Confession: I’ve been a grinch all December this year.
It’s just so hard to get into the holiday spirit when… ummm… there isn’t any at all. The first half of December was spent in hot and very un-festive Thailand. Then we got to Siem Reap, and I was happy to see lights and trees outside of hotels/restaurants. Looks like the Christmas spirit is alive and well here!
the cute little tree at our airbnb rental
But as the days went on, it still didn’t really feel like Christmas. Christmas is red stockings and golden lights, hot chocolate and candy canes, wreaths on doors and glittery storefronts. It’s 24/7 Christmas songs on the radio and 24/7 of A Christmas Story on TV. It’s ugly sweaters, mall Santas, and stupid games at work. It’s Chinese hot pot with my family and Polish pierogis with D’s. Even though SoCal doesn’t get a white Christmas, it’s still plenty festive and full of a happy energy.
But here, though I give them props for trying, there are none of those nuances that really make Christmas, well, Christmas.
And I’m not gonna lie: during holiday season, it’s hard being in a foreign country on the other side of Earth, with no other loved ones near by, remotely looking at everyone else’s colorful holidays displayed on your computer screen.
So basically, I’ve been jealously reading all my blogger friends’ posts of unbelievably cute European Christmas markets and festive events, while resigning myself to a normal, uneventful holiday (…of just hanging out in Cambodia. Poor me, I know.)
So even when our AirBnB host, Thony, invited us to have dinner on Christmas Eve, I didn’t expect a special occasion.
Oh boy, this just proved that there is still a lot about Cambodia (which is already a land of mystery to me) to be learned. It never fails to surprise me.
The huge house in the picture above looks glorious, but we are actually just renting one room in it. And this is Thony’s first year opening up his house to tourists. On the evening of the dinner, we walked down from our room to the front garden, and met the other guests: another renter couple from France and some of Thony’s family members, including one who just flew in from Switzerland. It was a small intimate gathering.
Like any good party, the evening started off with drinks and appetizers. What was on the menu?
to sip: Kir Royale (a wine made from creme de cassis) and Ricard (an anise flavored liqueur)
to munch: foie gras (that’s goose liver for those of us who aren’t fancy enough to know), various cured meats, tiny sausages, and shrimp fritters
Is all of this sounding a little… French to you??
I was amazed. Maybe I shouldn’t have jumped to stereotypes and thought it’d be spring rolls and Angkor beer, but I certainly did not expect it to be so heavily French.
And here’s the real clincher: everyone was also conversing in French. In French! Fluently!! Between the French renters and Thony’s Khmer family, it seemed that French was the common language. This left D and me out of the loop a bit (as our only-English-speaking tongue was definitely the minority there), but we were happy to observe and bombard Thony with a million questions on Khmer culture.
Apparently, yes, Cambodians do celebrate Christmas due to the old French influence, and many families choose to celebrate it French style. We’re even having the traditional foods that the French eat during the Christmas season, like foie gras. And as for the fluency in French? French was a required subject in school for the older generations (the younger generations learn English, and now even Chinese).
Who knew??
“So what’s for the main course?” we asked Thony.
“Italian,” he replied, chuckling. This just keeps on getting more awesome!!
what was actually for dinner: salad and seafood paella, which I believe is Spanish. But nevermind that :P
If I stepped back and looked at the scene as an outsider, I would have laughed. There we were in Cambodia… on a breezeless and humid evening, sipping on Kir Royale and munching on foie gras. Soft American holiday music drifted from the speakers as a videotape of Thony’s daughter’s very Cambodian wedding flashed from a flat-screen. Across the table were two Khmers having a conversation in rapid French, instead of in their native tongue.
It’s a strange world we live in.
Maybe it was the hot night, or maybe it was too many drinks, but I felt a warm glow spreading within me. Under the twinkly lights of the Christmas tree, surrounded by our amazing host family and one-night-only friends, I felt so grateful to have been given a home away from home for the holidays.
And so, it was with a Cambodian family’s warm invite, good conversation, and a few strong glasses of French aperitifs, that this Grinch finally found the Christmas spirit.
Joyeux Noël!
How and where did you all celebrate your Christmas?
Linking up with SundayTraveler with Pack Me To and others.
Now that looks like a great Christmas! I spent mine on the beach in China getting some much needed sun!
Ha! Now *that* sounds like a unique Christmas! I lived in China when I was little, and don’t remember what it was like during the holidays. Are they celebrating/decorating at all these days? :)
That’s so interesting – its definitely been hard to get into the Christmas spirit being far from home. I never would have imagined that Cambodia was so French. I hope your Christmas was lovely even if you were far from home.
Thanks Rebekah! It turned out to be great! I’m ashamed to say that I really don’t know much about the Cambodian culture or history, so I had no idea that they were under the French influence as well. It was sure interesting to celebrate a semi-French Christmas in Cambodia!
