Cambodia

Poplation: 14.31 million

Capital: Phnom Penh

Language:  Khmer

Phrases: Hello: Suosday (sues-bye), Goodbye: Lea Heuy (lee hi)

Currency: Cambodian Riel

Climate:  There are lots of monsoons which make the weather tropical and wet.  The temperature range is from 69.8 F to 95 F.  There are two distinct seasons.  The rainy season from May to October and the dry season from November to April.

Religion: Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia practiced by more than 95% of the population.  2.1% practice Islam, 1.3% practice Christianity and 0.3% are other.  Religion plays a large part in their culture.  Buddhism is a way of life and helps make up the countries identity.

Sports:  Popular sports are volleyball, bodybuilding, field hockey, rugby, golf and baseball.  But the most popular is soccer.  The Cambodia national football (soccer) team placed fourth in then 1972 Asian Cup, but the development of the team slowed down due to the civil war.

Famous people:  The only famous person that is semi-known in the USA is Maddox Jolie (adoptive son of Angelina Jolie).  There are some movies that were filmed in Cambodia, they are: Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Two Brothers and Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.

Flag:

Facts:
*Cambodia is home to several historical sites: Angkor Wat, Bayon, Temples of Angkor, National Museum, Royal Palace, and Killing Fields.
* Construction began in the 890's on Angkor and it served as the seat of power for more than 500 years.
* At its height Angkor covered more area than modern-day New York City.
* Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world largely due to decades of war.
* The average life expectancy is only 59 years
* Cambodia has a constitutional monarchy with King Norodom Sihamoni as the current head of state.

Culture: Rice and Fish are the main staples of food for Cambodians.  Meals are served on a mat on the floor and the diners sit together on a raised bamboo platform.  Food is eaten in shifts, males and guest eat first, and those that prepared it last.  Silk, cotton weaving, silver work and basketry are what artisans are known for.  Handmade pottery is sold from oxcarts that are taken from city to city.  Tourism was a major source of income for Cambodians, but due to fear of political unrest it declined in the 1990's.  While marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents, the groom originates the courtship by asking his parents to approach the parents of a girl he likes. Marriages are not arranged.  It is the choice of both the bride and groom if they should wed, but parents can influence a choice by having them consider the benefits of two families coming together.  The groom pays a "bride wealth" to the family of the bride, but it is most often used for jewelry or clothing for the bride or to help with the cost of the wedding.

Activity

After our experience with the Bahamas, we actually felt bad that our activity wasn't very authentic to what the Bahamas really is we decided we didn't want the same thing to happen with Cambodia.  So instead of trying to find a restaurant that sort of worked, we decided to watch one of the films that was shot in Cambodia and pick out the parts that we could tell were filmed there.  Although I really wanted to watch Two Brothers because I thought the kids would like it, we decided to watch Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon instead.  Mainly because we owned that one and I could not find Two Brothers anywhere.  It had been a while since either of us had seen the movie and the kids had never watched it (for obvious reasons).  We picked out the parts that we could tell were filmed there and watched just those parts with the kids.  As As far as I could tell there was just one scene in the middle when the pillars are going up that they show the Angkor temple.  It was really cool to pick it out, know what it was and what it was from even if it was only for a few seconds.  But the kids attention span doesn't last much longer then that anyway!