Christmas in Cambodia (or Happy Merry Christmas!)

An alarm set for a little before 6am. Bananas and my no-bake granola bars for breakfast. And so starts my untraditional Christmas Eve far from home. 

Even though normally volunteers do not work on Saturdays, Saturday is a school day like any other in Cambodia. So when they made the schedule for my school, I was assigned three classes for Saturday. My wonderful counterpart is working on switching some of them to other days, but it has not happened yet. Fingers crossed he can change it. Anyways, I went to my first two classes from 7-11am, and the classes went well. I thought the time would drag on since we were just doing introductions and a few games, but it was fun to watch the students come out of their shells as they became less nervous to speak. 

 

After class, I went home and ate some more of my granola bars. I also decided to test the connection for tomorrow’s video call to my family for Christmas. And it was like fate; everyone was home and they were making Christmas cookies. It was wonderful to talk to everyone and see their faces. And then it got better; my host family came home from the market and school and was able to talk to my family back home. It was hilarious to see my American family try to communicate, throwing in a few random sampeahs (the Khmer word for greeting someone with a small bow and hands pressed together). They will have to practice some Khmer words and how to greet people before they come and visit… 

One of my cousins modeling her Christmas dress

After lunch and some coloring with my host sister, I headed back to school for another class. As I was biking towards the school, I was kinda dreading it. My feet were starting to feel the four hours of standing from the morning, and I didn’t feel like introducing myself again. However, when I mentioned I would be teaching at the school for 22 more months, my students spontaneously cheered. It was just the little pick up I needed; it reminded me that I am doing this to make an impact, however small, on the lives of my students in whatever way I can. 

When I got home, I was sitting outside in front of the house, when the dad in my host family brought out a bike the family has from the previous volunteer who lived here. It is usually sitting on the back porch, and he had brought it out and dusted it off. I asked him if he was going to exercise, and when he said yes, I couldn’t help but say “New year, new you!!” as he rode away. While I am not sure if it translated, I thought it was a pretty funny joke.

Soon after, the mom in my host family drove away from the house on her moto, and I assumed she was going to the market. However, when she came back, she said she had Christmas presents for the family.

She had bought underwear for each of us, and yes even for me. As she handed them out, none of us could stop laughing at this very practical Christmas gift. I told her that it was exactly what my mom back home would get us. She responded by saying it was something we could use every day. My host sister kept saying, “Bong Carissa gave me a book, but Mak gave me these (holding them up) UNDERWEAR!!!”

The fact that I was included in the family underwear Christmas gift was a bit strange and wonderfully awesome at the same time. It made me feel like part of the family.

My host sister with the cards we made!

Then I decided I wanted to make one of mom’s instant creamy noodle packs as one of the dishes for dinner; it was a little taste of home that would be a nice way to celebrate Christmas. After intently watching how it was made, my host sisters tasted and rejected it almost immediately, sticking to rice instead, but the mom in my host family loved it. Members of my extended family showed up for dinner as well, so we had a full house that night.

So, that is how I ended up sharing a packet of creamy noodles from America with my Cambodian family on Christmas Eve. Siting and eating while the TV blared, little kids ran around and screamed, adults sat around the house in groups, talking and arguing… just like any other Christmas back home. 

Until next time, 

Carissa  

 

P.S. I put Happy Merry Christmas in the title, because that is how most Cambodians say Merry Christmas.

Thank goodness for technology