A Cultural Exchange: Holiday Edition
1January 21, 2013 by Customary Canary
The holiday season is a bad time for me to post.
With that being said, last I wrote I was overwhelmingly excited to see French Fiancé for the holidays. He was coming the day before Thanksgiving and leaving the day after Christmas. Or so he said. If you follow me on Twitter you know the story. If not — it was a rouse! The boy charmed his way into the U.S.A. before I had a chance to write another blog.
The entire family was in on this big surprise and I found myself eating dinner with the people I care about; with him by my side, and me smiling, wholly ecstatic and destined to have a great holiday. That was November 8.
With the passing of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, it came time for him to leave the States on January 15. And all the while he was here, I still learned more about him, his culture and ourselves.
As the holidays are centered around food and family, we were encompassed by the American traditions. He ate and enjoyed. He tried new things and disliked few. We ate out locally and dined-in at home. It was a tall tale of taste buds.
Even in the midst of a full-blown American supper, French Fiancé was still able to add European flare to the table setting. Forks face downwards, spoons rest above the plates, bread sits on the table so as not to soak up the juice from the meal. And don’t feed foie gras to the cat because she won’t appreciate it as much as you will!
With the new conversions to our menu and the changes on our tables – something unconventional to my family – we’ve succeeded in adopting as our new customs. On Christmas Eve, we now begin with foie gras on toast followed by our traditional spinach quiche and French Fiancé’s quiche lorraine, then we end the meal by delighting in a traditional French buche de noel in decadent chocolate hazelnut, thanks to Bagatelle Bakery here in Wichita. Miam!
He didn’t leave the United States without bringing home a few American traditions. I’ve successfully converted his mother to apple cider. The spice mix flew across the Atlantic and landed in her hands so that she may sip on her new favorite, “pomme cannelle.”
I look so forward to our families finally meeting in France. It will be a journey of a heartwarming culture exchange. France edition.
Now when people ask me about how amazing my trip was you was I can just refer them to your blog post; it says it all and with elegance :D Oh and what a cute and smart couple on the picture! <3