I’ll Be Home For Christmas..If Only In My Dreams!

I did NOT sleep well last night. I feel like I start every blog saying this, but last night I was still up at 3:00am..NOT OK! I thought maybe the little kid in me was just so excited for Christmas!

My aunt called me this morning to wish me a Merry Christmas and it was a great way to start my day! I rode my bike to the Home of Joy and only found a few kids! None of the nuns were there either and since the staff doesn’t speak much English I assumed they were all at Mass! I thought I heard the Priest say the Mass was at 8:30am (Mom and Dad aren’t you proud that I listened!) and since the Christmas Eve Mass went about 2 hours I told them I would come back at 10:30am.

I road my bike downtown and it was HOT! I added money to my phone for my Christmas calls and then I knew I needed a cool drink and to cool down because I was cranky! I stopped at the Blue Pumpkin because I knew they had good drinks and it really is the only place with AC (it’s their “cool” season..imagine that)!

I rode my bike back to the orphanage (yes my butt still hurts) and when I got there the mother and daughter were handing out presents! They had brought wrapped presents from Singapore so every child got a present and a bag of candy! Yum! They were so cute and I went around helping them untie and unwrap their presents. Most of them were ones that moved (battery operated) and one was a dog that walked. The kids were TERRIFIED of it and I had a good laugh. They would run up behind me so the dog didn’t get them!

I really was SO happy to be spending my Christmas with them! I wore my FLASHING Santa hat I bought yesterday and they loved the lights. I was also happy with my decision to do laundry seeing as I was also wearing my red shirt!

I was happy the nuns were letting the kids eat as MUCH candy as they wanted. It was EVERYWHERE! We listened to Christmas songs and played with their toys and I felt like I spent most of the morning FIXING toys. I had to be the battery putter backer AND Nurse Julie as a doll’s leg got amputated! Don’t worry, I managed to perform surgery and had her back to good!

The kids went down for their nap and I asked what time I should come back in the afternoon and Sister Nazarene said 2:30pm. I left and came back to the homestay for a little lunch and a nap myself! I only allowed myself 45 minutes to nap because I am too afraid I won’t be able to sleep tonight! Although even the other day I only napped for an hour. Oh well wish me luck tonight!

I decided I wanted to watch the Christmas movie Elf..but my computer kept saying it knew I wasn’t in the U.S. and it only worked in the U.S! You crazy computer how do you know where I am (I wasn’t even connected to the internet). It was too much work to try and tell it YES I was in Cambodia but my laptop was setup in the U.S. so Elf will have to wait until NEXT Christmas. Actually who am I kidding I will watch that movie during any season!

I rode my bike back to the orphanage and saw everyone outside playing games! The nuns crack me up! They are TOO funny! Christmas music was playing, candy was being eaten and games of musical chairs and sack races were being played. What a way to spend Christmas, huh? If I could bring everyone I love with me..I would choose to spend every Christmas with kids in an underdeveloped country.

I hope someday my kids will be as excited as these kids were with their one gift. I don’t want to go on and on about how I had this revelation about how Christmas isn’t about the gifts, but I really do hope for years to come I can remember this Christmas – the simplicity of it, the joy of a small gift and spending time with others.

We played this one game where we had to dance and when the music stopped we couldn’t move. The nuns would come around and make funny faces to try and make us move (this was mostly just the older kids and the staff). I was DYING and lost every time. Oh these nuns, I just love them!

The kids had really been munching on their snacks all day and I wasn’t helping the matter as I brought them some sweet bread! They were ready for more and before long I had a trail of little ones eagerly awaiting another piece of bread!

We had a great afternoon of eating lots of food, playing games and listening to Christmas music. They actually did still have a structured meal, so after feeding I left and came back to the homestay!

My new motorbike man (who I think lives next store) was sitting outside his house so I hopped on and he took me downtown. I can’t imagine he does this for a living seeing as there are about 10 people on this street, but who knows.

I got comfortable at the Blue Pumpkin with its wonderful air conditioning! I wanted to do some emailing and uploading pictures AND I had to get ready for my skype dates with my family later!

