The wedding of Thinh Ky Ngo and Quyen Thanh Le

We were invited by our friend to attend a Vietnamese wedding in the province of Dinh Quan. We left HCMC on Monday at 1 Pm on a deluxe bus, the difference being the larger seats that recline and a movie is shown and water and wipes given. We even had a 10 minute stop in which to eat, drink or go to the WC, water closet. The trip was 3 hours and we were dropped off by the natural rock formation on the road, no bus stop, you just have to know where they drop off and pick up. Our friend wanted to know why I had a large suitcase? It was only a carry on size but larger than their back packs. I just have many things to take I replied, I am a woman !! Besides I had not been to a wedding here yet so I was not sure if there was a dinner the night before or how fancy their weddings were, besides I was also a girl scout and taught to always be prepared. We were picked up in a small truck that they use in their business, they were only expecting two people not four and not two foreigners. It was a short ride to the home of the groom where we would be staying. The father of the groom is in his late sixties and he and his wife have 9 children and 16 grand children. He owns a cashew business and also they sell pigs. He is quite well off and a very humble man and has just built a new spacious home. He greeted us in the traditional pajamas that older men where, I assume for comfort, it was only 4 PM. He still had them on the next morning so we wondered if he would wear them to the wedding. I told Mark I would buy him a pair. We were all shown to the only spare room left, especially since I do not think we were expected. So.... I bunked with two other men besides my hubby. Never done that before. That evening they had a dinner party with a live DJ and band. It went until around 11:30, we only stayed until 10:00 but because it was in a tent in their front yard we did not fall asleep for awhile. We were told that the wedding celebration goes on for several days. This was only the beginning. The next day we got in line to shower and dress, the wedding was set for 9 AM. A bit early but since we and the rest of the house were up by 4 AM, I guess 9 is good. People started arriving early from different places. The bride arrived around 9: 15 and was greeted by a loud pop and confetti announcing her arrival. She did not look very happy. She only smiled once twice during the ceremony and that is when Mark made some funny comments. Hopefully it was nerves and not because she did not want to be married. She did seem to enjoy the reception. Some observations about the ceremony, besides the confetti the bride and groom kneel and lay their hands on the bible and say their pledges. The fathers also raise their hands to give the bride and groom permission to wed. Then after the ceremony before they leave there is a gift giving time. People come up and give them things, it starts with the parents and then who ever has gifts, they both were given several rings, not sure the meaning of this. After the ceremony we were taken out to the tent and shown inside. The bride and groom stood out front and greeted people as they came through. All of a sudden a bus load of people came and then others by car, motor bike and vans. I guess it was a good thing they came just for the reception because all those people would not have fit into the church, the houses main room. In the space of two hours the bride changed into several other different colored gowns, I asked the meaning and all I got was tradition. She went from white to gold to green. We were served an 8 course meal, they also had a toast and cake. There was a family that we had previously met their six girls and one son sang in the ceremony and did a dance at the reception. Just before we had to leave to catch our bus back to HCMC a group of young guys did a break dance performance. That is a new one at a wedding for me. Our bus picked us up on the side of the road and our trip came to an end as pleasantly as it began. New experiences all the time. We love it.

The Vietnamese Wedding

English Students

I wanted you to see the English students. These students are really serious about learning English. They read and practice and it shows. We are reading through the book of Mark so we have two purposes. They can read well and we are working on the comprehension and of course Mark is sharing the word as we go along. We meet weekly and about four members of the group were missing from the photo. Starting on the left, this guy is our computer expert, he has an IT degree and is also being mentored by the brother of our friend. The second gentlemen is Samuel, our friend, helper, translator and you name it he does it guy. His fiancee is Mary, next to him in the picture. They have been dating for almost four years and plan to marry on 10-10-10. They are on the five year plan. She has many jobs and is very good at making money. She works in the furniture business and banking. She is also helping some ladies sell embroidered purses that they make. I have already bought some to bring home. She sells them in Europe and the US. The last gentleman on the right is a new "friend" and has gone through some rough times at home but is so hungry. He loves learning and we are trying to help him with that. I could share so many stories but for now I will just tell you that we are blessed to be able to help them out. By the way you might notice on the table a box of Ritz crackers that Mary brought for snack but they remained unopened as I had made brownies and they all have found a new favorite American desert. I got a thumbs up from each of them. They should thank Mark, it was his idea for me to make them but he does get upset when there is only one left over for him.

