House warming

Last night I went to a house warming. The party was held around tables in the living room, which opens onto the driveway of the house. I sat next to a doctor who spoke a little English, French and Khmer. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

I have learned that if I do not want to drink beer, I must fill my glass with something very fast. I grabbed the bottle of water and filled my glass. Everyone else poured beer into everyone's glass. With water in my glass and later a Coca Cola, I joined in the clinking of glasses. One time, I forgot to clink before drinking and I got a disapproving look.



Dinner was Cambodian curry, vegetables, small clams and raw fish with ginger. The curry was very good. It was not served over rice; instead we sopped it up with pieces of baguette. The curry contained a few potatoes and bones that had been hacked into pieces with a cleaver. It was cooked in a huge pot, about a meter across. Seeing how fast it disappeared, that was the right amount.



The clams looked very good. I watched how people ate them and gave one a try. I popped the first one in my mouth to get the sauce off. Then I tried to open it. I tried three times and gave up. A man across the table showed me how. I tried again. It would NOT open. I tried a second one and it opened easily. The sauce was the best part. Raw fish that has been scraped off of the bones is mixed whit ginger and was a great combination. Ginger in Cambodia is not as strong as I have had elsewhere.

After eating and taking photos of the children.



I went upstairs with the 20-year-olds. This aspect of the party was much like Morocco, with boys in one room and girls in another.



For a Cambodian party this one went late. I left at 21:00 and it was still going strong. All of the other parties I have attended have closed down around 20:00.