I actually wasn’t as sad as I thought I was going to be this Christmas. I feel like the weeks leading up to it were harder than the day. I couldn’t listen to Christmas music or watch Christmas movies because I would get too homesick! I was almost dreading the day in a sense because I had no idea what to expect. I missed being home with my family, I missed helping out with gift wrapping at the mall and ringing the bells for the Salvation Army. I missed decorating the tree and Christmas movies on TV! And I especially missed baking with my mom!

But, luckily, I wasn’t too sad on Christmas. I had an AMAZING day with the kids and had so much fun hanging out with them. I thought it was a great way to spend Christmas day as Christmas really should be spent. I didn’t get caught up in gifts or presents or if the food was ready on time or if I spent enough or if someone liked their gift etc.

I got a quick call from Steve so we could wish each other Merry Christmas on my Christmas night and his Christmas morning. As much as I love him anyway, it really is so nice to have someone to talk to that is experiencing somewhat of the same things (being away from home on Christmas, etc.)

I then got situated with my Santa hat to skype my aunt! She LOVED my Santa hat (who wouldn’t) and it was great to catch up since I haven’t been able to skype since I got here!

After that I skyped my family so we could have Christmas! And what a Christmas it was! It first started off with me talking to my parents in our den. But then, Scott was calling me so I was all confused and they said we should all move to the family room (where Scott’s laptop was) since the presents were in there! So I got to open one first, a new shirt! Woo hoo! Then Mom, Dad and Scott opened the presents I had gotten them (yes, I was done my Christmas shopping AND wrapping in September!) and it was so fun because I felt like I was there! I then got to open another Christmas present..a Life is Good Peanut Butter & Jelly tshirt! I LOVE IT because it really is perfect for me! Nothing like Christmas morning with skype! I am so thankful for computers and the internet and webcams. I felt like most of “Christmas morning” was spent with “Can you move the camera a bit I can’t see”. I really can’t say ENOUGH how special it was to me and how much it meant! I stayed along watching until everyone had opened their presents and held them up to the camera so I could see. I felt like I was there celebrating Christmas with my family. It was absolutely wonderful!

I then was able to quickly skype my other aunt and she loved my Santa hat as well! The three of us (my aunt, my family and me) tried to do a three way call so the three of us could talk, but at that point the Blue Pumpkin was closing and the wireless outside wasn’t very strong so I kept disconnecting.

Before I got a ride home I checked out “Pub Street” as they had a couple of bands playing. There was also a truck with people in the back playing Christmas music and just driving around! I have no clue who they were though!

I got a ride back and was a little nervous because I had never come back so late. Luckily, since it was a weekend, the main roads were still pretty busy. When I got back I ran into one of the brothers of the family who was explaining Room One now has hot water and I get to move there! I told him that was GREAT and exciting, but I was actually okay in my room.

Imagine that..turning down hot water! Haha the thing is, I don’t enjoy the cold showers and I miss hot water a lot, but I am sort of into a routine here. I have my little “run in before you change your mind” dance and even though I don’t enjoy the showers, they are fine. AND I am all settled in and decorated so I thanked him and said I was fine. Then, he insisted on showing me how it worked. So we went in and checked it out. I then told him that maybe I could just use the room to take my showers.

I stopped by the dining room area to say goodnight to the other two brothers (who also came to the wedding) and then the first guy was back asking when I could move. I thanked them again and said I really was FINE in my room, but then he responded with, “Well we need your room to fix that one too”. Oooooh so now I got it! They needed me out! The other brother chimed in (I think he realized I really didn’t want to move) and said that if I didn’t want to I didn’t have to move but then the first brother started speaking in Khmer so my guess is he was saying, “She needs to move..we need the room!” So I told them it was late tonight (it was 12am) and I was touring the Temples all day tomorrow but I would move on Sunday! The hot water will be VERY nice..but I really am all settled in and comfortable so it will take awhile to move.

I am really missing Thuong and Cho con today and it makes me a bit sad. Even if I could just give them a hug and a kiss and a present I would be happy..but I hate not knowing how they are doing. If anyone is interested..I am going to start saving to go back to Vietnam so feel free to join!

For my first Christmas spent away from home and by myself I actually had a great day. I really enjoyed my time with the kids..playing games and listening to Christmas music!

Hugs and kisses and Merry Christmas from Cambodia!