Post the Tenth: Ceremonies Galore

Yeah, I have no idea either.

Another busy week!

• Huizu Wedding: My composition teacher got married last Sunday (well, actually she's been married for several months but the celebration was on Sunday) and invited us to attend the ceremony. I knew it would be a good time when the ceremony host walked into the room to "He's a Pirate" by Klaus Badelt (the Pirates of the Caribbean Theme). It was a lively and atypical affair: my teacher is Huizu, a type of Muslim ethnic minority in China, so the ceremony was split into a Hui portion and a more traditional Han-esque part. The first portion featured several Imams who led the service in a combination of Mandarin and Arabic prayers, traditional Huizu costume (my teacher looked gorgeous by the way, so be jealous), and the throwing of candy and other assorted treats at guests (this was really fun until a large unidentifiable nut-object landed in my drink). During the second half, the bride and groom returned in Western style clothing, received gifts and blessings of matrimonial happiness from their parents and friends, and took photos with guests. Overall, the experience was exciting and unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life (my Han Chinese teachers also found the ceremony fascinating since it wasn't typical Hanzu). Clearly a cooler way to spend a Sunday morning than doing homework.

Outside the restaurant, which turned out to be a decoy for the real one that was on a different street. Good job, Google Maps.

One of the imams/the main MC for the wedding. The groom could not be more uncomfortable. His cell phone rang twice during the ceremony. That would NEVER happen in the US. EVER.

There were probably around 100 friends and family at the event. Oh yeah, there were some foreigners there too. I almost forgot, except they kept welcoming us every five minutes (cue round of applause).

My teacher in a Western wedding dress. She's so pretty!!

The food was obviously delicious. (No, it isn't boneless)

• Tea Ceremony: This afternoon our 1-on-2 teachers took the CET students to a tea house to learn how to pour, drink, and otherwise appreciate Chinese tea. Each group of four or five (four students plus a teacher) sat around a table while a qipao-wearing xiaojie (see young & pretty Chinese woman) poured tea and told us the names of the billion tools used in the ceremony (I couldn't name a single one if my life depended on it). Though the room was a bit toasty for drinking hot tea, the tea itself was delicious (as were the snacks of peanuts glazed in seaweed) and gave off a soothing aroma. Each student then took their turn pao-ing (preparing and serving) the tea. The procedure is not that complicated, yet each one of us managed to mess up at some point and some of us (see ME) even managed to burn our fingers on the teapot.

Teapot, teacup, big bowl for holding teacups, a big wooden thing full of tea-serving related tools, and tea snacks. 

My 1v2 Chinese teacher pouring tea. She's a pro.

Tonight, while most of CET rests for their 6AM departure to Yichun, six of us will be en route to Dandong, a city on the Yalu River. This city is awesome because 1) it's near the Eastern terminus of the Great Wall, 2) it has a museum retelling to Korean War from the Chinese perspective (they were victorious and they are going to tell you about it), and 3) North Korea is on the other side of the river. How will we be arriving? 13 hours of hard-seater train, of course. No air conditioning, no breathing room (in a country that doesn't use deodorant), Chinese tourists as travel companions. Adventure time? Check yes.

We should've asked this guy to take us to Dandong.

Packpackpackpackpackpackpack!

魏德