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Published: February 23rd 2015
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Sunday night was a big party, like a wedding reception. It was held on the grounds of elementary school, and it was really quite fancy. When you arrived, there was a HUGE floral display, with two hearts, and a HUGE photo of Thong and Yeng. Then, there was a table with a big gold coloured vessel, for people to put their gifts in (e.g. cash...). There were 24 people in the receiving line....the photos of folks in a line is a part of the receiving line. Over the past two days, I had met most of them, and I barely recognized them...everyone was all dressed up. The men in suits and the women in fancy sins. Yeng’s brother told me that when I arrived, he thought I was Lao, cause I had on the beautiful Lao suit that Yeng made for me. As usual, the photos of moi are horrid, but I will include one, cause I want you to see the gorgeous suit, and how cute Thong and Yeng are.
There were probably about 500 people there...I kid you not. There were a HUGE number of tables, with food already laid out on each of them. There
was a live band, playing Lao music, and as in Canada, the bride and groom had a first dance. Thong had told me he was nervous, cause he can’t dance, and he was not kidding, he can’t dance. But, they looked very cute.
I was seated with the family, which was a lovely thing for them to do.
There were speeches, and I was told the chap doing the speaking said that Thong and Yeng were not officially married...that was the third time I’d heard those words over the past two days...
After the speeches, everyone got up and danced. At one point, I had to dance too. Not a pretty sight, trying to learn the Loa dance. I was at a Lao wedding when I was here before, but the Lao drink way, way more than the Hmong, so at the first wedding, everyone was really drunk, so the did not notice and did not care that I had no idea what I was doing.
A fun evening-way, way bigger and fancier than I had expected. Frankly, I have NO idea how Thong and Yeng are paying
for it...they must have help from Yeng’s family.
On Monday morning, there was a small something at Thong’s house, the one on his land that he built and his Mom and brothers are living in right now. I was supposed to go, but Thong called this morning, and said it was just a small thing, and he was really, really tired, so he thought it best if I stayed in the city. I did not complain...I have NO idea how the two of them are standing up.
One last thing..there is a traditon that the groom and bride go from table to table with a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label...has to be Johnny Walker, and has to be Black Label. The guests are offered a shot, and the groom also has to have a shot, if the guests at that table insist. Thong was really, really worried that he would get really, really drunk...I’m not sure he even finished visiting all the tables..if he had, I think he would have passed out.
So, the wedding is over, Thong and Yeng are now married.
In less
than a month, Thong will be leaving his job at the Amantaka Hotel, and heading to Vientaine. Yeng will stay here until Thong finds a job and has a steady income. I have no doubt that leaving Amantaka is the right thing for Thong to do, he is ready to move on. He has learnt a great deal, working at the most expensive and fancy falang hotel in town..the starting price for a room is $1,000 US a day. Of course, it says lots about him that Amantaka hired him in the first place. He now knows where to get the best croissant in town, is comfortable eating and orderering falang food, and he greets you by kissing you on both cheeks...very European. He has grown so much, and is now almost as comfortable in the falang world as he is in his own world. While I still look at the Hmong culture with awe and very little understanding, he has learnt to fit into my world...how amazing is that?? I am so very proud of what he has accomplished to date, and can’t wait to see what the next years bring. So far, he has kept exactly to his
plan. Next five year plan is to get some work experience, continue to work on his English and apply for an academic scholarship to study in Australia...the story is to be continued.
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