That's Chinese for Happy Marriage! That goes out to my niece Kelly who got married last week and I was unable to attend. (btw, my Chinese is terrible! I can't get the hang of the language at all. I learn a word or phrase and then it's gone 10 minutes later...) Chinese marriages are quite different - the couples are actually legally married sometime before the marriage when they go and get a marriage certificate. At the wedding, a "host" or DJ runs the show. The bride and groom may get up on the stage and say some vows to each other, but there is no priest or religious attachment to it at all. The vows and/or speeches will not take very long, and then the eating commences (you generally sit in a hall at tables that seat about 8-10 people or so). The weddings usually start around noon (they'll have a start time like 11:58), and after the meal everyone heads home (by 2 pm it's over). People dress very casually - only the bride and groom are all gussied up. While you're eating, the bride and groom will circulate and go around to each table with a tray of shot glasses. Each person gets a shot of bai jui, or Chinese white wine/spirits. Trust me, it isn't anything like wine and is definitely an acquired taste. Then you toast the bride and groom (they drink too - but the shot glasses are very small so they can still walk out of there - and the bride may not drink at all). Some of the bride and grooms may go on a honeymoon, but it usually happens at a different time, if it happens at all. I haven't seen any dancing at a Chinese wedding... And do you need to save the date for a wedding? Nope, you get an invitation about 2 weeks beforehand. They say it's not necessary to send them out earlier because they're never doing anything anyways, and I suppose since it just happens during an afternoon it's no big deal...
I went and saw the new Jungle Book movie this weekend in an imax theater with dolby sound. It was quite good. You buy the tickets online (or on your phone) and pick out your seats at the same time. Wish they did it that way in the US too - then you don't have to get there early to get a good seat. I think tickets were about $6 or $7 US. The new cinemas that opened in the new mall near us are pretty nice. Unfortunately, they don't usually have many English movies (one at the most). All the movies, even the Chinese ones, have Chinese subtitles. I asked why they need Chinese subtitles for a Chinese movie and they said because they often can't understand the speaking, so they always read...
We are getting close to the AP exams - about 2 weeks away. It'll be nice when they're over because then our teaching schedule will be reduced significantly. I've had a busy schedule this year and I can't wait. We have a 3 day weekend coming up for May Day but I haven't been able to find a good place to go yet. It's often best just to stay put because everything can get so crowded.
We've been up in the 70's a few times but I haven't broken out the short sleeve shirts yet. That'll be soon!
Zaijian!
No comments:
Post a Comment