Well yesterday I had the privilege of attending a Honduran – Catholic wedding of a fellow co-worker the Grade 3 teacher at our school. This meant that I got to “pretty up” for the first time since I arrived here – and I re-discovered the “inner-girl” in me. (Hey folks – being the PE teacher and wearing sweats to work does not really promote any feminine tendencies.) So Katharine and I gussied up and met some of the other teachers at the school. In typical Honduran style we arrived 45 minutes late for the wedding (which we found out had started 35 minutes late anyway) and snuck in the back of the chapel. (But let us be realistic here – how can 6 people really sneak in when three are white – and two tower over everybody?)
The service was done in “higher” Catholic liturgical style – BUT with the accompaniment of 3 Spanish guitars and a tambourine. The priest sung – and people sung in return – in beautiful harmony. (Now let the choir junkie come out in me: the chapel was ROUND! The
acoustics were phenomenal because the sound bounced around the room – surrounding you. It was beautiful!) And even though it was rehearsed response singing – the people were so into it. They clapped and sang and moved and it was so amazing to see how real it was to these people – and you could hear it through their song. After the service we proceeded to the reception (At this point it is 9:00pm – the wedding started at 7:00pm) where we ate the best meal ever – probably the best that I have had since I have been here. (Cooking for yourself gets old really fast.) We had a picture taken at our table with the bride and groom (which is a typical Honduran practice) and they also threw the bouquet and the garter belt. (Nope I didn’t catch the bouquet;) Now there was a dance at this wedding – but we teachers were prepped beforehand and told that we were not allowed to dance. (Dancing is not allowed in evangelical circles because of where it tends to happen and what is associated with it – I think this means alcohol and drugs.) At the wedding there was only enough alcohol to toast – other than that there was only dancing. So we watched for a bit – and then left. The people in this culture have a natural musical rhythm and it was so fun to watch!
All in all – a good night. Congratulations Laura & Julio!
3 comments:
you ladies look so pretty!
Laura & Julio... that has a nice ring to it.
I enjoyed the choir junkie observation...and I'm a bit jealous. I love services with beautiful music in acoustically phenomenal spaces! : ) It doesn't look like wearing sweats all the time has affected your potential for 'prettying up'--sounds like a lot of fun!
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