English Students

Paper Towels

It has been four weeks since any of the stores I frequent have had paper towels. Now you must understand that in Asian countries most of the time you will find a roll of toilet paper on the food tables even in most restaurants. They use this to wipe their hands after eating. I have observed that they don't need a whole lot of it either, and they don't even need to put them in their laps, what a clean culture. Now me on the other hand, I take a few and then the stuff just falls apart on me. So I try another few. After I am finally semi cleaned up I have a whole stack of TP in front of me. Now me being the economical person that I am, I think to myself I could have used one napkin for all this and been saving money. Napkins are sold in the stores and are plentiful. Most are decent size and strong but some of the brands are as bad as the TP. Now back to my paper towel story. I am not sure if they just had a shortage in the countries where they import them from or if they just missed the boat from wherever they come from. Paper heaven I guess. But today I was truly excited to find 3 rolls in the store. I bought two of them thinking that I should leave one for the other foreigner who shops there. These even have a pretty print on them. They are shorter than the ones in the states but the thickness is good. Have you ever tried to drain meat on TP or napkins, well I can tell you from experience that it takes about a quarter of a roll and is not a pretty site when you are done. It took me 5 minutes to get all the TP out of the meat. O thank you Lord for sending me those paper towels.

Trip to Canada

Chris and Jeanette took a road trip to Canada last week. Chris's best friend from High School was getting married and he was asked to be in the wedding. They took several days to travel up to Crescent City, Ca to visit a friend from Life Pacific and then onto Seattle and then on to Vancouver BC, where the wedding was. They saw some great sights and reconnected with some friends and family.

Chris and Jeanette's trip to Canada

To Market, To Market

Yesterday, Sunday I got a phone call telling me that I would be picked up to go to the Metro Membership Market in 30 minutes. I had asked that next time someone went I would like to join them as my meats were running out. I buy enough for about 6 weeks or so when I go. The meats at the market next door to us are not great. They still have not gotten the word that gloves help stop the spread of germs, they usually just pick up the meat with their hands and use a chopping block that seems to rarely get cleaned. Now back to my Metro trip. Joseph, one of the brothers that speaks English and takes us places, picked me up on his motor bike. The Metro is about a 20 minute ride from our apt. We started out ok, traffic was not to bad and only had a few close calls when we started down a street that was blocked off due to construction. Instead of going back and finding a different street we all proceeded up on the sidewalk, the logical thing to do, if you are walking. Now this sidewalk was very narrow and there were telephone poles we had to go around and then there was the old lady who even though we honked, as they all did she just kept walking on the sidewalk at her own pace. What in the world was wrong with her, did not see that the motor bikes were piling up behind her and wanted to pass but had no room? We finally reached a place where we could pass her. She was one brave old lady who knew her sidewalk rights. As we proceeded on down the sidewalk we came to a curb where we had to go up and of course the motor bike did not want to do this with two people on it. I had to climb off and he had to lift the bike up and then I got back on. We were holding up traffic but at this point we had no options. It was another mile or so before the street opened up again and we could get back on the road. My friend commented that this use to be a really good street and now they had it all torn up to add pipes for better drainage. What an inconvenience.
We made it to the Metro without further complications and I got my meats etc and to my great relief we did not take that road home but as we were at the light on that corner a young girl turned right into us from the lane next to us. I guess she thought we were going to turn and all I can say is that it is a good thing my friend is young and has good reflexes. He hit the breaks and we stopped just in time to miss hitting her and guess who, her grandma !!! I was holding my bread, those long french baguette's and I almost dropped them as we came to an abrupt stop. Joseph just shook his head and gave her a look that said, women drivers. At this point I agreed with him. Just another fun ride with the boys !!!