A long way but not too far….
This is Sihanouk Blvd., a major east-west thoroughfare in Phnom Penh. When I came to Cambodia in 2000, there was only one store or shop on this street that had a closed front like this shop. All the others had iron gates with folding shuttered covers like the little shop on the right in the picture. Now almost every shop is enclosed with real doors and most even have air conditioning. Above this brightly-lit store front, though, you can still see the history of the street–a wooden-walled second floor with swinging wooden shutters, not glass windows. Sihanouk Blvd. has come a long way but it hasn’t escaped its past.
Christmas Culture at DDP (Part 2)
Click here to see photos of the afternoon activities on the day when the DDP students learned about and experienced some of the ways different cultures celebrate Christmas.
The revival is starting
Not again!
When I got my first passport in 1983 it had, I think, 40 pages and cost $15. After ten years when I got a new one, it cost $30. Then the third one was $80 or $90 and had only half the pages. Now this latest announcement from the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh raises the cost to $130! Ouch!
Multi-tasking
Sign of the Times
It’s an interesting indicator of the tumultuous times we live in when our Phnom Penh archbishop, at a priests meeting, gives us all a Christmas gift–a hand sanitizer, complete with his coat of arms! We also got some candy in the bag.
Convenient shopping
One step at a time
Christmas Culture at DDP
This Friday was a day when regular classes were canceled and the students were able to participate in activities and games to be part of the Christmas spirit that spreads around Cambodia even though very few people here could explain Christmas as a religious celebration. Click here to see some of the morning activities.