A Thai Wedding

(One thing I have learned here, is that the Thai way of planning is not exactly the same as American planning. I have also learned that surprises are to be expected, if that even makes sense. )

In November Sarah and I were invited to the wedding of one of our teachers at the Thai language school we go to. This was really exciting. We not only knew the teacher (Jeerawat) but her groom Werner who is from Switzerland. In December I also found out that 2 missionaries from Taiwan were coming here to visit and stay with me! It just so happened that they would be here the same weekend we had the wedding. I figured-no problem- they can just come with us. It was held in a tourist location, so they could just hang out at the beach while we went to the wedding. WELL, 2 days before we left we finalized plans for how we were going to get there. Then the van was late when we were ready to leave. THEN, when we got to Hua Hin we pulled off onto a dirt road and stop in front of this big house(?), and we were like, "is this the hotel?"

It was indeed the "resort" which was actually really nice. It had a secluded private beach and the rooms were huge with massive beds, large veranda's and fancy bathrooms. Example:

Everyone went straight to the beach where the kids played in the water and I searched for seashells. My major panick was as I realized that this was a private place, and the only people staying there were wedding guests who would be spending their entire time together. Here I was thinking that I had committed this major faux pax by just inviting two extra people along to the wedding. The bride however said that it wasn't a problem at all, and that it was better for them, because it would mean they had more guests. Someone else even told me that it is normal for a single person to invite one guest with them. So Stephanie and Beka suddenly became our dates. That evening everyone ate, unpacked and Beka Steph and I even went to the beach for some star-gazing and contemplating-the-universe talk.

The next morning was also spent at the beach watching the sunrise and collecting seashells with Marta's kids. I know have an amazing collection of awesome seashells. (Grandma, I got some for you too!) By the time I got back to the house, it was a buzz of activity. We weren't allowed to do anything as the guests, so we just loafed around, ate breakfast, cleaned seashells, watched loads of flowers getting delivered, etc. Several of us hitch-hiked on a bus into town to do some shopping. Beka and Stephanie shopped for wedding atire, and the rest of us just shopped or enjoyed Starbucks! We saw a parade starting to celebrate Chinese New Year as well. When we got back, everyone got dressed and went to celebrate the wedding. I have learned that in Thai weddings, there is just a whirl of people all over the place taking pictures, standing around, talking, signing the guest book, and then all the sudden you realize that the wedding started, but not everyone takes their seat; some people just keep doing what they were doing.

The wedding was beautiful and all in Thai, so that means I didn't understand a large percent of it. There were many unique elements including a point where the bride and groom were presented to the other's parents who then presented them with a beautiful garland of flowers to wear around their neck. There were also 5-6 Pastors who stood around them and prayed over them. After they processed, the pictures continued and was followed by the reception which meant a never ending stream of food and a special greeting by the bride and groom who gave each of us our gift which was a porcelein jewelry box.

Several of us escaped the reception to do another night walk on the beach and then returned to play spoons. Phimjai (one of my teachers) decided to spend the night so she stayed with Sarah and I that night. The bed was big enough that all 3 of us fit easily.

We took advantage of our last morning in Hua Hin, and decided to go downtown for breakfast and try to see if we could go parasailing or horsebackriding. When we go to the parasailing place we discovered that they didn't actually have parasailing and they had 1 horse! Instead, Phimjai, Sarah, Stephanie, Beka, and I decided to walk along the beach which was crowded with sunbaked Europeans. Mostly we gaped at how little clothing people could wear and still consider it a bathing suit. I shudder to think of it! We ate lunch and hitched a ride with Werner and Jeerawat back to the house (7 people in a 5 passenger car!) then packed to go home!

What a short break, but so nice still. Here's some more pictures of the weekend!