambodia, Cambodia Campus Crusade, Asia Human Resource Development Center Hope Educational Center and Memat Vocational Training Center. Pastor Ling Kim Chhay was my interpreter.

Aside from the fulfilling time with the active and alert participants (16 male and 2 female), I had a very good time eating, thank you very much. The spicy and sweet taste of the vegetable soups and concoctions of mango and cucumber marinated in vinegar and sugar and salt, and even ginger (with pork, but many many ginger), and pomelo (why is pomelo expensive in Batangas?) and papaya (which is also very expensive here, I don’t know why) truly gratified me!

In Cambodia, people ride bicycles; the road is filled with them. Yet I didn’t have a chance to ride one. They call it the Mototob if it’s for hire. But I got to ride in a Tuktuk on my way to Ankor Wat. YES! I went there! All by my lonesome. From Phnom Phen, I took a bus going to Seam Reap (6 hours travel) and as soon as I got off the bus, I hired this fellow who drives a tuktuk. Why, he has a calling card and he told me to call him again when I return to Cambodia, so he can bring me to the other ruined temples.

I was able to visit two temples only (I think there are about eight and they say I need at least four days to visit all of them) because I got too tired walking around the walls of Ankor Wat (I enjoyed the details of the carvings on the wall. Now I have a good illustration of the Mahabharata, which I taught in Asian Literature but did not really have a concrete idea of.) Steve suggested that it was a good idea to climb up to the highest level and to look to the west side because it’s beautiful.After some consideration, (because the climb was too steep, I was alone, and who would take my picture?) I climbed anyway, like when you rock-climb but this is not that difficult because there are steps and they are not slippery. On top, those who got there ahead of me were asking, “Now, how do we get down from here?”But me? Catching my breath, I walked and looked at the west side. Steve was right. I saw how truly lush and green and majestic the view was from where I stood.




When I got to the Bayon Temple, (the tuktuk fellow waited for me and brought me there), I followed this American couple who had a tour guide. I didn’t have a tour guide so I eavesdropped. I tailed this couple with their very good English-speaking guide (It occurred to me that if the tourists were Japanese, there were Japanese-speaking guides, and Korean-speaking guides – I’m guessing they’re Koreans, and German-speaking guides, and of course French-speaking guides..) I couldn’t get too close to the English-speaking guide, but I overheard that the Bayon was a library of sorts. I also missed the part on why there are fish carvings of top of the carvings about how people lived at the time. I thought that maybe, there was a huge flood. Anyway, the couple got a bit scared (of me?) maybe and walked faster, so I lost them.


I lingered around the ruins and thought about how man can truly perform great and mighty things, and yet, The GOD OF ALL TIME has His own deadline for all of man’s greatness and achievements that witnessed civilization and hailed majestic and powerful rulers. I debated in my mind whether these temples should really be preserved because the more they are preserved, the more the people will always go back to their buddhist traditions. But I also liked to see the temples when they have been fully restored (the French are restoring them, right now, many entrances are closed: No entry). These huge brick walled cities will always be a reminder of how great civilization can get and how this greatness will end. We can all build huge towers and monuments and carve or paint or sing or recite our stories but we keep our fingers crossed hoping that our legacy will survive. We have to be excellent stewards of our time to truly enjoy the privileges that come with the complete and excellent exercise of our gifts. After us, as Solomon says, another comes. We are all like grass. We are all like these ruins, our contribution outlive us, and we better make sure that those who inherit them will know how to use them.

(In Cambodia, I met friends of one of my students at ATS, Buntan Ross. He is Cambodian. So his friends and I were talking about him a lot, and I was telling them that he is a good and conscientious student. Before I left for the airport, going back to the Philippines, Pastor Chhay called to say that Buntan Ross died. I learned later that he died in his sleep, we call it “bangungot”, and I am not sure about the medical term for what ended his life. He is is the only Christian in his family who are all Buddhists. The family wanted to preserve his heart. Back here in the Philippines, they held a memorial service for Buntan at ATS, on Thursday November 2, and his body will be shipped back to Cambodia on Saturday, November 4. This incident struck me as strange and quite thought provoking. Buntan, only 26 years old, in his first year in Seminary, died in his sleep – and he is Cambodian, and the only Christian in his family and Pastor Chhay, the interpreter said when the seminar ended: “Well, I heard that you know Buntan. I will call his brother because they might have something that they might ask you to bring to the Philippines for their brother….)