I hope that you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas holiday! This is my first Christmas away from home & it’s strange…but it’s even stranger spending Christmas in a country that doesn’t celebrate the holiday.
I went to Chaing Mai for the weekend. A Peace Corps staff member got married and invited the volunteers to her wedding (she is Thai). I’ve been to a Thai wedding before, but I didn’t get to see the entire ceremony (they were late picking me up). So it was really neat to see.
The ceremony that we went to started at 9:00 in the morning. Normally, this ceremony is only for close family & a few friends (so it was very nice of her to let us come). The groom & his family were in another room & they had to gain entry into the room we were in. The bride’s family barred his way with chains & they asked him questions before they would let him pass.
I went to Chaing Mai for the weekend. A Peace Corps staff member got married and invited the volunteers to her wedding (she is Thai). I’ve been to a Thai wedding before, but I didn’t get to see the entire ceremony (they were late picking me up). So it was really neat to see.
The ceremony that we went to started at 9:00 in the morning. Normally, this ceremony is only for close family & a few friends (so it was very nice of her to let us come). The groom & his family were in another room & they had to gain entry into the room we were in. The bride’s family barred his way with chains & they asked him questions before they would let him pass.
The bride was hiding & once the groom gained entry into the room he had to find her. The groom’s family then presented the dowry to the bride’s family.
The groom also presented gifts to the bride.
Then the guests sat before the couple & sprinkled seeds & flowers over the dowry while wishing them luck.
The couple then moved to chairs & all of the guests tied strings around their wrists & gave them blessings & good wishes. (I didn’t get a pic of this, but you can see the strings tied to their wrists in the group picture).
Later that night, they had a reception at the same hotel. The bride & groom had changed into more “Western” clothes.
It took place poolside & it was gorgeous! They had a little stage that went out into the pool where they had the cake & they had candles floating in the pool. (The sign “Nid & Noi” are the nicknames of the bride & groom).
Here they are with the volunteers.
The groom is a professor at a University in Kentucky & the couple will be moving there in a few weeks (the bride is working on her Masters). I wish them the best of luck & I hope that the people they meet in America are as nice as the people in Thailand!
On Sunday, Gabe, Tara, Scott, and I went to Tomi & Derrick’s home. They live about half-way between Chaing Mai & my site. They had invited volunteers to their home for dinner on Christmas Eve. (Christmas Eve was a holiday in Thailand – Election Day, but Christmas Day was not & we had to be back at site).
It was wonderful! They have a very nice home & we were able to make some delicious food for dinner. (Gabe left early and missed out on an amazing dinner!) We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, salad, biscuits, and chicken (turkey is difficult to get in Thailand).
Some photos…
Tara with her deviled eggs.
Tomi making the biscuits.
Scott getting into the holiday spirit.
And the spread.
Christmas Day was like any other day…in the 80’s!
Again, I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas! Hopefully you were able to spend it with friends & family & if you were lucky you had a bit of snow!
Some photos…
Tara with her deviled eggs.
Tomi making the biscuits.
Scott getting into the holiday spirit.
And the spread.
Christmas Day was like any other day…in the 80’s!
Again, I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas! Hopefully you were able to spend it with friends & family & if you were lucky you had a bit of snow!
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