A Memorable Christmas - Essay Example

Few people had high expectations for the day as most suspected it would be the usual routine of Christian rituals and some little partying to last until slightly beyond sunset. The previous Christmas and many other preceding ones had little merry to remember. Like it happens for many people, Christmas rituals seem to engage the interest of children more than the adults do. On this occasion though, word had gone round that a famed guest would deliver a special package for the adults. Other rumors doing the rounds suggested that the package had been delivered already although nobody knew the nature of the contents.

Guests began filing in shortly after ten in the morning. One would not actually refer to them as guests given the fact that most of them had always been in constant touch due to the simple reason that they shared a literature course in the same university. It was a close-knit group that enjoyed mutual interests and shared many idiosyncratic habits just like any lovers of literature do. Choosing to meet over Christmas was rather unusual for literature comrades. The host’s silverware in varying shapes and sizes was on full display.

It would take only a little while before the guests got the opportunity to savor the dietary delights of the occasion. Food came in varieties of Indian, Chinese, and Malaysian cuisine, which made a real spectacle that Jeremy fondly referred to as Christmas made in Asia. It all appeared like grafting the sum of Asian culinary traditions over a uniquely Christian ritual. Of course, nobody would expect Helen, our host and one of the most controversial students in our class to follow conventions in anything.

Nearly all of us had the inaugural experience with a range of Chinese foods including sour pork, sweet pork, Peking duck, ma po tofu, spring rolls, wontons, chow mein, gong bao chicken, and dumplings. At first, most of the guests had considered the culinary set-up rather outlandish but with time, all got accustomed to the taste and had their fill from the buffet. What confounded us was the manner in which Helen managed to flawlessly come up with the meals without expert assistance. Helen had never shown enthusiasm in matters of the kitchen, and on this occasion, she would not yield to any question on the mystery.

Apart from the Chinese professor in the neighborhood, we did not know of any other Chinese friend with who she had some acquaintance. It would not be long before our concerns were addressed. The Chinese professor in full chef’s attire with a range of other culinary delights that got all of us utterly confused. It would never occur to any of us that the man we have never seen in any different place other than the literature class could roll himself into something very different. As Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie would say, we had bought into a single story about the professor (Adichie).

We could never imagine him as anything other than a professor. None of the guests except Helen had ever bothered to probe into the professor’s life beyond the classroom. It turned out that he was the surprise guest we had been waiting for and that it was he who prepared all the meals we had eaten. When the surprise wore off and after we were done with the meals, we had the opportunity of getting up, close and personal with the professor regarding the Chinese perspectives on Christmas. It all seemed like a cultural exchange program and a revelation into Chinese