Weddings around the world!

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a Sudanese wedding with my friends Annie and Hashim, it was different than I expected, though I didn't know what to expect out of a Catholic Sudanese wedding, I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be in English, but so it was! and pleasantly so, I was able to understand most of the really really really really long service. Weddings here are hilarious I think because everything is so over the top, brides really do look beautiful, but for Egyptians and Sudanese, it is in that sort of "I"m covered with yards of tool and sparkles!" which, hey if that's your thing, go for it. They are also very preoccupied with the video of the wedding, so there is this obnoxious camera man filming everything, the audience, huge lights. I think that's kind of hilarious. So the wedding started at about 7pm, and it was great because the groom was really good friends with not only Annie and Hashim, but a couple friends of mine from work, Sam and John Rabanah, and one of my teachers for the teen program, Hadaf, his daughter was in the wedding, so amidst about 200 Sudanese people I felt rather comfortable and familiar with everyone.

After the wedding ceremony, was the cake ceremony, which was crazy, their cake had 5 tiers and almost tipped over when they were cutting into it, after everyone was stuffed with cake and candy and pop, we headed out to the song beat from, either the bride or groom's tribe, that the women were singing. So there I was dancing with a brightly dressed large Sudanese woman to some of the most gorgeous voices that keep the beat in their word, they are amazing... all the way out of the building. I blended right in. Annie, who is also from the states and married to Hashim, who is Sudanese, was telling me what a big deal it is to have westerners at your weddings, that it is kind of social kudos to the bride and groom, so even though I didn't know them very well, we were kind of the guests of honor.

I was lucky again to be invited to a smaller reception to be held at the groom's flat, Annie and Hashim said I could spend the night at their place afterward because the metro would be closed by the time the party was done. so I was thinking that it would end at like 2 or something....... sooooo after picking up a few things from my flat and traveling with the gang out to Maadi, we hung around Annie and Hashim's flat until midnight or so, and then got a cab to go to the party. We all sat around the edge of the room and they served huge plates of food to the 50 or so people there at about 1am, and then there was dancing!! now, I like a good dance party as much, if not more, than the next girl, but I was not prepared for African slow dancing. I have to admit, it was a little difficult for me, I think partly because I've never danced to African music before (and their slow dancing is REALLY SLOW, but to a faster beat, and you move your hips not your feet really I need to practice,) I didn't know a lot of the people there, or most of the people with whom I danced, and no matter how fast the music is everyone wanted to "couple dance" I think it is because in their culture, weddings are really the only place that men and women get to mingle, which brings me to my last awkward factor... all of a sudden, after two months of avoiding contact with males as the cultural norm and expectation, here I was dancing with one large Sudanese man after another, Some about 6', most closer to 7' tall. It was hilarious, because I would ask them where they were from, and I think they must not have known that I work with Sudanese everyday, and have learned quite a bit about Sudan, because they would always say, "Sudan" and keep in mind, that my friend Annie and I, were the only two people there NOT from Sudan, so I just wanted to be like, "noooooo really??" but sarcasm doesn't translate well across language barriers. So I just danced away. Sam told me today that the party ended at sunrise, but we left about 430am to go to bed. Let me tell you, if someone ever casually invites you to go to a Sudanese wedding... go my friends, it's a rockin good time.