I see that Shanghai has embraced the Christmas decorations. I hope you had a very merry Christmas too!
Merry Christmas!! I remember how hard it was to get into the Christmas spirit when I was living in Malaysian. With all the tropical heat, it didn’t feel like December. Anyways, I am also thoroughly surprised by your Cambodian Christmas. It’s wonderful that you were included in the (very French influenced) local celebration and especially nice that it wasn’t something they were simply doing to cater to Western guests.
Southern California can be pretty hot during Christmas time still, but being in SEA is really weird! Like having Christmas decorations up during summer or something. I feel so grateful to have been included too, otherwise I know it would have been a lonely holiday :).
Haha! Unexpected surprises are the best, isn’t it!
Looks like you had a lovely evening, and I’m glad you found your festive cheer!
Thanks Upasna! It was sure a huge surprise, but in the best way possible. :D I’m just so grateful to have been included!
Ha! Sounds lovely, even if it wasn’t quite Christmas as you imagined. (Also, this is the thing that gets me about living anywhere without seasons and/or in the southern hemisphere – how is Christmas Christmas without some chill in the air?!)
I would LOVE to experience a white Christmas again (hopefully in Europe, hehe). I lived in Pennsylvania when I was young and I remember how beautiful the snow is. SoCal doesn’t really have seasons but at least there’s a lot of decorations and stuff. I used to think it’s not Christmassy enough, but I will never think that again after spending a Christmas in SEA, ha!
Wow, that spread! That is so lovely that your host invited all the guests like that- I can imagine it would be such a fun way to meet people from all over the world while spreading holiday cheer. How fun! We had a fancy schmancy dinner at a restaurant for Christmas (which was really great) but I really love those times where you can bond with the host and talk about Christmas traditions, etc and get to know them a bit. Glad you got this opportunity after that past few weeks of Grinchyness :)
We were going to splurge on a dinner at a fancy restaurant too (to feel *some* kind of festive-ness), but then we got invited to this family dinner, and that was SO much better! It was so nice of them to include the renters! Otherwise, I think we would have still felt lonely!
Christmas away from home is always tough. Even more so when you’re in a place that is so opposite! I’ve never celebrated Christmas in a warm climate and I think it would be rather strange. Looks like you had a lovely meal though and what a mindwarp. I would be equally as confused over the French!
Ha! Mindwrap is a good word and that’s how we felt all evening. It was really weird being somewhere so hot. I really do hope I can celebrate a white Christmas again some year down the road!
I hope you had a great Christmas, Adelina!
Infinitely more exciting than my Christmas! My Christmas was spent undergoing The Amazing Race marathon :D
Actually your Christmas dinner looked amazing! And there’s nothing wrong with binge watching a TV show. :D
How incredible! Stories like this really warm my heart. Glad you found your little piece of Christmas, even on the other side of the world! :)
Thanks so much Terri!! It was so nice to be included, instead of celebrating it quietly alone :). I hope your Christmas was wonderful too!!
I had no idea that there was such a French influence in Cambodia – I’d have found it totally bizarre but intriguing eating foie gras in baking humidity on Christmas eve! Nice that it brought a bit of festive cheer though and hope it made it that little bit easier beign away from your loved ones etc. Happy New Year!
I honestly had no idea too! It was a really fun night and definitely made it a little less lonely during the holidays. :)
Happy New Year to you as well!
I love this story! I can relate that it must have been hard to get in the spirit of the season when you’ve been traveling in a place that doesn’t “feel” like Christmas. It’s why Thanksgiving makes me especially homesick since it’s not celebrated outside of the US. But I love this story about how you found the Christmas spirit in an unexpected way, with a diverse group of people to share it with! Sounds like it certainly will be a Christmas you will always remember (and how cool that you got to celebrate with some French fare!).
And thanks for the Christmas market shout-out :-) Wishing you an amazing 2015!!!
Thanks Sara! This was definitely a very unique Christmas that I’ll always remember! It ended my year on a very good note :). I hope you’ll have an awesome 2015 as well!
Wow what an incredible Christmas! All of the food looks so tasty, I’m pretty jealous :-) I spent Christmas in Edinburgh with family, but it doesn’t look anywhere near as spectacular as yours x
As cool as spending Christmas in a foreign country is… I still think there’s nothing like spending it with family, even if it’s just bumming around home all day. :) I hope you had a great one!!
wow, that’s a pretty cool way to spend christmas! =D
cambodia was under French rule for almost 100 years. my dad grew up speaking khmer and french. there’s a lot of french influence in the vocabulary and cuisine. for example, the words for ‘bread,’ (pain) and ‘apple’ (pomme) are borrowed from the french.
That is so awesome that you have Cambodian ties!! I really had no idea that Cambodia was under French rule too and it was so interesting to learn that, and see that our host family celebrate Christmas French style! It was even more of a mind wrap to hear them all speaking French so fluently!