My Christmas day

In between this crazy week of commotions, emotions and flu, Christmas did of course come and go. Did I celebrate? Well, if you call going to a ladies house from 09.30 in the morning till 7.00 at night, resting for most of the day and then watching Home Alone 2 with her 91 year old mother, at the same time as feeling sick for the amount of food I’d eaten… then I most certainly did celebrate! The food was ‘massive…’ No surprises there then!

The feast started the moment I walked in the door, 09.30 am: spicy chicken curry, cake and sweets. The second even spicier chicken curry was brought to me, after I’d been nursing my fever and headache for 2 hours. This time the curry was served with a fried egg, fried crisps and a portion of fried rice that would’ve been enough for 4 people, but that I, alone, had been demanded to eat... The lady of the house and the cook were both standing above me, watching my every bite and movement and not attempting to help me eat my way through the meal, nor to sit down and enjoy the meal with me nor keep me company (this is a very typical thing they do here; whenever there’s a guest, the women will never sit down and share the meal, if there are men, they’ll sit, but on this occasion, it was only 3 ladies). Also, they’ll be waiting to hear how delicious Indian food is and be on guard to serve the 2nd, 3rd, and hopefully the 4th helping of food.

So, at the Christmas dinner table I sat alone and when she realized that I was full, she kindly demanded that I sit for 4 whole hours if I needed, but no matter how long it would take, I wasn’t leaving the table until the rice was gone! ‘Holy smoke’, is the only thing that went through my mind.

But luckily, I was saved by my mobile that started ringing! My Mam called from Ireland! Yay! This was the perfect excuse for me to jump up from the dinner table in delight and spend a half an hour in the garden, talking to all the family back home. It also gave the lady enough time to realize that I wasn’t going to clear the 4-portioned size plate of fried rice… and luckily for my stomach, she did! Because - just like magic - after 30 minutes I walked back inside, and the table was cleared! The only thing that was left was a bowl of pudding… And a lady who wasn’t too happy that I didn’t keep feeding myself until I exploded… but I didn’t feel too bad, cause I’d just connected properly with home! Yay… that was the best Christmas gift I could’ve asked for! And regarding the food I couldn’t finish – in India I’ve learnt the hard way that you will never be able to eat the portion sizes of food that will make the cook smile. For me, personally, I know I will never be able to make any Indian happy, if that smile only depends on the amount of food they wish for me to eat. I’ve had to learn the hard way… haha…

Anyhow, after Christmas lunch, I was back in bed, not only nursing a cough and some general aches and pains, but also a sore gut… Okay enough about my Christmas day. It’s come and gone for another year. Even though it was quiet, it was definitely a memorable one. My first, and maybe my last, Indian Christmas…

P.s. It may sound as though I’m ungrateful to the lady who invited me to her home, but I’m not… it was just quite the spectacle to see how different my Christmas was, especially when you know – almost like clockwork – everything that’s going on back home. Also, it was all a little bit much because I wasn’t feeling 100% on top of life. But she did all she could to accommodate the fussy and flu-ish girl from ‘outside’…