Maryknoll Cambodia--Thanksgiving 2001

Thanksgiving Day 2001

Thanksgiving Day was a work day for all of Cambodia, including us Maryknollers, but we managed to put together a full Thankgiving turkey dinner at our center house. Because we have so many wonderful friends from so many countries, we had to limit our invited guests to former Maryknollers still here and the non-Americans who work in our projects.

Conversation before the meal We ended up with thirty-four people coming for our Thanksgiving dinner. We could have had more but were limited by the number of plates and the space we have. Most of us knew each other but we had about 5 or 6 new faces.

Lots of good food to be had! The Maryknoll sisters did most of the planning and asked different guests to bring dishes. We had plenty of food, all delicious!

One of the small tables inside The invited guests were the people who work with us at the Seedling of Hope AIDS project and at the University of Phnom Penh and also the Mennonite group working here.

One of the small groups outside People were free to eat inside or outside, and many chose to go out and enjoy the uncommonly pleasant weather we're having now. Even the mosquitoes seemed to cooperate.

Seyha and Gus in the jeep Seyha is the son of former Maryknollers Judy and Dave Saumweber and Gus is the son of former members Patty Curran and Mark Munoz. Cambodia gets in your blood and people just want to stay!

Sr Regina packaging leftovers to take away Kathy and John Tucker had spent two days preparing two twenty-pound turkeys, carrying them back and forth between their house and the office when our office oven didn't work. Making sure none of it was wasted, Regina packed up leftovers to go for anyone who wanted.

Lots of shoes at the door One characteristic of Thanksgiving in Cambodia is all the shoes left at the door when everyone arrived. Probably didn't happen that way at your house in the US!

Even washing the dishes was fun There are lots of dishes to wash but at these gatherings there are always lots of volunteers, and the dish washing teams kept changing. And at our new house, we even have a hot water heater for the kitchen sink so we don't have to heat dishwater on the stove any more.

	We ended up with thirty-four people coming for our Thanksgiving dinner. We could have had more but were limited by the number of plates and the space we have. Most of us knew each other but we had about 5 or 6 new faces.
	The Maryknoll sisters did most of the planning and asked different guests to bring dishes. We had plenty of food, all delicious!
	The invited guests were the people who work with us at the Seedling of Hope AIDS project and at the University of Phnom Penh and also the Mennonite group working here.
	People were free to eat inside or outside, and many chose to go out and enjoy the uncommonly pleasant weather we're having now. Even the mosquitoes seemed to cooperate.
	Seyha is the son of former Maryknollers Judy and Dave Saumweber and Gus is the son of former members Patty Curran and Mark Munoz. Cambodia gets in your blood and people just want to stay!
	Kathy and John Tucker had spent two days preparing two twenty-pound turkeys, carrying them back and forth between their house and the office when our office oven didn't work. Making sure none of it was wasted, Regina packed up leftovers to go for anyone who wanted.
	One characteristic of Thanksgiving in Cambodia is all the shoes left at the door when everyone arrived. Probably didn't happen that way at your house in the US!
	There are lots of dishes to wash but at these gatherings there are always lots of volunteers, and the dish washing teams kept changing. And at our new house, we even have a hot water heater for the kitchen sink so we don't have to heat dishwater on the stove any more.