Today was my last full day here in Cambodia. This morning MaryAnne and I ran a few final errands and took a ride one more time around Phnom Penh. Then Narith took us to go see a Pagoda. A Pagoda is a religious building where the people of Cambodia go to practice Buddhism. Nearly 99% of the people of Cambodia are Buddhist. It was a very beautiful and ornamental structure. Inside there was a massive statue of Buddha and the walls were decorated with detailed pictures that told stories of the religion and how it came about. MaryAnne and I had quite a long conversation with a monk that told us about the Pagoda and about their religion. He also told us that around 700-800 kids from the Providences live there so that they can go to school in the city. To pay for the building and the housing of these students and the additional 150 monks, the monks walk the streets each day to ask shop owners for donations. People always give money because they highly respect the monks- they are a symbol of the religion. It was really interesting to learn another aspect of the Cambodian culture.
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