Weddings...
So, you thought your wedding was a logistical nightmare? Maybe you were exhausted by greeting 180 or so guests and couldn’t wait to take off that heavy, uncomfortable dress? And, just couldn’t find a moment to steal a snack from the buffet or another kiss from your newly wedded partner as your guests dined on 3 courses? Well, you didn’t have it that bad, after all, your wedding, or the one you attended most recently, probably wasn’t in Cambodia. I tell you people, this wedding of a colleague’s that I attended tonight was, well, really nice and easy for me…but for the poor bride and groom and their families? Let’s say they’ll need a few weeks to recover. Imagine setting up two days before the actual party (ok so this is pretty standard but it’s all you, your family and close peeps), but your setting up into the street over about 4 blocks in one direction and 3 blocks in the opposite direction (block party!), leaving only about a two-foot-wide path for cars/trucks/motos/bikes/small children walking/horse-drawn carts etc. to get past. Then, how to start cooking? Preparing for a 1000 of your closest friends and family? Really. Coming from Phnom Penh, three other provinces in Cambodia, special invitees (Director of the Hospital, Director of the Public Health Dept, Police Chief etc.)…yes, this takes then an additional 8 blocks closed off, plus the payment and payoff of the local police to help guard the whole mess and you know, keep things in order without incident for people to gossip about (plus you’ve got to guard all the mad amounts of gold flashing everywhere…).Cooking ensues for the night prior and day of (most of the time by 45 hired locals from the next town over), tents of orange and fuscia, with satin cloth wrapped around the poles are erected into the street—tables, chairs covered in traditional Khmer silk patterns, family-style turnstiles on the tables (similar to the Chinese restaurant style)…16 huge speakers stacked on top of each other, stage, mics etc. Then the big evening comes and you’re greeting 1000 people, have to change clothes 10 times (really, the bride told me she had 10 outfits she had to wear throughout the 4-11pm event). These outfits are seriously down to business, not your run-of-the-mill bridal wear, no, these are silk, traditionally wrapped skirts, gold belts, gold ankle cuffs, heals, sequined adorned and embroidered tops, several gold wrist cuffs, serious earrings, necklaces, hair-up-to-there, gold and diamond crown, sequined sash and pieces of silk folded specially and tucked into the belt to hang a certain way…no joke, this takes more than a 10min. switch-a-roo (and this is only the bride I tell you…the groom has got it easy, change of jacket/shirt/flower on the lapel, that’s it). Anyway, enough to make me want to run far away (but they have to stand at the entrance until just about all 1000 people have come through!) We, the guests, are the lucky ones (Although the ‘cards’ that are expected as gifts, also expect a ‘gift’ of at least $20US per couple or guest, the bride and groom are actually the lucky ones here…). We’re received at the grand, flowered entrance way by the lovely couple, picture-taking begins, including video and interview style and then we’re greeted by the wedding party and are given a lovely jasmine ring of flowers, which is one of my favorite scents, it’s almost like instant, low impact perfume. perfect. Then we sit down immediately to await the food (which will only be served once you have all 9 people at your table completely seated). Once we have the magic number, beers are cracked open (along with the ‘weak’ drinks of water and soda, as I’m informed by my table-mates), several rounds of ‘cheers!’ clanking of the glasses and shouts for more ice are heard from every table.
Quick Cambodian Fact: Beer is not proper without two huge hunks of ice floating in it at all times.
Since I’m the token foreigner in the party, everyone wants to share their beer with me, ‘cheers’ with me and all the rest. It’s a bit tiring and soon I have to pretend to be drinking my beer after each raucous clank!
So, the food begins to arrive—5 types of deep fried appetizers: shrimp, pork egg rolls, fish, fish balls, pork, pork rinds (you know the special Chinese restaurant variety in white and pink colors, like puffed up wafers resembling Styrofoam?), plus pickled shallots, roasted cashews and dried, shredded and pounded fish. Yummy stuff. Next courses include, one-by-one: more fried fish, then grilled beef, pork, then seafood noodle green papaya/mango/cabbage salad, then a HUGE steamed fish, Thom Yum Seafood Soup—served in a bundt-pan type sterno warmer/boiler that’s already bubbling as it is placed on the table, then the fried rice and white rice and more if we wanted! Final course—Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum packs and big boxes of raisons for everyone to take home. Man, it was an eating frenzy. Then the bride’s father continues to make the rounds toasting more beer, bringing over bottles of Johnny Walker to special tables (the bottles are gone in minutes)…my table-mates and I are done for; we’re full, bloated, a bit drunk, sweating like mad—still packed like sardines, still 90degrees with 90% humidity and still in full length heavy silk skirts. Every part of my body was sweating. We slip out from our table finally and make our way to the big heart box waiting for our card ‘gifts’. I asked a friend if I could give some nice bowls I bought in Vietnam to the bride and groom instead of giving money (I hate just giving money for weddings…)—anyway, I got a funny look and was told that’s just not cool. Ok, so I slipped ‘em my cash.
As we were walking towards the door ready to call it a night, we noticed some colleagues trying to call us over to their table. Happily we joined them, but then, the clanking and toasting and more beer with ice followed—actually forced upon us (lovingly of course ;) before we headed out. Just as we were really ready to leave this time, the bride caught us—she was clearly upset we hadn’t made it to the dance floor, so as good guests, we headed back for a round on the dance floor, her leading me step-by-step, by hand…I looked pretty silly trying to attempt traditional Khmer dancing, but I gave it a shot. Everyone got a good laugh but that’s cool, most people were pretty tipsy at the point anyway! After two songs, the bride felt for us and ushered us to the exit and onto our motos, waving us good-bye and with thanks. I know the girl musta’ been thinking, thank God, push the rest of these folks out now too! I know I woulda’ been…
posted by Life in Cambodia @ 6:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home