Tepthida Restaurant on a Friday afternoon before the dinner hour
People own businesses for many reasons. Ely owns Tepthida Khmer because she has a vision. Her restaurant has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with soul. I surmised that when I met her last year and thanked her for donating a book to the school. She hadn’t known the book would land in my classroom and I’m sure she didn’t know that I teach an elective about Cambodia at the high school, and when I met up with her today she didn’t seem to remember me.
It didn’t matter. I talked to her about my class project and I experienced what I often experience when talking to Khmer adults; assent and silence. I still admit I don’t know what that means. When I’m interested in something or excited, I’m exuberant. But when faced with silence and assent, well, I just begin talking more.
The Khmer adults I know sometimes seem suspicious of me. Perhaps a study should be undertaken of two opposite cultures; Jews and Khmer. I continued talking.
And then Ely opened up. She explained her vision for her restaurant; healthy, carefully prepared traditional food, the sharing of a culture, an introduction to Cambodian cuisine, a tranquil atmosphere, the commencement of dialog and the unspoken vision of healing from a tragic past.
And so we agreed to work together on a small, and unusual experience and project for 33 high school students.
Artwork at Tepthida
