One of the fun things I’ve done while living in Sydney is participate in parties where the hosts plan an event and invite friends over to their homes. They aren’t formal gatherings; people casually show up and bring friends and family with them if they want to. It’s rare that people have to pay anything, either—they’re more potluck style where everyone brings food and drinks to share. It might be someone’s birthday or a welcome/going-away party, or maybe no real occasion, just a weekend. I guess you can think of them as casual get-togethers at someone’s house for any reason at all. The owner of the house I stayed at when I first came to Sydney would have at least one of these parties a week, so there must be a lot of people around who like getting together at people’s houses. There have to be Sydneysiders who don’t host parties too, I guess…
One of the best things about these gatherings is cooking together and enjoying conversation over a shared meal. You can’t help but make new friends. The conversations are particularly far-reaching and informative in an immigrant country like Australia, where there are so many people from different backgrounds.
The other day, a friend invited me to a Christmas party. I was like, wait—a Christmas party in July? The seasons in Australia are the opposite of those in Japan, so it’s midsummer here when Christmas rolls around in December. People are in a summery mood and do summery things like barbeque or hang out at the beach. So I hear the tradition of having “Christmas in July” started because people in the Southern hemisphere wanted to experience Christmas as the classic winter event that it is. Of course there are still big Christmas events in Sydney in December, so people here basically get to celebrate Christmas twice a year.
People brought their favorite foods and drinks as usual, and since it was a Christmas event, they wore red if possible. They also exchanged presents so they brought those too (little things around 5 to 10 dollars). Another great thing about parties at people’s homes is that you can come and go whenever you like—though there is usually a general start time. No pressure if you come late! The freedom is really wonderful.
It seems hard on the person hosting, since they have to get everything ready and open up their home to everyone. This time I couldn’t even tell who the homeowner was, since all the guests were cooking and relaxing all over the house. The fact that both the hosts and the guests were so comfortable really struck me. It was the first time I’d been there, and it was way bigger than I thought—like a real event, I guess. There was a Christmas tree, Santa giving out presents to everyone, Christmas music playing, lights hanging around the house—the Christmas mood was complete! And I couldn’t believe how good the food was! People brought a lot of food with them, but some were also cooking during the party. It was incredible to have such good food in a city where going out to eat is so expensive. There was also beer, wine, sake, whiskey, cocktails, and soft drinks everywhere for the taking.
I’ve experienced a lot of cultural differences living abroad, but the way people enjoy home parties here is one of my favorites. You see people doing other things on the weekends too—barbequing, group yoga in the park—things that I guess you can only really enjoy because of the wide-open spaces in Australia and the mild weather in Sydney year-round.
Everyone enjoys life abroad in different ways, and to be honest I was a little hesitant to go to a stranger’s house even at a friend’s invitation. If it was a bit far, for a moment I felt inconvenienced by the whole thing. But after my experience I can tell you that you’ll absolutely have fun (unless you’re not feeling well) and that there’s no greater treasure than making friends with a diverse group of people while you’re overseas. If you ever have a chance to connect with people at a home party, don’t miss it!