Another Wedding

I was sitting at home reading on Saturday, when I got a call from Oye. She said that there was a party at Ron Pat's house & that they would pick me up in 10 minutes. As it was Saturday, I was in a tank-top & fisherman pants (the Thai version of sweats) & had no makeup on, so I quickly changed & was off to the party.

It turned out Ron Pat's daughter had gotten married the day before & Saturday was (as the Thais call it) the "wedding party." I knew I was in for a treat because a loud cheer went up as soon as I stepped out of the vehicle. I could tell that there had been some pretty heavy drinking going on. I have told the everyone at my site that I wont drink whiskey, but that I'll drink beer (self-preservation). I didn't see any beer there, so they poured me a glass of whiskey & soda water & I sipped that all night (just adding ice when it got low).

I started to feel a bit uncomfortable when the bride & groom came over. The made the groom sit next to me because he could speak English. But he sat a bit too close...you see, in Thailand, it's not appropriate for men to touch women who are not in their family. You get used to it...even shaking hands with a man is taboo (they wai). His legs were plastered to mine and his hands were all over me...the bride started out sitting on his other side, but soon moved to sit between us...but he wouldn't make room! Eventually, he got up to use the restroom & I saw the bride stop him on the way back. Someone eventually stopped by to tell me that the groom was too drunk & they made him go inside to lay down.

But the uncomfortableness didn't end there. There was karaoke at this event too & they told me since I "couldn't" sing a Thai song, that I had to get up and dance. No one else was dancing!!!! So I'm standing on the "stage" dancing all by myself! Pretty soon, some VERY drunk old guys get up to dance with me & again put their hands all over me & try hugging me! Just to give you a perspective, I haven't been touched by a Thai man since I've been here & now I'm getting grabbed by all of these drunk strangers. It was pretty uncomfortable & I snuck out as soon as I possibly could (luckily the house was really close to mine so I didn't need to have anyone drive me).

Here's the happy couple. The bride is absolutely beautiful!