Christmas in Cambodia is vastly different to Christmas in Australia. The day started with the concrete truck arriving, at 5am, for the construction site 2 doors down. Then came the hammering. As well they decided that it was the day to have the mechanic come to service all the moto bikes. One of my friends informed me that she had an exam that day. Yep Christmas is just an average day for the people of Cambodia.
I was invited to go to the Healing Home to have an amazing buffet lunch with a group of expats. There were 32 of us in total. The spread of food was fantastic. I tried turkey and discovered it’s not bad. Lots of conversation was had about what various people are doing in Phnom Penh Cambodia.
Later in the afternoon a friend picked me up, on her moto, and we went to the Christmas Day Youth Outreach. This was a lot of fun (especially for the locals) with singing, competitions, a drama and even a Santa Claus handing out sweets.
Ps Pisit shared an amazing message with us all (and thanks goes to Vatanak who translated it for us foreigners) that touched many hearts. The true message of Christmas is far more significant than any amount of food, presents and hanging out with family and friends
Afterwards I went with a small group of friends out for soup, a Christmas dinner with a difference. It was great…..good food, wonderful company. By the end of the evening I felt I had celebrated a superb Cambodian Christmas.
