This weekend I had the privilege of attending the wedding of one of my fellow teachers. Now there were many major differences between this wedding and the ones in the US, but for starters let's just say I wasn't hearing the traditional "Here comes the bride" ... even in my head!
Weddings are held in extremely elaborate "wedding houses" and there is no formal ceremony, just a huge feast, tons of people, and lots of dancing that goes on for hours and hours! (I arrived 45mins late and left early ... and I was there 4+ hours!)
The tables are PACKED with place settings, classes, drinks, and more food than I have ever seen in one place ... and more kept coming!
The bride and groom arrive together, walk in an hour later than the guests and look miserable the whole time! Apparently, if the bride looks happy it will reflect poorly on the family she is leaving.
Traditional music is played really loud throughout the wedding and almost everyone dances to all the songs. People connected to the bride or groom give their wishes and blessings, pick a song and that group dances. For example, the immediate family, the extended family, the neighbors, and yes, even my group of teachers and administrators got to say a few words and have our own dance. They though it would be fun if I spoke in English, so I did. And acquired more stares the rest of the night than I had noticed previously. Oh well. Fortunately for me I am a good imitator and good at making a fool of myself ... so I survived the dancing part! :)
All in all, I had a good time! My favorite parts of the wedding were the food, watching the little kids attempt to do their traditional dance (hilariously cute!) and getting to hang out with my co-workers, even if we couldn't hear each other!
Oh, and I forgot to mention the accordion player ... I want one of those! :)
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