Wedding in HaNoi
Trip Start
Feb 17, 2007
1
21
54
Trip End
Sep 06, 2008
HaNoi,
Vietnam
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Ms. Giang is one of my company's local guides in HaNoi. I met her on my training tour and worked with her subsequently. She is talkative, funny and understands western culture well.
Ms. Giang invited me to her wedding. I was honored. And lucky too. Of the 15 tour leaders on staff, I was the only one in HaNoi at the time. And between tours, too!
If I understand this correctly, Vietnamese celebrate weddings twice. The first night is a large reception for everybody. The second night is the actual ceremony. It's quite small as only immediate family attend.
Several of the office staff and local guides met in HaNoi. Together, we boarded a bus and drove about an hour into the country. This is where Ms. Giang grew up and her family still lives.
After meeting Ms. Giang's parents, we sat down in a large banquet hall. Delicious Vietnamese cuisine. Before I could start, Ms. Giang pulled me aside to introduce me to her father's friends. There was a group of eight men sitting right behind me. They were drinking and fully enjoying the ceremony. It was easy to tell they had a close fraternity.
All of the men had served in the army together during the American war. Apparently I was the first foreigner they had ever seen in person. Their last encounter was over 30 years ago at an altitude of 70,000 or so feet. They insisted on having a drink with me.
So we each had a teacup filled by a waterbottle (wink, wink). I'm not sure what the drink was. But homemade, clear liquids are usually on the potent side. I tried to sip the drink, but nobody would accept that! Ms. Giang told me an important toast like this meant BOTTOMS UP.
Ms. Giang translated for us. The men were happy to meet a foreigner, especially one from America. For them, the war is in the past. They're moving forward. I told them that I was only a kid during the war and that my family was in education. They replied that that didn't matter. Even if my father was in the military, everything then is in the past. They were so thrilled we had a second toast. It still bends my mind sometimes how forward-looking the Vietnamese are.
I think it's considered good luck for Vietnamese to have a foreigner at their wedding. There was a lot of attention on the American-Vietnamese toast. Ms. Giang candidly observed, "more than on the bride." Oops.
You may have guessed by now. This last splurge of travelogues means my stay in Vietnam is concluding for now. I will soon be transferred to Lao as its time for new tour leaders to start training. My next stories will come from the only land-locked country in SE Asia. The weather gods are smiling on me. The temps will be more favorable at 1,000 meters above sea level. And the storms will be lighter.
Chuc mot ngay tot dep!
Next, ?
Eric
