Someone Else's Christmas

It is the season to be jolly and so on, this is made a little hard by a couple of things. First, the French dont do christmas. Second, christmas is another working day like any other. Breakfast is laid out, rooms have to be cleaned and the turkey has to be prepped. Our token to christmas is a decorated tree which drops needles like a busted junkie. Oh the brits and the expats do their best to festen the place up but somehow it just is not the same.

The yearnings for a home Christmas were compounded by our guest's own Christmas. A sort of tradition, by which they join up and for one week go skiing for Jesus's Birthday. Picture the scene as 13 adults, including two grandmothers sit in sofas around the tree and 2 young girls hand out the presents from beneath the tree. It is a strange feeling to watch someone else celebrate something that you might do yourself, and though they did make us feel welcome at the table it was still very much their Christmas.

Having said this, not much beats skiing all day boxing day. Good weather, fresh powder and over 400 km of snow. And New years is a completely different beast altogether. With the focus around a designated time rather than an activity and the generally more sociable aspect, new years makes for a more inclusive party. Having said that work still comes first, the lucky ones are gifted the morning or the day off by their guests. Your host, however, was up at quarter past seven new years day, after heavy celebrations, to set out breakfast. What a hero.

So far the work ski balance is definitely out of kilter. The hours are still long, and the skiing is slowly becoming more and more frequent, but the flow and organisation that comes from the regular exercise of specific tasks is still lacking. In the interview, your host was asked how he would cope with a set menu, cooking the same dishes week in and week out. The reality is that there is the scope and the need for constant improvisation. When stores run out or deliveries are forgotten or guests turn up with unannounced dietary requirements we must meet the challenge and still cook a meal that looks like it  was meant to be served the way it was.

But this is meant to be the peak, from here on out, as the skiers say, its all down hill. Your host is hoping for a long fast fresh powder red rather than a mogully icy black.