Last Saturday we attended the third of three events of a neighbor's wedding. To be honest I don't think I had actually met this neighbor before (they live in our complex, but are at least 6 houses away). A very nice invitation was hand delivered about 3 day prior. The events began with a party Friday night, the actual ceremony Saturday morning, at 10am, then a reception Saturday night. We attended the reception, which was held at one of the top 4 hotels in town. We did not commit any major cultural taboos by only attending the reception! It was the most lavish wedding we have ever been to, maybe in our whole lives. The reception hall foyer was decorated nicely with at least 20 large framed pictures of the couple and a small coffee area. Inside the actual reception hall there was a stage full of musicians and singers, at least three buffet lines with two separate dessert tables, and of course a stage with the couple and their respective parents. We arrived, signed a guest book, walked across the stage to greet the couple and their parents, put an envelope of money (the gift) in a designated box on the stage, ate dinner, chatted, then went home. We've been to quite a few weddings here, but this one was definitely unique.
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| At the wedding we ran into the post office clerk that always helps us. We often don't recognize her at first as she always wears an orang head covering and shirt at the post office. |
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| A better view of her fancy dress! |
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| A neighbor we met at the wedding. |
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| The stage with the newly married couple in the middle-blue. |
In other news, we will finished will all of our formal national language study at the university next week. At the end of this month we will travel about 5 hours northeast to begin local language study in the city where John has accepted a job position. We are still on student visas so we plan to study while awaiting the work visa. For the month of December we plan to live with a local family there. Thankfully we will be at a good point in homeschooling to take the whole month off while we are transitioning. After December our plans are to continue living and studying there. Where we will live, when and how we move all our belongings, and when we'll start homeschooling again are all a little up in the air. Please remember us in this time of transitioning. I, Erin, am finally feeling at home in our new country, but the prospect of readjusting again and beginning to study another new language is a little daunting.
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| Whitman playing with a mustache turned beard! |
