New Year's Eve is no fun for loners. So the interpreters from Deaf Development Program (DDP) invited me to the party at the Deaf Community Center. Not only is Deaf Community Center a gathering place for people throughout Phnom Penh it is also a hostel for the students at DDP.

The night started out slow since there was a thunderstorm early int he evening. But the students had hired a sound system and not willing to let a good evening's dance go to waste, some of the men stepped out into the yard and the rain to dance. Since normally Khmer people do not dance with partners of the opposite sex the young women reluctantly came out as the rain dissipated.

The music turned from pure Khmer pop to classical influenced pop. The women began the Khmer version of a line dance. Using the classic dance steps of the Apsara they led all of us to a beautiful rendition of pop-classical dance. Each step was accompanied by beautiful handshapes of the dances that were nearly entirely lost to the world when the Khmer Rouge wiped out all the elite of the country.

So, with the hearing women in the lead (they learned the steps of the classical dance in school) all of us at the party danced the night away bringing back the history of this country with vivid handshapes and simple but studied steps. Thanks DDP and DCC for one of the most memorable nights of my life. Welcome VOOF. (Fingerspell that for translation.)