Sorry for my long delay. I've been missing in action from the technology world. My computer for some reason doesn't want to cooperate with me and has refused to upload images on this website. That's just one of the many excuses I'll use to get of the hook. But for now i'm stuck with having to use my iPhone to write my blogs.
Anyways...things have been going good in the kingdom of Cambodia. I decided to catch you up with my life on a wedding I went to a few weeks ago. My host family during training invited me to my host sisters wedding. I knew then that this was not an event to miss. I packed up my things and headed to Takeo.
I was really happy to be apart of the wedding. I was amazed by all the color, beauty, endless amounts of food and silly string.
Weddings in Cambodia are quite extravagant. Here are some things in a Cambodian wedding that are different than an American one.
*Huge circus tents are are placed right in front of the bride's house. Close friends and family of the bride and groom will gather in a straight line and walk from the grooms house to the brides while carrying trays of fruit, food, and beer. It's a type of traditional offering.
*The bride doesn't usually wear a traditional white wedding gown. Instead, she wears at least six to eight different beautiful and colorfully decorative gowns throughout her big day. It also depends on how much money the family has. So the more money they have the more gowns the bride can change in to, the bigger the tents are and the more food people can eat.
*Wedding gifts are usually not offered to the newlyweds. Instead everyone who attends the wedding pays however much money they can afford to give. Anywhere between five to ten dollars is average. Most weddings will have a table set up where people can walk right up give their money in an envelope and write their names in a book.
*Weddings here usually consist anywhere between 4 to 6 different types of meals. When each round table is filled up with guests a tray of food is placed in the center and everyone uses their chopsticks to eat away.
*Another thing I noticed is that in America people usually go to weddings and take part in the event by socializing and partying with each other for most of the time. Here in Cambodia it's more like an in and out process. The guests arrive, sit down, eat the food, drop off the envelope of money and then leave.
* At the end of the evening the bride and groom do not have a wedding cake to cut into. There's actually a huge mound of fruit layered onto a table that is decorated with glitter, silly string and anything else that can be used to brighten it up.
Another big thing that happened at this wedding is that I got my hair and makeup done Khmer style. My friend Jill, who lives in the same village and who was gracious to accompany me to this wedding, has a host mom who does weddings for a living. She makes the dresses, takes photographs and does the makeup. Basically Jill and I looked like a couple of khmer dolls after she was done.
I loved it! I don't think I've ever looked that dolled up with my fake eyelashes and the strong layers of makeup. My hair has never been that big. I had a bigger pomp than Elvis probably ever wore in his life. And my host sister Kelly absolutely looked beautiful. I met her husband and he seems like a nice fellow. They're a cute young couple who definitely make their parents proud.
I'm grateful that I got to be apart of it and that my host family made me feel like I was back at home. I hadn't seen them since October and it was so good to be back. I miss them already and can't wait to see them again. :)
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